Tears of Blue
Stephanie Hoffman McManus
Copyright © 2016 by Stephanie Hoffman McManus
Cover image used under license from bigstock.com
All rights reserved by the author, including the right to reproduce,
distribute, or transmit in any form, by any means.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
For my baby brother and all
the boys in blue. Thank you for
serving and protecting.
Prologue
March 19th
Enter Sandman blared from the speakers, breaking up the monotony of the long, dark stretch of highway. I hummed along, drumming my hands on the wheel. I spared a glance down at my speedometer; the needle was hovering at eighty-five. I didn’t let off, but kept my eyes on the brush that edged the road. It wouldn’t do if a damn deer or elk decided to ruin my night.
Headlights approached from the north. By the time the vehicle was close enough for me to make out the light rack on top, I was sure he’d already clocked me at well over the posted sixty limit. I let off the gas just a little, but sure enough, in my rearview I watched him do a quick one-eighty. Red and blue lights flashed as he came up behind me. I slowed the car to the side of the highway and put her in park, still humming along to the song.
He took his time radioing in the stop and no doubt running my plates. I had the window down before the patrolman stepped out of his car.
I tracked his advance in the side mirror. He unclipped the flashlight from his belt and clicked it on. He lit up the interior of my car as he scoped it out through the rear windows before he came to mine.
“Good evening officer.” I grinned up at the stater.
“Can you turn off the car?” He glared at the stereo that was still spitting out Metallica.
“Right. Of course.” I twisted the key, shutting off the engine.
“Sir, are you aware of how fast you were traveling?”
“I admit, I was going a little fast.”
“I tagged you at eighty-six. That’s twenty-six over the limit, more than ‘a little fast’ don’t you think?”
I did my best to appear contrite.
“Do you have your license, registration and proof of insurance on you?”
“Sure thing, Officer Jacobs.” A slight frown pinched his brow as I dug my license out of my wallet and handed it to him.
He glanced at it. “The plate shows this car is registered to a Doris Abrams,” he clearly noted that didn’t match the name on my ID.
“She’s my aunt. Doesn’t drive anymore these days. She’s letting me borrow the ol’ Buick while my truck is in the shop.” The lie slid easily from my lips, but he had no reason to doubt me. It would be days before dear, sweet Doris would notice and report the car stolen. I’d have it back inside her garage before that ever happened.
“Can I see the registration and proof of insurance?”
“Of course.” I leaned forward and rummaged through the glove box, retrieving both documents. “Here they are.” I offered them up.
He spared a quick examination, finding them both in order before handing them back, but he held onto my ID.
“Don’t suppose you’re going to let me off with a warning?”
His mouth was drawn in a tight line. “Hang tight, I’ll be right back.”
Guess that was a no.
He started to walk away. I reached under my seat for what was stashed there, and leaned my head out the window. “Hey, Billy,” I called out.
He jerked around, probably confused at my use of his first name. I stuck the object in my hand out the window, lining it up. Before he even realized what was happening, I fired two shots. Both in the chest. Direct hits.
He dropped to the ground and I drew the firearm back inside the car, returning it to the holster strapped under my seat. I shoved the door open and climbed from the car, making my way to Billy Jacob’s body. Blood was leaking out in the dirt, and his nearly lifeless eyes stared helplessly up at me. He coughed and sputtered more blood. He was struggling just to breathe. It wouldn’t be long before even that was too much for him.
He was already good as dead.
I crouched beside him. “Bet you’re wishing you would have let me off with that warning now.” I tore the plastic ID from his hands and watched as his eyes fluttered and then shut for good. His chest stopped moving up and down. I rose to my feet and toed at his prone body. He was completely unresponsive. Satisfied that he was dead, I returned to the borrowed car.
“Goodnight, Billy Jacobs.”
I climbed behind the wheel and started her up. Metallica roared to life once again and I hummed along to the end of the song.
Nothing and no one was going to get in my way.
I was nowhere close to finished.
My fun was only just beginning.
More blood would be spilled. Tears would be shed for these bastards, but they wouldn’t be my tears.
I’d learned a long time ago, tears were useless. Only those too weak and pathetic to do anything about it cried over their losses. I was neither of those things.
I was long gone before the body was even cold, and by the time he was discovered, I was already envisioning my next targets.
They wouldn’t even see me coming, just like Jacobs and the others before him hadn’t. But they all had to pay for his part in this.
He was so arrogant, too arrogant.
I would make him sorry.
And I’d start by taking the people he cared about, and he would know what it was like to lose everything. Then, and only then would I end him.
One
July 14th
Camden
I glanced up from my phone as the door in front of me was pushed open and a couple emerged. I squeezed inside and glanced around the crowded place. Borracho was a hot spot on the weekends, but it was a rare Saturday night anymore that I got to hit the bars for anything resembling fun. Captain Richards was pissed as it was that I was breaking an eight-month cover, but I wasn’t about to miss my brother’s wedding, or his bachelor party for that matter.
I was tied up with work all morning and hadn’t broken free until about thirty minutes ago. I didn’t even stop off at home to clean up. I was running late, and wouldn’t be surprised to find that they’d already moved on to the next stop on this night of – I frowned. Debauchery was the word that came to mind, but there wasn’t likely to be any debauchery. That wasn’t Spence’s style. Not now that he was all about Nora.
That was alright with me. I could do without the strippers; I
was just pissed I’d missed out on the shooting shit portion of this celebration. They’d started the day out at one of our favorite places to do some target practice. I hadn’t been out there since Spence first came home when he was discharged after being wounded in combat.
Still, I was looking forward to throwing back a few cold ones with the guys. It was about a million times preferable to the filth I’d been wading in lately. This bust couldn’t happen soon enough. When the scum was behind bars, then, maybe then, all the shit from the past few months would be worth it.
I knew it would be. That’s why I kept doing it, case after case. No matter how ugly it got, what I saw, had to do, or ignore while I was undercover, when it was all over, they went down and I was left standing. Maybe not the same man I was before I took this job in vice. That was just another price that had to be paid in order to do this job, to get the filth off the streets and behind bars where they belonged.
But tonight wasn’t about work.
Tonight, work was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about.
A quick glance around let me know I was in the right place. They hadn’t moved on. My brother and his friends were seated around a long table near the bar. From the raucous laughter, I’d say they were already way ahead of me. I had some catching up to do.
“Cam!” My brother practically burst from his chair when he spotted my approach. “You made it!”
“Said I would.” I grinned and embraced my slightly inebriated big brother.
“I was starting to wonder.” He smacked me on the back and then we pulled apart.
“Yeah, sorry I’m a little late.” They’d started the festivities at noon, then met up with the girls at the laser tag arena, before splitting up for their respective party plans this evening.
“But you made it. Now come on and I’ll introduce you to the guys.” He dragged me to the table.
“You obviously already know Nikoli.” Spence and Markov had been friends since boot camp before they both joined up with the Rangers. Spence considered him as much of a brother as I was.
“And Bryan and Alex.” Our cousins tipped their bottles of Corona at me. “And Daryl.” The one buddy from high school I knew he kept in touch with.
“You’ve met Ray before, but this is Leon and Jason. They work for Teller too.” I could have guessed as much. They had that former military, mercenary look about them that all the guys at the private security firm had. We exchanged nods and I pulled out the one empty stool left at the table next to my brother.
“And this,” he gestured to the last guy at the table working on a plate of nachos, “is James.” We did the “hey” and nod thing, and then when he went back to the conversation he’d been having with my cousin, I turned to my brother and lowered my voice.
“As in the guy that wanted to steal your girl? You invited that guy to your wedding and bachelor party?” This may have been my first time meeting the guy, but not my first time hearing about him.
He just shrugged. “Nora’s idea, but he’s not so bad. Besides, I obviously won the girl, and I figure this is just further reminder for him. That, and I’m trying to convince him to join Teller’s crew.”
“Speaking of,” I glanced around, “where is the leader of the Justice League? Thought he’d be here.”
“Vick and the rest of the guys are all in the field, but they’ll be here next weekend for the wedding, barring the end of the world or any major disasters.” Considering the business they were in, the odds were fairly even on whether or not they’d make it.
I twisted around on my stool to face the bar and snagged the bartender’s attention. “I need a Born and Raised and a round of Tequila.”
“Would you like to try one of our infused tequilas?”
“Surprise us.” I winked and then twisted back around, clapping my brother on the shoulder. “Time to get this night started.”
He let out a low laugh. “I get the feeling you’re up to trouble tonight.”
I shrugged. “It’s my brother’s last week of bachelorhood. As your best man, it’s my sworn duty to see to it that you have a good time.” I intended to have one as well. It’d not only been way too long since I’d had a night out with my brother, but just a night out in general where I didn’t have to worry about keeping a cover intact, or plotting my way into the inner circles of hell.
“Just not too good a time. I’d like to be able to remember tonight in the morning.”
I laughed. “We’ll see.”
The bartender, who made sure to slip in that her name was Talia, brought my beer and passed the shots around the table. “This is our ghost pepper infused tequila,” she gave a wicked little grin.
A couple of groans rang out around the table.
“Man up, you pussies.” I grabbed the shot glass in front of me and raised it. The rest followed suit. “To my brother, who finally caved. Wasn’t sure I’d ever see the day he willingly settled down.” If something hadn’t gone wrong on that last op he refused to talk about, and put an end to his career with the military, I was sure he’d still be married to Uncle Sam. When he started working for Teller Corp, it was the same sort of deal. Committed only to his work.
Until Nora. She changed everything for him. From the little time I’d spent around her at Christmas, when Spence brought her over here and proposed, I completely got it. I also got why James must have been kicking himself at losing out on that one.
She was something else.
It was safe to say if Spence was taking the leap, I wholeheartedly approved of his chosen partner. She was good for him, and I knew our mother was delighted that he finally had a reason not to go throwing himself in front of so many bullets and chasing after terrorists and the lowest scum of the earth.
Only now, she’d be on my case more than ever.
I threw back the shot, trying my hardest not to wince as the pepper infused alcohol burned its way down my throat. I slammed the glass back down on the table, which was followed by several more clanks and a lot of cringing before everyone washed it down with beer.
“Remind me why I made you my best man.” My brother was shaking his head.
I flashed him a grin and threw back another swig of the IPA.
It was later in the evening, after several more bottles and a few more shots that we boisterously made our way across the street to Globe.
I threw my arm around Spencer’s shoulder. “Your feet getting cold at all?”
He shoved me off with an amused shake of his head. “Nope, they’re toasty warm, brother.”
I laughed. “Well if I haven’t said it already, I like her. If that means anything.”
“It does and I’m glad.”
“You’re a lucky man.”
I definitely wasn’t looking, but that didn’t mean if the right girl came along, I wouldn’t reconsider my stance on relationships. Might be nice to come home to a warm, home-cooked meal every once in a while. Even better would be knowing there was a woman keeping my bed warm. And someone besides my mother who gave a shit about whether I made it home at the end of the night. The only thing currently waiting for me was the empty apartment where I holed up while I worked this case.
Of course, given the job I did, it probably wouldn’t take long for any woman to get tired of the long, irregular hours. And that was on a good day. Other times it was days without contact. Not to mention the danger aspect. Not too many women could handle that. I couldn’t even imagine asking one to.
“Believe me, I’m aware.”
“Hey Spence,” Nikoli called, a few paces ahead of us. “Isn’t that your woman?” He was pointing to the party trolley in the street being pedaled by none other than my brother’s fiancé and a dozen other females, including . . . shit was that my mother and aunt?
The trolley stopped just ahead, in front of the same bar we were headed for. Their apparent struggles disembarking indicated they’d been enjoying the adult beverages as much as we had. We all stopped short to watch the spectacle.
/> They were laughing and teetering in their ridiculous heels. Even my mother was red-cheeked and giggling. I knew it wasn’t just due to the temperature that was still somewhere in the eighties even with the sun setting. Eastern Washington was having one hell of a summer.
They all managed to climb off and then Nora spotted us. Her eyes lit up, her hands fell to her hips and she grinned at my brother. She was a dark-haired beauty for sure, but I was more interested in the blonde next to her.
Tall for a girl, but not too tall that I couldn’t still tuck her under my chin. Five-nine, maybe – hard to tell in those heels. Toned legs a mile long in that little blue dress. Exactly the kind of woman I wouldn’t mind taking home for a night. But she was clearly one of Nora’s friends, so that complicated things a bit. But damn.
Most of Nora’s party started filing inside the bar, including my mother and aunt, and two other middle-aged women. Talk about a mood killer. Moms at a bachelor party. Nora she stood outside waiting on us. Her blonde friend stood back just a few feet, something cautious in her gaze as her eyes scanned our motley group. When her eyes met mine and she found them already on her, she quickly glanced away and headed inside Globe.
“What do you think you guys are doing crashing our party?” Nora blocked our path to the door.
“Crashing your party?” Nikoli sidled up to my brother. “The way I see it, you ladies are doing the crashing.”
“Nuh uh, we were here first.”
“Well maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you’d shared your plans,” Spencer grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in close, lowering his voice. “You want us to leave?”
Her face went all soft and I had to look away if they were going to get all romantic on each other.
“Hey you two, cut it out,” Ray called, but it had no effect on the pair.
“No, you guys can come in.”
Spence entwined their fingers and then we all made our way inside. I noticed James was talking to the blonde. Bastard.
I ignored them and turned to Nora. “What’s with the party bike?” It was definitely not my idea of a good time. Not in this heat.
Tears of Blue (Shades of Death Book 2) Page 1
