“What makes you say that?”
“You obviously still have feelings for her and she has feelings for you, but you two are no longer together. It makes one wonder what occurred. It’s not mentioned in any file. I need to know if her being here is going to affect your work.”
“Why would it?”
“Because,” he began as he leaned back in his chair, “A woman you care for puts her life in danger on a daily basis. What will happen to your mental state if something happens to her?”
“Sir, I can assure you that I will remain just as cold as I am now.”
He nodded. “You are free to go now. And Jones, you should know that tomorrow we are going on a hunt. I want you and Strider to work together.”
“Yes sir,” he said as he turned away and left.
The station was bare. He felt tired and ready to turn in for the night. He knew tomorrow could be even longer than today.
§
Hazel heard Arianna wake up. She watched as the sunlight began trickling through the blinds and yawned. She hadn’t realized how long she had stayed awake. She’d forgotten her kitchen clock showed the wrong time. She’d been out of replacement batteries for it for months.
Arianna walked into the room, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Were you up all night?”
“Yeah, I stayed awake. Cases like this can make it difficult to sleep. I just want to make sure that I know everything. I don’t need any loose ends.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
Hazel nodded. “It still haunts me, but I had no other option. He was a high risk. If he didn’t die, he would’ve killed other people.” Memories came back to her, but she pushed them away. She had killed him the year she became a cop.
“I know my family kills a lot of people,” said Arianna. “But I never said anything to anyone about it.”
“Why would you? You were probably afraid of them.”
“Yes, but wasn’t hiding in the shadows just as cowardly?”
“No. You did what you felt you had to in order to survive and now you have to worry about your baby.”
“I am speaking out because I don’t want my baby to grow up learning how to be a killer.”
She was not sure that warranted a response. “I have some money that you can use. It should be able to last you for a month or so. By then this case should be over.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
After Arianna got ready, she gave her the car keys, wad of money and directions to the Atlanta house. She had been saving money for the past year for emergencies ˗ roughly seven grand - of which she gave Arianna a few thousand.
Walking downstairs with Arianna, she made sure nothing looked amiss. She watched as Arianna drove away. She was unsure how safe Arianna truly was, but leaving the state was the only thing she could think of that could help her.
Heading back upstairs, she began reading some more files. But she needed to wake up and thought a cold shower might help. After she finished and was drying off, she heard a knock on her door. She wrapped the towel around her and headed for the living room. She saw Owen standing there alone and opened the door for him. He looked exhausted.
“I can always come back,” he said, seeing her half naked. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” He had coffee in his hands and something else.
“It’s fine,” she said showing him into her apartment. “I just need to put on some clothes. I’ll be right out.”
When she realized he’d spotted the papers on her coffee table, she mentally slapped herself on the forehead. She hadn’t been ready for him to know she was wise to the other cases. Owen glanced at her and just shrugged. “I knew you’d find these,” he said as he sat down. “What are your thoughts?”
“That the first three were personal. Owen, why are you here exactly? Are you trying to get information out of me?”
“No, I am attempting to have a normal conversation with you. I guess that is too hard to ask.”
“No, it isn’t that. I am just annoyed with you. As of lately, you are a stranger to me on top of which this is weird for me.” She changed the subject quickly. “This place is a mess,” she said, looking at all the paperwork taking up her living room.
“You should see my place. You’d have to go in there with a shovel just to walk around.”
She smiled and walked back to her room. Getting dressed, her mind was going a million miles an hour. She tucked her shirt into her pants and walked back out. Owen was looking at her shelves.
“You still have these pictures?”
“Why would I take them down?”
He was silent and knew why he was thinking like that. “Owen, despite everything, I still love you. I am not going to deny that to myself or anyone that we had something.”
“Why did you push me away?”
“You know that answer,” she said firmly. “Why didn’t you fight to stay?”
“I thought that if I fought, it would ruin us forever. You were so angry and so sad, I didn’t know how to go ahead and get past it. I didn’t know what to do.”
He got up and walked towards her, tilting her chin up when he reached her. She felt as his finger made its way down her neck to the chain that held the ring he’d given her years ago. “You have never been with anyone since then, have you?”
“No. I know you have though, with Barbie.”
Chuckling, he finally was serious once more. “I can’t deny that, but you should know that it was nothing – it was just something to fill my emptiness.”
She nodded and she pushed him away lightly. She was not going to get involved with him. Not now. She knew it would be very difficult to be part of this. “Owen, we can’t do this.”
He nodded. “Well, I brought you some food and I’ll be heading out. I’m going to be working with one of the other guys in my unit. There are a few things we need to do.”
“Make sure you bring Nate home safely.”
“I will, and that is a promise I won’t break.”
She watched him as he left. Emptiness swelled inside her chest. She knew that she could not have him, and that was probably a good thing. She was not the type of woman to settle down and have a family. Having her own family would be distracting, plus why would she want to bring a child into this crazy world?
Looking in the bag Owen brought, she saw two doughnuts. He still remembered which kind she favored. Nibbling on her food, she was worried about everything that was happening. She had been the reason Nate escaped, and despite him leaving, she still should have done something to protect him. She knew that the raid on the factory had not been successful. The criminals were a step ahead of them and now she was wondering who the person was behind all of it. She disliked being in the dark and the moment that she exposed the person responsible she was going to bring him down.
Chapter 9
At the station, she saw her stepfather in his office having a heated discussion with Reese Losito. He was one of the men who had helped orchestrate the undercover operation that Nate was part of. Losito was one of those men who knew he was good at his job, but he was modest about it. No one really knew that much about him, but then again it was probably for a reason. People who have seen the worst that the job has to offer tend to keep away from others.
Hazel knocked on her stepfather’s door. Thankfully, the argument between both men had ended and her stepfather let her inside. He seemed to be extremely upset and she wondered what was going on. “Did anyone tell you what happened out at the factory?”
“No. I know they didn’t find Nate, but that was all.”
“I need you off this case, Hazel.”
“Why?”
“Losito brought this in,” he said slapping pictures on his desk. “These are pictures of you. We were also sent pictures of Jacob and Percy. If we don’t back off, they will get you too.”
Hazel paused for a moment and a question came to mind. “What did they leave behind?”
“How did you get to that conclusion?”
“You are terrible at hiding things from me. Plus they had to leave something that would make you want me to back down. What are they doing to Nate that is so terrifying that we have to back off all of a sudden?”
“They ...” he began but stopped. She knew he wasn’t able to say anything. She felt tears begin to form and knew she couldn’t cry but wanted to so badly.
“They cut off three of his fingers. We were informed that he was still alive when they cut them off. Hazel, you look like you haven’t slept. Please go home and get some sleep.”
“I won’t rest until I make them all suffer.”
“You need sleep. There is nothing else you can do today as it is.”
“There are hundreds of things I could do right now.”
“And sleeping is on the top of that list,” he said firmly. “You are going to our house and your mother is going to take care of you. She will make sure you’re okay.”
She rolled her eyes. Her mother was good at making sure people were okay. She was good at getting them to feel better and to sleep, but it wasn’t fair that he was making her mother watch her. She was twenty-five and could take care of herself.
§
In the darkness, Nate was in pain. His hand was throbbing, but the bleeding had finally ceased. He knew something was going on, something big, because it was putting all of them on edge. He wondered how close they were to finding him yesterday. He wondered if he would be able to walk away from this and see a tomorrow that included his family. Cecily walked into the room.
The only light was coming from the door. He saw his face twisted in a nasty snarl. He grabbed Nate by the shirt. “Where would you tell my sister to go? Our informant said she disappeared. Did you set up a safe place for her?”
Nate was silent. He didn’t know where she would go, but he’d told her who to trust. Cecily punched him hard in the ribs and Nate groaned as the breath blew out of him. It had been very difficult to breathe lately. They had surely broken a rib or two the last time they worked him over, but he wasn’t about to give in now. He knew he could hang on and count on his family to figure out everything. That was something he could trust.
“I will kill your entire family,” Cecily screamed.
Snapping his fingers, someone else entered. “Do you recognize this?” the other man growled, shoving a photograph into his hand.
Nate knew this picture well – it was back in high school and Hazel had been the one to take it. Nate watched as he flipped it over and saw his sister’s handwriting on the back of it.
“My guy was in her apartment yesterday,” Cecily said with a sinister smile on his face. “He can get inside any home. I will make sure he kills your sister, slowly and painfully. I will make him record it for you to watch.”
“Good luck with that. Hazel is smart enough to stay ahead of you.”
“Keep telling yourself that. We know how to get to her and the rest of your family. We will kill them all.”
He fell silent once more. There was no point in arguing with them. These threats were very real. He knew that they would hurt is family, but he also knew something about his family that no one else knew – they would defend their own, and they would kill anyone who was a threat.
§
Hazel was sitting in her old bedroom. As tired as she was, she still wanted to be out there working on the case, but knew that it was near impossible to do. Her brain felt like it had been fried. Her mother appeared in the doorway.
“Sweetie, is everything alright?”
“Of course, Mom. I am just not used to relaxing when I know so much still needs to be done.”
Her mother sat down next to her and took her hand. “You do know that you need your rest. Even a few hours of sleep is better than none, and if you’d like I can make you my special brew.”
She loved how nurturing her mother was. She had a remedy for just about everything, even sleep. There was a tea she made from her herbs that made you sleepy. Hazel never knew what was added to it, but it always did the trick.
“I will take a cup.”
Her mother squeezed her hand and left for the kitchen. As Hazel looked around her room, she saw one of her favorite things. It was a stuffed animal that Owen won for her a year before they started going out. She remembered Nate ditching them and Hazel had wanted the stuffed giraffe more than anything. He told her he would win it for her, and he did.
Her mother returned with the warm cup of tea and she sipped it. She bent down to kiss her daughter goodnight and left the room. Despite being an adult, she still enjoyed being treated like a child.
§
Frustrated, Owen was sitting in the car with Strider. They were following David Mathis around the city. Hazel had taken an instant dislike to him, and he had to admit he shared her opinion of the man. After digging into his past, they had found he had unexplained holes in his life throughout the years. It was worth investigating, and even Brooks thought it was highly possible David Mathis was dirty.
They followed him throughout the morning but he did nothing that alerted any suspicion. He seemed to be a normal man. “This is a waste of time,” Strider complained. Strider was new in their group and seven years younger than Owen.
“We have to do this,” Owen said. “Every lead counts.”
Strider rolled his eyes while Owen continued to drive. Eventually David Mathis met up with his gorgeous, much younger wife. Owen watched her closely and saw that she was afraid of him. They watched as an argument broke out and when she turned to leave, he grabbed her.
She had broken free from his grip and went inside slamming the door shut. David attempted to open the door but it was locked. The rage he had was alarming.
Phase Two of their plan could now be implemented. He called Braggs. Her talent was going to be useful now. Soon they would be finished with the hunt. Hopefully after that, they would have all the information they needed to bring Nate home safely.
§
She was engulfed in darkness and unable to move. Her hands were bound and something was taped over her face. She wasn’t able to scream. She tried to free herself but was unable to do so. She looked around the empty room trying to locate something that would help free her. Then a bright light came from above, illuminating the room in which she was captive. Someone was coming towards her with a sinister smile on his face. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to fight him.
The glint of a blade caught her attention and she heard him speak. “You are filth, and people such as yourself deserve to die.”
She felt the cold blade touch her fingers. She felt as pressure was applied and a pain came over her. If she could scream, she would have. She felt her fingertips being removed and wanted the pain to stop. She would give anything for it to stop. Warm tears streamed down her face.
He grabbed something from his pocket, and it was another knife. One side of it was smooth and the other side was jagged. She felt him lean over her and stab her. It went inside her body and soon breathing was no longer an option. She felt like giving in, then he removed the bloody knife from her body. The pain she was in was agonizing. He pressed the bloodied knife to her throat and she looked into his eyes.
She woke up staring at her mother. A look of concern was written all over her face. Hazel’s hand went to her throat, but there was nothing there. The pain she had was only a dream.
“What happened?”
Hazel shook her head. “It was just a bad dream, Mom.”
“You screamed like you were being murdered. Hazel, what was it about?”
Should she tell her mother? If she did, her stepfather would be informed. She did not want anyone else knowing about this.
“Mom, I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Her mother nodded and began to leave, knowing Hazel needed to be alone. Hazel walked into the hallway and felt as if she was going to be sick. She turned
on the sink faucet splashing water on her face. These nightmares had started when she’d gotten this case. She’d never seen anyone mangled like that and it stuck with her.
She opened the bathroom door to find Lisa standing there waiting for her. “Are you alright?”
Lisa wasn’t going to dismiss this so easily. “Hazel, I have been working with you for years. What is going on?”
“Bad dreams,” she said simply.
Hazel shut her bedroom door and sat on the floor, pressing her knees to her chest. Warm tears streamed down her face. She wanted to be strong, but somehow she wasn’t able to.
§
Later the next day, her mother drove her home. She was reluctant to do so, but Hazel had won that argument. The entire car ride was in silence. Instead of just heading back home after dropping Hazel off, her mother walked upstairs with her. As they walked into her apartment, her mother shook her head in disgust.
“What?” Hazel asked, annoyed.
“You live in a dump,” her mother said. “You deserve so much better than this.”
“It works,” she said. “For the price and the location, it’s fine.”
Her mother walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “This is your version of groceries?”
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “I’m not home often. This is all I need.”
Her mother grabbed a jug of milk and turned it to check the expiry date. “This milk expired two weeks ago. And what is this?” she said picking up a brown bag. “Do I even want to know what’s in it?”
“I don’t remember. But look, I have soup in the cabinet.”
Showing her mother her arsenal of soup, her mother’s eyebrows rose. “Hazel, ramen is not soup. It’s flavored noodles.”
“So? It’s something edible.”
Her mother rolled her eyes and shook her head. “We are going grocery shopping later.”
Hazel shook her head. “I don’t need groceries, Mom. This is fine. I can function with this.”
“Oh, since you put it like that,” she said sarcastically. “You need real groceries and I am going to make sure that you have just that.”
Shoot to Kill Page 9
