by K. J. Dahlen
“She saw the tattoos, she heard them speaking in their native language. Then we were almost ready to leave when Ben knocked on the door. When we asked who was there, Ben called out and Willow freaked. We put her and Phoebe in the bathroom and let him in. We spoke for a few minutes then he left. Gage saw him get into a car with three other men and drive away.”
“What was Willow doing while this went on?”
“She was seriously freaking out,” Michael told him.
“Why?”
“Because Ben’s voice hadn’t changed at all in sixteen years. She remembered him from the day her grandfather died.”
“How could she know him?”
“Because he was there at the cabin that day. He helped carry a dead Viper out of the cabin.”
“What the fuck?” Kenn’s face paled. “What do you mean he was there?”
“Ben is working for the Vipers,” Michael stated. “She identified him without seeing him. She told us about the scar on his cheek and the tattoo on his hand.” He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at Kenn for a moment. “I realize people change over time but scars and tattoo’s do not. The sound of his voice threw her back to when she was a child and her grandpa told her not to speak. She lost her voice again and I’m not sure she’ll get it back a second time.”
“Where is she?” Kenn asked.
“She left this morning with Gage. They are on his bike. We decided to split up. I brought her friend, Phoebe with me and Judson brought Phoebe’s car. We figured they couldn’t follow all of us. We’re supposed to meet later in Falls Church.”
“Is everyone safe?”
Michael nodded. “Judson is already waiting for us. Gage called earlier and said he and Willow were checking out a long shot. If they find anything, they will let us know.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what he meant by that but I wanted to inform you in person, that you have a traitor in your office as soon as I could.”
Kenn shook his head. “Yeah, always good news in this job.” He let out a disgusted sigh. “Since he left you, Ben hasn’t been answering his phone either. After your call this morning, I tried to call him to bring him back but he never answered.” He sneered. “It seems he’s joined the enemy and now, he isn’t trying to hide it anymore.”
Michal looked around the little house. “Yeah, I do know that we can’t stay here long. Ben or someone else in the office might know about this place. I need somewhere safe to go through all the stuff we had before and get caught up.”
Kenn reached into his pocket and brought out a flash drive. “This is what we’ve found in the last five years. I’m not sure now if the information has been compromised or not.”
Michael accepted the drive. “I can run it down. I still have a contact or two that I know I can trust.”
Kenn reached into his pocket again and brought out a key. “Harper gave me a place for you to go. I sure didn’t know you’d need it this soon. The house belonged to an aunt of hers. It’s been empty for a while now, so it should be safe. She said she would come when it was safe. No one at the office knows about the house.”
Chapter Five
Gage felt the hum of the engine between his thighs as they went down the road. Willow’s arms wrapped around him and it felt good. They hadn’t gone far when he felt her tap his shoulder and point toward the rest area. He nodded then pulled over. He rode around to the back of the building and shut down the engine. He watched as she got off and began to pace behind him. “Why did we stop?” he finally asked.
Willow paused then tried to speak but the words wouldn’t come. Tears welled in her eyes and she tried again.
Gage grabbed her and hugged her close. Whispering in her ear he said, “Take a deep breath. Now calm down and try again.”
Willow took a deep breath and felt herself calm. Grabbing her throat she whispered, “We have to go back.”
Gage frowned. “Go back where?”
“To my grandpa’s,” she whispered.
Gage cocked his head to one side. “Why? What’s there?”
Willow remained determined. “Maybe nothing but maybe everything. I can’t explain it but I have a feeling there is something there we need.”
“Whatever was there is long gone by now.” Gage shrugged.
She shook her head. “Or it’s been hidden for a very long time. You just have to know where to look.”
“So what do you think is there?”
Willow shrugged. “I don’t know but there was a reason my grandfather didn’t sell his merchandise to these people and there was a reason they killed my family. I think it’s time that reason was known. I have to know why they murdered my family. They could have stopped after the first time but they didn’t. They came back after two freakin years and killed the rest of them.”
He just stared at her for the longest time before he nodded. “Ok, let’s find out. As long as you understand whatever reason they had might no longer be there.”
Willow grinned. “You didn’t know my grandpa. When he hid something, it damn well stayed hidden, unless you knew where to look. Whatever they were after, they didn’t find it.”
Gage looked hesitant. “Yeah, but you were only a kid back then, what makes you think you can find it?”
“Let’s find out.”
He shrugged. “What else could there be? I mean you already got the book.”
“I don’t know that we’ll find anything else but we have to look. My grandpa was a stubborn man. He had a reason for everything he did. He couldn’t always explain the why but for some reason, he didn’t trust this group. He trusted his instincts. He told me once just before he died that he hadn’t trusted them the first time he met them but the club wanted to do business with them, so he went along. Then when he should have delivered the guns, he went back on his word. He never broke his word before. He was known to be honorable that way but he didn’t go through with the deal this time. He told me that’s what got my parents killed. The Vipers murdered my family because he wouldn’t deliver the guns they wanted.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away with angry hands as she remembered the past. “My grandpa took me and what was left of his family and disappeared. He wasn’t hiding but preserving his family. When the Vipers found them again, he knew his time was up, so he did the only thing he could. He hid me and made his stand. They were outnumbered ten to one that day but he took some of those bastards to hell with him. Before the shooting started, he told me something I didn’t understand back then. I’m not sure I understand it now either, but he told me to survive, to do whatever I had to, to live so I could tell the truth one day. Someone had to tell the world what the future had in store. Someone had to survive to cut the head off the snake.”
Gage studied her face as he listened.
She shook her head again. “I don’t know what that means but I have a feeling my grandpa knew something. He never told me what it was but he knew I would go back and try to find whatever he hid. He gave me just enough to make sure I did.”
Gage stared at her for a long moment then exhaled deeply. “Ok, let’s go find out if there is something there. I don’t know what we’ll find but I trust you. It’s a long trip there so we’d better get on our way.”
As the sun was going down, Kenn pulled into the driveway outside a house on Bryant Street. The house looked like any other house on that particular street. They’d just got out of the car when another car pulled into the driveway.
Harper Lamb jumped out of the car and grabbed Michael. She hugged him tight. “I’m so glad you came back!” She let him go and glanced at Judson, Phoebe and Kenn. “Sorry, I’m just glad to see him back. We need him to figure this out.” Then her eyes found Snickerdoodles.
Michael smiled. “I’m glad to be back, at least I think I am.” He turned to the dog. “Snicker, meet Harper.”
When the dog held up his paw, Harper grabbed it and shook it. Snicker licked her hand and wagged his tail. Harper chuckled, then turned serious. “I had the
bomb squad pick up the bomb at the other house. They were very interested in it. They’ve have five other bombs like that go off in the past three years.” She stared at Michael. “They also said you were very lucky when you took it off the car. One wrong snip with your knife and it would have blown up.”
Michael smiled. “Then it’s a good thing I knew what I was doing, isn’t it?” He turned to Phoebe. “Phoebe, this is Harper. She works in the office I used to work at five years ago.” Turning to Harper he said, “Harper, this is Phoebe. We met her yesterday when she warned us about the bomb under the truck.”
Harper smiled at Phoebe. “Thank goodness you saw it before it had a chance to do its thing. Thank you for saving them.”
Phoebe blushed. “I didn’t do it, my friend Willow saw it. She’s the one that saved their lives.”
“Let’s get inside before we draw too much attention from the neighbors,” Kenn grumbled. When they were all inside, Kenn turned to Harper. “I want to keep this location between just you and I. I don’t want anyone else in the office to know where Michael is.”
“You got it,” Harper said. Shaking her head she commented, “I still can’t believe Ben is a traitor. He’s the last person I would have thought of doing that. There’s a box of office supplies out in the trunk of my car. I just grabbed what I could.” She turned to Judson and Michael. “I’ll run past the grocery store before I go home and pick you guys up some food. Just let me know what you like.”
Kenn shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s almost dark and we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves, so I’m going to take off.” He glanced at Harper. “Give me the keys to your car and you can take mine.”
Harper tossed him the keys and caught his in return. “I’ll meet you in the office in the morning.”
Kenn and Judson went outside and a few minutes later, Judson came back carrying a small box. He carried it into the kitchen and began to unpack reams of paper, several notebooks, pens, push pins and markers. He picked up one of the tablets and began a list of food they would need.
Harper glanced at Michael in the quiet interim. “I’m glad you’re back, I just wish it could have been under better circumstances.”
Michael grinned. “Me too.” He looked around the house. “Does your aunt mind us being here?”
“No…My aunt left it to me when she died six months ago. I just haven’t done anything with it yet. When Kenn called me this morning, I told him to bring you guys over here. I figured it was safe here. The house is still in my aunt’s name and no one at the office knew her.”
Michael turned to her and said, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear she died. And thanks. Judson was followed the other day all the way to Wisconsin and back and then we found a bomb under my truck in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to take any chances we’d be spotted again.” He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. “This is my email address. When you add it to your computer, don’t put my name on it. If whoever is watching your office taps into your email, I don’t want them to find it. Share it with only Kenn. I’m going to ask you not to come back here again. If someone is following you guys, I don’t want them to find us here.”
Harper glanced at her friend and nodded. “Okay, once I get your food and then I’ll stay away.”
Judson joined them and handed the list to Michael.
Michael looked it over and added a few more things then handed it to Harper. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. “Make sure the receipt is in the bags and when you come back, pull into the garage before you get out of the car. I don’t want anyone to see you. Be careful you aren’t followed here.”
Harper smiled. “Yes, Mr. Bossy Boots. I think I know the drill.”
Michael walked over to her and grabbed her by the arms. “Sweetheart, it only takes one slip up. You may not even notice you’re being followed. If they find us here, we’re dead and so is any chance we have of stopping them.”
Harper pulled her arms free from his grasp and looped them around his neck. “I know and I would never let that happen. I’ll be careful,” she whispered. Then she patted his cheek, turned and disappeared through the front door.
They heard her car roar to life and back out of the driveway.
Judson turned to Michael. “You really know how to spoil a mood, don’t you?”
Michael walked to the front door and closed it quietly. He turned to Judson. “I’m not here for pleasure, mine or hers, besides that, there isn’t anything between us but friendship. I’m here to stop a terrorist, but first I have to find him.” He went out to the kitchen and set up his computer. When he hooked up the printer, he began copying his files. While they printed out, Michael went back to the living room and pulled the drapes closed. He then moved the sofa away from the wall and began taking down Harper’s aunt’s pictures and what not.
When the wall was cleared, Michael went to his grab bag and the original file he started five years ago. He began pinning everything up on the wall. When he came to the pictures of his wife and daughter he paused for a moment, then began pinning them up too. While he did that he could feel Phoebe’s eyes watching him. She didn’t say much but she was watching.
Judson came in with a handful of new reports and began pinning them beside the others. When he saw the crime scene photos, he could barely look at them. They brought nothing but bad memories. Within forty-five minutes, they had everything up on the wall. They had worked silently and efficiently. It was almost like old times.
A few minutes later, Harper came in from the garage with a couple of bags of groceries. When she saw what they had done, she looked amazed. “You guys didn’t waste any time, did you?” Her question faded when her eyes found the photos of Melissa and Kelly. She looked stunned. No one in the office other than Judson and Kenn had seen them before. She put the bags on the floor and walked closer. Tears welled in her eyes as she went from one photo to another.
Michael went over to the bags and picked them up. He carried them back to the kitchen and began unpacking them.
Phoebe grabbed the rest and followed him.
Harper glanced at Judson and asked quietly, “How does he stand it?”
Judson shrugged. “He just does.” He gazed at the photos and shook his head. “Maybe he came back here for revenge, or for the chance to find their murderers. Quite frankly, I don’t care why he came back. I do know one thing…he won’t stop until he does find them. It’s the only way he’ll come to terms with Melissa and Kelly’s deaths. He hasn’t done that yet and for the healing process to begin, he has to be at peace.”
“I can understand that,” Harper said. “So who’s the woman? I’ve never known you guys to work with anyone new.”
Judson shrugged and glanced toward the kitchen. “She has a friend who went up against the Vipers a long time ago. A lot longer than we realized they were even here. We found them six years ago but we found out they’ve been here about twelve years before that.”
“Are you kidding me?” Harper was shocked. “How could that be?”
Judson shrugged. “I don’t know but that’s something Michael is going to find out.” Then he remembered something and turned to her. “If anyone at all calls the office looking for me, tell them I’m on assignment and can’t be reached. Don’t, under any circumstances, give out a phone number or address to anyone. You can let us know they called and we’ll verify it on our end. I don’t want anyone knowing Michael is back for any reason.”
Harper nodded. “Okay, I understand. I bought you guys a Trac phone. It can’t be traced.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “I’d better head on home. Everything has to look like normal.” She glanced at the photos again and reached out to Judson, placing her hand on his arm. “Take care of him and yourself. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Judson vowed. “It won’t.”
Harper made her way to the kitchen and found Michael had bro
ught all the bags in from the car. He was standing at the kitchen sink looking outside, smoking a cigarette.
Phoebe was sitting quietly at the table.
Harper walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She kissed the back of his neck and turned to leave without saying a word.
Michael stared out the window for another moment or two, then threw what was left of his cigarette in the sink. He braced his hands on the counter and closed his eyes. He had to steel his heart so he could do his job. This was the first time in five years he’d looked at the pictures of Melissa and Kelly.
He smiled when he turned and saw a couple of bottles of Black Velvet and a fresh carton of cigarettes on the counter. Shaking his head, he removed a couple pairs of jeans and a couple shirts next. When he came to the phone, he checked it and found Harper’s number already on it.
Judson came into the kitchen and looked at all the stuff on the table. “Wow, she didn’t miss a trick, did she?”
Michael tossed him the Trac phone. “No, she didn’t. Why don’t you start supper and I’ll get this stuff put away?”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’m getting hungry anyway.”
Phoebe didn’t say anything. She’d been sitting on the sofa earlier watching everything happen. “I can cook supper,” she volunteered. “I’m sure you guys have other things to do and I need something to keep from worrying about Willow.”
Michael and Judson nodded.
“Gage called earlier,” Michael told her. “She is fine, by the way. They are going back to where her grandfather lived. She thinks there might be something more there, something her grandpa had hidden.”
Phoebe nodded. “I thought she was nuts when she told us we had to go to there a week ago. I told her whatever she left there was gone a long time ago but the damn book was right where she left it all those years ago. She said she didn’t know what the book was but she needed to get it.”
“Do you really think there’s more stuff hidden?” Michael asked.
