At All Costs (Whiskey Bend MC Series)

by KJ Dahlen

  Sam came over to the door and had his gun ready. He quietly placed the safety chain on and took up his position. The doorknob slowly turned back and when nothing else happened, he looked through the peephole again. He didn’t see anyone in the hall but he did see the outside door closing as if someone had just walked through it on their way outside.

  Sam rushed back over to the window and looked toward where the blue sedan had been parked. The blue sedan was gone. “Shit. He’s gone.”

  “What? He just drove away? That doesn’t make any sense. Why after watching us all afternoon why would he just drive away?” Molly asked. She seemed confused. She also seemed a little fearful. “Where did he go?”

  “I don’t know.” Sam reached for his phone. “I’d better call Captain Matthews and see if he can find him. I don’t like the fact that he can find us, stake out our motel and then disappear. He’s up to something and we have to figure out what.”

  “Matthews,” Kyle answered automatically.

  Sam identified himself and told him. “Cooper Connors just took off from his surveillance spot outside our motel. He disappeared for a moment and we saw the door handle to our room move then he was gone. Did you speak to Connors this afternoon by any chance?”

  “No, I didn’t. I’ve kept your activities to myself, but I’ve been thinking about this all afternoon. I just can’t see Cooper Connors killing anyone for money.”

  “Then how do you explain the fact that he didn’t exist until three years ago, and the fact that his partial fingerprint was found at a murder scene five years ago? Why has he been sitting outside our motel room for the last few hours in a blue sedan?”

  “Cooper doesn’t own a blue sedan, he has a red SUV.” Kyle thought about that for a minute. “Wait a second, I got a report of a vehicle missing from the impound lot a little while ago.” “What about the car?” Sam inquired. Then he heard paper shuffling over the phone.

  Kyle picked up the report and started skimming through it. “No it wasn’t a blue sedan. Someone spotted a car in the long term parking lot at the airport this morning and when they did a check on the license plates they found out the car should have been in the impound lot. But that car was a green two door, not a blue sedan.”

  Sam was silent for a moment while he thought about this information. “Check your records and see if there’s a blue sedan missing from your impound lot right now. That may be how he goes undetected. If he has access to any and all cars in the lot, no wonder the police could never find him.”

  “I’ll check and call you back in a few minutes. If this killer is Cooper I want him as much as you do,” Kyle assured Sam.

  Sam hung up and looked at Molly. He seemed unsettled and the more he thought about this latest wrinkle the more unsettled he became. “I have a feeling Kyle Matthews is going to find a blue sedan missing from the impound lot and unless Cooper left to return it, nobody will ever be the wiser that the car was even missing in the first place.”

  “This guy is good,” Molly admitted. “He’s so good it’s frightening.”

  “But this time he’s making mistakes and we’re catching him making those mistakes.” Sam narrowed his eyes. “Criminals like him just don’t make the kind of mistakes he’s making now without getting caught.” He shook his head. “He’s losing his edge. He knows it and he knows we know it too. We just have to be careful we don’t push him too far too fast. We don’t want to bring a blood bath to the streets of this city.”

  “Isn’t that when they’re the most dangerous?” Molly asked. “Aren’t they likened to a wild animal? When you back them into a corner they allow their animalistic instincts to take over and that’s when they’ll do whatever they have to do to get away.”

  Sam agreed with her. “That’s a very good point. If we have to, we let him get away. I’d rather have to track him down again, than let him murder people to get away.”

  His phone rang and when he answered it, he found Kyle on the line.

  “You were right. The impound lot is missing a blue sedan. What do you want us to do?”

  “Nothing. I don’t want you to do anything. Just stay away from here. I have a feeling Cooper feels very closed in right now, and I don’t want him feeling as if there’s no way for him to escape. Luna is the only loose end he thinks he has and he won’t leave town until all the loose ends are tied up.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Kyle asked. “You’re putting your life on the line and if you’re wrong, you could end up on the losing side,” he reminded him.

  “I know but Cooper has to be stopped. If I’m wrong and he gets away you have to call this report in to my boss. Tell him everything so they know who to start looking for.”

  Kyle hesitated, then said, “Maybe just to be safe you should leave the motel. If he even thinks you’re still there, he might try and do something to bring you out of hiding.”

  “You could be right. We’ll leave here and set up somewhere else.”

  “As much as I hate to say it, I hope you’re not wrong and that Cooper doesn’t get away.” Kyle sighed over the phone. “He needs to be stopped,”

  “I agree. You be careful tonight, anything can happen,” Sam warned him. “If Cooper even gets a hint you’re working with us, he won’t hesitate to kill you.”

  “You just keep yourself and Molly safe,” Kyle replied. “I’ll bet this case will bust open a whole slew of unsolved cases.” He paused then offered, “I can call Charlie Boone up in Whiskey Bend and have him keep an eye on your friend Luna if you like.”

  “Please do that,” Sam replied. “I’ve been trying to call her all morning and can’t get through to her. Tell her she needs to be careful. If we live through this, we still have to present our evidence to the DA and bring him in.”

  “What do you want me to do tonight?” Kyle asked.

  “Keep your schedule the same as it’s always been. Cooper can’t know that anything is different. If he even suspects you know about him he will kill you.”

  “I think you’re right about that. If anything happens tonight call me.”

  “I will. And you do the same. Stay out in the open with other people around you. Don’t go home alone, he might come after you because he wants to know how far this investigation is going.”

  ~*~

  Kyle hung up the phone as he stared through his office window. It was getting dark now. A crazier day he couldn’t have imagined. He grabbed his jacket and turned off the lights on his way out of the office. His heart was pumping in his chest and he could feel the adrenalin surging through his body. His fight or flight reaction was kicking in and it was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time.

  He made his way to the elevator for the underground parking lot. He stepped inside along with several other officers. When the elevator door opened, Kyle reached inside his pocket for his car keys.

  When he looked over at his car, his heart stopped. Sitting on the trunk was Cooper Connors. Kyle tried not to give away his fear but he hesitated briefly before he walked over to his car. “What can I do for you tonight?” Kyle asked as he inserted his key into the lock. He raised his eyes and looked directly at Cooper. Kyle’s heart stopped beating for a moment or to him that’s what it felt like. For the longest minute, he couldn’t even breathe, when he finally inhaled air, his chest hurt. He tried not to let his feelings show but he knew he had betrayed himself to Cooper.

  Cooper slipped his hand into his pocket and Kyle imagined he was reaching for his weapon.

  Cooper exhaled deeply and gave him a half smile. “Let’s take a ride.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I think we have a lot to talk about.”

  “I don’t think we have anything to talk about,” Kyle told him. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”

  “I have some business to take care of before I leave town.”

  “Yeah, I’ll just bet you do.” Kyle glared at Cooper. “I suppose I am now part of that business.”

  “I guess you are.
Let’s take that ride now.” Cooper insisted.

  Kyle got into his car.

  Cooper walked around to the passenger door and got in.

  He slowly started the car and slowly backed out of his parking spot.

  “Before you go all risking your life to save others, I think you should know something,” Cooper told him.

  “What would that be?” Kyle asked.

  “There is a bomb planted somewhere in the city and its due to go off in thirty minutes. It will kill and maim a large number of people unless I dial a number and disarm it.” His words were off-hand but there was an edge to them. He didn’t act nervous but he did look excited. “Now I know you could run this car into the wall and arrest me but then the bomb would go off and there would be chaos in the streets. I don’t usually use dynamite, I much prefer to kill one on one.”

  “But you would murder all those people just to get away, wouldn’t you?” Kyle asked.

  Cooper slowly nodded. He glanced out the window and told Kyle to take a left.

  Kyle eased into traffic. He drove where Cooper told him too and when they were alone in the dark of night Cooper told him to pull over. They were on a dirt road surrounded by woods. When Kyle stopped the car and turned off the engine Cooper turned in his seat to face the other man. Kyle didn’t want to look at Cooper. Kyle slipped one hand into his pocket and reached for his phone. He hit redial and hoped Sam would pick up his phone. Leaving the speaker part hanging out of his pocket he stared straight ahead.

  “First off, tell me why you went to my apartment this afternoon,” Cooper demanded.

  “What makes you think I was at your apartment?”

  “I saw you crossing the street in front of where I live, back to your car.”

  Kyle shrugged. “I heard something about you that I couldn’t believe was true and I wanted to check it out for myself.”

  “Did you find any answers in my apartment?”

  “No, as a matter of fact I didn’t,” Kyle said. “But now that you’re here maybe I’ll just come right out and ask you something.”

  “Sure, why not. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Cooper shrugged.

  “Are you a hit man?”

  Cooper snorted. He hated that term. “What kind of question is that?”

  “One I would like an answer to,” Kyle remarked.

  “What makes you think I’m a hit man?” Cooper raised a brow at him.

  “Luna Mathias went to see an old friend of yours. He told her a story about you. She put it together.” Kyle said.

  Cooper nodded. “I see. Who did she talk to?”

  “A man named Mike Denver. He’s dying in prison and wanted to tell the world about you. He thought the world should know you existed.”

  Cooper grinned. “And here I didn’t think Mike was worth the trouble of killing. I guess I should have killed him all those years ago when I had the chance. I just didn’t think he was worth the effort. I never thought he’d tattle on me.”

  “I guess he was trying to make up for some of the wrongs he’d done in his life.”

  “Doesn’t he realize he can never turn back the clock? What’s done is done and there is no going back.”

  “He knows he’s going to meet his Maker, and he wanted to set the record straight,” Kyle told him.

  “Mike was never anything more than a two-bit thief. What did he have to atone for?”

  After a moment or two Kyle asked, “You never did answer my question. Is everything Sam and Luna found true? Are you nothing more than a killer?”

  Cooper looked outraged. His face froze in anger. “What do you mean, nothing more than a killer?” He paused for a moment then said, “I guess it’s true. I am a killer but I am an exceptional killer. I am a killer who’s never been caught and I won’t be caught in this town either.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Kyle told him.

  Cooper sneered in contempt. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I just mean I think you’re going to have a hard time doing what you do best anymore. I think Luna has found a way to stop you, and I hope Sam can do it.”

  Cooper chuckled. “How the hell are they going to stop me? No one has even come close to stopping me yet and they aren’t going to now.”

  Kyle had to ask, “Why? I mean why do you kill?”

  Cooper turned to stare out the window. The darkness of the night surrounding them was how he felt in his heart. There was a nothingness inside him where his soul should have been. “What do you see outside right now?”

  Kyle was puzzled by this question. “It’s too dark to see anything.”

  “That’s right, you can’t see anything, but that’s what I live with every day, a deep, dark nothing. I was born to a woman who offered me nothing from the day I was conceived. She told me time and time again, she didn’t want me to even be born. To her, I was nothing to her but a reminder of something she wanted to forget. She treated me like I was dirt on her shoes and growing up I learned to hate her as much as she hated me.” Cooper hesitated then said, “I only ever wanted one thing from her and she wouldn’t tell me. In fact the day she died, she told me I would never know.”

  “What did you want to know?” Kyle asked.

  “I wanted to know who my father was. I wanted to know who fathered me so I could kill him.”

  “Why kill him?”

  Cooper hissed. He remembered the rage he had to live with every day. His mother had made his child hood a living hell and he wanted someone else to feel that kind of rage, even if only for a moment. “I wanted him to know a moment of the fear and hatred I spent a lifetime enduring. I wanted him to know I was returning the favor. He wanted nothing to do with me from before the day I was born, and I want him to know what the feeling meant, even if it was for a brief time.”

  “So now what? Is this where you kill me or are we going to make small talk all night?” Kyle asked after a few minutes of silence.

  “Are you that eager to die?” Cooper wanted to know.

  “Not really but I know it’s coming,” Kyle said.

  “Yeah, it’s coming. Aren’t you even curious as to how I’m going to kill you or why?”

  “I know why. I know too much about you now and because I do, I have to die to keep your secret. But before you kill me I want you to know something.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “I want you to know I think you are one sick person. You are nothing more than dirt on someone’s shoe. You think because your mother treated you like crap you can treat the whole world that way. Instead of making a difference and bettering yourself, you are treating the world like your own damn killing field. You’re putting the blame for your crappy life on a man you don’t even know and may never find out who he really is. I know I won’t be there to see you stopped, but I’m praying Sam can stop you. I hope he puts you down like the dog you are, vicious and without pity.”

  Cooper’s face contorted with rage as he reached for the knife in the sheath on his belt. “You bastard, no one talks like that to me and lives!” He snarled.

  Kyle hardly felt the sharp blade as it sliced through his neck.

  ~*~

  Cooper barley felt the warm blood as it flowed over his hand. Again, he felt nothing as the life left his companion’s body. Most of the people he murdered he didn’t know but he should have felt something for this victim. He’d known this man for three years, worked with him, spoke to him almost every day. It bothered him that he felt nothing now. Oh, yes, for a few seconds he felt rage, then the emptiness came back.

  Cooper got out and went around the car. Then opened the door on Kyle’s side and caught the body as it fell out the door. He pulled the body out and dumped it in the grass. He wiped the knife on Kyle’s shirt and put it back into his sheath. He got in the car and headed back to town.

  ~*~

  Sam closed his phone and knew in his heart Kyle Matthews was dead. When the call came in, he had been surprised when Kyle hadn’t answered with
his hello like usual, but as he listened, he’d been stunned.

  Sam closed his phone and rubbed his hand along his forehead. He felt sick to his stomach. “Cooper just murdered Kyle Matthews.”

  Molly brought her hands up to cover her checks. “Oh, my god...” Then her lips tightened in anger. “I guess there is little doubt now about his guilt. Did Kyle say anything about how we can find the place Cooper murdered him?”

  Sam shook his head. “No I think he drove a little way out of town. I heard him say something about it being completely dark where they were.”

  “We have to call the police,” Molly said. “They might have a way to trace Kyle’s phone or something.”

  Sam reached for his phone. He knew they didn’t have too much time to retrace the call. “They might but I want Benny to track his last call. We don’t know who we can trust in the police department.” He paused then added, “I also need to call Charlie Boone and tell his about this latest murder. Cooper will be going after Luna at some point. She may be next, in fact.” Hanging his head, he felt terrible about what just happened to Captain Kyle Matthews. He swore under his breath, “Damn that mother fucker. Damn him to hell.”

  Chapter Twelve

  It was late in the day when someone knocked on Aries’ door. The sound woke them up from the light sleep they had fallen into after their third session between the sheets.

  Aries groaned and got up reaching for his jeans. Luna pulled up her pants and was reaching for her shirt when he opened the door.

  Lucifer stood there with a frown on his face when he saw his brother. Looking over Aries’ shoulder, he saw Luna pulling her clothes on. Shaking his head, he growled, “Charlie is here with an update.” Then he turned and walked down the hall.

  Aries and Luna joined everyone in the main room. The mood was somber and there was a high rate of tension hanging over everyone. Aries sat down and Luna sat down next to him.

  Aries looked around at the group then addressed his President, “What’s going on here Lucifer?”

  Lucifer nodded at Charlie. “He brought us some disturbing news from LaDonna.”