by K. M. Hodge
It didn’t take long for their kisses and touches to escalate. He helped her remove the fabric that stood in the way of achieving their mutual goal. The roar of lust in his ear, like a squall, drowned out the small voice of logic that said he should ask about protection.
Then it was too late. He rode the waves of their mutual passions all the way to the shore, where they lay quaking in the wake.
***
Charles pulled a cigarette out of his pack and lit it up under the darkening afternoon sky. He took short puffs and let the smoke leak out the side of his mouth. Soon, the nicotine started to do its thing and he relaxed.
Jason’s reaction hadn’t surprised him. The man’s admirable caution and level-headedness was why he’d managed to survive this long. Still, everything would go according to plan; Sally would manage to get him on board—be a team player. Any fool could see he loved the woman and would do anything for her. Charles had always respected Jason’s unselfish devotion to the women he loved—first for Kat and now for Sally. Charles had learned too late the cost of his selfishness, yet even with Katherine long gone, he did all of this for her. She would never know, but he would.
His assistant, Weston, walked towards him. “There have been some reports on the location of the target, sir.”
“Thank you, Weston. Leave them on my tablet. I’ll look them over tonight.”
“As you wish.”
Charles watched as his servant walked back into the estate, his gilded prison for the last eighteen years.
I should have killed Scott back then.
He tried not to think about those days. His therapist warned him against falling into his old patterns and falling victim to his reactive rage. The anger lay deep inside, mostly dormant, but he knew it wouldn’t take much of a spark to bring the fires of his anger back to life.
He took a slow deep breath and thought of Katherine, and a calm fell over him. His love for her had never faltered. Even years ago, when he couldn’t control himself, when he hurt her, he had loved her with a fierceness.
Her twin brother, on the other hand, loved no one but himself. He and the rest of The Syndicate had left Charles out to dry. The men Charles murdered had deserved it, but the death of the CIA spy, and what happened to Katherine, weighed on his conscience daily. He’d stepped forward and manned up—paid for his crimes—but Scott roamed the earth free to threaten and hurt anyone in his path.
Scott needed to be stopped, but the police and the FBI failed to bring justice to fruition. The time for vigilante justice was now. For Katherine’s sake, Charles would do what needed to be done, even if it meant he would need to go back to prison.
“Can I bum a smoke?”
Charles turned to see Manny stepping into the soft glow of the porch light. “Sure.” He pulled out a pack of cigarettes with a lighter inside and tossed it to Manny, who caught it one-handed. Impressive.
The former agent lit up and tossed the pack back to Charles.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a smoker, Old Man.”
“Shut the fuck up, Charles. I know everyone around here seems to have forgotten what a scumbag you are, but I haven’t. You’re a fucking murderer.”
“Who better to send out after a killer than someone who has killed before?”
“I’m a former law enforcement officer. You know I can’t just let you escape house arrest so that you can enact some revenge fantasy you have against Mitchel.”
Charles thumbed the top of his cigarette and bit his bottom lip. He hoped the old man wouldn’t be a problem. It would be a shame if he had to be removed, too. “I’m talking about doing what the law has failed to do twice. Their failure, may I remind you, resulted in your wife’s death, in hurting your cop friend, in killing Alex and countless others.”
Manny’s nostrils flared and his lips pursed together.
Maybe bringing up the wife had been too much.... Charles shifted gears so he wouldn’t lose the old man. “I know I’m a murderer, but let’s put this in perspective. I killed two rapists and a woman who was selling state secrets. People who had played a part in my wife being brutally raped and beaten. I wasn’t out there drowning puppies and killing babies.”
Manny’s face contorted in a quiet fury. Despite the fire behind the old man’s eyes, Charles saw that he couldn’t argue his points.
After a moment of tense silence, Manny said, “I won’t be a part of this.”
Charles let out a reserved sigh, clenching and unclenching his fist. He needed to play this right or he would lose his footing with Manny. “Are you going to try and stop us?”
Manny rubbed the peach fuzz at the top of his head and glanced down at his shoes. His cigarette hung from his pinched fingers, seemingly forgotten. “What happens to Sally when the cops find out about the switch? Because they will find out.”
Charles took a puff of his own cigarette before answering. He couldn’t share too much or Manny might turn around and throw a wrench in his plans. “Well, we’ve carefully thought this through. I’ve paid off an unlicensed transplant surgeon. He has a little coke problem and lost his license a few months ago. He’s willing to take the fall if it comes to that. Sally will be, in no way, implicated.”
“What about you? What happens after you kill Mitchel?”
“Since the death penalty is no longer an issue, I’m guessing I’ll just go back to prison.”
“My daughter will have nothing to do with this, do you hear me? If she gets hurt in any way, I’m holding you responsible,” Manny said through clenched teeth.
“Your daughter’s been offered a well-paying job with benefits. She can work for my hospital and help Zane with his Nanobioresponder project. They’ll be under constant guard to keep them safe. You all will. No one will be able to get to you—no one.”
“What about Mari and Ellie?”
Charles blew a ring of smoke at Manny. “I can put some men on them, too, if you’d like.”
Manny nodded as he leaned against the house, taking one last drag of his cigarette. “I need to think about this.” He put out the cigarette and walked towards the side door of the house.
“I wouldn’t go in that way,” Charles said.
“And why is that?” Manny asked with his hand on the knob.
“Let’s just say Alex’s boy takes after his old man. He’s the one you have to worry about hurting your daughter,” Charles said with a smirk.
Manny paled and his shoulders slumped.
“Ask one of my men and they’ll show you to your room. Get some rest.” Charles put out the cigarette in the crystal dish that rested on the stone ledge beside him.
Manny waved his hand at Charles and stalked off towards the side entrance.
From where Charles stood, he could see the silhouettes of Jason and Sally still sitting on top of the hill. He watched with a small amount of envy as they kissed. He didn’t hold any hope of ever falling in love again, but something good had to come of all this. For his part in this mess, he owed them both a chance at a happily ever after. It’s what Katherine would have wanted.
Chapter 6
Moon Tower Brewery
Richmond, Virginia
June 26, 2026
7:00 PM
~~~
Mari took a gulp of her second pint of beer.
“Slow down there,” Ellie said, her casted foot propped up on a stool.
Mari rolled her eyes and glared at her best friend. “I just don’t know what to do, El.”
Ellie sighed and rubbed the muscle of her leg. “Well, if you would tell me what’s going on, I might be able to help you.”
Before Mari could answer her, their waiter came by the table with a third pint and placed it in front of her. “I didn’t order this.”
The poor man looked positively afraid of her. His hand shook as he pointed to the man at the end of the bar dressed in blue. “This is from the gentleman at the end of the bar. He said to say he was sorry you had a bad day.”
Quinn O’Mally. The
man wouldn’t take no for an answer, but she wasn’t about to turn down a free drink. She hoped he didn’t expect anything in return. Even after her fight with her boyfriend, she had no interest in rebounding with Quinn.
***
Charles MacAvoy’s Estate
Danville, Virginia
June 26, 2026
9:00 PM
~~~
“It’s murder, Sal. You of all people should understand the gravity of this plan.” Jason crawled into bed beside her. “We would be guilty of accessory to murder.”
“I know, I know. I just don’t see another option right now.”
“Well, there has to be another way.”
Sally fluffed her hair out from under her so that it fanned out around her head like a golden halo.
Even in the dark, Jason could see the stress lines etched across her forehead, making her look older. He reached under the covers and touched her side, where he guessed one of her failing kidneys lay.
After a long pause, Sally covered his hand with her own and cleared her throat. “It’s not like I haven’t been trying to come up with a better solution. Scott isn’t exactly making this easy for me.”
“But murder?”
She glared at him and turned over, putting her back to him.
Jason sighed. Exhausted and empty of any alternative ideas, he pulled her up against him and took in her familiar scent. As he started to doze off, he counted his blessings. The woman he loved hadn’t died after all. Their impossible dream could be a real possibility now.
***
Zane awoke with a start and twisted his wrist to check the time. 2:00 a.m.! Julie lay in the crook of his shoulder, wedged between him and the sofa, her long legs draped across him. Despite the comfort of her embrace, his arm tingled from lack of circulation, and a cramp pulled at his calf muscle.
He shook her. “Julie, wake up.”
She grumbled, but didn’t move.
Zane shook her a little harder and she finally woke, lifting her head from his shoulder and glancing down at him. He could make out the whites of her eyes in the darkness. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She offered a wide smile.
“We fell asleep.”
Julie groaned, slid off him and the couch, and groped around in the dark until she located her clothes.
Zane turned away while she dressed and somehow managed to get his own clothes back on. Once they were both fully dressed, he tugged her up against him and tried to come up with some smooth, clever thing to say, but nothing coherent came to mind. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” She laughed a little.
So fucking cute. The urge to kiss her overwhelmed him. When his lips touched hers, his chest tightened and his desire to be with her—again—returned in full force. This time he took his time kissing her.
When her hands slipped underneath his shirt, he caught them and brought them back around. “Room. Let’s go to my room.”
She rewarded him with a wide grin and a tug of his hand as she yanked him out the door and led him down the hall to the guest bedroom.
He could hear the faraway sound of his mother and her boyfriend snoring. None of this dampened his growing want, which rose with each passing second. When the door to his room flew open, they tumbled inside and fell into a heap on the king-sized bed. Julie had set off a maelstrom of desire inside of him that he didn’t know had existed, and he was beginning to fear it would never be satiated.
***
Moon Tower Brewery
Richmond, Virginia
June 27, 2026
2:00 AM
~~~
Mari couldn’t remember ever being this drunk before. The bartender announced last call as Quinn came over to their table with another round of drinks.
Ellie sat across from her, half asleep.
“Go home.” Mari giggled. “Get some sleep!”
Quinn pulled up the Alphabet driver app and called her a car.
Ellie mumbled some sort of appreciation. Her friend was not a good drinking buddy. It had become a running joke between the two women that Ellie turned into a pumpkin after ten o’clock.
Mari barely registered Quinn’s hand on her thigh until it had crept up between her legs, setting warning bells off in her mind. Her drunken state left her with slow, inaccurate reflexes. As his hand made purchase between her legs, she swatted in his general direction and drunkenly frowned at him. “Watch it, bu-u-ddy,” she slurred. “I’ve got ma-a gun.”
Quinn burst into a roaring laugh, and she joined him, because honestly, everything was hilarious at this point. Her problems from earlier now seemed like no big deal.
Maybe Jason has something with this drinking business. So what if we had a fight? So what if Manny lied to me? It’s not like I need him or anything. I don’t need anyone.
The barkeep walked over to the table and rested his hands on his hips. “Time to go, folks. There are cars waiting for you out front to get you home.” He shook Ellie awake.
She reached for her crutches, wobbly with sleep drunkenness.
Quinn reached out to help her. “Whoa, there, little lady.”
Mari didn’t protest when Quinn looped his arm around her and hooked his thumb in her belt loop. The three of them ambled out of the bar to the line of cars that waited for them at the curb. Mari watched as her friend almost fell into a car and headed off home to her husband.
Lucky bitch.
She, on the other hand, would be going home alone, one more fucked-up relationship added to her long list.
Quinn snapped his fingers in her face. “Babe, come on. Let’s go.”
She didn’t think twice. Hell, she didn’t think once. She let him guide her into a car, knowing full well what it would lead to.
Down the rabbit hole, Alice.
***
Charles MacAvoy’s Estate
Danville, Virginia
June 27, 2026
6:00 AM
~~~
Jason awoke to light streaming through the large window by the bed. He blinked hard and let his eyes adjust. When the early morning mind cloud lifted and he remembered where he was, he let out a slow breath and tightened his grip around Sally. The weight of her body on his chest made him smile. He inhaled her scent and kissed the top of her head. Despite the heavy decisions that now weighed on him, he could set it aside for the moment and take joy in having her beside him.
A contented sigh escaping her parted lips awakened a deep-seated need for her and stirred desire in his groin. As long as he lived, he would never tire of her.
“Good morning.” He tilted up her chin and brushed his lips against hers—morning breath be damned.
Her eyelids fluttered and a shy smile crept across her lips, breaking their kiss. “Good morning.”
“Mmm... it’s good, but it’s about to get a lot better.” He rolled her onto her back, making her giggle and thrilling him beyond reason.
“Promises, promises....”
***
Zane awoke to a pair of birds chirping outside his open bedroom window. Despite the breeze blowing in fresh air, the distinct smell of sex filled his nostrils. The events of last night came tumbling back to him.
Oh yeah... that.
Beside him, Julie stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled at him. “Hey.”
Zane closed the gap between them and pressed against her. “Good morning.”
“Do you think we have time?”
He glanced at the time on her smart watch and grinned. “You’re going to kill me, woman.”
“It will be a happy death. I promise.”
He laughed as he kissed the base of her neck, making her squirm.
A happy death, indeed.
***
Manny lay in bed smoking a cigarette and letting the ashes fall onto the bazillion thread count sheets.
Fuck Charles and his expensive shit.
For the fourth time in an hour, he had checked his messages, and for the fourth time he was disheartened to f
ind the notification box empty.
Fuck it, this is ridiculous. I’m a damned grown man!
He pulled up a new message and sent one to her.
If Mohammed won’t come to the mountain....
He tossed his phone onto the nightstand and put out his cigarette on the bed sheets as an extra ‘fuck you’ to Charles. The faster he could get out of this place, the better. If he stayed any longer, the Scooby gang would find a way to rope him into this ridiculous scheme of theirs.
He shucked off his pajama pants and ambled over to the shower. His joints screamed at him and his knee locked up like it always did in the morning.
Getting old sucks.
Before he could step into the bathroom, his phone pinged with a new message. He turned faster than his body could keep up with, and almost tripped over himself as he made a beeline for his phone. His heart rate rose as he read the message.
Mari: I miss you, too.
Manny sat on the end of the bed with a wry grin and let out a deep sigh of relief before he answered back.
I’m sorry.
Less than a minute later he got back another message.
Mari: I am, too. Can I see you today?
He checked the time before answering back.
I have some loose ends I need to tie up first. Are you free for dinner? Le Madeline? 8 PM?
He held his breath in anticipation until he read the response.
Mari: Yes, I’ll see you at 8.
Thank God, she isn’t going to just write me off.
Maybe he still had a chance to make this work. A man could hope.
***
Quinn’s Apartment
Richmond, Virginia
June 27, 2026
6:00 AM
~~~
Mari closed out of her messages and rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb the man beside her. Her chest tightened as the impact of her epic mistake settled into her heart. The thought of having to face Quinn at work on Monday made her queasy. She snatched up her clothes and made a beeline for the hall bathroom, where she dressed in record time. A new text came through as she was putting on her shoes.
