BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1)

by Philip Duncan

  “Thanks, I could definitely use some food,” Langley replied.

  As they sat down to enjoy their food, they both couldn’t help but wonder how long before Vladimir sent some guys to look for them. Someone as powerful as him could figure out where Decklan lived, assuming he didn’t already know. They needed to make sure they were ready for anything.

  Langley looked over at Decklan. “How much firepower you got here?”

  “I have a safe upstairs that has everything from high-powered rifles to stun grenades and flash bangs,” Decklan replied.

  “How about rounds?” Langley asked.

  “About ten thousand spread out between 9mm all the way up to 50 caliber.”

  Langley's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Perfect. I want to hit these guys with everything we got if they have the balls to show up.”

  Decklan grinned and nodded in agreement.

  “So what’s the next move?” Decklan asked, wanting to allow Langley to keep the lead on this since he had a history with Vladimir.

  “We need to figure out a way to get Vladimir in a remote location, away from civilians. He does a good job of staying hidden in public because he knows it will be harder to make a move on him. Not everyone is a ruthless killer like him, and he knows it. That’s why I haven't been able to take him out yet, and the FBI have all but given up because he moves around so much, and I’m pretty sure he has help on the inside.”

  “Well, if I have learned anything from having a little brother in law enforcement, it’s that you might as well be on your own,” Decklan said.

  “You have a brother on the force? Does he live here?” Langley asked.

  “Yeah, he’s actually the chief of police, but we don’t exactly get along.”

  Langley sat there, stunned by the information. “Holy shit. Have you asked him for help? Surely he is working the case to bring in the guys that killed your family.”

  “Trust me, he’s of no use to us,” Decklan said. “The only thing I need him to do is stay the hell out of my way. Well, our way now.”

  Oddly enough, Langley understood where Decklan was coming from. “I get it, man. I had a brother too, older, and we didn't get along too well either. Shit sucks.”

  “What about now?” Decklan asked.

  “I lost him about ten years ago. He died while on his fifth deployment overseas.”

  “Shit. I’m sorry to hear that. Was he a SEAL like you?” Decklan asked.

  “Sure was. He was two classes ahead of me in Buds and we even served two tours together. I decided to retire early so I could start a family and get a job that wasn’t sending me into war. Although being in the force wasn’t much better. He stayed in and served three more tours, and the fifth one ended up being his last.”

  Decklan knew the pain of losing a fellow soldier, but losing a brother as well had to be worse.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

  “I don’t mind. If anyone would understand, it’s a veteran.” Langley replied. “He was riding in a Humvee on patrol, heading out to scout a location. His vehicle was leading the way, with two others trailing behind. They hit an IED on the right side, where he was sitting, and it blew so much shrapnel into his body that he didn’t stand a chance. He died right there in that ruthless desert, along with everyone else in his vehicle.”

  “Damn IEDs,” Decklan said. “A coward's way of taking out real soldiers because they are too scared to face our troops like real men.”

  Langley just nodded his head in agreement, not having anything else to add.

  “Makes me feel like a real jerk sitting here complaining about my brother and here you are without one now,” Decklan said.

  “Ah, it’s okay. It was a long time ago. We all have our problems,” Langley replied, trying to lighten the mood.

  They sat there in silence, not sure what to say next. They knew they needed rest but they also knew Vladimir’s guys could show up at any moment. They needed to figure out a way to be both defensive and offensive at the same time. They couldn’t just wait for Vladimir to show up with a group of guys to start shooting the place up. Then Decklan had an idea.

  “You were talking about IEDs. What if we made our own explosives and planted them around the outside of the house just in case they try sneaking in while we are sleeping?” Decklan said.

  “That’s a good idea,” Langley replied. “But aren’t you worried what your neighbors are going to think if they see us planting explosives or if shit starts blowing up one night?”

  “We don’t have to worry about that. The palm trees and shrubbery are so thick on both sides, you can’t see through. As far as the noise of explosives going off, I would think waking the neighbors would be the least of our worries if we were fighting for our lives.”

  Langley let out a light chuckle. “That’s a good point. Do you have any idea how to build an IED?”

  “We don’t have to. I have some claymores in the safe. We just plant them and let the explosives do the rest,” Decklan replied.

  “Sounds good,” Langley said. “I say we try and get some rest and pick things back up in the morning.”

  “Good with me,” Decklan said.

  Decklan stood at the bottom of the stairs. He stared up like he was looking into the pits of Hell. He knew he needed rest but he still couldn’t bring himself to sleep in his own bed. He also knew he couldn’t keep crying himself to sleep outside his kids’ bedrooms. He needed a more permanent solution. He remembered that he had an inflatable mattress and a sleeping bag that he used when they would all camp out on the beach right off their back patio. That was one of the many perks that came with living in a beachfront house.

  He headed for the basement to retrieve the mattress and sleeping bag. Once down there, something caught his eye. It was something pink and shiny. As he inched closer to it, he realized what it was. His baby girl’s favorite toy. Her motorized Minnie Mouse car. She loved driving it so much it was hard to keep the battery charged. He crouched down, placed his hand on it and closed his eyes. All the memories of her laughing and calling for her daddy to come play with her came flooding back. Once again, his emotions took over and he had no control. Tears began to drop from his face like a faucet. The memories felt so real it was like she was standing right in front of him. But of course, that was impossible and would never happen again.

  He loved her so much. She was his whole world. She was tiny but had the personality of a rock star. She could steal the attention away from any situation without even trying. She had a way of turning a big, strong, highly trained soldier who had seen the worst things this world had to offer into a cuddly teddy bear. Their bond was unbreakable and he would do anything to protect her. But he had failed. To him, she couldn’t rest peacefully until the men responsible no longer had breath in their lungs. He didn’t care what he had to do or how he had to do it. All he knew was that he would move heaven and earth to make sure the job was done. Then, and only then would he allow himself to rest.

  He managed to pull himself back together and find what he came down here for. Now the question was where to sleep? He didn’t want to sleep in the living room since Langley was in there. He didn’t want to sleep in his room even though it wasn’t going to be in the bed. Finally, he decided that he would sleep in the hallway between all three rooms. This way, he would feel as if he was protecting their memories like he should have protected them when they were alive.

  ***

  Another restless night and it was morning again. Decklan slithered out of his sleeping bag and worked his way downstairs with heavy feet and heavy eyes. He caught a glimpse of himself in the hallway mirror. The dark bags under his eyes seemed to be getting bigger and darker by the day. He hadn’t had a decent night's sleep since that dreadful night.

  “Morning.” Decklan said, as Langley was already up and working on his second cup of coffee.

  “Good morning. How’d you sleep?” Lan
gley replied.

  “Like shit. You?”

  “Not too bad.”

  Decklan grabbed his favorite mug out of the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee. It was the only mug he used. They sat down at the kitchen table enjoying their black coffee in silence. After all, silence was something Decklan was used to in this house now. It used to be filled with laughter and joy, but now it was filled with a silence so heavy it was like he was being slowly crushed between two walls.

  “I got an idea for today,” Langley said.

  “What is it?” Decklan replied.

  “I think we need to take a break from all this shit and do something to help bring our stress levels down and try to refresh.”

  Decklan looked at Langley with confusion and a bit of frustration. “Take a break? How in the world do you plan on doing that?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I think it would be good for both of us.”

  “What does it matter anymore? It’s not like I have anyone to live for.”

  “I disagree,” Langley replied. “I don’t know your religious beliefs, but I believe in God and I think your family is watching you from Heaven. I think they would be disappointed to see you like this.”

  This statement didn’t sit well with Decklan. “What the hell do you know? Don’t talk about my family. You didn’t even know them.”

  “I am sorry. You’re right, I didn’t know them. But I know how I felt when I lost my wife and son. I handled it like you. I didn’t sleep, mainly because I couldn’t. I was so hell-bent on revenge that I almost drove myself into an early grave. Then one day, I asked myself this question… what would they say if they could see me now? What would they be thinking if they were watching me from above? I knew they would be disappointed with me and would want me to turn myself around and do something about it.”

  Decklan knew Langley was right and everything he was saying made perfect sense, but it was hard to look at it that way.

  “I get it,” Decklan replied. “But maybe we just handle things differently.”

  “Maybe so, but from where I am standing, we are one and the same,” Langley said.

  “Okay, maybe I could use a break, for a little bit,” Decklan replied. “I am just afraid that if I stop trying to make things right, it’s going to feel like I don’t care, and my family deserves better than that.”

  “Trust me, no one is going to think that. Not me, and especially not your family.”

  As they sat there, finally on the same page, Decklan had an idea. “I think I know what we can do.”

  “Great, what is it?” Langley said.

  “We have a boat at a port just a few miles down the road. We could take it out for a bit and get away from all the noise and chaos. It’s something I do when I need a break from the world.”

  Langley’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect, Decklan.”

  They got ready to leave, but not without making sure they had some firepower with them just in case, because they knew they had a potential target on their backs. They hopped in Decklan’s truck and headed out. They arrived at the dock and it wasn’t too busy, seeing it was in the middle of a work day, plus there were a lot of wealthy people in this area and most of them spent their time out of town for work.

  “There it is.” Decklan pointed to the end of the dock. “That’s our boat.”

  “Holy shit, Decklan. What exactly do you do for work?”

  Decklan smiled. “Not me, my wife. I was lucky enough to marry an ambitious woman who was able to turn that ambition into a lot of money. She owns… I mean owned… her own consulting business. She did pretty well for herself, which meant I was able to be a stay-at-home dad. I was pretty damn lucky that she married me.”

  Langley let out a light laugh. “I get that. I married way out of my league too. She wasn’t rich or anything, but she could have had any man she wanted and for some dumb luck reason, she took a chance on me.”

  “I guess you were right back at the house,” Decklan said.

  “Right about what.” Langley replied.

  “You said we were one and the same. It turns out we have a lot more in common than just Vladimir.”

  Although they hadn’t known each other long, Decklan felt closer to Langley than he had to anyone in a long time. Even more so than his own brother. And by the way Langley was acting, he assumed he felt the same way. As the old adage goes, misery loves company. But for the first time in days, Decklan wasn’t crippled with rage and sadness. They had been working together for several days now, but this was the first time that he felt a real connection to Langley. He felt like he had a brother in arms. When you experience certain things in this life with people, it can bring you closer than actual blood.

  But before they had the chance to board the boat and drift off into the blue, Decklan heard a voice calling for him.

  “Mr. Jennings, please stop.”

  Decklan turned around to see who was calling for him. He didn’t notice the man, but he could see the unmistakable blue.

  Great, a cop. What could he possibly want?

  The cop finally made his way to Decklan and Langley. “The chief needs to speak with you. He needs you to come down to the station.”

  Decklan was clearly annoyed. “What the hell does he want? How did he even know I was here? Is he having me followed?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Jennings, but I was only instructed to bring you in. I wasn’t told anything else,” the cop replied.

  “And I suppose I don’t have a choice?” Decklan said.

  “You always have a choice, sir. But I was told to call for backup if you didn’t cooperate. I think it’s best if you just come with me.”

  Decklan rolled his eyes, but agreed. “Fine, but I can drive myself, and my friend here will be coming with me.”

  The cop turned around to head back to his squad car as they could hear him radio in to the chief. “All right, sir, I have him and we are on our way now.”

  Decklan and Langley hopped back into the truck and followed the cop back to the station. He had no idea what this could be about, but he knew one thing for sure. He had some questions of his own. He was livid and wasn’t in the mood to put up with any of his little brother’s shit.

  Langley had remained quiet up to this point, but he was curious what this was all about. “Do you have any idea why he wants to talk to you?”

  “Not a damn clue,” Decklan replied. “But it had better be worth our time. He has already wasted enough of mine.”

  They parked the truck and headed for the front doors. Once inside, Decklan made a beeline for his brother's office. He could see the door was shut and he was talking to a couple of guys, but he didn’t care. He barged right in with no mind of the others in the room.

  “What the hell do you want, Parker?” Decklan said, sternly.

  The chief looked at the two gentlemen he was talking to and politely asked them to excuse themselves. Once they were out the door, he responded to Decklan. “I have some news.”

  “Good or bad?” Decklan asked.

  “Both, actually,” Parker said. “The bad news is there has been another homicide—a double homicide, actually.”

  “What’s the good news?” Decklan said sharply.

  Parker’s eyebrows raised. “Wow, nice response, Deck.”

  “What am I supposed to say? I’m not a cop. It’s not my job to find killers, it’s yours,” Decklan replied, even though the last two weeks had consisted of just that. “What’s the good news?” he asked a second time.

  “Whoever killed this young couple could very well be the same guys who… well, you know.”

  “Slaughtered my family in cold blood. Is that what you wanted to say but didn’t have the balls to?” Decklan said. “And what makes you think it’s the same guys?”

  “It was a clean job with no evidence left behind. No sign of forced entry, which means the door was unlocked or they were let in,” Parker said.


  “So why exactly did you drag me all the way down here to tell me this? You could have just called.”

  “You haven’t been answering any of my calls or texts lately so I didn’t see the point. Plus, I thought it would be better to tell you in person, anyway.”

  Decklan sat there, listening and remembering the last time his brother said they had a lead. So he could give two shits what information his brother had unless it was exactly who was responsible and where they were. In his mind, he and Langley had a much better lead with Vladimir anyway, although this could be one and the same. Regardless, he didn’t want or need his brother's help.

  “Well, thanks for the heads-up, little brother,” Decklan said as he stood up to leave. But before he did, he had one question. “Are you having me followed?” he asked Parker.

  Parker looked down at some papers on his desk, clearly not wanting to look at Decklan. “Let’s not call it having you followed. It’s more like helpful surveillance,” he finally replied.

  “Helpful for who exactly?”

  “Both of us,” Parker said. “I want to make sure you aren’t doing anything stupid.”

  “You really think I need you fucking babysitting me, Parker? I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. You better tell your Girl Scouts to pull back or we are going to have a problem.”

  This got Parker’s attention and he quickly looked up from his desk and locked eyes with his older brother. “Is that a threat, Deck?”

  “Just get them to back off,” Decklan said, one last time.

  Decklan left Parker’s office, slamming the door shut behind him. He made his way back to the front of the station, where Langley was talking with some cops.

  “Let’s go,” Decklan said to Langley, not breaking stride.

  Langley could tell something had Decklan fired up. “What happened?”

  “I'll tell you once we get back to the truck,” Decklan said.

  They jumped back into the truck and hurried out of the station parking lot.

  “All right, now tell me what happened. You look pissed as hell,” Langley said.