BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1)

by Philip Duncan

  “That son of a bitch has been keeping tabs on us. That’s how he knew we were at the docks. He’s been having us followed.”

  “For how long?” Langley asked.

  “No clue, but we are going to have to be extra cautious now. Parker won’t think twice about bringing us both in if he sees something he doesn’t like.”

  “Well, shit,” Langley said. “Do you think they have surveillance on the house too?”

  Decklan nodded his head. “If there is anything I know about my brother, it’s when he puts his mind toward something he goes all in. I would say, depending on how long he’s had detail on us, anywhere we have been he knows about.”

  “Even the strip club when you met with Vladimir?” Langley asked.

  “It’s possible, but he didn’t say anything about it.”

  They both looked around the parking lot to see if they could tell if someone was watching them, waiting for them to drive off. Now that they both knew they were being followed they could keep an eye out.

  “What did he say when you asked why he was following us?” Langley asked.

  “Just some bullshit about wanting to make sure I didn’t do something stupid. The real answer is he wants to make sure I don’t interfere with his investigation.”

  “I guess you weren’t lying then,” Langley said.

  “About what?” Decklan replied.

  “About your relationship with your brother. It seems just as messed up as you described, if not worse.”

  “I can usually brush it off and ignore him, but I have been on edge lately.”

  “And rightfully so,” Langley added.

  They headed back to the dock to resume their plan. Decklan needed it more now than before. Plus, it would be much harder to have them followed on the open water.

  Finally back to the dock and aboard the boat, Decklan untied from the pier and pushed off. It had been several months since he had taken the boat out since their lives had been extra busy, with his wife's work picking up and him being at home with the kids. The last time he was out here was July 4th weekend with the whole family, including Parker and his wife. Although they didn’t hang out much, the wives got along great.

  Parker and his wife didn't have any kids because they were both too focused on their careers and the timing just never worked out. Decklan’s kids did love their uncle, though, and despite his relationship with him, he was happy to see his little brother caring for his kids so much.

  “Man, it sure is peaceful out here,” Langley said. “This is the first time I have been on the water without preparing for a mission. It’s nice.”

  Decklan grinned and nodded in agreement. “There is no better place to be when you want to clear your head and get away from all the noise. Out here, it’s just you and the ocean.”

  After running the boat a few miles offshore, Decklan decided to turn the engine off so they could just float and relax, or at least try. He remembered that he had some food and drinks that they always kept handy down on the bottom deck.

  “You want a beer?” Decklan asked.

  “A beer sounds perfect right now, thanks,” Langley replied.

  Decklan went to grab a couple, one for him and one for Langley. Even though he had to be careful with his drinking, he figured one beer miles away from any trouble wouldn’t hurt anyone.

  “Here ya go. I hope light beer is okay,” Decklan said as he tossed it to Langley.

  “Light beer is the preferred choice at my age,” Langley said as they both laughed.

  As they both sipped on their cold beers, Decklan couldn’t help but think about the couple that Parker mentioned had just got murdered. He was kicking himself for not asking more questions, even though his brother probably wouldn’t have told him anything. They needed to figure out a way to find out who they were and where they lived so they could get inside and look around for any clues that could help. He was hoping that if it was the same guys, maybe they left something behind this time. Maybe they were not as careful as they were with his family.

  Langley could tell Decklan was racking his brain about something. “Hey man, everything okay? I can see smoke coming out of your ears from the gears turning so hard.”

  “I am just thinking about what my brother said back at the station about the most recent murders. Do you really think Vladimir could be behind it? What would have been his motive to take out a young couple like that?”

  “Vladimir doesn’t need a motive, remember? He’s a ruthless, heartless bastard,” Langley replied.

  “What do you think about finding out where that couple lived and going to take a look for ourselves?” Decklan asked.

  “I think that sounds like a dangerous and potentially deadly idea. So, count my ass in.” Langley replied as he finished off his beer, and they both laughed.

  “Great. Let’s hang out here a little longer. I am not ready to give up the peace and quiet just yet. This is the first time in days I have felt like I could actually breathe,” Decklan said.

  “You and me both, brother,” Langley replied.

  They were beginning to feel like a real team. Like Batman and Robin, except in this situation they were both Batman because they both had their own vengeance to exact.

  CHAPTER 14

  After a couple more beers for Langley, they decided to take it back in and get back to work. The time away from reality was refreshing and much needed for both of them, especially Decklan, but they knew just floating around out here wouldn’t make their problems go away. If anything, things would probably get worse. It seemed as if Vlad and his group of thugs were starting to make more noise. Langley was aware of the kind of things he was capable of and about how long he was usually in one place, so this wave of destruction could continue for quite some time.

  Decklan was curious about the latter. “How long does Vladimir usually run his drugs in one area?”

  “It can change from one location to the next, but I have never seen him stay in one place for longer than six months. This allows him to move enough product, clean up any loose ends, and get out of town before he is caught,” Langley responded.

  “How long do you think he has been here?”

  “I can’t be exactly sure, but I have been here for eight weeks so at least that long, if not longer.”

  “Okay, so using your rough timeline, that would give us about three to four months at most to take him out before he disappears again.” Decklan said. “I would prefer sooner rather than later so he doesn’t keep racking up the body count.”

  “Agreed,” Langley replied.

  They made it back to shore and Decklan tied his boat back up to the same spot. They hopped out and headed back to the truck, but before they could make it halfway, they heard gunfire. They both hit the deck quickly and pulled out their pistols. If they learned one thing from war it was whenever you hear gunfire, assume it is meant for you and get ready to fire back.

  They heard the gunshots getting closer. It sounded like more than one gun, which meant there were multiple shooters. They were scanning the area, trying to identify where it was coming from, but they couldn’t get a visual. Finally, they saw two masked men walking out from behind a black SUV.

  “Fuck, that has to be Vlad’s guys,” Langley said while staying covered behind a dock post.

  “I can see he doesn’t like to waste any time cleaning up loose ends,” Decklan said. “This guy must really hate you.”

  The gunshots stopped, indicating they were reloading or moving in closer. They were confident the two gunmen were not a hundred percent sure where they were. All they knew was the general direction to shoot in, which is all they really needed if they could land a couple of lucky shots. Decklan poked his head out around from his cover to try and see where they were. That was the only way they could formulate a plan.

  “Looks like they are splitting up,” Decklan said. “I am going to focus on the guy going left and you get his asshole buddy going
right.”

  “Roger that,” Langley replied.

  Decklan slowly lowered himself into the water and slid himself under the pier. He figured this would give him the best chance for a surprise attack. He held himself up by sliding the fingers from his left hand between two planks in the dock to keep himself above the water without having to kick and make noise. It also allowed him to see directly up through the spacing in the wood as he heard the first footstep hit the dock. The guy was reloaded and ready to pull the trigger again but the fact that he was moving slowly and cautiously told Decklan that he had no idea where he was. He counted six more steps and then he could see the guy standing directly above him. He had stopped for some reason. Something had grabbed his attention as he looked over in the direction Langley went.

  Shit, Langley.

  The guy went to step and change his course, but before his foot hit the ground Decklan fired three shots directly up into the guy’s legs. He hit the ground, screaming in agony, as he started firing straight down where the shots had come from. Decklan quickly let go and swam backwards to avoid being hit. He got back up to the side of the pier and pulled himself back up to dry land. He looked down and saw the guy was bleeding profusely. It appeared that one of his bullets had hit the femoral artery, something that Decklan came to recognize from seeing it too many times in war. It wouldn't be long before this guy was bled dry, so rather than pump one last slug to finish him off, he just kicked his gun into the water and left him for dead.

  Now he needed to help Langley. He quickly ran for the grassy area over by some palm trees, where the other guy had veered off to. His plan appeared to be flank them from the side while his buddy pressed with fire. He couldn’t see or hear anything. He had no idea where they had gone and his worry for Langley was growing.

  Surely that thug didn’t get the best of him. No way this guy could take out a SEAL.

  As he came up over a small hill and into the parking lot, he could see several cars, more than when they first arrived. He could hear children laughing and he quickly put his gun behind his back. A family came out from behind a minivan, looking ready to enjoy a day together. There was public beach access right next to the dock, but it usually didn’t attract many visitors due to the boats constantly coming and going. This family must be from out of town. The family walked right past him and he exchanged smiles with them all. They were obviously unaware of what just happened, and what was happening. He pulled his gun back out into the ready position as he scanned the parking lot for Langley or the thug and kept moving. After clearing several more yards, he heard something. It sounded like someone trying to call his name, but something sounded off.

  “Decklan, the son of a bitch got away,” Langley said, holding his stomach, trying to keep his wound from bleeding too badly.

  “Oh shit, you’ve been shot!” Decklan said.

  “Don’t worry, I managed to return the favor,” Langley said.

  “Good job, buddy. Don’t worry, I am going to get you back to the house. You are going to be okay,” Decklan said, knowing he had no way of being sure.

  He holstered his pistol and threw Langley’s arm over his shoulders and slowly hoisted him to his feet. “Can you walk?” Decklan asked.

  “I think so,” Langley replied, almost incoherently. He was losing too much blood and before they could make it five feet, his unconscious body collapsed to the pavement.

  Decklan bent back down and picked him up like a father carrying a sleeping child. Even though Langley wasn’t the biggest guy in the world, carrying a fully grown unconscious man was not easy. Something about dead weight when someone is fully relaxed, or in this case passed out, seemed to add an extra few hundred pounds. They made it back to his truck, completely forgetting that the other guy, if he was still alive, could be looking for them to finish the job. The only thing that mattered to Decklan right now was saving Langley’s life. He laid him down in the back seat and quickly ran around to the other side to pull him all the way in. He slammed both doors, jumped in and floored it out of there.

  He knew Langley couldn’t hear him, but he talked to him anyway. “Hang in there, man; everything is going to be okay. No way I am letting you go out like this. You have come too far to give up now, you hear me? We are going to finish what we started, I promise.”

  Decklan couldn’t help but feel like this could be an empty promise, seeing that everything had gone to shit so far. It seemed like every step they took forward they got knocked three steps back. They made it back and Decklan jumped out of the truck almost before he got it parked. He ran to open the front door and then rushed back to get Langley. He saw wounds like this a dozen times overseas and he knew that every second counted. The more blood he lost, the slimmer his chance of survival got.

  He slowly lowered Langley down on the couch and ran for the first aid kit in his bedroom. It seemed like it only took him a few seconds to retrieve it and get back due to all the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins, but for Langley, it must have felt like a lifetime, not that he had any idea what was going on since he was still unconscious. Decklan pulled out a pair of scissors and cut Langley’s shirt off rather than try to sit him up and risk causing more pain or loss of blood. He ripped open several packs of gauze to soak up as much blood as he could. Then he pulled out the rubbing alcohol and poured it generously over the open wound. He knew he needed to sterilize it as quickly as possible to decrease the chance of infection. As bad as getting shot must be, getting an infection could be like running poison through your veins, which would be nothing less than a death sentence if left untreated by antibiotics, and they couldn’t risk going to a hospital right now.

  After letting the alcohol saturate the wound for a little bit, he pulled out more gauze and soaked up any remaining blood and fluid. Then he grabbed a sterile towel from the kit and patted the wound and the area around it as dry as possible before placing the final bandage. Once the bandage was in place, he tore strips of tape and placed it directly to the skin to make sure it was secure. It had been a long time since he had to administer first aid to anyone, but he was pleasantly surprised by his work. The last time he had done anything close to this was when his son took a nasty fall off his bike and skinned both knees and elbows badly. The difference here was he was trying to save a life.

  Finally coming down from his high, Decklan made his way over to the La-Z-Boy next to where Langley was lying on the couch. He knew he had done all he could right now, so all he could do was wait and hope that he pulled through. Langley was the closest thing he had to family right now and he couldn’t stand the thought of losing someone else, especially someone as valuable as Langley.

  Dear Lord, I know it has been a while since I have sent anything your way, but if you’re listening, I could really use some help. I am begging you, please let him live so we can finish what we started and finally bring peace to my family and his. All of this can’t be for nothing. Amen.

  This was an interesting prayer, if you could even call it that. Decklan was so desperate for help, for any glimmer of hope, that he was asking God to help his buddy pull though so they could go kill the guys that did it. Imagine that—asking God to help you kill someone. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and Decklan was desperate.

  After twenty minutes sitting and watching Langley fight for his life, he started to feel his eyes get heavy. He didn’t want to fall asleep and risk Langley dying in his sleep. He needed to stay awake and check his vitals every half hour or so. Another five minutes passed by and his eyelids seemed to have doubled in weight. It was only a matter of time now before exhaustion took over from his huge adrenaline dump and shut his lights out. He managed to fight through the urge to sleep to get up and check Langley’s pulse.

  Yup, still fighting. Keep it up, buddy.

  He quickly found his ass back in the chair, and he could no longer put up a fight. He peered over at the oven clock in the kitchen to check the time—4:45 pm, which wa
s the last thing he saw before finally succumbing to his exhaustion.

  There he was with his family again. They were all on the beach just behind their house. The kids were flying their kites, running and laughing, and he and his beautiful wife were parked in their beach chairs watching. This was something that he could do all day every day. Being with his family, no matter what they were doing, was the only thing on this earth that brought him true peace and happiness. Bang! Bang! Gunshots started ringing through the salty air. He could hear bullet after bullet flying past their heads. He looked around to see where the shots were coming from, but it appeared to be just them on the beach. And then the unimaginable, the sound of bullets hitting human flesh. And then again, and another. Before he had the chance to get up from his chair, he spotted two little lifeless bodies in the sand. Once again, his two babies were taken from him.

  How could this be? What the hell is happening?

  “Babe, get up! We need to go, now,” he shouted as he reached over to grab his wife’s hand. But when he went to pull her up, she didn’t move. He looked down and saw a single line of blood running straight down her forehead between her eyes. He began screaming as loud as he could, “Help! Help! Please, somebody help!”

  He looked around, still seeing no one else around. He didn’t understand what was happening, but before he could, he woke up.

  His heart was racing, his shirt was soaked from sweat, and he was trying to catch his breath. His body felt like it did after an intense workout, but he had been sleeping.

  “What the hell was that?” Decklan said out loud, not expecting anyone to respond.

  “Looked like you were having a nightmare,” Langley replied, sitting up and conscious.

  “Holy shit! Langley, you’re okay,” Decklan replied. “How do you feel?”

  “Besides the fact that I was shot, I feel like a million bucks,” Langley replied, trying to make light of the situation.

  They both shared a laugh, even though Decklan was still trying to gather himself from that treacherous nightmare.