Fatal Mistake: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 11)

by Michael Anderle

  Heather frowned. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”

  “Easy targets.” He laughed. “One’s in Vegas, and the other is a little outside Salt Lake City. It’s like they’re begging for Shay and Brownstone to go kick their asses.”

  Heather picked up her phone. “Okay, send me the information. I’ll let James know.”

  Trey rested his head against the headboard of Zoe’s bed, a stupid grin on his face.

  Yeah, damn! Don’t know if it was smart to have waited so I could share it with someone like her, or if I’ve been denying me some fine-ass fun all these years.

  The witch lay on her back, covered in sweat, pale, her eyes wide. “Amazing.”

  Trey laughed. There wasn’t an ounce of tension left in his body, and he decided to switch fully over to Smooth Trey. Not much point fronting linguistically with a powerful witch he’d just fucked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t like to brag, but I’m pretty damned good at everything I do. I think this is just more proof of that.”

  Zoe sat up, blinking a few times and swaying unsteadily. “I just thought you were joking. I never imagined it was true.”

  Trey furrowed his brow. “Joking? What about having punched my V card?”

  “But you were a virgin.” Zoe shook her head and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Please don’t be offended, but the men you associate with don’t strike me as the type who would tolerate such things without mockery.”

  Trey shrugged. “Yeah, not saying they would, but they didn’t know.”

  “How did you keep it a secret?”

  He laughed. “Not like they had a way to check.” He pounded his chest. “And who would believe a young, virile, handsome badass like myself hadn’t dipped his wick?” He smirked at the witch. “Hell, apparently even you didn’t believe it, and I figured you would be able to tell with your magic and shit.”

  “I could after we started, but not before.” Zoe took a few deep breaths. “You’re unusual.”

  “I prefer awesome, but I’ll take unusual.”

  “You don’t understand. The level of power I’ve received from sleeping with you is beyond what I’d expect even with a virgin, and for that matter, you did demonstrate a certain amount of natural talent that had nothing to do with magical potential.”

  Trey laughed. “Got to give credit to my years of internet studies for that.”

  Zoe fell back on the bed, her hand over her chest. “Thank Dionysus I was sober for this. I…need… I want more from you in the future. It hasn’t been that fantastic for me for a long time, and even without the virginity, it’ll be glorious. I’m going to need more of the Treymeister.”

  He smirked. “That’s what they all say.”

  She gave him a quizzical look.

  “Well, that’s what they all say in my dreams, anyway.” Trey rolled out of bed. “I’d love to stay and rock your world all night, but I was just supposed to stop by and pick up those potions. I need to be getting back to Camp Brownstone to check in with the big man.”

  Zoe sighed and nodded. She hopped out of bed and walked over to her dresser. Trey couldn’t help but stare at her naked, fine ass as she did.

  She opened the dresser, pulled out a locket, and tossed it to him.

  He snatched it out of the air. “What’s this?”

  “A charm. Defensive magic. It won’t stop the most powerful spells, but I’d hate to be your first and last.” Zoe gave him a somber look.

  Trey looked down at the locket, which was a small gold circle inscribed with a rune. “This isn’t going to make me a mind-zombie, is it?”

  The witch chuckled and shook her head. “Not any more than nature and your instincts, now that you’ve tasted the nectar.”

  “It’s all right. The big man trusts you, which means I trust you.”

  The witch shivered.

  “What’s wrong?” Trey asked.

  “I…I’ve no intention of mistreating you, but I now realize that James might take it personally if I don’t treat you right.”

  “I don’t need the big man to be my chaperone.” He winked.

  The witch rummaged through her dresser and pulled out a small white bottle. She opened it and sprinkled the contents over her hand. She placed her hand over her heart. “I swear to Dionysus that I will only be truthful to you.”

  “I appreciate it, Zoe.”

  Her hand started glowing, and the light surrounded her whole body before fading.

  Trey blinked. “What the fuck was that?”

  “A true oath. My honesty is now assured.”

  “Damn. Well, that’s good. That’s the only way I’d work with you. Honesty up front saves a lot of misunderstanding.”

  Zoe picked up and slipped on her robe. “Let’s go get you the first box of potions. I meant what I said about cutting the price. You don’t have to tell James the reason if you don’t want to.”

  Trey grinned. He didn’t think he’d mention the virgin thing, but mentioning how he’d slept his way to a multi-million dollar discount wasn’t such a bad thing in his mind. “Okay, then. Thanks for doing business with Team Brownstone.”

  The witch smiled. “Tell James I’ll have the next batch in forty-eight hours.”

  14

  A few days later, a Ford Expedition rumbled along the street, with Trey driving. He drummed his fingers on the wheel and smiled.

  It’s good to be alive.

  “Why you grinnin’ like a fool?” Shorty asked from the front passenger seat.

  Trey snorted. “What the fuck you talking about? How am I grinning like a fool?”

  Shorty shrugged. “The last few days you’ve been grinnin’ like you won the lottery or somethin’, but I ain’t heard shit from you that tells me why that’d even be.”

  “What, a man can’t just be happy? I’ve got good friends, a good job, and I’m damned handsome. Don’t be such a hater, Shorty.”

  “I’m just sayin’ it’s mighty suspicious is all, you know what I’m sayin’?”

  Deshawn laughed from the middle seat. “Yeah. It depends on what he’s happy about.”

  Trey snorted.

  Glad I didn’t tell these motherfuckers anything about what happened with Zoe. They wouldn’t understand why it was a beautiful fucking thing.

  “Worry less about me and more about the bounty,” he explained. “This fucker’s a level three, and we’re going into his fucking turf. Don’t know what tricks he’s got. Plus, the big man wants us to practice with the non-lethals, which is why he gave us all those healing potions to use—just in case the non-lethals don’t go so well on our end.”

  Shorty shook his head. “We still might get motherfucking shot.”

  “But you won’t die,” Deshawn insisted.

  They had a solid team assembled: Trey, Shorty, Deshawn, Isaiah, Lachlan, and Max. Several level threes had popped up in the last couple of days, and James wanted them taken down as soon as possible. Apparently, even a minor easing up by the agency had convinced some scum they were free to pop out of their holes.

  Got to keep fumigating.

  James had purchased some stun rifles and stun rods. Their limited effective range made them something he’d normally want the men to avoid, but he thought it’d be a useful exercise in pushing them to their limits when the enemy was using more powerful weaponry. This was all part of his effort to get them ready to help take on the Council.

  We’ll show these fuckers why they better not screw with the Brownstone Agency, even when we’re not here to gun their punk asses down.

  Trey turned onto a pothole-covered street, wincing with each shudder of the vehicle and wondering what it was doing to the suspension. The Expedition wasn’t his beloved F-350, but he still didn’t like the idea of damaging an official Brownstone Agency vehicle on a job. Professionals didn’t get their wheels damaged. Punk-ass bitches did.

  “If we corner Howard, he shouldn’t be all that, but the word is he’s got himself some guards. This shit ain’t dea
d or alive, but you do what you need to protect yourself, and remember the big man wants this to be a practice with this stun shit.” He glanced into his rearview mirror with a frown. “Please tell me you dumbass motherfuckers all have your healing potions?”

  They all patted their pockets and nodded.

  Trey nodded. “Good. Those ain’t for scrapes, but they’ll save your life. He paid a shit-ton for each one, so every time you use one you’re wasting his money.”

  And wasting my bedroom skills.

  Shorty snorted. “I ain’t need no magic potion. Best way not to need it is to just shoot the other motherfucker first. Don’t matter if it’s a stun rifle or a Glock.”

  Trey slowed the Expedition. They were almost to the abandoned apartment complex. The bounty had turned the area into his own little criminal office space. Fortunately, that also meant that most people who were not part of his posse knew to avoid the area. Even in one of the roughest parts of town, people didn’t seem very interested in getting caught up in trouble.

  James had stressed increased safety despite wanting them to use non-lethals. Everyone had a potion and a bulletproof vest. Trey understood his intention. The boys had gotten used to easy beatdowns, but the Council wouldn’t be drunk losers they could manhandle, even with better weapons.

  Staff Sergeant Royce had stressed it too. Warrior protection was a mindset, he said. If the men got too cocky, someone might end up dead. Healing magic could do a lot, but it couldn’t bring you back to life.

  Don’t matter. If any of us were supposed to die, it would have happened when we were running in the gang. We’ve got a second chance, and we’re on the right side.

  Trey parked the SUV on the street and looked over his shoulder into the backseat. “Lachlan, you’re gonna guard our wheels. Anyone gets near ‘em, stun their asses. That shit lasts a while.”

  The other bounty hunter frowned. “What the fuck? Just lock it. I ain’t need to watch it.”

  Everyone snorted.

  “What?”

  Shorty shook his head. “I can’t believe the bitch who once wanted to jack Brownstone’s wheels says we should leave a fine-ass vehicle just sitting around to get stripped. Guard the damned SUV, Lachlan. I don’t want to cram into some Currus or shit like that.”

  The younger man snorted. “Just saying, I want to beat their asses down, too.” He crossed his arms and muttered under his breath, a petulant expression on his face.

  Everyone else exited the SUV and marched up the street behind Trey in a loose gaggle—five fit young men in suits. A random person might have mistaken them for being on the way to the business conference if they hadn’t been walking up a cracked sidewalk past several junkies shooting up and buildings with barred and boarded-up windows. That and the stun rifles slung over their backs.

  A drunkard in an alley looked at them, a bottle of whiskey in hand. “Hey, I didn’t do it, officer.”

  Trey snorted and shook his head. “We ain’t no cops.”

  Fuck. Our neighborhood was never this bad. Was that because James lived there?

  A few minutes of additional walking didn’t improve the local sights, but it did bring the bounty hunters to an abandoned apartment complex. Almost all the windows had been boarded up, and a large number of tags covered the buildings. The parking lot was cracked and filled with holes, and weeds had taken over both it and the sidewalks around the single-story complex.

  The unkempt nature of the buildings and parking lot didn’t match all the souped-up and customized cars in the parking lot. The juxtaposition of the sad state of the complex and the expensive vehicles was striking.

  Seems like our guy doesn’t keep his home clean, and his boys aren’t doing much to keep a low profile.

  The bounty hunters went from the parking lot into the inner courtyard connecting all the apartments.

  Trey narrowed his eyes as he took in the tags. The Bay Boys. Stupid name for a small gang, but they were vicious enough. He’d never tangled with them back in his gang days, if only because the bastards had been based so far from his gang’s territory.

  “We know Howard’s here,” Trey announced, “but I guess we’re gonna have to smoke him out apartment by apartment. Remember, once you stun a fucker and the room’s secure, use the zip-ties because that stun ain’t gonna last more than a few minutes. They’ll be woozy when they get up, but that ain’t mean they can’t shoot your asses.”

  Deshawn looked around the area. “What if he runs?”

  Trey shook his head. “He won’t run. He isn’t the type. He’s a wannabe cartel leader. Maybe he’d run from the big man, but not us.”

  A few shadows moved near the windows of several of the apartments. They were being watched.

  Here we go. Here we go.

  Shorty shrugged. “If he thinks he’s such a badass, let’s call him out. It’ll make it easier. I don’t want to waste a lot of time playin’ hide and seek.’

  Trey frowned. He didn’t have to consider Sun Tzu or any of the other military commanders they’d read to think that was a bad idea. They had intelligence on their target, but no knowledge of his exact location and the strength of the local forces. Stirring them up was a bad idea.

  “Yo, Howard, you small-dick piece of shit,” Shorty shouted. “We got somethin’ to say to you, so you better get your weak-kneed piece-of-shit ass out here right now and stop wastin’ our motherfuckin’ time.”

  Trey rounded on the other man. “What the fuck, man? That was not the motherfucking plan.”

  Shorty shrugged. “Just speedin’ this shit along. Why waste time?”

  The other bounty hunters laughed. Trey sighed and shook his head.

  The sound of several doors opening echoed around them. Tough thugs stepped out from the apartments, their guns prominently sticking out of their pants. Their gang colors confirmed they were Bay Boys.

  Within fifteen seconds, twenty armed gang members stood in the courtyard.

  Trey slapped Shorty upside the head. “This is why you don’t do that kind of shit.” He glared at the other men. “Let’s play it cool.”

  The Bay Boys parted, and a tall, muscular man in a white suit strode forward, their target, Howard. He flashed a smile, revealing a gold tooth.

  Now that shit is just tacky, but it looks like the Boys are working for him and not just hanging out in his territory. Damn.

  Howard crossed his arms. “I hear someone has something to say about my dick. It couldn’t possibly be one of you little bitches, because there aren’t enough of you to take out all the guys who work for me, fancy suits or not.” He snickered. “Stun rifles? Please. No one’s afraid of a fucker who is too afraid to kill them.

  Trey adjusted his tie and stepped forward. “I’m Trey Garfield with the Brownstone Agency.”

  “And you think I should give a shit? You already know who I am, which is why you’re here, but you’ve made a really stupid mistake, asshole.”

  The bounty hunter frowned. They were outnumbered and on open ground. Even with their vests, there was too much of a chance of a headshot. It was time to draw on his inner Sun Tzu.

  On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagems.

  Trey nodded to his men. “Come on, boys, let’s go. Time for a strategic withdrawal.” He winked when his back was turned and mouthed, “Use the fucking cars as shields.”

  Several of the men frowned, but Shorty grinned. “Yeah, let’s go. Howard’s just too much man for us.”

  “That’s right, assholes,” Howard shouted. “It’s good to understand who the real big dick is around here. Fucking pissant bitches.”

  The bounty hunters turned to leave, moving among a few of the cars.

  Trey ducked behind some purple-painted monstrosity with huge wheels and yanked around his stun rifle. Shorty got his gun ready almost at the same time. The others took a few seconds to catch up.

  “Don’t fucking move unless you really want to piss yourself, bitches,” Trey shouted. “And, yeah, Howard, I think you should give a
shit that we’re from the Brownstone Agency. You come with us all nice and quiet like, and we don’t have to do this the hard way. Otherwise, lots of pain gonna come to you and yours.”

  Howard glared at Trey and thrust his hand out. “Kill those motherfuckers.”

  The Bay Boys all pulled out their guns, but no one fired. The gang members frowned and exchanged looks.

  “I told you to kill those motherfuckers!” Howard thundered.

  Trey clucked his tongue. “See, they all don’t want to open fire and bust up these nice motherfucking wheels. I can’t blame them. They are sweet rides.”

  Howard gritted his teeth. “If you don’t kill those motherfuckers, I’ll kill you.”

  A Bay Boy pulled the trigger. His bullet shattered the windshield of the purple monstrosity.

  “Damn,” Trey shouted. “Now you’ve gone and done it.” He put two blue bolts into the man and the twitching criminal fell to the ground.

  Hostilities now exchanged, everyone opened up. The bounty hunters rolled behind several of the cars, spinning around to take a few quick shots, sending blue stun bolts toward the criminals. The gang members stood in a rough line, pelting their own vehicles with bullet after bullet and ignoring the cries of their men as they went down twitching and drooling.

  Got to give them points for discipline.

  Isaiah jerked back as a bullet struck his shoulder. Deshawn pulled him behind a car and applied pressure to the wound.

  Trey frowned.

  The Bay Boys started to advance, and he popped up to fire a few quick shots. Shorty joined him, then screamed and fell to the ground.

  “Motherfucker,” Shorty yelled, clutching his crotch. “That motherfucker shot me in the balls. I still need those!”

  Trey blasted a gang member right between the eyes with a stun bolt. The man wet himself as he fell.

  “Isaiah and Shorty, drink your damned potions before you bleed out, you dumbass bitches,” Trey shouted.