Double Shot to the Heart (Brewed Moon Book 2)

by Critch, J. Margot

  Mitch turned onto Duckworth Street, and drove toward the café. He was surprised that there were no parking spots in front of Brewed Moon, as was normally the case at that time in the morning, as a white cargo van was parked directly in front of the door, taking up almost the entire storefront. Mitch eyed the van as he slowly drove past it, and found a spot further up the street. He and Juliana exited his truck and after a short walk to the store front, Mitch stopped in front of the van.

  “Have you ever see this van here before?” he asked her, trying to keep his tone casual, but he knew that it held an edge.

  She shrugged. “Not that I remember. But that doesn’t mean anything. It could belong to any of the businesses around here.”

  Mitch nodded, but he said nothing, as he made note of the license plate and any other distinguishing features. Juliana was right, it could have belonged to any of the businesses that lined the street, but there was just something off about it’s placement on the street, something that made his senses tingle.

  Even though Azura was already inside, Mitch was happy to see that the door was still locked, as Juliana pulled out her keys and let them in. He still thought about the van. He didn’t like it, but he watched Juliana’s hips sway as she walked into the café, and his discomfort caused by the van was put aside in favour of her ass. Azura stood behind the counter, and he could smell the coffee that filled the carafes behind her as she carefully placed the fresh baked goods in the display case.

  “Good morning, guys,” Azura said, with a small yawn. He was amazed at her ability to stay up late the night before and still head in to work early the next morning. He figured it to be a skill that came with being a woman still in her twenties. She stopped her task to lean on the case, and Mitch felt as if the woman was studying them. “You guys took off before the show ended last night. I didn’t get to say good night, or thank you for coming.”

  Juliana looked at Mitch, her mouth opened to speak, but she said nothing. Mitch would also need to teach her about maintaining her poker face.

  “Juliana was tired,” he answered for her, his attention still focussed on the van outside. “She wanted to get to bed.”

  Azura smirked as if she heard the double-meaning in his words.

  “Yeah,” Juliana agreed. “Sorry, Azura.”

  “No worries,” Azura told her going back to work, stocking the baked goods.

  Juliana walked behind the counter, and poured two fresh coffees. She handed one across the counter to Mitch. “Do you mind unlocking the door?” she asked him, tying her apron around her waist. “It’s time to open.”

  “Yeah sure.” He walked to the door, and flipped the lock. He paused. When he looked past the white cargo van that mostly obscured his view of the street, his blood ran cold as he saw the familiar, ominous black town car drive slowly down the street. In that moment, it felt to Mitch as if the world was moving in slow motion. Like before, the windows of the car were tinted, but he could just make out the glow of the cell phone that the front seat passenger held.

  Jesus Christ. Mitch moved back into action. “Get down,” he yelled to the women behind the counter, as he ran toward them and leapt over the counter top, in a single bound. He landed on top of them, knocking them to the floor, his body shielding theirs as the world blew apart around them.

  The noise was deafening, as the front windows shattered, and the furniture closest to the street, and parts of the white van flew across the interior of the café. The invisible shockwave drove the air from his lungs and he kept his body pressed down on top of Azura and Juliana, keeping them to the floor. The explosion subsided as quickly as it arrived, and the only sounds audible over the ringing in their ears were the alarms of the cars and other businesses on the street. Mitch gingerly rose his head to look up, to take a quick survey of the damage, bits of debris falling from jacket.

  “Stay down,” he told Juliana and Azura. He withdrew his gun from his shoulder holster, and stood carefully. He didn’t know if there would be a second attack, if there were gunmen ready to open fire in another round of terror, to lay waste to anyone or thing left standing. His ears rang shrilly and he couldn’t see much through the smoke and dust. He saw that the front windows were blown out, and the front of the café, including the van that had parked in front of it were entirely obliterated. He looked around and saw no one. The car bomb had been the only weapon, but taking in the charred and broken remains of Juliana’s business, it was clear that was enough.

  “Oh my god,” Mitch heard the small whispered sound, and turned around to see Juliana and Azura standing behind the counter. Their hands over their mouth and both of their eyes were wide, with the and blank stare of shock.

  Mitch heard the sirens in the distance. Reports of the explosion must have been called in from another location. He holstered his gun and went back to the counter. “Goddammit, I told you both to stay down.” He looked both women over, making sure there were no obvious injuries, other than the shallow lacerations the three of them wore on their arms and faces. He looked down at the sturdy counter that still stood between them. It was undoubtedly the thing that had saved their lives. “Are you guys okay?”

  Azura nodded numbly, but Juliana didn’t make a sound. She looked shell-shocked. And rightfully so.

  “Jules,” he said, almost shouting, trying to snap her out of her trance.

  She blinked, and the clarity returned to her hazel eyes. “What happened?”

  “There was an explosion.” A bomb. A car bomb had gone off in the van. He let the unspoken possibility settle in his mind.

  “Fuck,” he heard Peter come up behind him. “Is anyone hurt? EMTs are on the way. What happened here? I heard it come in on the scanner, and we rushed down here. Are you guys okay?”

  But Mitch couldn’t take his eyes away from Juliana. “We’ll talk in second,” he told his brother, and looked over his shoulder to see Steve and Joe carefully approach what used to be the store front, bewildered stares taking in the damage. “I want to get the girls to an ambulance first.”

  While still within sight of Juliana, Mitch and his men huddled in a small circle outside of the café. Mitch had filled them in on the white van, which was the source of the explosion, and the town car that had seemed to follow him, preceding destruction, predicting it like an omen.

  “Fuck man,” Peter rubbed his eyes. “You guys could have been killed.”

  “Yeah,” Steve added. “Thank God you were there, and acted quickly.”

  Mitch nodded but said nothing. He didn’t feel like a hero. His hands shook with rage that coursed throughout his body and he felt like a monster. He knew the feeling would not subside until Yuri Petrova was behind bars or in the ground, and at that moment, he preferred the latter option.

  “What’s your gut telling you, boss man?” Steve asked him.

  “Russian,” Mitch muttered. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

  “Are you sure you don’t just have tunnel vision on this?” Steve followed up, carefully. “You’ve been fixated on them. Have you considered that it might not be Petrova?”

  Mitch scowled. “You asked me what my gut was telling me. The murder, those guys who attacked Juliana yesterday. Now this? They’re definitely sending a message.”

  His answer was good enough for Steve. “But why the fixation on Brewed Moon?”

  “Fuck if I know.”

  Joe shook his head, as he looked at the bombed-out café. “They know she’s a witness and they don’t want her talking to us. Maybe that’s reason enough for them.”

  “Swanson!”

  Mitch turned his head to the summons to see Captain Lewis walking quickly toward him. His stride was confident, but forceful, he was walking toward him with purpose. “Yes sir?”

  Lewis looked him over, and then at the damage to the cafe. “Are you okay?”

  “I survived. I’m standing, and so are two civilians. But we need more manpower to track down Yuri Petrova in connection to this, the safe house shootin
g, and the murder that happened just in the alley behind this café. I know he’s involved.”

  “Yes. Sounds like there is a connection,” Lewis nodded thoughtfully, and Mitch had to try his hardest to not roll his eyes. Anyone, even the most casual observer, could see a connection between all of the events and the violence against Juliana, the fact that his superior thought he was on to a big breakthrough made Mitch see red.

  But he remained cool. “We believe there is, sir. As soon as we get the okay that the place is structurally sound, we’re going to start our investigation inside.”

  “Swanson, do I have to remind you that Roberts and Smith are working those other cases? And you certainly aren’t allowed to be investigating a crime against yourself, or someone you’re acquainted with,” he said throwing a cursory glance in Juliana’s direction.

  “Captain, I could have been killed today, and in that shooting, along with the witness to a murder. If I’m being honest, I don’t think that Roberts and Smith are giving it the attention it needs. I think that if me and my team could work it, we’ll solve it more quickly. Smith and Roberts haven’t exactly been in a hurry to close them. They haven’t even interviewed the witness.”

  Captain Lewis was silent for a several beats. “I’m relieving you of your duties for the next couple of weeks, Mitch.”

  Mitch’s eyes narrowed. “No, sir.”

  “Don’t argue. Something like this can take you off your game. I want to make sure you come back to work one hundred percent focused and recuperated.” He looked at the rest of the team, and landed on Steve. “Parker, you’re in charge of the team. But this explosion, because of its link to the other cases, will also be assigned to Smith and Roberts.”

  “Sir,” Mitch said. “We can work this. I don’t need leave. I’m fine.”

  “No,” he said, looking Mitch up and down, as he was covered with dust and dirt. “You’re too close to this. All of you are.”

  “But sir-”

  “Mitch, unless you want your leave to become an unpaid suspension, don’t argue with a direct order.”

  Mitch rolled his eyes, and his jaw flexed with tension. “Yes, sir.”

  “And Swanson, I expect you to see the department psychologist during your time off. She’ll decide when you’re ready to return to work.”

  When Lewis walked away, the men again formed a small circle. Neither of them said anything for a while, until Joe broke the silence. “We are still working this, right?” Joe asked with a small smile.

  “Absolutely,” Mitch said, unbothered by his superior’s dressing down. He looked to his left where Erica stood by Juliana and Azura as EMTs saw to their injuries. “I think we need to close ranks around the girls too. It’s Juliana who’s in danger, but as we saw this morning, Azura and Erica could be, as well.”

  Each of the men stiffened, protective instincts flying onto into overdrive. “Bring them to the station?” Joe asked. “They can stay in the war room.”

  “Good luck keeping them in one room all day,” Peter added.

  “Well, my time has suddenly been freed up,” Mitch said. “I can be with them during the day, Peter, I’ll assume that you’ll stick with Erica at night. Can Azura stay with you guys?” he asked Steve and Joe, who were roommates.

  “Oh course,” Steve answered quickly.

  “They’re not going to take kindly to being babysat,” Peter said, and Mitch nodded, knowing that his brother was right.

  “Well, if the alternative is this,” Mitch swept a dramatic hand in the direction of the café. “We’ll have to be convincing. I don’t know, offer to buy the wine and turn on the reality dating shows.” He turned serious. “Next, we need something to tie this to the Russians,” Mitch told them. “That’s where we’ll start.” He looked at Steve. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You should be handling this. The team is yours for now.”

  “No, it’s not, we’re still the same team we were yesterday. We’re all in this together,” Steve assured him. “But what do you make of the bomb? Any impressions.”

  “It was fucking powerful, I know that. Probably packed full of fertilizer, or maybe an IED, and I’d bet my life that it was detonated by a cell phone in that town car. Let me know if the lab gets back with any news on what it was.” He caught Captain Lewis watching him, glaring, and then he looked over at Juliana, as the EMT finished her evaluation. “I guess I should get out of here,” he said. “I’m going to take Jules home.”

  Juliana found a bottle of wine in Mitch’s kitchen and brought it and three glasses to the living room. She poured hefty servings for each of them, finishing the bottle in the process, and already knowing that one bottle wouldn’t possibly be enough. She considered sending Mitch out for more. They were sipping quietly, and Juliana tried to not think about the extensive damage to her store. She didn’t even know if her insurance would cover a fucking car bomb. Not likely. But as she looked at Azura, and felt her own soreness in her bones, she realized that they were lucky to be alive. So today they would toast to their health, and she would worry about the business later.

  Mitch had spent much of the morning and afternoon alone in his office, and the rest of the guys had shown up a few hours previous. They hadn’t said much, besides making sure they were all okay, and then they locked themselves in the office as well.

  Azura looked up and caught Juliana staring at her. “Jules, I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.”

  “I just can’t believe it. I’m so sorry,” she said. “I don’t know why any of this is happening.”

  “It isn’t your fault, honey. But you know what, we’re both still here, and we should be celebrating that.” She raised her glass in a small toast. “Why don’t we just talk about something else?”

  “Exactly,” Erica sipped her wine. “Tell me, Jules, what happened when you and Mitch left the show last night?” She asked her with a raised eyebrow.

  “What was that look about?” Azura sat forward alert, sending questioning glances between her friends. “What happened?”

  Erica helpfully filled Azura in on the way Juliana had quickly vacated the table the night before, and that Mitch had followed her. When they’d returned, Erica had noted that both of them were flushed, and in a hurry to leave.

  “Is that why you were so weird this morning before the explosion?”

  Juliana said nothing, but she smiled because her friends, despite the life-threatening event they’d experienced that morning, could turn any conversation back around to sex.

  “So, what happened?” Erica prodded again.

  Juliana shrugged, and took a cautious glance in the direction of Mitch’s office. “Do we really need to talk about this now?”

  Azura leaned forward and put her wine glass on the coffee table. “I knew there was something going on with you and Mitch this morning. Jules, I could have died today without hearing this story.” Azura asked, and when Juliana and Erica gaped at her, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m playing that card.” She pointed to Juliana. “You. Spill. I’ve earned this.”

  “Okay fine,” Juliana relented. She realized that she might as well start at the beginning. “You both know that I’m a member at Leather & Lace.”

  “The sex club you go to, yeah,” Azura said.

  “It’s not just a sex club,” Juliana said, almost starting into her rehearsed defending of the club, but she skipped it in order to get through the story, before Mitch or one of the other guys came out. “But, yeah, anyway. Halloween was the night of the big masquerade party that they do. I went, and I met a guy wearing a fox mask. I’d never seen him before, and there was just something about him. He was sexy, magnetic, and he was new to the place, so I showed him around. Eventually, I end up against a wall, with my legs around his waist. And since that night, we’ve been meeting up at the club.”

  Both of her friends, leaned in, intrigued, getting closer. “And who is he?” Erica asked.

  “I’m getting there. Since Halloween, our hook-ups were completely anonymous,” she expla
ined. “We’d use masks, blindfolds, complete darkness. And it was always so freakin’ good.”

  “And you have no idea who he is?”

  “I’m getting there,” she repeated. “Have patience.” Juliana then went on to tell Erica what happened with Mitch, getting dressed the night before to go out, Mitch telling her that it wasn’t a good idea to go to the show, the fight… “And then he grabbed my arm, and the next thing I know, we’re kissing and he has his hands on me and it’s incredible.”

  Erica’s eyes were wide. “Mitch? The Stone Man kissed you?” she asked, referring to Mitch’s serious demeanor.

  “And that’s not all.”

  Erica’s mouth snapped shut, and her eyes wide with anticipation and understanding of what Juliana was going to say next.

  “The way that he kissed me, and touched me, his voice, it was so familiar. So, we were at your show last night, Azura. We’re sitting in the booth, and he puts his hand on my thigh. And it hits me. Mitch is the man in the fox mask. He was the man from the club.”

  “Wow,” Erica and Azura said in bewildered unison.

  “Yeah. I stormed off, kind of angry, confused, and of course, he followed me. And we ended up kissing again.”

  “You guys left my show last night, to come home and get reacquainted?”

  “Sorry we didn’t stay to the end.”

  “Girl, if you were getting some, you’re forgiven. How was it?”

  “Excellent. He’s really, really, very talented.” She lowered her voice and went into some detail about the nights she’d spent with Mitch. “But there’s another thing. When we were meeting up at the club, he knew that it was me. He shouldn’t have known it was me, but he did.”

  Erica’s lips were pursed. “But why didn’t he tell you then?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged and took a sip of wine. “That part bothers me. He said he wanted to tell me as soon as he found out, but the fact that I wanted it to be anonymous, he couldn’t figure out how. It’s something we have to talk about, it’s a huge violation, and I don’t know if I can just forgive it like that. But in the meantime, I’m just going to roll with it. As long as I’m locked up here, I might as well use him to release a little bit of tension from time to time.”