by Andrew Grey
“Did you rest at all?”
“Some.” He sipped from his mug. “Look,” he said, setting it on the table, “there were people in the backyard last night. I turned on the lights, and they took off. Pierre was able to get a description from the officers who patrolled through the area, and I want to see if it matches any of the guys in the gang. I suspect that I’m even more on their radar now because I appear to have joined their rival.” Evan hoped that would play into his hand and that they might even approach him. Intimidation wasn’t going to work, and they were not going to get very close to his home any longer. “This is something I anticipated.”
“You did?” Wes asked, and Evan nodded.
“Don’t worry. Just do the same thing you did yesterday and make sure someone is with you. I’ll ask Pierre to get in touch with Jordan so you have someone to be with so you aren’t here alone.” This was becoming more of a balancing act by the day. Evan needed to get his job done, to protect Wes and Greyson, and make sure he didn’t do anything illegal, even though he was ostensibly part of the gang that took part in illegal activity. The tightrope that was undercover work was getting harder to walk all the time. Top that off with his promise to attempt to protect Trey, and things would be approaching impossible if he had to try to keep too many more balls in the air. And of course that always meant that there was another shoe to drop—he just hadn’t seen it yet.
EVAN DECIDED he didn’t want to return to the empty house once he dropped Wes and Greyson off, so he parked his car in one of the borough lots and walked through the main square. He took the time while he was outside to make a few calls.
“What do you have?” Sheriff Briggs asked as soon as he answered.
“I know they’re involved in illegal activity, but I don’t have the evidence. They don’t trust me enough to be that open yet.” Evan didn’t go into the stories he’d been told. That wasn’t pertinent to the case at this point. “I’m expecting to be contacted today, and right now I’m at the square, loitering a little. But there are two groups, as we know from the shoot-out, and I want to get both of them.” His heart sped up.
“Me too. Getting one isn’t going to do shit.”
Evan agreed. They needed to get both these groups off the streets. They were dangerous and willing to take their rivalry to the streets of the town in order to get what they wanted.
“I know.” He paced the little open area next to the old courthouse. Evan wanted to appear agitated to anyone watching. It would be good for his cover. “I’m working on it, but these things take time because I have to get them to trust me.” Evan caught sight of some of the guys from the group approaching the square. “I need you to have one of the courthouse deputies come over and give me shit… and I need it now. I’m being watched, so let’s give them a show.” The police were the enemy, so them being a prick would help increase Evan’s street cred. “I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up and quickly cleared the history on the phone. He turned away from the guys as Wilson cut across the square, his shoulders high and his lips curled into a sneer.
“What are you doing here? Move along,” he demanded, then lowered his voice. “What do you need?”
“I wasn’t doing anything. I can be here. This is public,” Evan said, trying for fake bravado.
Wilson grabbed his arm. “You need to move on. You can’t loiter here.” He guided Evan out of the square in a very convincing manner and around the corner of the building, his demeanor changing as soon as they were out of sight. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just needed a show, and that was a good act one.” Evan sighed. “I’m fine, and I hope I’m making progress. Go on back to the courthouse, look smug and pleased with yourself, and don’t look back at me. I’m going to be rubbing my jaw, but you don’t give a damn. That should make you look bad in their eyes and boost me in their estimation. Now go… and thanks.”
Wilson turned, striding away, and Evan waited about ten seconds, then turned the corner slowly, rubbing his jaw and stroking his chin.
“Hey,” one of the guys, Mack, said, and Evan lifted his gaze, lowering his hand. “Did he give you a hard time?” He tilted his head toward Wilson, who was crossing the street to the courthouse.
Evan shrugged to make it look like it was no big deal. He wasn’t going to lie, and they had gotten the impression he wanted them to have, so nothing more was needed.
“The guy’s an asshole.” The others all turned and glared at Wilson. “The cops around here are real jerks.” Mack turned away. “What are you doing here?”
“Just getting out of the house for a few minutes. Sometimes I swear the walls are getting ready to close in, ya know?”
They collectively shared another glare toward the courthouse and then began moving off the square.
“Yeah. My old lady is a pain in the ass. Glad to get away from that for a while,” one of the guys grumbled as they all walked back the way the others had come, which was also in the direction of where Evan had parked his car.
“Where are we going?” Evan asked as Mack received a phone call.
He listened and then hung up again. “Out,” Mack said, putting his phone away. “Looks like we got some things to do.” He pointed toward his car. “Follow us out.”
Evan nodded, then went to his car. He pulled off the orange ticket envelope, swearing. He opened it and found it empty.
“I bet that asshole gave you that,” Mack said as he continued on to his old truck.
Evan got into his car, put the envelope in the glove compartment, and followed the others as they drove west through town and out into the country toward Newville. Evan figured they were going toward where they had met the day before, but Mack made a turn and they went deeper into the country. Evan’s heart raced. This could either be good or something terrible. Evan set his phone on his leg and did his best to tap out a message to Pierre to let him know what was going on. He might finally be making some progress and actually getting close to this group. He still wondered how to make contact with the other one.
Evan reminded himself that this wasn’t a game. These guys were deadly serious. He needed to get evidence of what the group was doing, where they were located, and then they could bring them down and put this group out of business. The icing on the cake would be getting both of them.
He made another turn, this one down a road that was barely maintained. The old pavement was more pothole than surface, and he slowed the hell down to keep his car moving forward. Evan wasn’t worried too much. The car looked like crap, but where it counted, she was well maintained and had enough power to get him out of a tight situation if he needed it.
Mack turned into an overgrown drive and up to a house, then pulled to a stop. Evan took a GPS fix and sent it to Pierre before getting out of the car. He looked around the largely dilapidated property. Once-white paint was chipping off the now mostly gray two-story house, and the front porch, propped up with two-by-fours, appeared on the verge of collapse. Evan closed his car door, taking in all he could as he slowly followed the others around the side of the building, stepping carefully through the tall grass. He had no idea what was hidden from sight. This had to be where the group had moved to after the police raid. They had probably hastily found this property and taken it over.
Evan had to admit, it was probably danged near the perfect cover. Tall trees surrounded the property, shielding much of it with their canopies, and scrub bushes had already moved in, growing close to the house. If a person didn’t know the old house was here, it probably would have been missed by everyone.
“Come on,” Mack said, motioning him over.
“What’s going on?” Evan asked as he joined the others.
Mack stopped, and the two others did as well. “The boss wants to see you.”
Evan’s heart beat still faster. This was a key piece of information. Evan caught up to the others, taking in the men standing at the back door, glints of steel under their jackets.
Trey hurried up as Evan a
nd the others stopped behind him. Apparently it required an invitation to enter what looked like a hellhole, and Evan wasn’t particularly keen for one.
Trey jogged over, pollen and seeds shooting into the air as he hurried through the grass. “You need to go,” he told Evan.
“What?”
“This isn’t a good time. Go back to your car and leave,” he said softly. Trey spoke briefly to the others, nodded, but didn’t move.
Evan turned away, heading back to his car with Trey next to him. The others stayed behind, so Evan figured whatever was going down was only for those in the know.
“They weren’t supposed to bring anyone out here, and the boss is getting nervous. And when that happens….” Trey’s eyes grew darker, and Evan recognized what he saw. Fear—and plenty of it.
“Why do you care?”
“Because of my brother. Just get in the damned car and go.”
Evan got inside, pulled the door closed, and started the engine. He turned the car around and went back to the main road. Instead of turning toward Carlisle, he made a right and continued down until he thought he was in line with the house. Evan needed to get back, to find out who the boss was and what was going on.
He turned onto an old drive for a house that no longer existed, parked well off the road, and began planning his overland trek back toward the house. A message came into his phone from Wes asking if he was okay. Evan barely had a signal, but he smiled and answered the text that he was fine.
Evan looked all around him, contemplating what he was about to do. In the past he wouldn’t have thought about the consequences of his actions. He would have just gone ahead and done what he needed to do. But at the moment, Evan looked up at the blue sky, dotted with puffy clouds, and thought of Wes and Greyson. It surprised the shit out of him how quickly those two had wormed their way into his heart and his world. Enough that he wanted to give up this part of his job so he could be there for them more consistently.
But he had a task to do. Evan stood at the edge of the woods, knowing he was here to complete his assignment, and all he could think about was Wes and Greyson. The thought of making his way overland through brush and scrub held no appeal. All he really wanted to do was get back in the car, talk to Wes, and maybe figure out what they were going to have for dinner. Evan couldn’t believe how much his head had changed, and he needed to get it in the game. Evan lifted his gaze once more, then lowered it again and pulled out his phone for a GPS fix on where he was and where he wanted to go. With mental directions clear in his head, Evan entered the woods and began making his way back toward the meeting house.
The woods thinned somewhat as he got deeper in them. There was still plenty of underbrush, and some of it thorny as hell. It took him longer than he would have hoped to get where he wanted to go because of downed trees and thick undergrowth in places, but soon enough the outlines of the farmhouse appeared between the trunks of the trees. Evan carefully made his way forward, hoping to hear something that would tell him what was going on.
The glass of some of the windows had been broken, and voices drifted on the breeze. Evan couldn’t make them out but didn’t dare step out from under the cover of the trees to get any closer. It was broad daylight, after all. Still, he needed to hear what was happening.
The old set of doors for an outside basement entrance extended from the house. It would provide some cover, but hardly very much. The trees were only ten feet from the house, but Evan had no idea how long it would be before someone came around the back. Still, he had to try. He looked all around and stepped from the cover of the trees. He crouching between the basement entrance and the remains of an old fence at the corner of the house. Someone might not see him, but Evan knew he was damned exposed and couldn’t stay here very long.
“The meeting is tomorrow,” a deep male voice said firmly. “But I’m not going in there alone. I’ll need some of you to go with me to watch my back.” Evan didn’t recognize the voice, but the skepticism and tension came through in the undertone.
“Where is the meeting and when?” Mack asked. “And who do you want to go?”
“The three of you will be with me. And you two, I want you on the perimeter, and no one is to see you. Understood? We are going to take these guys out for what they did.” Anger flowed through the air, raw and barely contained. There was a pause, and Evan pressed against the weathered siding. He needed to know where the hell this meeting was. If there was going to be a damned war, the department needed to put a fucking stop to it before innocent people were hurt. “They said I was to pick the place because they want me to feel comfortable.”
“When?”
“They asked for seven tomorrow night. Doesn’t matter, though. As soon as we name the place, they will have it scoped out from every angle possible.” Evan recognized Trey’s voice. He cursed under his breath. He had hoped that he wasn’t as involved with the group as some of the others, but it seemed he was deep into the planning for a gang battle. “What do you want us to do?”
A pause ensued. “Nothing right now. I need to think.” Silence followed, and then heavy footsteps treading over the floor, growing quieter as their distance increased. Evan figured he wasn’t going to get anything more right now, so he hurried under cover of the trees and backed away, farther and farther into the shadows.
He swore under his breath, wishing he knew where all this was going to take place. Retreating deeper into the woods, he checked his phone, but there was no service. Evan didn’t want to leave in case he could gather more information, but he needed direction. He started back toward the car, the house now out of sight, and he got a bar. Evan dialed and prayed the call connected.
“Sheriff,” he breathed, “I’m outside their hideout.” God, it sounded like a black-and-white movie. “I don’t have much time. They are planning for a damned war with the other gang.”
“Where, when?”
“Tomorrow at seven, and I’ll try to find out where. No luck so far.” His heart beat hard. “That was all I overheard.”
“Can you get more, or is it too dangerous? And don’t you dare underplay the situation. Just tell me the truth.”
“I nearly fucking wet myself getting what I got,” he said honestly.
“Then get the hell out of there. We’ll have to figure out how to find out the location. There will be plenty of people who know where, and the department is going to have to lean on everyone they know in order to find out.”
Evan groaned. “I may know a way.” He headed back toward the car, hoping the call didn’t drop.
“Then you need to use it,” Sheriff Briggs said. “We can’t have a damned street battle in the middle of the county. The town is still on edge, and we have to take action or they are going to call for my head, and for half the department’s as well.”
“I know. I’m working on it.” He suddenly felt a huge weight settle on his shoulders. He was doing the best he could, and Briggs knew it.
“I’m going to add extra staffing and inform the borough, as well as the other departments. This could take place anywhere in the county.”
“Though I suspect its most likely the western half. The eastern part is too populated, with too heavy a police presence and too near Harrisburg. They wouldn’t get far. My guess is somewhere out here, but we’re going to have to work on it.” Evan reached his car, climbed in, and started the engine, rolling down the windows to let in some air. “This is speculation, though.”
“What’s your plan?” Briggs asked.
“I need a listening device. I got close to the house today. I think we could come back and plant something just outside so we can hear them. They may move on. The leader isn’t staying there, but maybe we’ll pick up some chatter. Put a group of guys together and they’re going to talk about whatever they’re excited about, scared about, or sex, sometimes all three at the same time.” His burner phone vibrated. “I have to go. I’ll call in again as soon as I can.”
“I’ll get a small listen
ing device and have Pierre deliver it to you.” The sheriff hung up, and Evan answered the other phone.
“It’s time for you to prove yourself. Get back to the house.”
The line went dead, and Evan wondered if he should go or simply walk away. Walking away was probably the smart thing, and he could just return to the house and Wes, but that wasn’t going to get the job done. Evan had never dealt with this kind of indecision before. He had always lived for his job, though now he might have something so much more important to live for. But dammit, he had to complete this assignment, and then he could have a new position and spend the time he needed to build a relationship and possibly a life with Wes and Greyson. He called the sheriff back and explained the situation.
Briggs was incredibly forthright. “It’s honestly up to you. But if you disappear, they are going to wonder why and start looking deeper. They also might pack up and move again. We need them to feel as safe and comfortable as we can.”
Evan didn’t know how to explain that he was in two minds about this whole thing. “I know.” It was just that he didn’t want to put himself in any more danger. “But I won’t do anything illegal, and if I send the emergency signal….” He had to have a backup to get him the hell out if things went south.
“I’ll have the entire department descend on your location like a tornado in a trailer park.” The sheriff waited, and Evan gave him his answer.
He pulled out onto the road and drove back to the house slowly in order to buy himself a chance to think. They had said it was time for him to prove himself, and God knows what that involved. Evan had gotten himself out of many dicey situations in the past because he thought well on his feet. But as he rode down the country lane, all that kept returning to his mind was Wes, and that wasn’t helping his concentration. Damn, Evan wished he was home with him and Greyson.
TREY, MACK, and two of the guys he had met previously waited at the end of the drive once Evan pulled in and walked up to them. “What’s going on?”
