AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“All good,” Jem said.
“For now,” North said. “Let’s make it through tonight before the victory jackoff.”
“So, cool fact, I actually didn’t know victory jackoffs were a thing until literally right now, which means I’ve wasted, like, at least eight of them—”
“Go on, sweetheart,” Emery said from the living room. “You and Lana go upstairs and play. I’ll come check on you in a minute.”
The little girls’ voices faded in time with their steps. North led their group into the living room.
Theo and Auggie stood near the stairs, Auggie clutching Theo’s hand like his body weight was an anchor to keep Theo from going after their daughter. Emery stood in the center of the room, head down, face empty. North dropped onto the couch, and Shaw joined him. Tean stayed near Jem, close to the entry hall.
“Is North right?” Tean asked, breaking the silence. “Is someone going to try to kill us tonight?”
“We don’t know that,” Shaw said.
“They’d be stupid not to,” North said.
“We don’t know what they’re doing. We don’t know anything.”
“We know somebody tried to kill those bozos.” North nodded at Jem and Tean. “And someone tried to kill those bozos.” He nodded at Theo and Auggie. “And tonight, somebody killed the motherfucking sheriff. So, I’m going to go out on a limb and say somebody’s cleaning up, and we’re part of the mess.”
“We have no idea what really happened tonight—”
Emery’s head came up, and he broke in, saying, “North’s right.”
“Put that on a fucking plaque,” North said.
“We had two leads that could connect us back to illegal activity at the Cottonmouth Club. Both of those leads are now dead. The sheriff is dead. And those three deaths took place inside a secure facility. We don’t know everything, but we know enough: someone is tying off loose ends, and we—in particular, Theo, Auggie, Jem, and Tean—are a bundle of loose ends.”
Shaw opened his mouth. Then he shut it again.
“Who’s doing this?” Jem asked. “That’s what’s driving me crazy about the whole thing. It was one thing when we thought we’d stumbled onto a wildlife trafficking ring. And then—and then Theo and Auggie got caught up in it, and it turns out it’s more than animals; they’re trafficking people. But who’s doing this? We don’t have names. We don’t even have faces. We’ve got a psycho in a mask, but that’s one guy.”
“That’s not the real problem,” North said.
“It felt like a pretty real problem when he tried to gut me.” Jem touched his chest, where a cut was still healing.
“He came into our home,” Theo said, his voice flat. “He tried to kill my family.”
“North is—” Emery seemed to hear himself and managed to say, “—not wrong.”
North snorted.
“The real issue,” Emery said, “is whoever conducted these killings tonight, they have a reach and influence beyond our original estimation. This isn’t a group of amateurs who have found a way to profit from illegal activities. We’re dealing with people who are organized, who are ruthless, and who can strike into the heart of a law enforcement facility.”
“Where’s Colt?” Tean asked.
“Ashley’s.” Something in Emery’s voice eased. “He’s fine; I called on the drive over.”
North rubbed his eyes. “Anybody want to go to Tahiti?”
Auggie raised his hand.
“What are we going to do?” Shaw asked.
Emery looked at him, but instead of answering, he reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He spoke quietly as he moved into the kitchen.
“You two should go home,” North said with a glance at Tean and Jem. “Hell, I wasn’t joking about Tahiti. Go to Tahiti.”
