Page 60 of Balls to the Walls

The man in the front seat was desperately trying to undo his seatbelt as he hung upside down in the overturned vehicle. The wheels still spun as the engine smoked. If I walked away now, he might just blow up in the vehicle. But I wasn’t taking that chance. No witnesses.

This was just as bad for Jack as it was for me. If this guy worked for Gelbero and called it in that I had just been at Jack’s place, they’d want to know why. And Jack would never answer that question. He’d take a bullet in the head first. No, there was no other way.

I walked up to the driver’s side window and slammed my gun against it, shattering it instantly. The man fumbled for his gun, but wasn’t fast enough. I put two bullets in his head, then checked out the back seat to be safe. I opened the door and found his phone lying on the roof. Using his thumb, I unlocked his phone and scrolled through recent calls. There was only one, and he placed it ten minutes ago.

By the time I got back to the car, FNG was on his phone, probably relaying the events to anyone who would listen. I slammed the door and shifted into drive. At least there were no cameras in the area.

“Yeah, baby. I gotta go. I’ll be home soon.”

I glanced over at him, shaking my head. “And you thought that was the perfect time to call her?”

“Well, you were taking a while.”

“I was searching for evidence,” I bit out, handing over the phone. “The last number dialed—find out who he called.”

“Sure, sure. It’s just…I’m not sure Rae wants to talk to me. I think she’s pretty pissed at me.”

“She’ll be even more pissed if you don’t call her and this blows back on Jack.”

“Good point. Yeah, I’ll give her a call.”

He cleared his throat a few times, then dialed her number. I kept my eyes on the road, watching for anyone who might be following us, but so far, we were in the clear.

“Yeah, it’s FNG—don’t hang up!” He huffed out a breath. “She hung up.”

I snatched the phone out of his hand and dialed again.

“Don’t ever call me again—” she started.

“It’s Johnny. I need you to run a number for me.”

“He’s with you?” she asked incredulously. “Why? Why would you spend time with him after all the hours we spent looking for him?”

“I need a number,” I said testily. “Are you gonna fucking help me or not?”

“Fine,” she grumbled, “but don’t bring him anywhere near me.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t wish him on my worst enemy. He clung to me like lice.”

“Technically, lice don’t cling to you,” FNG cut in. “They?—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snapped. “Give her the damn number to trace,” I said, handing over the phone.

He relayed the numbers, then hung up with a heavy sigh. I wasn’t in the mood for his shit. I didn’t want to know why he left or what caused him to come back. Right now, all I could focus on was making sure that Jack was as safe as possible. I was pretty damn sure he couldn’t take care of himself right now.

“You know, I get it. You’re pissed that I didn’t tell you what was going on. We’re tight, and I should have found a way to tell you. And I swear I would have.”

“I just murdered a man,” I snapped, wondering how he could think I was still thinking about him.

“Right,” he nodded. “I’m sorry my disappearance pushed you to that. You know, this is not unlike something that happened to me when I was gone. See, it all started about six months ago.”

I gritted my teeth and kept driving, hoping Rae would call back soon and give me something to go on. I wasn’t sure how long I could drive around with FNG before I made another body disappear.

“In truth, she could have been the love of my life. Well, if I hadn’t met Honey. But it wasn’t meant to be. I just wish I could have had the opportunity to tell her that. Her name was Sarah. I’ll never forget because when she introduced me to herself, I instantly started singing to her. You know that song?—”

“I know the fucking song,” I said before he broke out singing.

“Man, I knew we had the same taste in music. Anyway, I was on a job in Utah, trying to find the hidden Aztec gold. Her brother was looking for the same thing and had been for some time. See, the interesting thing about the treasure is that it was rumored to have crossed into the U.S. after Montezuma was murdered. I was just glad to be back in the United States. But when I saw her, I knew she was special.”

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