Page 23 of Pike’s Redemption

“True. Gasoline?” I asked. “The guy in the chair blanched. Burning to death would never be my choice. It was right up there on my list as one of my top five ways I wouldn’t want to die, but hey — here we were.

“Sure, Prez. Hold tight.” I smirked at the man.

“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t! Look, you can kill me.” He gulped, his throat bobbing. Interesting. “Just not like that.” Wow, his tune had changed quickly.

“Ok, I give you my word.” I meant it.

“We got paid to set the fires. Some blond dude. Tattoos. The guy looked super creepy. He said if we didn’t do what we said, he’d kill us slow.”

By the time we’d gotten the information out of him and I’d sent out my men after the accomplices, I was starving. True to my word, I had mercy and killed him quickly — sort of.

“You know we’re going to smell like a fucking fire now,” Cross said grumpily as we left the warehouse.

“I mean, it already burnt down.” I shrugged. “Let’s get lunch?” I suggested.

“Sure, we can hit that Indian place you like,” Cross agreed. I was an equal-opportunity food lover, especially when I could choose what food it was. One of the things I hated in lock-up was the food. It was boring as shit. At least out here in the world, I could experience all the nuances offered; even if our small corner of Arizona wasn’t the biggest culinary mecca that ever existed, I was still happy as a clam.

Cross waited until I’d gotten on my bike, and then we set off for the restaurant. He’d been extra vigilant, making sure that I was accounted for. We hadn’t spotted a tail, but Ronnie said there still was one. She hadn’t clarified, but I knew she could provide proof if I asked. At lunch, I would tell Cross to drop off the extra detail. If someone was following me, I wanted to allow them to get close again. Maybe I could catch them.

?

After our bellies were full, I hit Cross with my plan; he was less than impressed by the scowl on his face.

“Who do you think you are? Some action hero?” he complained. “What if this is a Fed, and they catch you doing something shady? Or if it’s the serial killer? What about this blond arson guy that we’re looking for?”

“Well, this isn’t working, is it?” Now, I was grumpy about it. Cross was a good guy, someone I considered a friend, but I was bored. This whole looking over my shoulder bullshit needed to be done with. Yesterday, I helped Natasha and Ronnie move into their new place, and Cross followed me the whole time. It was bad enough that they had guards at the gates and the doors, but Cross, on top of everything, threw my entire mood off. It was hard to relax when you had people watching your every move. We had been careful not to tip off anyone if it was someone undercover following me. Other members handled any club business that wasn’t legal right now, which I didn’t mind so much. If it was someone else — well, I could handle it.

“I guess not,” he admitted. “It’s on you, though, if someone takes you out. Asshole. I’ll be pissed.”

“I’ll be dead, so it won’t matter to me, will it?” I smirked. “Not to mention you’ll take over the club, so it seems like you should be thanking me as my heir apparent.”

“Fucker, I can’t believe you. Heir apparent,” he guffawed. “You can be a real surprise sometimes.”

“Got to keep you guessing.” Shooting him a wink, I headed off towards my bike — alone, which was a relief. We’d parked in the shade of the alley because it was over a hundred, and the sun was a bitch on the seats of the motorcycle. Even through your jeans, it wasn’t super pleasant to sit your ass down on hot leather. Without any more niceties, Cross shoved his helmet on, gave me a nod, and took off on his Harley, gunning the bike out into the street. He needed to oversee a shipment today anyway, so he would have had to leave later. It might as well have been now.

Tipping my head back, I drew in a breath. It was nice to be alone for a moment.

“I missed you, brother.” A man was propped in the doorway of the opposite building. They stepped into the light, and my heart nearly stopped. Could that be? Eli? My brother, who I had thought was dead for years, standing there? I told everyone I thought he wasn’t dead and forced Nat to check — but now I wasn’t sure. For a second, I was paralyzed. The years fell away, and I was a kid again, looking after my little brother. Then, being told he’d drowned out at that God-forsaken pond at Kent’s... Eli, alive, standing in front of me. Eli had that same scar near his eye, right to the corner. He’d bled like crazy, and I’d been so worried.

"Eli?" I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Is …it really you?”

"Not here," he cut me off, glancing around the alley. "We need to talk, but not out in the open."

I nodded numbly, my mind struggling to catch up with this new development. He motioned for me to follow, and we ducked through the back alleys connecting these last few blocks of the edge of Morinrock until we reached one that was dusty and abandoned—perfect for a private conversation.

Once we were inside, Eli turned to face me. The last time I saw him, he was barely a toddler—five years old- like a little somber man. It had been hard to explain, and I’d not tried. My brother, as a child, was an old soul. The couple of placements we’d had were decent couples looking to do something good and kind but hadn’t known how to help a child like Eli. He hadn’t wanted to play like other children. He’d been a character from one of those creepy movies watching you from the shadows with his hands behind his back and a knife in his pocket. This was just a grown-up version. He didn’t look much different—older, bulkier—but it was still him—the same piercing eyes and stubborn set to his jaw.

"What the hell, Eli? I thought you were dead." The words burst out of me, a mix of relief, anger, and confusion.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t given a choice.”

“What fuck are you talking about?” I demanded. "You disappearing nearly killed me. I've spent years thinking about how I failed you. How it was my fault.”

Eli sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Whatever happened wasn’t your fault, Pike. We were children. Kent fucked us both up. You know that. That’s not really why I’m here.” His eyes darted away. “Move against the wall a little out of the window’s view.”

What the hell?

“Look. None of that shit is as important as what’s happening here,” he said urgently. “The killings aren’t me, but someone is fucking with us both. This person is dangerous. I need you to take this seriously.” My mind raced, trying to figure this out. So, if the killer wasn’t Eli, then who was it?

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