Page 27 of Shadow of the Moon

She grinned and nodded. “I have enough for a few beers and some food.”

The bar was not overly smoky when they entered, which Dev appreciated. There were booths along the right wall, tables in the middle and the long oak bar was on the left. It was the fullest, with about ten men sitting along the expanse. Zed, their target, sat kind of in the middle on a lone bar stool. No one crowded around him or even talked to him, and he was nursing what looked to be a Coke. Devlin settled at a table a few feet away, but not directly behind him. It wouldn’t do to spook the bad guy. Overhead, country music played old classics.

Zed peered around at them, and seemed to survey them for a moment. When Amberly lifted her brows at him, he made a motion with his hand. “Sorry, thought you were someone else.”

He turned back around on the stool and didn’t look their way again.

A waitress came around and took their drink order, and they ordered some appetizers as well. Then they sat and chatted about mindless stuff, keeping half an ear on the man behind them. Nothing happened for a long time, he just sat drinking his Coke. Then, about halfway through eating their apps, Zed got a phone call.

The ring tone was so loud even over the chatter of the bar, everyone looked around at him, then went back to their own conversations. Dev wanted to lean in and listen hard, but he needn’t have worried.

“Yeah, Cole.”

A shiver went through him at the sound of the man’s name who had haunted him for years. He flashed a look at Amberly, and she very deliberately looked down at the plate of food in front of her. The message was obvious; don’t be too eager. Chuckling, Dev nodded at her, but his hunter’s instincts had been sparked. He tossed back a swallow of beer, then looked for the server to order another. It gave him a reason to look at the man he might have to kill. Very soon.

“They’re not here yet. I don’t know what to tell you.” Zed huffed out a breath. “Yes, I’m on time. Obviously. Can you hear the buzz of the bar around me? I even got here early.”

Zed sat back on the stool, eyes raised to the heavens, as he listened to the man on the other end of the line. Dev wished to high hell he could reach through that phone line and strangle Cole Regent. It would make all of their lives easier.

“Did you tell them the right bar?” Zed glanced around surreptitiously. “I don’t see anyone like that. I’m telling you they’re not here,” he snapped.

Seconds later, he went a little pale and he hunched over the phone. “I’m sorry, Cole. My nerves are shot right now. My daughter is driving me crazy. You’d think she would be happy to see her pop after he’s been in prison so long, but all she does is bitch…” He paused for a moment. “God, no! Please, don’t! I didn’t mean that at all,” he hissed.

Zed flagged down the bartender and the man brought him a bottle of whiskey. Zed splashed some into the Coke glass and tossed it back, then he sat there listening to the phone. Dev could see the frustration building in the bouncing knee, and the hunched way he sat. It looked like Cole Regent was chewing his ass good.

“I know you’re on a timeline, but I can’t make these fuckers appear out of thin air,” Zed finally almost yelled. Again, most of the people in the bar glanced at him, and Zed flipped the room the bird. Then he leaned tighter into the phone. For a few seconds Dev lost the conversation as the noise swelled around him, then there was a pause, and he distinctly heard him say, “I know everything rides on this, Cole, but it may be too big this time. I’ve been with you for a lot of shit, but this one is something else.”

A few beats of silence as Zed listened, then he shook his head. “I’m not saying that, damn it. I believe in our calling, too, but I don’t think this will translate the way you want it to. Women and children have nothing to do with the laws you’re fighting.”

Zed huffed out a breath and took another swig of his drink. “Yes, I have the list. I’ll call you as soon as they show up.”

Dev shared a look with Amberly. If they could get their hands on that list…

Zed pushed a button on the phone and set it very deliberately onto the bar.

“I’m gonna go to the little girl’s room, Babe,” Amberly said, pushing to her feet. “Whoo,” she trilled, giggling as she swayed on her feet.

Dev had watched her nurse her beer and he knew she wasn’t as inebriated as she acted. She was just a good actress. Bracing her hand on Dev’s shoulder, she reached out her other hand and brushed it across Zed’s shoulders. He turned, obviously aggravated, and Amberly grinned at him. “Sorry, dear. Guess I should have eaten a while ago,” she breathed, and Zed’s expression softened. He gave her a lopsided smile in return, watching as she headed toward the back of the room and the obvious restroom sign.

“Sorry about that,” Dev said, getting a good look at the man’s face for the first time. Zed wasn’t as old as he appeared from a distance. The stringy gray hair and leanness of his body attested to hard times. Dev knew even decent prisons were hard on a man, and if Zed had been in one of the worse ones… well, there was probably a reason why it looked like he’d aged prematurely. “She’s such a lightweight.”

They chuckled together, and looked back the hallway where she’d disappeared.

“Well,” Zed said, “when they’re that cute, you pretty much let them do what they want, and just enjoy the ride.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Dev laughed again and nodded, turning back to his beer.

Zed turned around to pick up his whiskey.

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