Page 91 of Jack

“That particular camera malfunctioned early this evening. The replacement won’t be delivered until Monday.” Drew grins.

As Drew predicted, at 12:50, Clark pulls out his phone for a moment. That must be the alarm. He says goodbye to the two friends still inside and walks to his car. It was so nice of him to park in the furthest row from the building, away from most of the cars. Guess he doesn’t want anyone to scratch up his paint with their doors. It’s happened three times since we’ve been here.

“Remember, hard, cold, and fast,” Jay whispers.

“Here. You’ll need this.” Drew shoves something in my hand.

I glance down and freeze. “Why do I need this?” I don’t even want to touch it.

“Trust me.” Drew dips his chin and steps back.

Just as Clark gets his door unlocked, I grab him and slam his back against the side of his car. His eyes almost pop out of their sockets when he looks up at the dark figure looming over him.

“Joel Clark,” I growl low and deep.

“Wh… What do you want?”

“I want you to pay for your crimes.”

He bravely lifts his chin. “My father’s a cop.”

“Not a problem.”

Fear flashes in his eyes. He just lost his biggest bargaining chip.

“I can pay you…what ever you want. Name your price.”

Of course, this douche resorts to money. Money isn’t a factor for me. It never will be.

A long whistle comes from behind me.Okay, Jay. I hear ya.

I hold up the Black Dahlia Drew handed me. “An eye for an eye.”

The whites of Clark’s eyes overtake the blue. I crush the offending flower into my fist, draw back my arm, and punch him dead center of his face. Blood splatter sure is pretty tonight. It’s not enough for me.

Cold, hard, and fast. I beat this evil man to the ground. Before I slam my boot into his face, arms grab me and hold me back. Clark scrambles into the car and starts the engine.

“Let him run,” Drew says in my ear. He pushes me toward the bike. My brothers are already on their rides. “Let’s go, boys. Stay close. Follow my lead.”

We chase after the Mercedes. Drew risks getting next to the driver’s door several times and tosses something from his pocket onto the windshield. Each time he does it, Clark makes a right turn. If Drew’s on the passenger side, Clark turns left. This is insane.

Somehow, we end up in a high-speed chase on the freeway. This is beyond dangerous. There are too many innocent people out here. As the first sirens pierce the night, my worst fear happens. A woman in a Toyota Camry panics and swerves into Clark’s lane. He jerks the steering wheel to the right to avoid her. His car slams head-on into a concrete pillar near an exit ramp. The car shatters to pieces before our eyes. Drew motions us on. We hit the gas and leave Clark and the freaked-out lady behind. What in the world just happened?

We don’t return to the safe house. Instead, Drew leads us out of the city, away from the traffic and sirens. We don’t stop until we reach an abandoned building an hour later. A black van waitsfor us. We get off the bikes, and the five of us stare at Drew, speechless.

“Drew, I’m glad you’re a brother and work with Ariel’s Angels.” I jab my finger in his face. “But, man, I’m never coming back here to work with you.” I point back toward LA. “I don’t know what that was, but you could have gotten us all killed.”

“Nobody died.” Drew shrugs. “We need to talk.”

I toss my hands up. “Sure, brother. What would you like to talk about?”

“I have an angel I need you to move. No file, but I think your dad will make an exception this time.” Drew opens the van’s sliding door. A woman steps out with tears running down her face.

“Nina?” I haven’t seen her in years, but it’s her. “What’s going on?”

“They found Lily through me.” Nina wipes her tears away with her sleeve.

“How?” We’ve had suspicions about how Clark found Lily but couldn’t confirm anything.

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