Page 73 of GAF Factor

“I seem to recall you getting a little upset about your scarf.”

“That was a nice scarf,” he countered.

I stacked all the luggage on one side and the weapons and gear on the other, hoping that would make it easier for us in the long run. I had enough on me for an emergency, but if we really needed more, one of us would have to get to the back.

“Let’s hit the road.” I slammed the trunk door and walked around to the driver’s side. I whistled to Isla and Jane, waving them over. They had bonded over serial killers on the plane, though I wasn’t sure why. Whether it was the stories or the boredom of the plane ride, I didn’t know. I was just happy they were getting along.

We were on the road for about an hour before we hit the small town Shawn was from. I could easily see why he moved to a city. Staying around here was much like where Isla lived in Kansas—where I was now living. The town couldn’t be more than three thousand people. They were lucky that they had two gas stations and a small grocery store.

I followed the GPS to the outskirts of town, taking several turns before we finally pulled down the long drive to their house. “You didn’t say he was a farmer.”

“Is that important?” Isla asked.

“A lot of farmers tend to have guns,” I pointed out.

“His father wouldn’t hurt a fly. Trust me, they’re both very nice people.”

Nice people could be pushed to do drastic things if the situation was just right. I put the vehicle in park, but immediately had the feeling something was off.

“Stay here,” I said to Isla, immediately pulling my gun.

IRIS got out on his side and motioned that he was headed to the back of the house. Crouching low, I ran to the door, the sinking feeling in my gut growing when I saw the door was already open slightly.

With one hand, I pushed the door open, but the smell hit me immediately. I choked back a cough, struggling to breathe through the stench of dead bodies. It was highly unlikely anyone was still in the house with the corpses. I held my breath as I made my way through to the kitchen where I found IRIS standing over the bodies of Shawn’s parents.

“Well, fuck. We’re not gonna get anything out of them now,” IRIS muttered.

“I didn’t think the Irish would go after his parents,” I said, leaning down to examine the bodies. There were red lines around the wrists and neck. They were held captive before they were killed. How many hours had the Irish tortured them for information before they killed them?

“Oh my god,” Isla gasped.

I spun just as she covered her mouth, turning away as she gagged. Getting to my feet, I rushed over to her, taking her by the elbow and dragging her outside.

“We need to leave.”

“What? You can’t be serious! We have to call the police!”

“What we need is to find out where Shawn is,” I snapped. “If they can’t find him, they’ll go after you next. And when you’re not at the house, who do you think they’ll find?”

Her eyes widened as she took a step back. “We have to warn Riley.”

“I will, but right now, I need you to get in the fucking car. We need to get out of here.”

But like the feisty redhead she was, she didn’t back down. “No, I’m not leaving. These were my in-laws. I need to at least stay until the police get here. They deserve that much.”

“And in the meantime, Shawn is moving further and further away.”

“Why are we even going after Shawn?” she asked. “If the Irish want to kill him, then what good would it do to find him?”

“So we can hand him over and end this before they decide to kill you as an example! Did you not see what they just did?”

She paled, swallowing hard. “I can’t just hand him over.”

“He tried to kill you, Isla.”

“I know, but…it’s not like he’s shooting at me right now and it’s self-defense. If we catch him and hand him over, it’s as good as murdering him.”

I knew this would be a problem, but I hoped that when she saw his parents, she would see reason. Clearly, that wasn’t in the cards for us.

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