Page 82 of Barrett

I thought Archie would stay in the city, but he drove to the limits and then took one of the main roads out.

“Do you think he’s leading us away from where he’s keeping the men?” Raiden asked. “There’s no way he’d go toward them. Either he’s already moved them and is waiting, or he’s got someone helping him.”

“Son of a bitch,” Barrett bit out. “I should have gone to the station and checked if the chief was there.” I took his hand in mine again. We’d let go when he stuck his head out of the window. I was torn between wanting to kill this asshole we were chasing and soothing Barrett. It was the weirdest shit. Usually, I only had my mind on one thing, and that alone.

“I don’t want you anywhere near that place, except to hand in your shit and drop off your car,” I said. Fuck him going there for anything else. I needed him done with that job and in my bed every night, where he was safe.

“Now’s not the time to tell me what to do.”

“I beg to differ.” There was always time for that. Although, we really couldn’t continue the conversation when the Lexus cut a sharp corner and we followed, the limits of the Navigator’s cornering ability being tested, causing me to grip the door handle.

“Easy, Ray,” I said.

“Do you want me to get fucking lost in the shuffle?” he yelled. “Not only do we need to provide backup, but I don’t want to miss out on any of the good stuff.”

“I’d like us to get there in one piece though. If you roll the Nav, we won’t get anywhere, and he could escape.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I had no clue where Archie was going. All these streets went through developments or down long roads where there was farmland. We kept following him though. Jordan might order Sheldon to shoot out the tires if we got to a more secluded place.

Somehow, we ended up on the main road again, going farther west. My leg was jumping. I needed to expend this energy.

Barrett slid closer to me so his thigh touched mine. Whether he did it for him or me, I wasn't sure. Either way, I was grateful.

The Lexus turned down what wasn’t a road or even a driveway but resembled more of an overgrown trail. It was hard to make out what was going on through the SUV in front of us, but when they stopped, so did we. When their doors opened, so did ours. We got out with our guns drawn. I tried to move in a way that kept Barrett behind me, but he wouldn’t stay there. He kept weaving behind me. He knew exactly what I was doing.

We had the car surrounded. Barrett and I were near the driver’s side rear quarter panel when my brother yelled, “No!”

A gunshot went off immediately after. I didn’t need to look to know Archie took his own life. We wouldn’t let him live anyway, but we could have gotten information out of him. Now, we were back to square one.

Inside the Navigator again, reversing down the narrow trail, I made sure to sweep my gaze over our surroundings. There really was nothing here. No houses, and the road was quiet. No one would notice we were here. Except our tire tracks would be visible in the dirt we drove through.

I texted Jordan quickly to say I’d have someone on his team come out here and cover them up. This wasn’t a no name guy who no one would care if he was dead. This was the chief of the East Dremest Police Department’s son. We didn’t kill him, but we were there. Who knew who’d seen us drive through West Dremest and out here in the country. We’d lie our way out of it; say we lost sight of him.

As I was hanging up after relaying directions to Barry so he could dispatch someone, Barrett put his phone to his ear.

“Hey, it’s Barrett. Is he in?” I couldn’t hear who was on the other end. “No, that’s okay. I was just hoping to catch him. I can try again tomorrow. Yes, everything will be fine, eventually. I just have personal stuff with family going on. Thank you. I appreciate your kindness.” He was sweet as could be when he wanted. I saw multiple sides of him. The one I loved the most was when he let go and was himself. No mask. No smart-ass attitude. Just my Barrett.

He ended the call, turned the phone off, dropped it to the floor, and stomped on it until it was in pieces.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Guess who was at work today and left in a hurry without an explanation?” Barrett asked.

“That solves whether he knew or not.” He could have just found out or he could have known for a while. As of right now, there was no way to know.

“Now to find him.” I picked up my phone to see if Lawson could trace the chief’s number after getting it from Barrett. We’d tried this with Archie but the number Lawson found was no longer in service. The chief kept his line in case someone in the department needed him.

“And kill him,” Barrett said easily. This wasn’t a drug dealer or a gang member. This was his boss. Nothing about this was simple or without risk. Whatever happened next, I would do everything in my power to make sure we all got out of it alive, and stayed out of prison.

35

BARRETT

I’d said what I’d said even if it made me sick to my stomach. The others didn’t need to know that. I was still a detective. Someone who upheld the law most of the time, while getting scum off the street in private. But the chief wasn’t. I didn’t have a doubt in my mind he was currently trying to cover his son’s tracks. Whether he knew about it before today, I had no clue. I didn’t think he’d known for long. If he had, he wouldn’t have pushed us so hard to find the person responsible. I also wasn’t about to tell him his son was dead. At least none of us had our prints anywhere near that.

The chief had kept his phone on, one I had the number to, and used the fucking thing as he moved through the city. Lawson was able to track it. This could all mean nothing, and the chief was going somewhere else. There was only one way to find out.

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