Page 80 of Instinct & New Identity

What just happened?

I stood there for a few seconds, trying to understand.Ifelt tears begin to fill my eyes as my heart squeezed even tighter.

“Do you think ifIaskedWadenicely, he would beat him up for me,”Val’sangry voice spoke behind me. “Ruthiewould definitely do it, but her foot is broken, so that may not work right now.”

I finally turned toward her, andIknew she could see the confusion on my face.Shewalked the rest of the way to me, closed and locked the door, and pushed me back toward the bedroom.

“Come back to bed,” she all but demanded.

“Did he just break up with me?”Iasked out loud asIclimbed into the bed.

“I…Idon’t knowCat,”Valsaid, her anger gone, sympathy now filling its place. “Idon’t exactly have experience with that kind of stuff.Maybehe just needs some space.We’llgive him the night.Ifhe still needs space after tomorrow,I’llhelp you bury his body.”

She grinned at me, trying to cheer me up, butIwasn’t in the mood.Ihad dealt with loss before.Bothmy parents had died.We’dlost other relatives because they had been told thatwewere dead.ButIhad never had anyonechooseto walk out of my life.Thiswas a different kind of pain.

I wanted to scream and punch the wall, or maybe punchVincefor making me feel this empty.Instead,Icried until exhaustion took over andIfell asleep.

32

VINCE

My chest felt like someone had taken a vise to it.Itwas hard to breathe.Partof that could have been the smoke inhalation, butIknew it was more than that.Ikept walking down the stairs fromVal’sapartment to the main entrance to the building near the security office.Wadestood there.Iwasn’t sure if he was waiting for me or if he was headed upstairs to his place.

He saw my face and spoke. “Followme to the pub.Let’sget a drink.”

That sounded like the only good ideaIhad right now.Plus, being in the pub meantIwouldn’t be far if something happened toCat.Notthat she would tell me if she did.NotafterIput that look on her face asIleft.Iknew my words hurt her, butIcouldn’t help myself.

OnceIhad gone to the hospital and saw for myself thatCatandRuthiewere safe and would be okay, my mind finally had time to fully take in what had happened earlier.

Oklahoma, the dumbass drug dealer was behind this.

I blindly followedWadeto the bar.Therewas hardly anyone in here, which was good.Iwalked to the far end, away from any people.

Wade sat down next to me and looked up atTammybehind the bar. “Tammy, give us twoJohnnieWalkerBlacks, neat.”

“You got it, boss.”

Wade didn’t say anything to me.Hetyped out a few things on his phone—Iassumed it was toEllieto let her know he would be late.Tammybrought the drinks andItook a good long drink.

Normally, that large of a gulp would burn a little going down, especially since my throat was still raw from inhaling the smoke and chemicals, but allIfelt was the warming sensation of it coursing through my body.

“Alright, you’ve had your drink.Nowspill,”Tammysaid, leaning over the counter. “Igot the basics of what happened earlier tonight, butWadesaid it involved some skip you brought in a few months ago?”

Tammy was a retiredArmyveteran, now in her mid-forties, who worked here mostly because she was bored and enjoyed talking to people.Shewas loyal and friendly but she could be feisty with a set of brass balls.

“I caught some drug dealer a while back, and since it was his third strike, he was going to prison for a good stint,”Idescribed, my voice monotone and forced. “Apparently, he was one of his gang’s best dealers so the boss wasn’t too happyIhelped lock him up.Heset out to make an example of me by coming after me, andCatby association.”

“But how did he know it was her and notVal?”Tammyasked.

He likely sensedIdidn’t want to talk about this, soWaderesponded. “UnbeknownsttoVince, they had one of their guys followVince.Hehappened to be there the dayVincemoved the girls in and assumed they were family.Theydecided to go after the girls instead as payback.Oncetheir minion started following the girls around, he overheard them chatting and realized they weren’t his family, but in fact, his girlfriend and her sister.Theboss instructed them to hold off so they could figure out which one was the girlfriend and then send a message.”

He was right.Thatmessage had been the chocolates, but since we movedValinto the apartment andItookCatup to the mountains with me, they incorrectly assumed the girls took the threat seriously and left town.

Wade went on. “Theyused their guy on the inside at the police department—Parker—to take a trip up to the cabin and kill them, butParkerrealized there were too many cameras for him to get away with it.Theyregrouped and decided to send a package to the front desk of the loft a few days later to see if they had come back.”

“They got confused whenJackintercepted the package at my loft,”Iadded. “Apparently, the man who had waited in the lobby was there to shoot me but freaked when another man, who didn’t match my description, picked up the package.”

“Then they got desperate,”Wadecontinued. “TheyusedParkerto find outVincewas going to his parents’ house for the holiday get-together.Theplan was to killVince, but they saw an opportunity whenCatandRuthiecame out to their car alone.”

---