Page 112 of Blue-Eyed Jacks
I’d beat Nonno there; that was certain, even with my little side trip.Most importantly, I needed to be there, where Zoe was, over an hour before Shock found her.
All of those dark thoughts turned really fucking dark.
“If he harms one hair on her head, I’ll…” I spoke aloud in the car as I drove.
It wasn’t an empty threat, just open-ended.I’d start by getting my baby girl safe.Then shoot the motherfucker in the balls.First aid enough to keep him alive so I could tear his skin off.Then I’d cut him up and feed him his own parts.
Damn.
I sounded just like my old road brother, Pinner.I finally understood his motivation to serve life in prison for killing the man who hurt his little girl, Lily.I could learn a thing or two from his fuckups, though.He went to prison.I wouldn’t.Whatever end Shock deserved, it would fly under the radar of law enforcement.
I backed off the accelerator.It wouldn’t do any good if I was caught.I had to go in knowing the scene would be right out of Hell.I also needed to dealwith one fucking problem at a time and not get myself caught doing it.Usually, I was better at that shit.
The problem was, I hadn’t planned this heist.I altered my plan, driving past the house at Hickey’s address.I parked farther down the road where the road dead-ended and quickly wiped down the car.As I crept downhill toward the house carrying my gear, I tried to figure out what I’d do if Shock or the police trapped me in this god-forsaken suburb.
If I had to use the car for a getaway, it was a bad idea to leave it where it was.I should have turned around and parked it closer to the mouth of the cul de sac.Fuck wasting time to move it.I’d do whatever was necessary to get Zoe out—even hot-wire a car.Once I got the situation controlled, I’d head north.News of my demise couldn’t have traveled fast enough to reach everyone in the Destroyers’ network.There was a smuggler on the border by Detroit who’d get me into Canada.
Me and Zoe.
Plan set, I stuck to the shadows of the overgrown trees and landscaping that surrounded the McMansions and stately ranch homes that somehow still looked good despite being almost a quarter century old.When Hickey told me the address, it pinged in my memories.I’d looked up her father’s house once as I plotted his demise.Too bad the asshole got himself shot before I could get around to finally doing it.
Kate’s former house was one of the newer ones, built in the eighties.It was a mishmash of all the outward trappings the houses of that time featured.A big ass arched window over the front door, colonial decor, but mansion-style scale and amenities that didn’t quite create symmetry in the exterior design.From my perch on the stone fence, I studied the exterior to picture the layout on the inside.On the main floor, there were two windows to the left of the door, another doubled window off to the right.I scanned the roof line.There was a chimney on the left, which was likely attached to the great room.No chimney on the right meant either office space or other whatnot, maybe ending with a formal dining room in the back or maybe a second family room where the kids watched movies and shit.
The farthest room to the right on the main floor was lit up.
The upstairs bedroom above it was lit up as well.The other side had more room for a main bedroom, but the lack of light coming from any of the windows over there told me a lot.Shock would want to see what he did.
I’d slip in through the back.Come up the middle or hopefully find a back staircase off a kitchen and get upstairs without being spotted.Then, down the hall to the lit bank of windows on the end.Gun ready, knife in the other hand.
Hopefully, Zoe wouldn’t try to hug me.That would be a fucking mistake.
There was a van in the driveway.Flanking it were two motorcycles.At least one of them was Bandit’s because of the tracker.I guessed the other would be Shock’s.Fucking morons.Taking their bikes here?Dumb mistake.Noise like that was noticed.The denizens of residential neighborhoods loved to peek out windows whenever they heard loud pipes.In a way, that was a good thing.Maybe I could pin Shock and Bandit with this whole thing and keep the cops from crawling up my ass later.That meant killing them both.But how?
One problem at a time, dummy.My dad’s voice was pretty loud tonight.I didn’t need it distracting me.Then again, the old bastard got away with a lot before it finally caught up with him.I might want to listen.
I tucked my bag under a bush and slipped around to the back of the house.
There was a balcony over the deck that wrapped across the main floor.Both jutted off into darkness.
Fucka staircase.
This balcony was much easier to climb onto than Sprout’s greased pole.I managed it in about a third of the time it took me to breach my home’s security.
I hung from the railing, listening for problems.There were none that I could tell.I sensed movement in the house, but nothing indicating they’d heard me.In a moment of stupid imagining, I remembered Kate’s kiss.The longing for another was like a dagger in my heart.
There wouldn’t be one of those waiting for me here.
The French doors at the top were easy as fuck to pry open.My anger made me quick, brutal, and mostly silent.The thick carpet didn’t make any sound when I padded to the open door to the hall.
I hoped like hell I wasn’t too late.
Chapter 32
Kate
Behind Shock was another man, one of his lackeys who’d accompanied him to Skilletsville.What was his name?Did it matter?I froze on the stairs.The tableau of my doom waiting for me at the bottom.
Cara, however, didn’t freeze.She opened fire.
