Page 73 of Deadly Avarice
Billy’s body stiffened, his muscles pulled tight. While I couldn’t feel his pulse, I imagined it was pounding.
I pushed Billy behind me, shielding his body from view and hopefully harm. “And here I thought I’d need to flush you out of whatever sewer you crawled into.” Footsteps sounded behind me and Billy’s hand tugged on my jacket. I turned my head just enough to see another man approach. My fingers twitched. All the other officers were out scouring the area, looking for the men right in front of me.
“That’s one of ’em,” Billy said.
I’d figured as much. Now, where was the third? Was he the supposed shooter hovering around the playground? And that was assuming there weren’t even more rats out there. There could be a dozen, maybe more.
“You’re just as pleasant as I thought you’d be,” Boggs said, not at all affected by my earlier dig. My hands clenched at my sides. My gun wasn’t the only weapon I had on me.
I didn’t have to wonder about Boggs’s expression this time. His smirk was full of malicious intent. “Slowly remove your gun and hand it over to Red. Your phone too. Remember to go slow and keep your hands where I can see them. And just so we’re clear, if you do try anything, it won’t be Billy that gets a bullet. It’ll be one of those kids out there.” Boggs’s tilted his head in the direction of the playground. “Maybe more than one. Can’t saythat I really care one way or the other. Billy’s too valuable to me to damage, but I don’t give a shit about the brats out there.”
Billy’s hand dug tighter, pulling at my coat. I kept my hands where Boggs could see them while slowly reaching for my gun. The man I assumed was Red quickly took my gun and my phone. Glancing his direction, it was easy to see how he’d gotten the name given his fiery ginger shock of hair.
My fingers clenched and itched to do something. Boggs had me between a rock and hard place. I wasn’t completely defenseless. After the incident in Chicago, Boone made certain I never left home without some of his Pops’s charms. While I wasn’t nearly as loaded as Boone, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. The problem was getting to those tricks and using them to the best of our advantage.
Coughing caught not only my attention, but Boggs’s too. Quickly glancing toward the school, I saw a woman holding a little girl’s hand. The child was obviously ill and going home early. Their murmurs were too low for me to hear, and they seemed oblivious to what was going on a few feet in front of them. I couldn’t blame the mom. She looked exhausted and worry for her ill daughter was clearly written across her face.
“Let’s move this discussion somewhere a little less crowded.” Boggs inclined his head and turned, walking down the sidewalk before cutting across a small stretch of yard, heading toward a nearby woods.
“Move it,” Red said. I didn’t know if the gun poking my side was my own weapon or his. Regardless, I followed. Billy clung to my jacket. I shifted my hand, appearing as if I were trying to physically comfort Billy but really aiming for my jacket pocket.
“Keep ’em where I can see ’em,” Red admonished with a harsher jab of the gun into my side. I gritted my teeth against my grunt. The barrel of the gun pushed uncomfortably between my ribs. Hopefully, the pain was worth it. I’d managed to snagone of Holland’s charms. While I didn’t recognize all of them by feel alone, I was familiar with this one. It could be useful as a distraction. I just needed to wait until the right time. I also needed time to think. This needed to end, here and now. Getting Billy safely out was priority number one, but saving him today only to be threatened again was less than ideal.
I needed to finish this before Boggs had the chance to hurt Billy or anyone else. God only knew what that man had going on and the victims still in his sphere of influence.
If Boggs got away today, he’d likely slither into some hole that was even darker and deeper than the one he’d crawled out of today. He might even switch playing fields all together and head to fresh hunting grounds. While that would get him off my streets, it would land him on some other innocent’s yard. That prospect made my blood boil.
Decaying leaves, fallen twigs and branches, and thick weeds caught at my feet and ankles. Billy tripped once, and I almost dropped the charm hidden in my hand when I reached down to steady him. Red didn’t scold me that time.
We followed Boggs deeper into the woods, far enough that if someone heard the shots, they might think it was a hunter. Boggs had made his intentions perfectly clear. He didn’t intend to shoot Billy, but he’d made no such promises regarding me. This forest was meant to be my grave.
The sound of crunching leaves sounded to the left, and when I chanced a glance, another man joined our group.
“That’s not one of ’em,” Billy whispered beside me. It wasn’t all that surprising. Boggs’s operation had to be more than three guys strong.
“Any trouble, Izzy?” Boggs asked our latest guest.
Izzy shook his head. “No one saw or followed your tracks. Nobody knows we’re here.” Izzy’s grin showed off two chipped teeth and a slew of other dental maladies.
“Excellent,” Boggs answered, a grin pulling the edges of his lips. “If that is the case—” The sound of sirens filled the air, starting soft and growing louder by the second. Boggs’s head lifted and swiftly looked around. Early winter daylight was pale in comparison to its summer sibling. Dimly lit, shadows darkened the area and added an edge of menace. “I thought you said we weren’t followed!” Boggs did not sound happy, and his hand tightened on his weapon. “Fuck, you people are idiots.”
Boggs’s gaze darted here and there, and soon red and blue strobe lights added their own peculiar light to the shadowed woods. I’d been half out of it the last time I’d seen this particular charm in action. I’d crashed the car Boone and I were in and we’d dodged bullets. Or more to the point, Aurelia had somehow stopped or perhaps, captured those bullets, protecting us both. I remember the noise and the annoying flashing lights, but I hadn’t been able to appreciate the sheer genius of the charm’s effects.
Billy’s quick, harsh breaths added the background base to the shrill sound of fake police sirens. I had a few minutes, maybe only seconds, to try and get us out of this mess because despite how it appeared, the calvary most certainly hadn’t arrived.
I had one of Holland’s shield charms in my pocket, but if I used it, that would protect Billy and me, but allow Boggs to escape. Holland’s charm now allowed someone to move while behind the shield charm, but they had to do it agonizingly slow. Rapid movement, like running, was perceived as a threat and the shield held strong and didn’t so much as budge.
What I needed, was to get our assailants locked inside that bubble. Unfortunately, the shield charm activated immediately. It wasn’t one I could activate and toss at Boggs, capturing him. Unless…
Billy choked and emitted a small whine. It was the perfect distraction. Acting as if I were comforting him, I ducked myhand in my pocket again. When Red yelled at me to keep my hands where he could see them, I pulled out my hand anddroppedthe shield charm.
“What the fuck’s that?” Izzy asked, stepping forward and picking up the charm. Walking toward Red, Izzy turned the charm over in his hand.
“Fucking shit,” I cursed, playing the part of someone who’d royally fucked up.
Izzy’s head snapped my direction. The sound of sirens increased until it was difficult to hear each other speak. “What is this?” Izzy asked again, and I clamped my mouth shut.
“Answer him,” Boggs demanded with the gun pointed directly at my chest. “I know it’s a charm, but what does it do? I haven’t seen one like that before.”
