Page 48 of Stolen Omega

Chapter Sixteen

Archer

The van is parked up where it should be, ready and waiting to be loaded up. Castle’s talking to the driver at the side of the van as I approach. It’s our van, custom built to transport Zelena around.

Only a small number of people know how we get Zelena from venue to hotel, and that does not include the driver. Statistically, it’s safer to employ a local driver. I don’t like that part.

I don’t put much trust in strangers.

That’s why Castle’s the one I use to travel with them.

He speaks up if he thinks the driver’s off. We’ve dropped a few during the tour already, hiring new guys when it felt necessary. So far, Castle’s instincts have been good, and we’ve never had any real problems.

“Hey,” I call out, making Castle turn.

He waves me over, and that’s when I see the driver isn’t the same guy we’ve been using all week.

This guy’s blonder and shorter, and I don’t know who the fuck he is.

“Where’s the other guy?” I ask as I get to them.

The blond raises his eyebrows at Castle. “Uh …”

Castle looks at me. “Brandon’s out sick. He passed the keys to Dean here when he couldn’t make it.”

“Was this before or after the tire blew out?” I ask, looking at the blond.

He laughs nervously. “Look, man, I’m just here doing my man, Brandon, a solid. He would have been here himself if he wasn’t puking his guts up from food poisoning.”

“Let me see your ID.” I hold out my hand, and he puts his into his pocket.

He passes over his driver’s license, and I send his details to a friend of mine who can run a background check. I’m not letting this stranger drive out of here with Zelena until I know he’s not a criminal.

I pass the licence back, and he puts it in his pocket.

“Are we good?” he asks.

“We’ll see,” I tell him.

“Brandon spoke about Dean a lot this week,” Castle tells me. “They’re good friends. I’m sure he’ll do well.”

He knows the rules, and his instincts are usually good, but this … This is sloppy.

I’ll speak to him about it later. If this guy comes back clean, we’re good this time, but I don’t want something like this happening again.

“I’ll be back in ten,” I tell him, nodding at Dean.

I go into the building to check over the backstage areas one last time while I wait for Seth to message me back. He knows it’s urgent when I send him a request, and he knows he’ll be well compensated, so he’s usually fast.

Tonight proves to be no different.

The message I get as I’m headed back outside tells me Dean is a limo driver by trade. No current points on his license. No priors. Nothing shady in his past.

Castle thinks he’s good. Seth’s search backs that up.

Looking him over one more time, I let out a sigh.

My instincts are giving me nothing. Well, not nothing, exactly.

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