Chapter 31

Ipull my hoodie over my head, even though the night makes it unneeded. But the more generic I can be, the better, and disappearing into the darkness is a definite benefit.

Coming around the corner of the narrow road, I approach the building in front of me, an old industrial-looking place with a sign out front that says Roseboro Textile Services. The drive here had taken me almost an hour, not because of the distance but because of how careful I’d been to lose anyone who might be following. At this point, I have full faith that Blackwell has a tail on me, and while I haven’t identified who it is, I’m going to be careful.

I’m a dangerous guy, but I’m far from the only shark in the water.

That’s why we’re having this meeting here, a place unrelated to either of us and therefore untraceable.

Checking the door, there’s a worn title painted on the metal... shift supervisor. This is the place.

I don’t knock, but out of habit, I stand back and to the side as I swing the door open, making sure I don’t stand in the area most people are likely to aim. But no gunshot or threat comes, just a deep voice from the dimly-lit interior.

“Come on in. We’re clear.”

I step into the room, plain and bare save for a dented government surplus metal desk and a couple of beat-down chairs. Thomas sits in one, gesturing to the other. Closing the office door behind me, I cross the small space and sit.

There’s a bit of a silent tension coursing between us for a moment, neither of us used to working with others, at least not like this, when everything we care about is on the line. Finally, he starts. “How’d the meeting with Blackwell go?”

It’s the icebreaker we need to get this ball rolling. No accusations, no bullshit. Just focus on the job at hand. “Okay,” I say, humming as I think back. “He seemed to buy Bella’s death, but he wanted to see the body, not just pictures and video. I told him to go get the damn body himself if he wanted it so bad. He believed it enough to give me the information that was my main payment, so that’s something.”

I shrug, but my brows knit together.

“What?” Thomas asks.

“It was too easy,” I admit, leaning back in the chair as I try to recall all the details of the incident. “Blackwell is slick and smart, and he took me at my word that it was done. Too easy, which means he probably knows something’s up.”

“Maybe, but those pictures and video were pretty fucking believable. Maybe he wants to believe it enough to not look too closely. Especially since Izzy’s not really his objective. I am.” I can hear the pinch of pain in his voice. “Fuck, I never should’ve gotten her mixed up in this.”

I toss him a small grin. “Don’t know that you would’ve had much of a choice. I don’t know Mia, but if Bella thought for one second that she could help you, she’d do it. No matter the cost.”

He nods, seeing the wisdom of my words. “That’s true. But look how that’s ended up. What do we do now?”

There’s a tone to his voice that immediately increases my respect for him. Since our first meeting last night, I’ve wondered how he, the law-abiding businessman, would react to me, the law-breaking hitman.

Mia, I had no worries. Once she saw that Bella had chosen me, she’s been all about the data, about using her skills to protect her family.

But Thomas... well, I couldn’t know for sure he wasn’t just putting on a front for his woman until this moment. He looks at me not as someone who’s looking to be told what to do, shirking his responsibility in favor of my voice of experience with the seedier side of business. But also not with disdain or disgust, trying to take over as the mover and shaker he typically is.

Instead, he’s looking and talking to me like a teammate, knowing that we both have skills the other can use and that by operating as a single unit with a single objective, we can find success.

Just in this case, success means safety, not profit.

“First, what would you do if Bella were actually missing?” I ask him. “That’s your next step. Go to the media? Private investigators? Police? Obviously, I’d prefer not to utilize that option, but it could be unavoidable. But what would your instincts be if something really did happen? A big, public spectacle on TV asking for help, or a quiet, behind-the-scenes investigation?”

Thomas thinks, then says without a trace of arrogance, “Depends on the situation. If I thought it was her prick of a landlord, I’d be down there myself with the cops. Something like this, though... I’m a man of means, with a reputation and image to uphold. I wouldn’t involve the police or the media, not at first. I’d be expecting a ransom note, to be honest. I’d definitely hire a PI.”

I nod, agreeing. “Then do that, someone local so Blackwell knows about it quickly to validate that you believe Bella is missing. You and Mia should take him to Bella’s house, maybe even to The Gravy Train so it looks like he’s investigating Bella’s life. But do your best not to freak Martha out, okay? She cares about Bella and I don’t want to torture her needlessly.”

“And Blackwell?”

We’re treading into murky areas, and I measure Thomas honestly. “Do you really want to know the dark plans of evil men?”

Thomas nods. “Firstly, I don’t think you’re evil.”

“I’m not good,” I retort. “Maybe just a different kind of evil?”

“Perhaps, but that’s an argument for another time,” Thomas says. “Second, I’m not the kind of man who sends others to do my dirty work just to keep my hands clean. If we need to do dark acts, then I want to know and want to be a part of it if I can. This is my family involved. I won’t sit in the background.”

My respect for him increases ten-fold. “Fine. My gut tells me to kill the bastard, though it’d be difficult with the degree of security he keeps. It could also be messy, considering he has to be expecting something.” I can see the tightness around Thomas’s eyes. “But I’m guessing that’s not really your style.”

Thomas sighs, looking around the room. “You ever known someone who does the right things for the wrong reasons?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer, continuing on with his point. “I feel like that’s Blackwell. He has done some amazing things for Roseboro, and for a long time, I looked up to him as a business leader. But where most people would feel good about helping the library get new books, or a Little League team getting uniforms, he sees it as a way to gain notoriety. He gets off on galas in his honor, statues in his likeness, and brass plates with his name on them.”

I tilt my head, curious. “Sounds like you know him rather well?”

But Thomas shakes his head, “Barely had more than small talk with the man in all the years we’ve traveled in the same circles. But you can just sense it from some people, you know?”

“I’ve gotten pretty good at reading people.”

Thomas nods. “Regardless of this situation with Izzy, we need to eliminate this threat. Blackwell lives off the power, the legend he’s created in his own mind. I think that’s where I can hurt him the most. Take away his influence, make him powerless and inconsequential. Becoming obsolete and forgettable, that’s his fear.”

It’s a good plan, though more of a subtle long game than my style typically calls for.

“You might be right, but here’s what I know. There are people who do wrong just for wrong’s sake, for the hell of it because it’s fun for them in some sick, twisted way. And they’re unpredictable, you can’t put them in a box or make plans for what you think they’ll do because they’ll surprise you at every turn. They don’t think like you and me. Blackwell’s a man who is not going to go quietly into the long night, he’s capable of outright evil beyond what either of us would consider. Are you prepared for that? Because what you’re describing is a war of attrition.”

I pause, letting that sink in. “He’s been playing that strategy too, but the game just changed when you became aware of it. And the longer you let this play out, the more dangerous he becomes. If you back him into a corner, step by step, he’ll reach a threshold where he acts out in unexpected ways. The slow dance you’re both doing will go nuclear. You already didn’t see his moves with the sabotage and me, so I’m afraid you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

Thomas’ eyes tighten, and his fist clenches on the desk. But I don’t let up, adding the cherry on top of the bad news. “If you’re wrong in this approach, Bella pays the price.”

He fires back. “And Mia, and me, and Roseboro. I can respect that Bella is your concern, but as important as she is, this is bigger than her. You waited to come to us with this, knowing you could make moves to set up a better solution. I’m asking you to do the same for me. Let me figure some shit out, see what I can do and how I can situate us to handle Blackwell once and for all.”

It’s against my nature. Teamwork, delays, slick corporate business deals. I don’t want to do any of it, would rather just slash and burn Blackwell to the ground and stomp on the ashes of his life.

And that’s exactly why I agree with Thomas’s request. I want to step out of the darkness of my grief, my solitary life, my anger at the world that I take out on my victims. They’re not innocent, not by any stretch of the imagination, but this is the first step to living in the light with Bella, of creating a life instead of destroying them. My one shot at happiness, and I’m going to take it.

“Okay, but you need to move fast. Because I suspect Blackwell isn’t done with you, and you’re playing catch-up for plans he’s already set in motion.”

Thomas dips his chin once and starts to get up, but I hold out a staying hand.

“Wait, I have two things before we call this meeting to a close.” It’s the smallest of jokes, that a guy like me has some sort of fancy business meeting with a guy like him, but Thomas’s lips tilt upward. “A favor and a question.”

“Shoot,” he says, then grimaces. “Uh, not literally.”

I give him the same bare smile. “Blackwell gave me a data card with info about my brother’s killers. Do you think Mia would look at it for me? While he said it’s not encrypted, I can’t be sure he didn’t do some other kind of skullfuckery to it, and computers aren’t my thing, but Bella says Mia’s next-level genius with them.”

He holds his palm out, and reluctantly, I place the envelope in his hand. I want to know everything there is to know about Jeremy’s death, but handing over the intel to someone I don’t know, don’t fully trust is about as crazy a move as I’ve made since beginning this journey for answers. But it’s a necessity.

He slips the envelope into his jacket pocket, the reverse of what Blackwell had done, and the symbolism isn’t lost on me. These two men, for all their similarities with business and brains, couldn’t be more different at their core. And that thought alone gives me the smallest peace at letting Thomas have the data card.

“And your question?” he asks.

I look around the room and then back to Thomas, who looks out of place in the old, worn out factory. “Why’d you want to meet here? A broke down factory doesn’t seem like your style.”

He smirks, tapping his temple. “This factory is actually closed, it’s been shut down for the past six months and I’m considering buying the building and turning it into a new youth center.” He looks out towards the mostly dark factory floor, continuing softly. “There’s a group of young men, a boy’s home, that I help out at not far from here, though they don’t know that it’s Thomas Goldstone that is behind it. I don’t want attention and accolades like Blackwell. I like to keep some parts of my life private, like my good deeds and my woman. You understand that, right?”

“I do,” I say, nodding. “Keep Bella safe for me, please. She’s all I have, and I sure as shit don’t deserve her, but I need her. She has my heart,” I confess.

If I hadn’t seen how hard Thomas is hung up on Mia, I don’t think I could’ve told him that. But I saw their love and I want that for Bella and me too.

He leans forward, confiding, “Pretty sure you have hers too, man. She’s like a sister to Mia. I’ll keep her safe and out of sight while this plays out.”

He stands, offering a handshake, and then we step out onto the factory floor. It’s not large enough for a basketball court, but it could be other things. “What’re your plans for this, anyway?”

“A lot of the boys at the home, they think they’ve got no chance in life. They don’t need a head start, they need to get to the starting line of the race. And while Roseboro High’s fine, it still needs improvement. I was thinking here, they could learn all those skills that high school doesn’t teach. Coding, basic electricity, wood shop... all that cool shit that they don’t teach kids in high school anymore.”

“A trade school?” I ask, and Thomas shakes his head.

“No... or at least, not just that. The kids are going to help build it. Like, one of my first projects for them... they’re going to build their own gym, right here for this part of the floor,” he says. “Come on, I’ve gotta get this data to Mia.”

He looks around the space, his eyes soft in the dim light as if he can already see the youth center in his mind. And then he comes back to the present time, shitstorm brewing and all.

We walk out into the darkness, and before I peel off, I give him a nod. He nods back and climbs into his own truck, driving off into the night. As his taillights fade, I think about what he said.

Good deeds. Doing the right things for the right reasons.

My trust in Thomas grows.