Chapter 15

"Invest in the human soul. Who knows,

it might be a diamond in the rough."

–Daniel Defoe

Jameson

Since I had the day off, I didn't catch wind of Evelyn's death until I swung by the sandwich shop around noon. My first gut reaction was a mix of relief and hope that maybe now Declan would get what was coming to him.

Then I heard the buzz about Rayne stumbling upon the body during her late-night drive, and it sent a chill down my spine. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd found Evelyn on her way back to her car.

I'd been so exhausted after she'd sent me a text that she was safe, that I'd fallen asleep immediately. Why had she sent that message if she'd found Evelyn? Why not tell me?

Deep down I knew why. I would have hauled my butt down the street to be with her. No matter who saw it. Then it would have been obvious where she had been.

I needed more information, but I didn't want to fuck up the run I was supposed to go on that night with Ben, so I couldn't head down to the station.

The best place in town to hear gossip was the bar, especially since Evelyn worked there.

After finishing my lunch, I strolled down the sidewalk and headed towards BBB.

When I saw the patrol cars and the police tape blocking off the alley a few blocks away, I changed course and headed over there. There were almost two dozen other bystanders huddled around, so I figured I'd blend in.

Two officers stood around as a woman in a black coat took photos of the street.

"What's up?" I asked the blond man.

The dark-haired cop answered instead. "Hit-and-run last night." The man looked me over. "You're Jameson, right?"

I nodded and wondered how this cop knew my name. I'd seen him once, somewhere. Maybe when I'd been booked?

"She okay?" I asked.

The man's eyes narrowed, but then he shook his head slowly.

"DOA," he answered.

"Bummer," I said, trying to act casual. Since the guy was now staring me down, I shoved my hands in my pocket and turned to head back to the bar.

I was half a block away when I realized my mistake. I'd asked if she was okay. The cop had just told me it was a hit-and-run. Not that a woman had been hit. No wonder he looked at me funny.

Shit.

Okay, I was losing it. Get yourself together, I told myself as I stepped through the back door to the bar.

Seeing Felix sitting at the bar alone, I moved to sit next to him.

"Hey," I said casually.

Felix glanced over at me. "Your day off?" he asked.

I nodded. "Heard there was a hit-and-run," I said, keeping the details to a minimum.

"Evelyn Hart," Felix said and then downed the shot sitting in front of him.

"What?" I acted shocked, then I glanced around. "Does Declan know?"

"We're taking care of him," Felix said. "How's the head?" He motioned to the small bandages I'd put on the spot after my shower that morning.

"I'm okay." I ran my hand gently through my hair, as if I wasn't emotionally affected by Evelyn's death. In truth, I was. I was pissed that a kind young woman had her life snuffed out because she'd fallen for the wrong kind of man.

Faye, one of the other bartenders, moved over to take my order. Her eyes were puffy and red, and I could tell that she was upset about her coworker's death.

"Beer," I said, and then motioned to the empty shot glass. "And two more of those." Faye moved to fill my order. "What now?" I asked.

Felix shifted towards me. "For now, you and Ben have a meeting tonight. After, you'll fill in for Declan for a while longer. Until he's… back in the game."

I nodded, taking in this information. "Sure," I said as the drinks were set in front of me.

"To the family," Felix said and tapped my shot glass against his.

"Family," I agreed and downed the drink.

We sat at the bar for a few hours while I nursed a single beer. When Ben and a few of the other guys finally strolled in after work hours, we all grabbed burgers and sat in a booth.

Shortly before dark, Ben slapped me on the shoulder and nodded and we took off. I'd walked over, so he met me at my place and waited while I grabbed my jacket and changed into my bike boots. I also slipped my other gun and my knife under my boot.

I followed Ben as we weaved our way down county roads. Honestly, if I hadn't studied the entire surrounding area on a map, I would have been lost.

When we finally stopped along a branch of the Red River almost thirty miles outside of town, I mentally made a note of the exact spot.

"What now? Another hike?" I asked, shutting off my bike.

"For a while. There is too much sand on the pathway for the bikes. After that, we take a boat." Ben started walking down a dirt path. We walked for about ten minutes before coming to the edge of the river, where a small jet boat was tied to a dock.

Ben got behind the wheel, and we headed downriver. Several times we had to duck to get under the overgrowth. We made our way more than ten miles down the widest part of the river. Ben pushed the boat at top speeds while I held on and tried to pretend that I was enjoying myself. When he finally cut the engine, I wondered just how in the hell he knew where we were going in the pitch dark.

Then I saw the green light he was aiming at. It flashed a few times, and Ben cut the engine as we coasted towards the shore.

I was surprised to see Declan standing on the dock.

"Hey," Declan said, grabbing the rope to the boat and tying it off.

"Hey," I said back.

Once the boat was secure, I followed Ben and Declan up the dock to a massive cement structure with a tall iron fence surrounding it. It was a fortress in the middle of nowhere.

"What is this place?" I asked, stepping inside the gates.

"Welcome to the Nest." Declan laughed. "It's totally off-grid. Runs on diesel generators and has no roads in or out."

The building itself was bigger than the Taylor plantation, although far less fancy with its simple cement floors and walls.

It reminded me of the bunkers I'd read the mob used to have, only on a much larger scale.

The moment we stepped inside, I saw why it was hidden. It was set up like a normal house inside with a living room and entertainment area. There was a leather sofa and a large-screen television that was currently paused on a shooter game that Declan must have been playing.

There was even a makeshift kitchen area with a fridge, microwave, and cabinets. I assumed there were a few bedrooms and bathrooms down the hallway.

Weapons of all types hung on the walls or sat lying around. Ready for anything, I thought.

I turned and saw a massive table in the middle of the space covered with large stacks of cash. Hundreds of thousands of bills sat right next to more drugs than I'd seen in my entire lifetime. I saw everything from marijuana to coke to pills of all shapes, colors, and potencies.

This right here would easily be the largest bust ever recorded. But I knew Declan and Ben weren't worth the trouble. Whoever was behind this could have ten other places just like this one hidden somewhere.

"Want anything?" Declan waved towards the table.

"No, thanks," I answered. Felix and Ben both knew I had made a stand about not sampling the drugs. I didn't mind selling them, or making money from them, but never touched them myself. I gave them some sob story about a friend who had OD'd in school. Thankfully, they never required me to mess with the stuff to work for them.

I was under the assumption that it was one of the reasons I'd moved up so quickly in the gang. There were a few Reapers that did dally and often messed up to the point that Felix stopped using them for big runs.

"Make yourself at home. We've got a while before we need to head out again." Ben walked over to the fridge and pulled out a soda. "Want?" he asked me. When I nodded, he tossed one over. I caught it, tapped the top, and opened it, drinking half the can in one gulp.

"Hot as balls out there," Declan said as he sat back down and picked up his game. "Thank god there's AC in this place."

I leaned against the edge of the wall to watch him play the game.

"Hey, heard about Evelyn," I said, trying to keep it casual.

If I kept quiet, he might think I was onto him. Still, if I said the wrong thing, he might think the same.

Declan shrugged and kept his eyes on the game. "I told the cops I didn't touch her," he said. "When I showed up the other day, she was all beat up. I'm just glad she was okay. Sucks about her broken arm, but she'll heal."

I frowned. "I meant the other—" I started, but Ben poked me in the ribs and shook his head.

Shit. Seriously? From the looks of it, Declan didn't know that Evelyn was dead. Which meant he had nothing to do with her murder.

Just then Ben's phone chimed and he turned to me. "Ready?"

"Sure." I set the empty soda can down as Declan paused his game and followed us back into the main room.

"I've got you all loaded," Declan said, motioning to three large black duffle bags. "Everything's in there." He walked over and took an AR-15 and an AK-47 off the wall and handed one to each of us. "You were ex-military, you should know how to use these." I nodded. "See you in about an hour." He winked at me and then turned back to his game.

I strapped the weapon over my shoulder and took one of the bags Ben offered me. As we made our way back outside and down the narrow pathway toward the boat, I instantly knew that the bag wasn't loaded with money. It weighed too much.

If I could, while Ben was driving the boat, I'd sneak a glance at what was inside just to confirm.

"It's guns," Ben said as he tossed the two bags inside. "Tonight, we're running guns." He took the bag from my hands and tossed it down. "We got a shipment of bangers and are trading for cash. It's a simple drop-and-grab." He motioned towards the boat.

"Why the heavy artillery?" I asked, sitting back down on the boat.

"Let's just say, the last time we made a trade with this group, things didn't go so well," Ben answered as he unhooked the boat, jumped in, and turned the engine back on.

"Should I be worried?" I asked as he slowly maneuvered the boat away from the dock.

"Naw, Felix and I taught them a lesson." Ben smiled. "These are just for show."

I nodded but still felt uneasy as we traveled further down the river.

I could see dim lights from a large town ahead of us along the river but before we hit the brighter lights, Ben cut the engine and aimed the boat towards a small beach area.

Before the boat hit the soft sand, two men just as armed as we were appeared.

"Ronny's expecting you," they said at the same time.

Ben chuckled. "Jameson, meet the twins." He handed me one of the bags.

Now that I could see both men in the dim light, I could tell they were identical twins.

We followed them up a sandy pathway to an old cabin. Ben knocked on the door and waited.

Someone shouted, "Come in," and we stepped inside.

An old black man sat in a rocking chair, smoking a joint as he watched us. I noticed he was missing half of his left leg and a few fingers.

Instantly, I wondered if that was what Ben had meant about teaching them a lesson.

"Bout time," he said to Ben. "New guy?" he asked, motioning towards me.

"Jameson," Ben said, setting the two bags at the man's feet. "This is Ronny." I walked over and set my bag with Ben's, then stood back.

The man ran his eyes over me. "Looks like the rest of ya." The man chuckled. I kept my mouth shut as the man bent over and looked in each bag. Sure enough, there were dozens of handguns in each bag. "Go on. The twins will get you what you need." He waved his hand and took another hit.

When we were safely back on our boat with two bags full of cash, I asked Ben, "Declan really doesn't know about Evelyn?"

"No." Ben glanced at me. "And Felix wants to keep it that way until…" He dropped off. "For a while."

"Sure." I nodded.

"Felix convinced Declan to switch spots with…" He sighed. "Shit." He stopped the boat and turned to me. "Until further notice, you're my right-hand man. Got that?" I nodded. "There are still things I can't tell you. You'll know a lot more than before, but some things are just… a need-to-know basis. Got it?" I nodded again.

Ben nodded and started up the boat again.

"Who do you think killed Evelyn then?" I asked.

Ben sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Hell if I know. I liked the girl. Unlike Izzy, she wasn't trouble."

"Right," I agreed.

"You're smart to avoid that one. Izzy is… fucked up. You're just lucky she was aiming at your head. This time," Ben joked.

For show, I grabbed my balls and winced, causing Ben to laugh.

After dropping the bags of cash back with Declan almost an hour later, we headed back to our bikes.

When we strolled back into the bar, it was a quarter past midnight and almost the entire gang was still there.

Including Izzy. Upon seeing me, she wobbled over and started hanging on me like she hadn't tried to take my head off the night before.

I hadn't noticed at first, but half an hour later, I happened to glance towards the bar area and spotted Rayne sitting alone, watching all of us.

I had yet to unwrap Izzy from around myself and had pretty much given up trying. When my eyes locked with Rayne's, I could tell she was sympathetic to my plight. I wanted to smile at her but knew there were too many eyes on us.

No doubt, she was staking out the bar, waiting for Declan to reappear.

Just as I was about to turn around and give my attention to keeping Izzy off me, Nadia shoved past Rayne, knocking her drink over. I stilled and watched Rayne face off with the woman.

Rayne's jaw was set, and her eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and defiance. Nadia's expression was cold and calculating, her lips curled into a sneer.

As the tension crackled between them, I hesitated, unsure whether to intervene or let them handle it themselves. But before I could make a move, Rayne spoke, her voice low and controlled, despite the rage simmering beneath the surface.

"Watch where you're going," she said, her words sharp and pointed.

Nadia's laugh was mocking. "Or what, Rayne? You'll arrest me?"

Rayne's fists clenched at her sides, but she held her ground, refusing to be intimidated. "If you give me a reason to, you'll spend the rest of the night as uncomfortable as I can manage," she replied, her tone icy.

Nadia's eyes narrowed slightly, then she shoved Rayne with her shoulder and walked away with a smile. Rayne stood there, her shoulders tense with unresolved tension.

"She's such a bitch," Nadia hissed as she passed me. She gave me a disdainful glance, her lips twisted into a scornful smirk as she noticed Izzy clinging to me. "As for you," she scoffed, her voice dripping with contempt, "why not stop messing with the uptight cop bitch and put Izzy out of her misery." With that parting shot, she sauntered off.

"Yeah." Izzy started laughing. "Let's go somewhere and fuck." She jumped up and down several times and then took my hand and started pulling me away from Rayne.

Thankfully, as we passed by the pool table, someone asked me to play and I had yet another excuse not to disappear with Izzy.

By the time the bar closed, Rayne had left and, thankfully, so had Izzy. I'd seen her hanging on the arm of one of the other Reapers, one that she often left with, and was relieved.

I let myself into my apartment and had my weapon out of my holster seconds after spotting a dark shadow.

"Easy, cowboy," Jasmine said smoothly.

"Shit," I said, putting my gun away and waiting for my heart to return to its normal pace.

"Sorry," she said smoothly. "You were, occupied."

"Right," I said, moving over in the dark and opening the hidden room.

Jasmine followed and when we were safely inside, I flipped on the light.

"What's up, boss?" I asked as she moved over and sat down behind the computer.

"You were busy tonight." She glanced at me.

"Yup, I was just about to write my report." I motioned to the computer as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Don't bother." She smiled over at me. "I watched the whole deal."

"How?" I frowned.

She laughed. "Ronny's place is bugged."

I laughed. "Okay." I thought about it. "So, you know about the Nest?"

I watched her eyebrows rise slowly. "Why don't you tell me what I missed."