Prologue

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T ristan Montgomery sat up stiffly. He hadn’t let on that the blow to the head he’d taken two days ago had resulted in a stiff neck and some shoulder injury. He would talk to Pearl about giving him some physical therapy, hoping that she would just wring him out a couple times, instead of making him go to the doctor. Tristan wasn’t all that into doctors these days, especially not in hospitals.

They’d spent all day yesterday completing their statements and cleaning up the red-tape mess from the shooting in the ER. It was a good shoot, absolutely no argument about that, but just enough was going on right now that everybody had to make sure the paperwork was dealt with appropriately. Tristan was in the second spare room in Gideon’s house, and he walked downstairs slowly.

Pearl took one look at him and ordered, “Sit.”

He immediately sat, and she came up behind him and started working his muscles. He groaned with joy, as, one by one, the knots released, and the pain eased up.

“Now go have a hot shower, and, when you come back downstairs again,” she said, “there’ll be coffee.”

He smiled. “How come there aren’t two of you?”

“Because one of her is enough to handle,” Gideon declared from the kitchen, where he was busy cooking. “And, if you want pancakes, get your ass back down here fast.”

“On it, boss.” He quickly raced upstairs, feeling so much looser and better after the massage. Pearl had worked his muscles over good, and it made all the difference. After a quick shower, with the heat soaking into his sore muscles, he was soon downstairs and ready for breakfast. When he sat down, Pearl set a plateful of pancakes in front of him. Tristan said, “You don’t have to feel guilty and give me preferential treatment for having saved your life. Gideon and Jasper were both at the ready.”

“I know that,” she replied cheerfully, “but it makes me happy.”

“In that case, fly at it,” Tristan murmured, around a mouthful of pancakes.

She chuckled, as she sat down and asked, “Who was that nurse by the way?” He looked over at her blankly. “The nurse who was giving you a hard time at the hospital.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Seems like everybody gives me a hard time these days.”

“She was cute.”

He narrowed his gaze at her. “Oh no you don’t.”

“Oh no I don’t what ?” she asked, an innocent expression on her face.

“No matchmaking.”

“I don’t have to matchmake, and she looked positively delighted that I was there, yelling at you.”

He snorted. “Yeah, why would someone like to hear someone else getting yelled at?”

“Maybe they’re just getting a word in, without being interrupted.”

The teasing soon stopped as the three of them dug into their breakfasts, when Tristan asked, “What about Jasper? Anybody hear from him this morning? He was supposed to call with an update.”

“Not yet,” Gideon replied. “I suspect he’ll be here anytime now. He has a way of showing up when the pancakes are done.”

“In that case, we should save him some,” Pearl suggested.

Tristan shook his head. “No, we’re not saving him anything.”

But the door opened without warning, and Jasper stepped inside, sniffing the air. He entered the kitchen and looked at the leftovers on the table and grabbed a plate and sat down. “Jeez,” he muttered. “You could have at least told me breakfast was ready.”

“Ha,” Gideon said. “I figured you would be here anyway.”

As soon as he got a couple bites in, Tristan looked over at Jasper and asked, “So, what’s going on?”

Jasper sighed. “Well, first off, a nurse at the hospital wants to know how you got released without a doctor’s permission and if you’re okay. She’s feeling quite concerned because she heard what happened.” Jasper gave Tristan a big grin. “You better give her a call.”

Tristan flushed. “I’ll pass. Next?”

“Other than that, we got all the paperwork filed on the hospital shooting. It’s been reviewed, and you’re in the clear. You’re also back to active duty, as long as you feel well enough,” he added, critically assessing him.

“Of course I am,” Tristan stated, glaring at him. “I barely got hurt.”

“ Right ,” Pearl noted. “That’s why all your muscles were locked up when you came down this morning, especially your neck and your shoulders.”

He stared in disbelief. “I can’t believe you threw me under the bus.”

“When it comes to matters of life and death, or pain and health, I’ll do it every time. You can count on that,” she declared.

“Yeah, I do like that about you.” Tristan smiled, then looked over at Jasper. “So, where do we stand?”

Jasper gave him a fat smile. “I brought over some very interesting details. So, gather round, and let’s get a start on this. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we can nail this down and find out who is behind all this, starting with the shooting of Mason.”

“I sure as hell wish we knew whether it was a good shot or a bad shot,” Gideon noted, looking over at Jasper.

“That’s another good point,” Jasper replied, “and we aren’t likely to know that, not until we get to the end of this.”

“I don’t understand,” Pearl said, not making heads or tails of it. “What do you mean about a good shot or a bad shot?”

Tristan explained, “In this case, a bad shot means Drew was aiming to kill Mason but missed his kill shot a bit and just wounded Mason instead. A good shot means Drew aimed to wound Mason and hoped to get away with this, free and clear.”

“But Drew didn’t get away, did he?” she asked.

Tristan nodded. “No, which is why I’ll say it was a bad shot, and Drew was killed over it.”

“You guys play for keeps, don’t you?” Pearl asked.

“No, we don’t, but these guys do,” Jasper replied, with a nod. “And, therefore, somebody has to play the game the same way the bad guys do. Don’t worry, Pearl,” he added. “We’re getting a hell of a lot further down the path. We know a lot more than we did before, so we will get this stopped.”

“If you say so,” she grumbled, with a headshake.

Tristan smacked her hand lightly. “We’ve got this. Don’t you worry. You’ll be safe now, and, with any luck, so will Mason and Tesla and Sebastian and Nicholas and Elizabeth.” Tristan eyed the last pancake on the table, glanced at the others, decided not to ask, and snagged it right up. “I am the injured one, after all.”

Pearl laughed, while Gideon just narrowed his gaze at the empty platter.

Jasper added, “Better eat up, Tristan, because you’re next at bat.”