Cash Money (Bad Money #4) (4 page)

Chapter 6

Jon

"Why do I feel like I just walked in on something?" Jon glanced toward the door as Kate closed it behind her. His mood was pissy at best, but Mike had seen the worst of him.

"No clue." Mike got up and stretched. "Offer me coffee or I'll go into the kitchen and make it myself."

"Yeah, sure." Jon ran his fingers through his hair and walked to the kitchen, catching a glimpse of his beautiful girl as she stood in the rain for a few minutes. Had Mike not been there, he would have gone out in the middle of the storm and danced with her. He yearned for a simple life that included long nights laughing, dancing and making love. "What's up? Why are you here?"

"I figured I should stop by and tell you that I'm sorry for not making your mother's funeral." Mike let out a long huff before dropping down in one of the old chairs around the kitchen table. "We found out that Linda's cancer has spread."

"Oh shit, Mike." Jon turned to face his friend and leaned against the counter. Mike and Linda had been married for almost forty years, the two of them inseparable. Jon pressed his fingers to his lips as fear gripped him. How hard would it be to love someone for so damn long, and then just lose them one day? One day far sooner than you should have?

"Yeah. I don't know what to think about it." Mike cupped his mouth with his hand and glanced down at the table. "I think you gotta keeper in that crazy bartender girl."

"You're changing the subject." Jon turned and started to work on making a pot of coffee. "I understand why, but maybe getting some of that shit off your chest would help."

"Naw, man. I've cried more tears than I ever thought possible. I'm numb right now." He let out a haggard breath. "We got two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Jon turned around again as the blood drained from his face, leaving him a little dizzy. "Then what the fuck are you doing over here?"

"I need you." Mike turned his attention to Jon. "There's a fucking serial killer on our streets, Jon. I can't lose Linda
and
my job. This guy keeps killing and I'm done for. I don't trust anyone. There's a fucking rat on the force. I just know it. Billy knows where to be and when to be there... it's too clean, Jon."

After pouring two cups of coffee, Jon walked over to the table and offered his oldest friend one of the mugs. "Anything you need. I'm here."

"Are you?" Mike lifted the mug to his lips and blew on the dark liquid inside of it. "I know Kate means a lot to you, but I was thinking about it this morning, and maybe you don't have to choose. Maybe she's not the woman we think she is. Maybe she wants out of the life the cards have dealt her."

"She's not involved with Billy, Mike. She was in the past when she was a girl, but not now."

"I know. I wanted to make sure you knew that too. You've been trying to crucify her for the last month." He chuckled. "Such a scolded brat."

"Me?" Jon smirked, trying hard to move past the sadness over the news on Linda. Two weeks was nothing.
How devastating.

"You know, I actually read Kate's story when Adam was killed outside of her club. She's got a pretty interesting file. You can see a good woman pulling hard at the edges of her situation, trying to rise above." Mike rubbed his chin. "I pissed her off a few minutes ago, but I needed her to get out of here to have some time alone with you. Forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive. Kate's a big girl. If she was pissed, she didn't show it, but I'm not so sure you shouldn't watch your back." Jon smirked before reaching out and squeezing Mike's shoulder. "I don’t even know how to express how sad I am about the situation with Linda. I wish I could do something to help."

"You can. Help me at the station. I can't figure this out without you. I have Victor Parence missing, the latest murder outside Expulsion, and twenty other cases to deal with." Mike took another sip of his coffee. "You know anything about Victor, Jon?"

"I know that he was a really bad mother fucker. He took Seth's place at the helm as the city’s drug lord. That he would be dead isn't a surprise." Jon shrugged.

"I didn't say he was dead. I said he was missing." Mike tilted his head a little. "Is he dead?"

"I don't know, but I'll look into it if that's something you need me to do." As much as he hated lying to Mike, there was no way he was implicating Kate in anything ever again. She'd put up with far too much shit from him and everyone else. If anyone deserved to sever the chain of master/slave, it was Kate with Victor.

It's all your fault.

"No, I don’t need you to do that. I'm not worried about looking into a drug dealer gone missing as much as I am concerned with shutting Billy down. You know him, Jon. You belonged to that life at one time." He leaned back and took another drink of his coffee. "Does it bug you to be on the good side of things now? Does Kate make you want to crawl back to the other side of the fight?"

"Are there sides? I seem to get lost in the theoretical discussion over the gray area far more than I care to admit." Jon dropped his hands into his lap.

"I don't know to be honest. I'd move across the lines in a heartbeat if it meant saving Linda." Mike reached for his phone and checked it. "I don't care what might be required of me. I wish it were an option."

"Mike. You don't mean that." Jon set his coffee down and crossed his arms over his chest. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Kate either, but there were limitations on whether he could stand at the sidelines and watch her self-destruct. He couldn't do that. No matter what loss he might have to suffer.

"I do. Honestly." He stood up and walked to the sink, depositing his glass and turned around. "You'll come back and help me find Billy?"

"Yeah. I'll do that for you, but I'm not sure what happens after that. I love Kate. What she wants us to do, I'm doing." Jon stood and watched his mentor. "Do you still have her file?"

"No, but I'll tell you something, the girl isn't in need of saving. If you and your big bald friend think that... you're wrong. She'll most likely save you, but she's not a wallflower, nor is she incapable of changing everything if she wanted to." He shrugged and pulled his keys out. "Sorry I pissed her off."

"What do you mean?" Jon moved into the living room as Mike walked toward the front door.

"I pissed her off by implying that she'd killed Victor Parence." Mike opened the door and paused before going out into the storm. "If he's dead, I'm pretty sure it was her that did it, but that's not my focus right now."

"No, Mike. Why would you think Kate is as powerful as you alluded to in the kitchen? Marcus saved her from getting wrapped up in Billy, and I plan on saving her from the life she's involved in now. Why would you think that she wasn't in need of that saving? What did you read in her file?" Jon's heart started to race. It would seem that nothing was as black or white as he'd hoped. Everything lay within the gray area between good and evil, right and wrong.

"She was brought in for murder charges when she was sixteen, Jon. You knew she had a record, right?" He lifted his eyebrow.

"Of course. Seth mentioned drugs, and maybe an attempted murder, but never anything about killing anyone." Jon sat on the arm of the couch and took a shallow breath. "Did she kill someone?"

"Hell yeah she did, but the courts labeled it as self-defense and let her go. She was a minor with no representation, a pretty girl with a bad family and a dark future. They put her in juvi for a year or so, but I don't remember reading what happened after that. The next entry was for a drug bust when she was a little over eighteen." Mike lifted his keys. "I'm out. I need to spend as much time with Linda as I can. Call me tomorrow after you get past today's tragedy and let's come up with a game plan."

"Yeah, sure." Jon tapped his fingers on the arms of the couch as Mike walked out into the early evening rainstorm. "Who did she kill?"

Jon bolted from his sitting position and jogged out into the storm, having to get into the street to catch Mike. The window rolled down as Mike chuckled.

"What are you doing, boy?" He reached out and patted the side of Jon's face as he leaned down. Rain seeped through his shorts, and the chilly weather the storm brought in caused his teeth to chatter almost immediately. "Get inside you idiot."

"Mike. Who did she kill? I need to know." Jon cupped his fingers around the open window of the car.

"You already know, Jon. She killed Benton Jefferies."

Jon nodded and moved back. "Tell Linda I said hello, and that I'm thinking of her."

"Will do. Get some rest, Jon." Mike drove off, leaving Jon to stand there alone.

"Benton Jefferies. Why am I not surprised by this?" He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sky. It had been his hit to take out Benton, but he couldn't do it. Having killed for the man for so long, he couldn't turn and bury a knife in his mentor’s back.

Why had Kate? What was the rest of the story?

Too many parts were missing.

Too many questions unanswered.

Did it really matter? For some reason... it did.

Chapter 7

Marcus

Dread filled his insides as he drove out to Billy's newest hideout. They moved every couple of days from what Marcus could gather, which was smart. The cops had to be trailing his ass good by now. After making a quick stop by the gas station to pick up a drink and kill some time, Marcus showed up at the run-down plantation home a little after sunset. He hadn't responded to Billy's text, and was sure to catch hell over it, but he could care less.

After parking under a large weeping willow tree, Marcus walked up to the front door and knocked before backing up. A large ugly mother fucker opened the door and stuck his head out. He looked like someone had used his face for a carving block.

"Who you?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Marcus. Billy wanted to see me." Marcus stood in stony silence as the guy looked him over. A million snappy comebacks danced around at the back of his throat, but he kept them all to himself. No need to get the giant upset and have to fight over nothing. It wasn't worth the effort.

"Right. This way, you." He moved back and opened the door.

Marcus moved in and glanced around at the darkened house as the smell of rot hit him in the face. He covered his mouth and nose with the back of his hand and prayed like hell that they were headed back outside. He couldn't stand the odor too terribly long.

"Out there." The guy stopped by the back door and pointed to a group of guys gathered around a table, playing cards or something.

"All right." Marcus opened the door and took a deep breath of the fresh air as soon as he cleared the house. "What the fuck is that smell."

"Marcus. There you are, you bitch." Billy got up and walked toward the house, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. "Is there a reason that you decided to ignore my call?"

"I was busy, Billy. Someone offed Jon's mother, and we were burying her." Marcus moved down the stairs languidly, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"The cop? Your boyfriend?" Billy smirked and reached out, gripping the back of Marcus's neck tightly. "I think he could be useful, but time will show all things, right?"

"No clue what the fuck that means, but whatever." Marcus moved toward the table, locking eyes with Reni and nodding once before turning his attention back to Billy. "What do you want with me?"

"Well, firstly, I want you to know that I'm thrilled with Kate's latest move. She's a brilliant woman, is she not?" Billy released Marcus and glanced around at the group of guys in front of them.

"Kate stays out of this, Billy. We already agreed to that." Marcus glanced around to lock eyes with his old mentor. The bastard had aged horribly.

"Yeah, well, I've changed my mind." Billy shrugged and took the empty seat at the table. "Now, tell me about this new ecstasy drug. I'm interested in you finding us the right supplier for the stuff. Where was Victor getting it from and what's it called?"

Marcus wanted to pound into the ugly bastard that Kate wasn't up for discussion, but he'd make that clear soon enough. Billy's days were numbered and Marcus was first in line to put a bullet in the back of his head.

"Zandra, and I have no clue where he was getting supplied from, but I'll find out. He has to have records at his place." Marcus glanced back at the house as the door opened. "It smells like shit in there. You guys should really find someone to clean up."

"Sarah cleans up when she's not busy." Billy chuckled and pulled out his phone, calling someone and barking for them to come down. He glanced back at Marcus. "So find me the shit on Zandra, and make yourself useful. Now, go take out the fourth guy to the left in the last bedroom upstairs."

"What? What fourth bedroom? You been drinking already?" Marcus glanced up at the house as the drugged out blond that he'd seen with Billy before walked out of the house half dressed. Her t-shirt dipped off her shoulder, and her hair was a mess.

The memory of seeing Kate tripped out and used up like that blasted through him, and he had to turn away from the girl before he lost his lunch. No one should be treated like a slave, and yet Billy had no concept of human decency.

"Go take the fucker out of his misery, and I'll have Sarah give you head." He poked Marcus in the stomach and chuckled. "You used to love to let a few bitches suck on that monster in your pants, didn't you?"

"Fuck you." Marcus pulled his gun from his back and turned, walking back toward the house. He had no desire to put someone out of their misery, even knowing Billy enough to realize that the poor guy was already bleeding to death.

Sarah glanced up at him as her head lolled to the side and she leaned against the banister that led to the yard.

"Sarah. Marcus is a friend of mine. Treat him well or I'll cut you, bitch." Billy's laugh was vile and cruel.

The girl gave half a smile as she reached for Marcus. "Hi. You're cute."

"Come on, girl. Shit." Marcus picked her up and carried her back into the house. "Can you hear me or are you too far gone?"

"I'm sorta gone. You wanna blow job or a fuck?" Her words were slurred as her head dropped back and drool slipped from her thin lips. The bones at the top of her chest poked out horribly, and anger and disgust twisted Marcus's insides something fierce. He laid the girl down on the couch and jogged up the stairs as his gag reflex kicked into gear.

Someone was dead and rotting. There was nothing that smelled quite so vile. Horror ran down his nerve endings, and though he'd seen some messed up shit, he wasn't willing to stand in line to see it again. He opened the last door at the end of the hall and the smell hit him full on.

"Fuck." Marcus turned and gagged hard. How long had Billy been at the house? Not more than a few days.

"Help. Please." The voice was weak, but filled with emotion. "Please let me go. I have a family. A wife."

"Jesus." Marcus flipped on the light and turned again to run to the bathroom across the hall as his stomach contracted and his lunch left him. Three dead bodies that had been there too long were chained up to a pipe that ran along the wall. The poor guy that was whimpering in the corner was chained up too, and his free arm had no hand at the end of it. "I can't do this."

Where the world of drugs and darkness called to the deepest parts of him, torture and unusual cruelty left him feeling ripped in two.

"Please. I have a little girl. I just want to see her once more." The guy’s cries were getting more and more aggravated.

"Hey. You want me to do it?" Reni stood just behind him, his expression more solemn than Marcus had seen before.

"I'm not doing it. I'll play drug bitch for you guys, but I'm not killing. It's not fucking happening." Marcus wiped his mouth and turned to walk down the hall. "I'm out of here."

The victim cried out just before a gunshot rang out. The sound of it sent chills down Marcus's back. He paused at the bottom of the stairs as the horror of his past washed over him. He was Reni at one time, doing anything Billy wanted and stomaching the depravity of where it left him.

The girl glanced up from the couch and whispered, “Save me.”

"Don't touch her. You'll have more hell to pay than you think. Just get the drug information and keep yourself clean and clear with the boss man. You think you're something special, but you're not, Marcus. None of us are." Reni patted his back before walking to Sarah. "Come on, baby. I'll put you to bed. It's all okay. You know that, right?"

Marcus turned and walked to the front door, half knocking the big bastard who hovered in front of it over.

He got to his car and made it a mile down the road before pulling off into the tall grass and jogging to the middle of the field. He heaved until he had nothing left inside of him. Anger and hate ripped through him as he let out a loud cry and moved back before dropping to his knees. The tall grass danced around him as he let himself unhinge from the inside out.

Things had changed. He wasn't the same heartless bastard he once was as a kid. Kate changed all of that. Saving her had become his mission and through helping her find herself again, he’d found his humanity.

"I can't go back. Not ever." He pressed his hands to the cold ground beneath him as the rain started to drip from the sky. "I can't."

Letting her go would be a one-way ticket into hell. He would need something else to focus on, someone else to save, to love. Pain gripped his chest and he closed his eyes, unable to find enough air to breathe.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he dropped down on his ass, wiping at his eyes before pulling the phone to his ear.

"Marcus." He laid back, crushing the dried grass around him.

"This is Demetri DeMarco. I'm a businessman from Chicago, and I hear from a good family friend that you might be looking for a new opportunity. That so?" The voice was distinctly Italian, and the guy on the other end of the line not sounding much like the type to put up with anything.

"That's right. When and where?" Marcus closed his eyes and tried to steady his heart. He'd walked into the center of hell again, and knew that the only way out was to run. He'd take Kate and Jon with him. There wasn't any way to beat Billy without one or more of them dying in the process. It wasn't worth it. They weren't as strong as they thought they were, nor as cunning.

"Tomorrow around lunch in Chicago. I'll have a private jet waiting for you at hangar A at the local airport. Just tell them you're a guest of mine."

"Great. I'll see you then." Marcus dropped the call and let out a long sigh. Never in a million years had he thought that he might be incapable of taking a man to his knees, but Billy was different. He wasn't all there, and the parts that remained made the darkest nightmares look like a vacation. Their only option was to get the cops involved.

It was going to take far more than a few men to take down Billy Turner, and hopefully Marcus could talk Jon and Kate into getting the fuck out of town with him while the good guys tried to make it happen.

Time to guilt Jon back onto the police force.