Authors: Cate Beauman
Chapter 3
A
USTIN BATTLED L.A.’S MID-DAY TRAFFIC on his way to Yoshoris, the trendy Japanese restaurant he’d overheard Hailey say Jeremy worked at. This wasn’t exactly how he’d planned to spend his day off. A run along the beach, a few laps in the pool, and a Skype session with his sister to welcome his newest niece had been the original idea.
He came to a dead stop on the 405—again—in a clusterfuck of vehicles as far as the eye could see. Thank God he only had one more exit to go. He rubbed his fingers against his temple, along his jaw, blew out a long breath, more tired and less patient than usual.
He hadn’t slept much last night. When Ethan called at nine, he’d waited by the window until he saw Hailey pull into the parking lot. He’d watched her race into the lobby. He cracked his door, listening to the elevator slide open moments later.
Austin knew Hailey had found the mess in her living room and her beaten brother when her door slammed closed, followed by a shocked, “Oh, my God.” He’d walked to 2E, standing close to the door, listening to snatches of Jeremy’s bullshit story. Of course, Hailey had eaten it up. When Austin heard all he could stand, he went back to his apartment, sick inside, concerned, and more involved than he wanted to be.
As a result, there he sat, stuck in traffic, trying to get to the bottom of a situation that was between Hailey and her brother. Except he truly believed she had no idea Jeremy was mixed up with the big time. Austin remembered the thug with the S-1 tattoo commenting on Hailey’s photo. He still couldn’t believe her jackass brother hadn’t tried to leave her out of it—selfish bastard. Hailey was in danger; he would do what he could to help. That’s what friends were for.
The traffic inched forward, enough for Austin to hug the shoulder and get to his exit. He took the off-ramp and drove the ten blocks to Yoshoris at a crawl, smiling when he actually found a space to parallel park. He stepped from his vehicle, crossed the street, peeked into the empty restaurant, glancing at a small, stylish sign that said they didn’t open until five.
Austin knocked on the glass when he spotted a woman sitting in the corner of the dining area surrounded by a pile of papers. She glanced up as he took his wallet from his pocket and pressed his badge to the window. It was only his bodyguard identification, but it looked official enough to get her to unlock the door.
“Hi.” He smiled. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’m looking for a friend. Is Jeremy here?”
The woman’s brows furrowed as she shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know a Jeremy.”
Austin scratched his cheek as if contemplating and looked up at the restaurant sign. “This is the only Yoshoris in L.A., right?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t employ a Jeremy Kagan?”
“I do the hiring myself. I’ve never heard of him.”
Just what he’d thought. “I’m sorry I took up your time, ma’am.”
“Not a problem.” She closed the door and twisted the lock.
Austin glimpsed his watch. Twelve fifteen. He had less than two hours to get through traffic and back to the apartments. He fully intended to follow Jeremy and find out what he was really doing to bring in an income, although he had a fairly solid idea.
Austin pulled into the parking lot at one fifteen, relieved that Jeremy’s car still sat in its spot. He reached into the bag of fast food he’d stopped for, grabbed the grilled chicken, no mayo. His phone rang as he took a huge bite of the sandwich. He checked the readout; it was Ethan.
“Hold on,” Austin said over a mouthful.
“Stuffing your face as usual.”
He swallowed. “It’s after one. I have to eat lunch sometime.”
“Did you sleep in, princess?”
He grinned, took another bite, talking with his mouth full. “No, I’ve been in my car for most of the day. I’m following Jeremy. Brother dear is definitely mixed up in some serious shit. I’m pretty confident he’s dealing drugs.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“It gets better. Not only is he dealing, but the bangers who kicked his ass last night are S-1. They were covered in gang tattoos. There’s definitely a connection.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Hailey went ape shit when I told her that Jeremy had been injured. I can’t imagine what she’ll do when she finds out about this.”
“Thanks for keeping it discreet. I don’t want to say anything until I know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
“I figured as much. So, what’s the plan?”
“I overheard one of the guys tell Jeremy he’d better be at some drop spot at two. I’m going to follow him to the location—whenever he decides to get his butt out here.”
“I’m glad Sarah and I decided to leave early.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, Sarah had some mild contractions last night. We’re thinking we should take Kylee to California Kids now or her indoor water park adventure isn’t going to happen anytime soon. It works out well that this is the perfect excuse to keep Hailey out of the way. She’ll be staying here for the next few days, provided Emma doesn’t decide to join us before then.”
Austin didn’t miss the excitement in Ethan’s voice. His little girl would be here soon. Ethan and Sarah had been friends for years before their relationship changed into something more serious several months back. They’d gotten off to a rough start when that crazy bastard, Ezekiel, put everyone through hell. But that was over now, and things had smoothed out for two of his closest friends. “Well, at least Hailey’s safe for the time being. One of the men made a threat against her.”
Ethan steamed out a weary sigh. “What a goddamn mess. Sounds like it’s a good thing she’ll be leaving town for a while.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” The lobby door opened. Jeremy stepped out. “I have to go. Our man of the hour just arrived.”
“Be careful. S-1 is nothing to mess around with.”
“Oh, honey,” Austin sniffled into the phone, “I’m so glad you care.”
“Fuck you.”
Austin chuckled as he hung up. His smile disappeared as he watched Jeremy take the steps from the lobby to the parking lot one at a time, wincing the entire way, holding his side. The kid’s solid boxer build lost a bit of its intimidating effect as he walked hunched over, like Great Aunt Lucy.
Austin polished off his last bite of sandwich, following it up with a deep swallow of water as he studied Jeremy’s swollen eye and the colorful bruising over most of his right cheek. His bottom lip was double its normal size. Austin almost felt bad for him. Almost.
Several minutes later, after a ginger walk to his car, Jeremy got in and took a left out of the lot. Austin waited thirty seconds, then did the same. He followed Jeremy’s black BMW through the tidy upscale neighborhoods of the Palisades to the mean streets of South Central L.A.
Graffiti-covered sidewalks and abandoned buildings gave way to ramshackle houses, proudly displaying green spray painted S-1 emblems over every inch. Austin’s stomach sank as the reality of Hailey’s situation became more apparent. After some quick research the night before, he’d discovered that S-1 was rumored to be the foot soldiers of the Mexican Mafia, pulling off grisly hits, drug trafficking, and kidnappings, among other criminal activities. Valid information had been hard to come by. Every reporter or blogger who had stuck their nose too deep either mysteriously vanished or ended up dead.
Jeremy pulled up to a dilapidated house and stopped the car. The two men Austin recognized from the night before stood from their perches on the sorry-looking stoop and walked toward him as he got out. As Jeremy exchanged knuckle bumps, Austin drove in the opposite direction; his sports car was too flashy not to be recognized if he got too close.
Austin circled the block, parking two hundred yards down, still within camera range with the long distance surveillance lens. He glanced at the burned out houses along the tired looking street, the thugs standing around, waiting to find trouble—or make it. He took his Glock from the center console, released the safety, set his weapon on the floor by his feet. Even with his training, it never hurt to be careful.
Austin picked up the camera, focused on Jeremy and the men still standing by the BMW. He zeroed in on the shorter man’s tattoos, snapping away at the green and black emblems mirroring the markings painted on the houses. He tightened his focus on the elaborate slashes of red forming a ‘ZU’ on the inside of his forearm.
Satisfied he had enough on guy number one, Austin studied guy number two, noticing the same slashes of red among the ink of skulls and devils. He snapped several more photos for good measure. Just as Austin was about to set down the camera, a movement in the window of the derelict house caught his attention. He refocused, zooming in as far as the lens would allow. Through his grainy view, he captured images of a man in a black suit, surrounded by several well-armed bodyguards. Who the hell was this?
What
the hell was this? He clenched his jaw, knowing that whatever was going on, it wasn’t good.
Austin honed in on Jeremy again when the muscled hulk covered in devils patted him down. Seconds later, they walked into the house. It was tempting to get out and move closer, but that wasn’t a good idea in broad daylight. Instead, Austin scooted further forward in his seat and focused on Jeremy shaking the suited man’s hand.
He muttered a curse as a guard moved, blocking his view. He waited patiently, eager to get more pictures, but Jeremy and the two men came back out not even five minutes later. Austin took more pictures of Jeremy carrying a black duffel bag. Jeremy popped his trunk, shoved the bag in the compartment where he kept his spare tire, then replaced the carpeted panel.
Any lingering doubts about Jeremy vanished. The kid was up to his eyeballs in gang and drug activity. Austin snapped more pictures until Jeremy got in his car and drove away.
Austin sighed as he set Ethan’s surveillance camera on the passenger seat. “What a fucking mess.” He turned the ignition, thought of Hailey. She’d been so happy when Jeremy walked back into her life a few weeks ago. What would it do to her when she found out her brother wasn’t who she thought he was? From the small snatches of conversation he’d overheard, Hailey was nothing but proud of Jeremy. Austin imagined the truth would wound her deeply.
Austin blew out another breath and released the parking brake as his driver’s side window smashed in fragments around him and the cold barrel of a 9 mm was pressed against his temple.
“Sweet ride, man. I want it. Get the fuck out.”
Son of a bitch.
“I’ve gotta engage the break.” Austin tried to keep his voice easy as his heart rate accelerated.
“Don’t try anything funny. Real slow or I’ll fucking ax you, punk.”
“Real slow, just like you said.” Austin glanced down at his gun he couldn’t reach, yanked up the break, and placed his hands on the wheel.
“Now get out.”
“I’m getting out.” The banger holding him hostage couldn’t have been any more than seventeen, but that didn’t make him less dangerous. The gleeful power radiating in the kid’s voice made it worse. There was no value of life here. The same scenario could’ve played out over a pair of shoes. This was just a bonus.
“Bet your ass you are. Now, move.”
He put his hands higher in the air as the kid with the green bandana knotted around his head reached in and unlocked the door. Austin unfolded his powerful body from the driver’s seat and stood.
“Man, oh man, you’re a big mother fucker.” The banger licked his lips, radiating with nerves as he aimed at Austin’s face again.
Austin kept his hands half raised as four other men, older, their eyes more brutal, moved in to surround him.
Well, shit.
As the odds quickly turned against him, he focused on staying steady, on keeping calm. He’d been in worse situations, but this one sucked pretty bad right now.
As long as he allowed them to think they had the upper hand, he would stay in control.
“Move forward.” The kid gestured with his pistol.
Austin took two steps closer to the gun aimed at him.
“What we got here, Little G?” one of the men said as he continued to advance. “This your new ride?”
“Hell yeah.”
Little G took another step toward Austin, cocky now. Austin saw his opportunity.
“We gonna—“
Before Little G finished, Austin grabbed the gun and put the kid in a sleeper hold. He was unconscious before the four gangsters could draw their knives or pistols from their pockets. He held the gun to the kid’s temple. “I’d hate to have to shoot your pal here. Go ahead and back yourselves up.”
“You’re outnumbered, homie.”
“Maybe.” He aimed the pistol between one of the banger’s feet and pulled the trigger. A bullet sparked less than an inch from his foot, landing in the dingy yard behind him. Austin repeated himself three more times, aiming within inches of each man’s sneakers. “Or maybe not.”
Two backed up, two turned and ran away.
“We just want your car, homie.” The kid drew his gun, challenging.
“Yeah, but I want it more.” Austin aimed at the kid’s saggy jeans. “I bet you want to keep your balls, so I’m gonna suggest you drop that and stay back while I get in
my
car, or I’ll shoot and I won’t miss. I promise.” He wiggled his finger on the trigger to send his point home, and the kid dropped the pistol.
Austin loosened his grip on Little G, sending him crumbling to the ground, still unconscious. He eyed the two remaining gangsters as he walked to his car, got in, and peeled away, ducking as a stray bullet shattered the glass of his back window. “Damn it.”
He took the first turn, then another and another, until he was sure no one followed. Sweat beaded on his forehead, dripped down his back, as his sheen of calm vanished and adrenaline took over. He brushed the dampness away with his forearm, stretched his tensed shoulders as he drove closer to the 110 onramp. He accelerated onto the interstate, swearing profusely as wind surged through the broken windows.
This whole situation was a fucking nightmare. He glanced at the glitter of glass littering his floor, his seats, and clenched his jaw.
Enough was enough. It was time to get to the bottom of this, get a good look at the pictures he’d taken, and find out just what Hailey knew.