The Belial Stone (The Belial Series) (9 page)

CHAPTER 17

J
ake pulled into the parking lot of a fast food joint just past the exit, off the highway.  At the drive-thru, he got them both some coffee. 

He glanced over at Laney.  She was still shaking, both hands c
urled around her coffee cup.  For a woman who’d just survived two attacks in less than twelve hours, she was holding up amazingly well.  Hell, she was holding up phenomenally well.  Although her small size and pale skin gave the appearance of fragility, she was obviously a lot tougher than she looked.

She gestured towards her coffee.  “Thanks for this and the rescue."  She expelled a long, shaky breath.  “This is not my usual day.  Is it yours?”

“Will it freak you out if I say yes?”

A small grin appeared on her face.  “I think it might actually make me feel better.”

Jake couldn’t help but contrast their lives. From the dossier Henry had rustled up, he knew she was highly educated with a warm, secure, predictable world.  He’d gotten his GED when he was seventeen and barely knew what country he’d be in week to week.  She eyed him over the rim of her cup.  “Let me guess.  SEALS?”

He inclined his head.  “Got it in one.  I left them three years ago and started with Chandler.”

“Must keep you busy.”

He looked away, his tone lower as his thoughts returned to Tom.  “Yeah, too busy.”

Jake wrestled with the guilt eating away at him.  Maybe if he’d stayed in touch with Tom or at least called him when he got out, none of this would be happening. 

“Jake?” Laney asked, pulling his eyes back to her.  He was startled again by how incredibly green they were.  They seemed almost unreal.  “You want to tell me about your brother?”

A memory of Tom flashed through his mind.  They’d been walking down the street hand in hand to get an ice cream.  Tom couldn't have been more than eight and he’d chattered the whole way, debating what flavor of ice cream to get.  Because back then, ice cream was his most pressing concern. 

“Tom’s my foster brother.  I went to live with him and his grandmother when I was fourteen.  But I’ve known them since I was a little kid. Tom got mixed up in gangs after I joined the Navy and did time for a B&E that went bad.   He got out four months ago.  He was doing good - job, girlfriend, church group.  But three days ago, he disappeared.”

Jake could see the calculation in Laney's eyes.  He could practically hear her doubts.  And hell, it wasn't like he didn't have some.  But he knew Tom hadn’t skipped.  He had to believe in that. 

He ran his hands through his hair.  “Look, I know.  He’s a parolee.  Going missing is not exactly unheard of.  But Tom didn’t do that.  He had support, a job, a relationship.  He wouldn’t just toss that all aside.”

“Okay.  But even so, I’m not sure how I can help.  Why would you need a criminologist?”

Jake smiled.  “Well, it’s not your criminology skills I’m looking for.  We’ve found a connection between Tom’s disappearance and an archaeologist named Arthur Priddle.”

Laney jolted at the name.  “Priddle?”

He nodded.  “We also know his partner, Drew Masters, sent you a file you shortly before his death.”

Laney paled at the mention of Drew’s name.  He could practically see the sadness spread over her. They hadn’t been just colleagues.  She cared about him. 

Oh, I am a jackass
, he thought as he watched her try to hide her reaction from him.  Her face had become a mask, but she couldn’t hide the subtle tremor in her hands.  They’d been involved.  The feeling of disappointment caught him by surprise.

He reached over and took her hand in his.  He wasn't sure who was more surprised by the action.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t know you two were a couple.”

She shook her head, but didn’t pull her hand away.  “Not like that.  Drew was pretty much my brother.  Much like Tom is yours.  Sometimes families don’t need a blood link, do they?”

He nodded, feeling her pain.  Oh crap.  She was a walking wound right now.  He didn’t want to add to that.

Of course, she’d be in trouble whether he was here or not.  But he felt an incredible sense of protectiveness towards her.  Where the hell had that come from?  He’d just met the woman.  He flashed on the Terminator they’d left back at the safe house.  Of course, that guy might need an entire squad to take him down.  He’d probably feel protective of anyone he was after. 

She pulled her hand from his and wrapped it around her cup again, her brow furrowed.  “I’m not sure how Drew’s email can help you.  I haven’t had a chance to finish reading it.” 
             

Jake raised an eyebrow.  “Is it that long?”

She gave him a small grin.  “Only about fifty pages.  I had just started it when my uninvited guest stopped by this morning.  From what I did read, it can’t be related to your brother.”

“Why?  What’s it about?”

Her eyes met his.  “It’s an argument for the existence of a technologically advanced pre-historic civilization.”

That wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.  “What?  Like Atlantis?”

“Exactly like Atlantis.  I’m not sure how that can help you with the search for Tom.”

Jake shook his head, his hopes dimming.  “I don’t know, either.  But if it doesn’t, I don’t have any other leads to follow.”  And that means Tom is lost for good.

CHAPTER 18

Havre, Montana

T
om lay on the hard ground staring at the sky.  Dawn had broken hours ago, but it wasn’t his shift yet.  He wasn’t sure, but he thought they might be on twelve-hour shifts.  Which meant he probably had a little time before he was yanked back into hell. 

“Hey man, you sleep any?”

Tom looked over at Seeley, his dig partner.  He and the muscled Latino had exchanged names during their shift when the guards weren’t looking.

“Not really, man. It was fucking freezing. Besides, I just kept trying to figure out how the hell I ended up here.”

Seeley nodded his formerly bald head.  It was now covered in a light layer of black peach fuzz.  “I know what you mean, man.  I was doing the same thing.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a saint by any stretch.  I started banging at twelve, but I left that life behind.  I got a kid, a girl.  I don’t deserve this place.”

“Yeah, I joined the G7s when I was fourteen,” Tom smiled ruefully.  “You know why they chose the name G7?”

Seeley shook his head. 

“They said we’d all be flying in G7s and living the high life one day.  Truth was, the only high life any of us led was the result of a blunt and most of us never even left the neighborhood, never mind flying in a private jet.  And I looked up G7s when I was inside.  They never even made a jet with that name.  The highest they went was the G5.”

“What’d you go in for, anyway?” Seeley asked.  Yesterday, Seeley had told him he’d gotten locked up for dealing.  But before Tom could tell his story, a guard had moved only ten feet away from them.  There’d been no conversations after that.

“Started as felonious murder, but it got knocked down to manslaughter.”

“No shit?” Seeley asked.

“No shit.  I was the driver.  But that didn’t matter, especially when one of my guys cut a deal with the district attorney.  I got fifteen and he only got a nickel.”

Seeley grunted.  “You know, they talk a good game about being brothers and staying loyal.  But push comes to shove, that don’t mean shit.  They’ll turn on you in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah.  And the thing that kills me is that my Gran died while I was locked up.  She was the only one who cared.  She showed up to visit every week.  Took her two buses and three hours each way.  Didn’t matter.  She always came.”

“Yeah. My girl was like that.  She always showed up.  My brothers?  Didn’t see one of them.” Seeley paused and glanced at a movement behind Tom.  “Hey man, heads up.”

Tom looked over his shoulder.  The guards on the day shift were pulling up to the enclosure entrance.  The first thing they did when they came on duty was wake up the workers.   The usual wake-up involved some variation of a kindly greeting of, “Wake up, maggots!” followed by gunfire over the cage.  Then, for the poor fools who were too exhausted to hear even that, a kick in the face or the back.  That usually did the trick. 

Tom’s stomach clenched as he watched the guards head towards him and the rest of the men stuck in the sleeping area, a smirk on their faces.  They carried a fire hose over to the water spout outside the cage and hooked it up.  Dragging it behind them, the two guards laughed as they headed for the cage entrance. 

He glared through the wire.  “Bastards.”

CHAPTER 19

Syracuse, NY

A
fter finishing their coffee, Laney and Jake headed for the station.  Jake had argued that they should head out of town.  But Laney couldn’t do it.  Frank had been killed helping her and Marcos was hurt.  She needed to do her part to help get the bastard.  And then she needed to get her uncle.

The station was in an uproar when they arrived.  Rocky latched onto Laney’s arm as soon as she walked in the door and led her to an interrogation room.  Jake was escorted by Mike to a different one. 

As the door closed behind them, Laney turned to Rocky.  “How’s Marcos?” 

“Still in surgery.  They’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

Laney slumped into a chair.  “Do you have any idea how that guy found us?”             

Anger laced Rocky’s words.  “Two more detectives were killed.  About thirty minutes before the attack on the safe house.  We think it’s the same shooter. We’re guessing he got the location from them.”

Oh my God
.  Laney wrapped her arms around herself, leaning forward in her chair.  “I’m so sorry, Rocky.”

Rocky knelt down in front of her and waited until Laney met her eyes.  “You listen to me, Delaney McPhearson.  The only person who needs to apologize here is that asshole who attacked you.  You have nothing to apologize for.  You hear me?”

Laney nodded, but she still.

Rocky squeezed her knee, before pulling up a chair next to her.  “Okay, now I think you know the drill.  Tell me everything that happened, and leave nothing out.”

Laney nodded.  She detailed every event since arriving at the safe house.  When she was done, she felt like she’d run a marathon.  How could a recounting be so exhausting?

“You’re sure it’s the same guy from your house this morning?”  Rocky asked.

“I know it is.”   She put up a hand to stop Rocky from speaking.  “And I know, it’s not possible.  But unless this morning’s attacker had a twin who also got hit by a shotgun in the face, it’s the same guy.”

“Laney, shotgun blasts can't-”

“Heal in that short a time.  I know.  I can’t explain it.  I just know what I saw.  I also saw him take two bullets in the chest without pause.  Can’t explain that, either, in case you’re wondering.”

They lapsed into silence.  Finally, Rocky spoke.  “Look, if anyone asks me about this next piece of the conversation, it never happened.  Got it?”

Laney nodded.

“Okay.  I think you need to leave town.  I don’t know if it’s the same guy who came after you at the safe house.  But someone is definitely after you.  We need to hide you away.”

Laney shook her head.  “No.  If someone goes looking for me and can’t find me, they’ll go after the people I care about - my uncle, Kati, Max, you.”

“Kati and Max are already out of town.  We’ll get them to extend their stay.  And take your uncle with you.” She flexed her bicep.  “And I’d like to see someone come after me.”

“Rocky, I can't …”

Rocky’s expression was fierce.  “Yes.  You can and you will.  You are in danger.  And I’ve got a place for you to go: Chandler Headquarters.  That place is like Fort Knox.”

“Down in Baltimore?  But how?  I can’t ask Jake to do that.”

“Don’t have to.  While you were having your little chat with Jake, I had one with Jake’s boss, Henry Chandler.  It’s all arranged.  There’s a plane arriving at the airport in about four hours for you guys.  And I called your uncle.  He’s going to say the evening Mass and then go with you.”

Laney gave Rocky an incredulous look.  “Jake can’t possibly agree to that.  The email from Drew can’t have anything to do with his brother.”

“Well, I saw how he watched you.  I think the boy has a bit of a crush.  And you are a bit of a damsel in distress right now.”

Laney rolled her eyes.  “I can honestly say that playing the part of the damsel in distress has never appealed to me.  I much prefer being the knight in shining armor.”

Rocky grinned.  “Well, right now you’re a bit of a hybrid.”  She pulled Laney into a tight hug.  “Just try to avoid needing rescuing any time soon.”

“I’ll do my best.” She pictured Paul’s face contorted with anger.  A tremor ran through her.  “But I don’t think that’s entirely my decision.”