First Do No Evil: Blood Secrets, Book 1 (25 page)

Unless it didn’t.

Inside his fur-lined gloves, his damp hands tightened into fists. Casting a glance in all directions, he patted his gun and worked his stiff trigger finger. His guard was up, and so were the hairs on the back of his neck. He braced himself against the icy wind and the stench it carried with it. Must be some foul garbage to stink even in such frigid temperatures. Due to the fierceness of the storm, the streets were deserted. As his brain sifted through best and worst case scenarios, his shoulders tensed.

It wasn’t beyond imagination that someone other than Nevaeh had summoned him. Anyone capable of orchestrating a robbery to cover up murder was capable of using Nevaeh’s phone to lure him into danger. His legs worked urgently to cover ground and get him to the diner. Most likely Nevaeh was in labor, but if not and this was a trap, he wanted to run, not walk, straight into it. Because if Nevaeh’s phone had been used to trap him, chances were good she’d been snared in the process. Best way to find Nevaeh was to let himself be found. Just ahead, he could see Jolene’s.

His hand clamped around the butt of his gun.

The street lights blacked, and then flickered back to life.

He froze and drew his weapon, pricked his ears.

An excruciating crack on the back of his skull, and his feet went flying.

Moonlight glowed through Danny’s eyelids. Forcing them open, he took a survey. Head: Hurts like hell. Body: Stiff and sore. Balls: Frostbitten. Hands: Behind back and tied.

Swell. Just fucking swell.

Struggling to rise from his seated position, he noticed that a set of heavy ropes winding around his chest bound him to a tree. So that was why it was hard to breathe—that and the ice-sharpened air that filleted the lining of his lungs with every breath. His nostrils flared, and his chest heaved, trying to grab more frozen oxygen. Gratefully, he sucked it in, noting a minty fragrance on the wind.

Studying the night sky above him, he tried to get his bearings. The Pleiades twinkled, and a flashing memory of his night in Sky’s arms made him smile. Overhead, the new moon was bright, and he could see well enough to know he was surrounded by aspen and pine. Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly help him pinpoint his location.

Somewhere in the Coconino National Forest—not a lot of help.

And who the hell was the gnarly skinned man wielding a chain and pacing in front of him? The man’s hair was covered by a brimmed leather cap. Shadows hid his features and imparted a sallow, gray color to his complexion. His skin looked like wet newspaper. Along with a slowly improving level of consciousness, memory began to seep through the crack in Danny’s skull. His first clear recollection emerged:
Nevaeh
. “Where is she?”

“Who?” The man snapped the chain near Danny’s feet.

“You’ve got her phone. That’s how you got to me. So no point pretending you don’t know who I mean. Where is she?”

“I ain’t got her phone. That’s the other guy.” Another whip, this time the chain bounced off the tree near Danny’s cheek and sent shards of bark flying into his eyes. Looking down he blinked, and then looked up again, tried to get the man to make eye contact. But the bill of the man’s cap hid his face too well for that. “So the other guy—your boss—has got the phone. Where’s the girl?”

“He ain’t my boss. We’re like sleepers. And I don’t know shit about what he did with the girl.”

This guy was talking nonsense. But he must know something about Nevaeh’s whereabouts. “I don’t understand.”

“That’s too bad, because I ain’t gonna explain anything to you.” He cracked the chain again. This time landing a warning blow below Danny’s knees.

Danny steeled his jaw but didn’t flinch away. “Where the fuck am I?”

“With me.”

“And who might you be?”

“I’m your worst nightmare, buddy. And you got no need to know more than that.”

Ah. But he did. He needed to know a great deal more than that. Maybe he could bargain with the guy for information. “Look. Let’s just stop fucking with each other. You must want something from me, or you would’ve killed me already. I’m prepared to cooperate. I only need you to give me confirmation that the girl is okay first. Then you tell me what you need, and I’ll play ball.”

“I can’t confirm that she’s okay, because the one who’s got her is as cold as any man I’ve ever known. And make no mistake, I’ve known some cold dudes.”

“But you know where he’s holding her, so maybe we can work something out.”

“I don’t know anything about her, but here’s what we’re gonna work out. You’re gonna do just exactly what I say.”

Danny drew in a long frosty breath. This guy had him by the balls, and he had nothing to bargain with, not really. If he was going to get out of this alive, he was going to have to wing it.

Danny relaxed.

He was
good
at winging it.

Two seconds later he had a plan: Clear his head. Buy time. Kick ass.

That was the extent of his plan. But it wasn’t such a bad one under the circumstances, and his head had already un-fogged. From here on out it was survival of the fittest. Him against the creepy goon. And his money was not on the goon. “Where did you say we are again?”

Dragging the chain behind him, the man continued to pace. “Somewhere they ain’t never gonna find you. And if they don’t find the body, there’s no crime. That’s how it works.” He stopped and squatted in front of Danny. His jaw thrust forward, and his lips curled away to reveal some pretty appalling dentition. Leaning in, he asked, “Wanna know what you’re gonna do now?”

The creep had halitosis. No surprise there. “All right.”

“You’re gonna dig your own grave. Shallow one will do just peachy.”

“And why, exactly, would I do that?”

“Because the only reason you’re still breathing is I don’t want to shovel this ass-cold ground.”

Laziness and stupidity did indeed go hand in hand. For the sake of his sloth, the goon would have to untie him. And the grave digging would buy Danny time. He couldn’t have come up with a sweeter idea himself. But he didn’t want to appear eager.

“Go fuck yourself.” Danny spit in the goon’s face.

The goon wiped his cheek and drew a pistol from his belt. “You’ll do just exactly as I say, or I’ll shoot you now.”

So far, so good. “So you shoot me now, or five seconds after I dig myself a shallow grave, what’s the difference?”

“Difference is you get to live longer, and I get less work to do. It’s what they call a win-win.”

Danny grunted.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” With his free hand, the man pulled a hunting knife. He circled Danny, and then stuck his gun’s muzzle against Danny’s temple. From behind him, Danny heard sawing. The noise went on a long time, and the guy cursed under his breath as he worked, but eventually the ropes around Danny’s hands dropped away completely, and those that bound his chest slackened.

The man came around front again, pointing his pistol at Danny. “Go ahead, you can get yourself loose the rest of the way from here. But no monkey business or the deal’s off.” With his gun, the man gestured at a shiny object a few feet away. “Shovel’s right over there. Since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll let you choose your own spot.” When he grinned, his teeth glowed in the moonlight like Tahitian pearls strung one tooth shy of a necklace.

Danny got to his feet and wobbled to the shovel. His captor was providing for all his needs. Could be a trick, or could be the guy simply wasn’t that bright.

“Put your back into it. And don’t dawdle, or…”

“I know. The deal’s off. This spot looks as good as any.” Danny broke ground.

“Take your time and get it right. Because once this grave is dug, I’m gonna put a bullet in your head and kick your filthy cop-ass into the hole. I’m just sorry I can’t make you shovel the dirt on top of yourself too.”

Danny didn’t get mad, and he didn’t quibble. He just worked, and kept working. Not until he had a good-sized hole underway, did he speak again. “Listen, we’ve got ourselves a deal here. I’m saving
you
the trouble of digging this grave. Seems like the least you could do is grant
me
a last request.”

“Sorry, I don’t have a chicken dinner on me at the moment.”

Danny managed a laugh. “Good one. Not what I want though. What I want is to understand what’s happening to me. I was just wondering, since you and I have never met and all, what beef do you have with me? I mean if I did something worth getting killed for, I’d like to know what it was.”

The Tahitian pearl smile disappeared.

“Or maybe you don’t have a beef with me at all. Maybe the guy—the one who’s not your boss—has you digging your own grave.”

“Say again?”

“Just like you got me doing your dirty work, he’s got you doing his.”

By the light of the moon, Danny could make out the angry glint in his captor’s eyes. “I ain’t doing this for him. It may be what he wants me to do, but it suits me just fine to blow your brains out. I’m doing it for me.”

“Admit it. You have no beef with me. You’re doing the heavy lifting for someone who doesn’t want to get his hands dirty.”

“I got a beef all right. And I ain’t the hired help. I’m a full partner. He’s got his hands full with that girl tonight. That’s why I gotta do you.”

“So he takes the girl and sends you off to kill a cop. I’d say you got the raw end of the deal. What’s this asshole got on you?”

“On me? Nada.” He waved the gun in the air. “Like I told you, I may not want to dig your grave, but I sure as hell want to see you in it. It’s me that’s got dirt on Mr. Big-shot, upstanding citizen, not the other way round. If people knew what that devil had done he wouldn’t be going to no more fancy suppers with the mayor, and that’s for damn sure.”

Concealing his surprise, Danny turned his head and filed away the conversation for later reflection. Something had clicked in his head. Maybe a hunch, or instinct or just facts starting to assemble themselves. But he couldn’t sort things out now. Now was a time to act, not analyze.

“Put your back into it, buddy. I don’t have the whole damn night.”

Danny hefted the shovel to his shoulders, testing its weight, getting the goon accustomed to watching him raise his arms high. Then did as he’d been told. He put his back into it. Shovelful after shovelful.

Tonight was about survival. About getting out of this mess alive. Still, he knew his captor had information that could lead him to the man behind the curtain. If only Danny could get himself
and
the goon out alive, there’d be time for questions later. Then maybe he’d get the answers he needed to find Nevaeh and keep Sky safe.

But he couldn’t do either of those things if he didn’t survive the night. And if he had to use deadly force to preserve his own life, all the information he might’ve gleaned from his captor would be lost forever. He decided to scratch his itch to interrogate the goon. “So your boss thinks he’s a big shot? How’d you get messed up with a guy like him anyway?”

“Me and him go way back. He ain’t no better than me. We’re both cut from the same bolt, only his cloth got sent to the cleaners, so nobody can spot the blood stains.”

“You go way back. You’ve done his dirty work before.”

“Not me. I never done nothing for that bag of shit before. But this time, like I said, killing you suits me fine. So don’t try getting friendly and trying to sway me to your side, fuckhole.”

Fuckhole
. Danny could hear a puzzle piece snap into place. “Have we met? You’re starting to sound kind of familiar.”

“
We
haven’t met.”

Danny stopped shoveling. The man’s voice had soured to rotten. He really did have his own axe to grind with Danny.

Fuckhole
.

Holy mother. Danny took a stab, but not in the dark. “You knew Jack Spurlock.”

“Well, well. Look who’s finally figured it out. Jack and me was like brothers, and now I’m gonna kill you, just like you killed him that morning in the diner.” The goon cocked his pistol. “Hole’s plenty deep.”

“No, it’s not. The wolves will dig up my carcass.”

“Ain’t no wolves gonna dig that deep, and we both know it.”

The goon leveled his pistol at Danny’s chest. And then time did that funny thing it does when you and death are having a staring match. It stretched out like a lazy summer day. The goon stepped forward in slow motion. Danny swung his shovel above his head like a batter in the box, and then thwacked the goon in the face.

The goon’s head snapped back, but he didn’t go down. Instead his arm jerked into the air, and one shot rang out.

Danny jumped him.

Growling, the goon bit his ear.

Adrenaline pumped through Danny’s body, transformed his fist into a wrecking ball. When he knocked the goon to the ground, he fell on top of him, and the impact jarred his teeth halfway up his eyeballs. The goon flipped him, and now he had the earth below him and the goon above.

Bucking his legs, he managed to get air between his shoulders and the ground. Somehow, he got his body sideways, and then reached around for the goon’s foot. He pulled hard and twisted. The goon flipped under him, and another shot rang out. Thunder and mud and blood exploded through the air.