Nothing To Lose: A Grey Justice Novel

NOTHING TO LOSE

A Grey Justice Novel

By

Christy Reece

NOTHING TO LOSE

A Grey Justice Novel

By

Christy Reece

Published by Christy Reece

Cover Art by Patricia Schmitt/Pickyme

Copyright 2014 by Christy Reece

ISBN: 978-0-9916584-0-4

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at
[email protected]
.
 

Prologue

Houston, Texas

The man’s plane landed at William P. Hobby Airport. Like any other businessman, he disembarked and headed with the seemingly endless throng of people toward ground transportation. Having no luggage other than his carry-on, he was standing in line for a taxi within minutes.

Innocuous looking, he blended into the mass of people as if he didn’t exist. If a thousand people were later asked if they had seen a slender man of medium height with short, brown hair and pleasant features, most would say no. A few might say yes and yet be unable to describe him. Blending in was part of his trade, and he was very good at his chosen profession.

When an overaggressive traveler grabbed the taxi meant for him, he did nothing but step back and wait for the next one. Attracting attention would be unwise. The rude man would never know that he came in close contact with Death today.
 

Finally procuring a cab, the man gave the name of a hotel in the city. Nothing particularly expensive—just one of the many hotels on the outer edges of the big metropolitan area where one wouldn’t be noticed.

After checking in, he followed a large family onto the elevator. All eyes were on the overexcited, squealing children. No one noticed the silent stranger in the corner.
 

Reaching his room on the third floor, he slid his key card into the slot and pushed open the door. A sniff of air brought a scowl to his bland features. He’d asked for a non-smoking room, and this one had definitely housed a smoker. A complaint or a room-change request would only bring unwanted attention and make him memorable. Shrugging philosophically, he set his bag on the luggage rack, withdrew his new, unused phone from his pocket, and punched in a number.
 

On the first ring, a male voice answered, “Yes?”

“I’m here,” the man said. Not waiting for a reply, he ended the call.

Most people would unpack their clothing or check the television guide. Others might take a quick look over the room service menu. He did none of those. His total focus was on the job. Once that was finished, he would leave and go about his business. He wouldn’t stay in the same hotel. Instead, he would head into the city and pay an exorbitant price for a one-night-only stay. Then he would return to his home and be someone else until another employment opportunity presented itself again.

Three minutes after making the call, a soft chime indicated he had a text message. Clicking on the message icon, he quickly took in the brief but significant information. Two targets. Both events were to look like random acts of violence—a specialty for him.
 

All relevant information gathered and memorized, he deleted the message, then efficiently and thoroughly demolished the phone. He would drop the decimated parts into a dumpster on the way to his first job.

After a quick check in the mirror to ensure his pleasant, nondescript appearance was still in place, he walked out the door with nothing more on his mind than to complete a successful business transaction—just like any other businessman.

Chapter One

Kennedy O’Connell stepped back to admire her work and released a contented sigh.
Yes.
Even though she’d painted only a quarter of a wall with one coat, she was almost sure this color was the right one.

“Oh holy hell, you changed your mind again.”

Grinning, she glanced over her shoulder at her husband. “Eighth time’s the charm.”

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her against his hard body. As he nuzzled her neck, she could feel his smile against her skin. Kennedy knew if she looked at his face, his eyes would be dancing with good humor. Thomas O’Connell was a patient, even-keeled man, but her indecisiveness about the color for the nursery had put him to the test.

Snuggling back into his arms, she asked, “So do you like this color better than the last one?”

Without raising his head, Thomas growled, “It’s perfect.”

She snorted softly. “That’s what you said about the first seven.”

“That’s because they were perfect, too. Anything you pick is going to look great.”

She appreciated his faith in her. Having grown up in various foster homes, her priorities had been getting enough food to fill her belly and staying out of trouble. Surviving her childhood hadn’t involved learning about colors, textures, and fabrics.
 

When she and Thomas had married, almost everything she owned was secondhand and ragged. Since then, she’d been learning little by little, mostly by experimenting, what she liked. She had delighted in setting up their home, creating a beautiful environment she and Thomas could enjoy together. Now that their first child was on the way, she wanted everything to be just right, so she had taken experimentation to a whole new level.

She was on winter break from her first year of law school. In her spare time, she freelanced as a researcher for several law firms. She had considered taking on some jobs to earn a little extra money while on break, but Thomas had encouraged her to take her time off seriously by doing nothing at all. Never one to be idle, she couldn’t stop herself from working on the nursery. This wasn’t dry contracts, torts, or mind-numbing procedure. This was relaxing and fun.

Thomas’s big hands covered her protruding belly and caressed. At just over twenty-two weeks, she was all baby. The weight she had gained—thirteen pounds so far—had gone straight to her stomach.
 

“How’s Sweet Pea doing today?”

Smiling at the nickname Thomas had taken to calling their baby, Kennedy covered his hands with her own. “Sweet Pea is doing wonderful.” She tilted her head to look up at him. “But you know, if it’s a boy, you cannot call him Sweet Pea, right?”

“It’s a girl,” he assured her. “As sweet and beautiful as her mother.”

“I hope you’re right, if only because everything I’ve bought so far is pink.”

“I’m right.” He kissed the nape of her neck. “So. No queasiness?”

“Nope. I think she’s decided to take the day off.”

Warm breath caressed her ear as Thomas gently bit her lobe. “I’d say that calls for a celebration.”

Heat licked up her spine. Morning sickness that lasted long past morning had put a damper on their lovemaking lately. When she wasn’t in the bathroom throwing up, she was concentrating on staying still to keep from getting sick. But today, for whatever reason, the baby had decided to give her a break.
 

Turning in his arms, she whispered against his mouth. “I’ve missed you.”

His mouth covered hers, and Kennedy gave herself up to the delicious and familiar taste of the man she adored. Two years of marriage had only increased her love for him.

He raised his head and dropped a quick kiss on her nose. “Think that’ll hold you till tonight?”

Her smile teasing, she winked at him. “Yes, but don’t blame me if I get started early.”

His gruff laughter was cut off abruptly as he kissed her once more. Before she could pull him in for a deeper connection, he backed away. “Save some for me.”

Already tingling in anticipation of the coming night, Kennedy watched him walk away, loving how his swagger denoted confidence without a hint of conceit.
 

Thomas stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder. “I’ll call you before I head home to see what you need.”

Blowing him a kiss in thanks, Kennedy turned back to her project, blissfully unaware that it would be the last time she would see her husband alive.

Detective Nick Gallagher slid into the front seat of his car, started the engine and flipped on his headlights. Damn, it was already dark. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the opposite direction of his apartment, pushing the vision of going home for a quick shower out of his mind. In fact, he’d be lucky to make his date on time. This was the first time today he’d had a few minutes to himself. This morning he’d been tied up in court, waiting to testify in a murder trial. The minute he’d walked out of the courtroom after his testimony, he’d been called in on a double homicide.
 

He took all of that in stride. He had played this dice when he’d chosen his career path. Sometimes, though, a little downtime to handle personal issues would have been nice.

With that thought in mind, he grabbed his cellphone and punched the speed dial for Thomas. His best friend was a detective in the Narcotics Division. Lately, the only way they’d communicated was through text messages and emails. Yesterday, Nick had gotten an oddly obscure text from him that had put his cop instincts on high alert.
 

Thomas answered on the first ring. “You forget something?”
 

“How’s that?” Nick asked.
 

Thomas chuckled. “Hey, Nick. Sorry. I was just talking to Kennedy. She’s been having some wild cravings lately, and I figured she’d thought of something else she wanted.”

“So you’re headed home for the night?”
 

“After I make a stop at Bailey’s grocery.”

“Where’s that?”

“Corner of Kendrick and Mulberry.”

“That’s on the other side of town. Why so far?”

“I’m on a mango run. I was in the area last week and picked up some fruit at the store. Kennedy went crazy over the mangoes and asked me to pick up some more. I think she’s got some sort of special dessert in mind for tonight.”

Nick didn’t question his friend’s need to please his wife. He’d seen Thomas’s devotion to Kennedy firsthand…there was almost nothing he wouldn’t do for her. And Kennedy was the same way about her husband. If anyone had the perfect marriage, it was the O’Connells.

“Sounds like you guys have plans for the evening.”

“Yeah, something like that. Why? What’s up?”

“I thought we might meet later and talk about that text you sent me yesterday. You know…about the Slaters.”

The slight pause before Thomas answered told Nick that plans or not, his friend didn’t want to discuss the subject. “It’s nothing, really. I made a couple of calls, thinking I’d found something interesting, but nothing panned out. Forget about it.”
 

Thomas O’Connell was the finest man Nick knew, but he couldn’t lie for shit. Something was definitely going on. “What do you mean you made a couple of calls? To who?”

“No one…really. Just forget I mentioned anything, okay?”

“Look, I’ll be the first to admit there’s no way the Slaters are as squeaky clean as they pretend. But if you are right, they’ll screw up big-time one day and get what’s coming to them.”
 

“Yeah, I know that. Like I said, it was just an idea that didn’t pan out. I’m over it now. So who’s the hottie of the night?”

The less-than-smooth effort to change the subject made Nick even more suspicious. Letting him off the hook for the time being, he said,
 
“Louisa something or other.”