Slaughter (The Agency: Young Guns Book 5), page 8
Montana took that moment to unload her decision. “Neil, I decided and I’m quitting the squad on Friday. I’ll be bringing all my stuff up here on Saturday morning. We’ll do shopping for the house on the weekend.”
Neil grabbed her in a hug. “I’m so happy, Montana. I love you so much. Thank you.”
“I love you, Neil. I want you to be happy.”
Tommy nodded his head.
Rockdale Medical Center.
Jesse and Liam waited for the doctor to finish his examination of Tyler, then Jesse spoke to the doctor at the nurses’ station in the corridor.
“My brother is a brain tumor patient, Doctor. If he blacked out and that’s what caused the accident, he needs to be transferred to Austin Neurological. That’s where Doctor Kaplan is. He has an appointment with Doctor Kaplan tomorrow because he recently hit his head.”
“There is swelling at the side of his head,” said the doctor. “If the swelling wasn’t incurred tonight, then I agree he should see Doctor Kaplan. Your brother is semi-conscious at best and he definitely needs to see a neurologist. I’ll make the arrangements to have him transferred.”
“Thank you,” said Jesse. He glanced at his phone and thought about calling Ace.
“I’ll call her in the morning.”
Chapter Seven
Thursday, June 1st.
Fisher Lake Trailer Park.
Glen was awake all night freaking out about the blood-in that was hanging over his head. His brother had tried to talk him into it, but he wasn’t going to do it. Couldn’t do it. Santana, the club president, gave him twenty-four hours to get it done.
The club had voted to eliminate one of the prospects that hadn’t worked out. Reefer Oliveira happened to be one of the only friends Glen had in the club and that was who he was assigned to eliminate. That was the test to see if Glen was worthy to be a San Angelo Devil.
The ultimate test. Kill one of your friends for the club.
Not doing it. If he had to leave the club and run, then that’s what he was going to do. He wasn’t killing his friend, Reefer, no matter what Dean or Santana said.
Marriott Hotel. Arlington.
Neil woke up excited about the house and so happy Montana had picked him over the job. He could hardly believe it because he had convinced himself she was leaning the other way.
“I was positive she wouldn’t give up her job.”
He met Annie downstairs in the breakfast room and told her the good news. “I’m so happy, Mom. I thought for sure she was going to pick the squad over me because she loves it so much.”
“How could she pick anything over you, sweetheart? I’d pick you every time.”
Neil laughed. “That’s because you’re my mom.”
“Montana loves you and it was a hard decision for her to make. Buy her something nice and surprise her.”
“Great idea. What should I get?”
“A nice birthstone ring to celebrate your moving in together. That would be sweet.”
Neil’s blue eyes widened. “For sure, I’ll get that while I’m out doing grocery shopping for the weekend.”
Annie’s cell rang and she said, “Jesse.” She put the call on speaker so Neil could hear. “Hey, cowboy.”
“You were right about Tyler, Ace. He had a little accident with his truck last night, and the doctor who checked him out thought he might have blacked out before he drove off the road and into the ditch.”
“Is he in Austin Neurological?” asked Annie.
“He was transferred last night. I’m going there in an hour or so.”
“Okay. I’m in Arlington with Neil, but I want to talk to you about Tyler and about something else. I’ll be home late afternoon. Meet me at my ranch for dinner.”
“Sure, I can do that. Love you, Ace.”
“Same.”
Neil smiled. “Jesse loves you Annie, and you love him. What does that tell you?”
“I’m not ready, but when I am, Jesse is first on my list.”
“Good,” said Neil. “He’s first on my list for you too.”
Ross Harley-Davidson. East Austin.
Farrell was ready to leave for work when Kevin Bennett called. “Good morning, Farrell. I have two properties to show you this morning. One at ten and one at eleven. They’re both out Elgin way like you requested. Is your morning free?”
“I can make it free, Kevin. Give me the address of the first property and I’ll meet you there at ten.”
“Got a pen?”
“Let me grab a pen and paper. Hold on.”
Adam shoved a notebook and a pen Farrell’s way and he wrote down the address. When the call ended, Farrell sat down at the table.
“Not going to the Agency until this afternoon. We’re looking at two properties this morning.”
“I’d better get dressed,” said Laine. “I heard you say ten. Is that the first one?”
“Yep. Ten is the first one. We’ll leave at nine-thirty. Adam’s coming too.”
“If I’m going out, I’d better hit the shower and shave.” He laughed. “I haven’t shaved in days.”
Austin Neurological Center.
Jesse left the ranch right after breakfast with Paul and Bobby and drove into the city. They were allowed in to see Tyler one at a time. The result was the same for all of three of them. Tyler wasn’t fully cognizant and he didn’t know who they were.
On the drive back to the ranch, Jesse called Annie and told her about Tyler’s condition.
“He didn’t know us, Ace. I’m so fuckin worried.”
“That’s terrible news, cowboy. Unfortunately, I can’t go to the hospital to sit with Tyler. I have to go to Boots and jockey the schedules around. With Tyler, Scarlett, and Shane all gone at the same time, I’m short people all over the place.”
“Yeah, you would be.”
“Come for dinner and we’ll talk. I want to see you.”
“Sure. I’ll see you then.”
The Blackmore Agency. Austin.
Blaine was working in his office when he got the call from Mrs. Gamble at Brookdale.
“Mrs. Gamble. How can I help you?”
“Ranger Blackmore, I’m so worried. I haven’t called anyone else about this yet because y’all are working on the case and I thought I should talk to you first. I just don’t know what I should do.”
“What happened, ma’am?”
“I’m ashamed to have to admit this, but another one of our patients has gone missing. In all the years I’ve been in charge, this never happened to me before Malcolm escaped.”
“What’s the name of the boy who’s missing?”
“Pinner. That’s what the other boys call him.”
“I’ll need his full name, ma’am.”
“Tim Pinard.”
“Thank you,” said Blaine. “I’ll alert my crew and we’ll look for Tim along with Malcolm, ma’am.”
“I’m so upset about this. I have no idea how the boys are getting out.”
“I suggest you call your security provider and have them check your system, your perimeter, and every one of your cameras. Do it this morning.”
“I’ll do it right away. Thank you. I’m not thinking straight at the moment.”
Blaine ended the call and shook his head. “Damn it all. Another kid is out. Casey was right about the other kids knowing how Malcolm got out.”
Blaine delved into Tim Pinard’s juvie file to see what the boy had been convicted of. What were they up against besides a juvie axe murderer?
Timothy Pinard. Seventeen years old. He’d been sent to Brookdale when he was thirteen. He was charged with stealing a motorcycle, tying his sister on behind and dragging her down the highway until she was dead.
“Jeeze,” said Blaine. “I’m going to call and put out a stolen bike alert. We’ve got to stop this kid before anything else happens.”
After talking to DPS, Blaine called Gene. Gene and Caleb were relieving Billy and Buck on the night surveillance at Brookdale.
“Hey, boss. Got something for us?”
“Did Billy have anything to report when you guys took over?” asked Blaine.
“Nope. He told us the night was quiet. No sign of the camper coming back.”
“Another boy escaped during the night,” said Blaine. “Go into the hospital and have Mrs. Gamble show you Tim Pinard’s room. Go through the room and then talk to security. See how the kid got out.”
“We’re on it, boss. Call you in a while.”
Casey came into the office and Blaine caught him up on the latest.
“I’ll drive out there and spend some time in Tim’s room. He could have left something behind we can use.”
“Talk to security too. Caleb and Gene are there working on it, but if more of the boys know how the first two got out, it’s going to be a shitshow.”
“Yeah. I’ll take a coffee with me and get going.”
Elgin.
The first property Kevin Bennet showed them was on the edge of town. A ranch house sitting on two acres. At the back was a large shed big enough to hold a lawn tractor, but there was no barn for Diablo.
The house was an average three bedroom with a renovated kitchen. No dining room. No fireplace in the living room. No family room.
Laine said nothing as they followed Kevin on the walk-through. Outside, the two acres were nicely landscaped, the grass freshly cut. No weeds in the flower beds.
The property was priced at two hundred and fifty thousand.
As they drove to the second property, Farrell prodded Laine and Adam to see what they thought.
“The two acres were nice,” said Adam.
“Laine, speak,” said Farrell.
“I’m thinking, Donovan. I’ll wait until I see the second one.”
Farrell followed the ReMax SUV to a county road about a mile north of Elgin. Kevin turned down a treed laneway and Farrell was already liking the privacy the property offered before they got to the house or got out of the truck.
The house was old—built of stone—two-storey. The type of house you saw in paintings or on Christmas cards. Dark blue shutters and a matching front door. Farrell loved the look of it and knew Annie would love it on first glance. The perfect house for antique furniture.
A renovated farmhouse sitting on twenty-five acres of the original farm property. There was a separate garage/workshop combination, a driving shed, and a small horse barn painted red.
“Twenty-five acres, Farrell,” said Kevin. “This is a great property and the owners have spent a lot of money renovating the old stone house. Updated wiring, plumbing, a new roof, and a brand new kitchen. Come on inside and let me show you.”
The house was adorable and furnished with a lot of old pieces of Quebec pine. Farrell thought Laine liked it, but she was doing a good job of keeping her thoughts to herself.
There were fireplaces in both the kitchen and the family room. Walkout from the kitchen to a lovely flagstone patio. No pool. Four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. One bedroom had been turned into a home office with a complete wall of bookshelves.
Laine was a huge reader and she would love that.
After the tour of the house, they walked through the double garage and Farrell was excited to see there was a self-contained apartment over the garage. He immediately thought Adam could live there.
The apartment had a large living area, galley kitchen, one bedroom and a bathroom. Great for a single person.
By the time they got to the barn Farrell was all in. He didn’t even need to look in the barn, but he did anyway. Six stalls and a tack room. A small loft up above for hay and straw storage.
He nodded his head and when the tour was over, Farrell’s only concern was the price.
“The owners are asking four hundred thousand,” said Kevin. “The property just came on the market and it won’t be around long.”
Farrell looked at Laine for her approval and she said, “I like it. I have money saved.”
“I have money saved too. Should we make an offer?”
“Let’s drive back to my office,” said Kevin, “and y’all can hash it out on the drive to Smithville.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Farrell.
Adam and Laine were both smiling.
Brookdale Hospital. Marble Falls.
Casey got permission from Mrs. Gamble and she showed him to the room Tim Pinard had occupied before his unscheduled departure. The bed was unmade and there were dirty clothes on the floor near the hamper. Close, but not in the hamper.
Casey went through every dresser drawer, looked under the mattress and didn’t find a single clue. Then he started on the closet—the only place left.
Taped to the back of the closet behind Tim’s clothes, Casey found the little map of how to get out through the fence without security seeing them.
He made two copies of the escape plan in Mrs. Gamble’s office. One for her and one for her security people. It showed which cameras were disabled.
“I’ll have that taken care of right away, Ranger Blackmore. Are you related to the other Ranger Blackmore?”
Casey nodded. “He’s my brother.”
She smiled. “There is a resemblance.”
That made Casey smile. Blaine was half Argentinian and they shared no blood.
East Arlington.
Neil was parked at the house at noon sharp waiting for Kendra, the agent, to bring his purchase and rental paperwork and all the keys related to the property. Because of all the outbuildings, Neil figured there would be a lot of keys.
While he waited for her to arrive, he sat happily in his truck thinking about Montana finishing up with the squad and moving in on Saturday.
They would have a great weekend together buying things for the house and getting settled in. His team had a game on Saturday night and he and Montana could celebrate after the game. It was working out for him after all.
He pulled a notepad out of the glovebox, found a pen, and made a huge grocery list. They were starting from scratch and Mother Hubbard’s cupboard was bare.
Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.
Annie was tired after she drove home from Arlington. There were so many things she had to fix at Boots now that Tyler was out of commission.
Shane had caused this to happen—hitting Tyler and making him hit his head. Annie wasn’t forgiving Shane Quantrall easily for what he’d done.
Jesse showed up around six and they had a beer together and talked on the porch while Riley put the finishing touches on dinner.
After Jesse gave her the latest update on Tyler, she told him about her idea of buying into the ball club.
He smiled. “You sure you want to do that, Ace? You’ve got a helluva lot going on in your life already and you haven’t been feeling the best.”
“Not sure at all. That’s why I’m running it by you. Do you want to do it with me?”
Jesse laughed. “Never thought of buying into a team, Ace, but if you want us to do it together, I’ll give it some consideration.”
“Give it some consideration. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Tell me all about Farrell’s wedding. Liam was talking about it, and I hadn’t heard a goddamned thing. Farrell is the last person I figured would take the giant leap and get married.”
Annie laughed. “I was pretty surprised myself, cowboy. Let me tell you what I have done so far.”
Jesse reached over and held her hand. “Tell me everything, sweetheart. I want to know all about our boy getting married.”
Boots and Saddles Roadhouse. Giddings.
Annie and Declan were busy in the bar. Thursday nights were always busy now that they’d added the live band.
Beau was taking Tyler’s spot as lead guitar and sharing the vocals with the other guys. They would be able to manage over the weekend. That was one thing off her list of worries.
Filling Scarlett’s spot was another. She might need two servers to fill in for Scarlett. She was so quick and such a hard worker. She would be missed. Again, Annie was blaming Scarlett’s loss mostly on Shane Quantrall.
Declan was changing a keg when Annie noticed Shane come through the double doors. He walked right in and sat down at the end of the bar. She had told him to stay away, but there he was looking right at her and smiling.
She stomped towards him pointing at the door. “Get out of here, Shane. I don’t want you here in the roadhouse.”
“This is a public place, Annie. I can come in here and buy a beer if I want.”
“No, you can’t. I’m banning you from my premises. I have the right to do that. Tyler is in the hospital, and you put him there. He doesn’t even know his family.”
“Hey, I never did that.”
“Yes, you did. You hit him and he fell and hit his head. Tyler is a brain tumor survivor and his health is tenuous at best.” Annie tried to stop herself but she started to cry.
Declan came over and said, “It would be best if you stayed out of the roadhouse, lad.”
Sidewinders. San Angelo.
Travis and Lukas sat in a booth at Sidewinders watching the Devils drink and trying to figure out how to get Travis sponsored into the club as a prospect.
“We have to get friendly with one of those assholes,” said Lukas. “Don’t matter which one.”
Travis still hadn’t told Lukas why he was going into the Devils undercover. He had to tell him soon. He might need Lukas to help him with a few things if the going got tough on the inside.
“Might help if we knew their names,” said Travis. “I know somebody who might know a couple of the Devils.”
“Who?”
“Your cousin, Farrell.”
“He’s a cop.”
“Yeah, he’s a cop now, but he used to ride with the Devils,” said Travis. “Farrell was a lot of things before he was ever a cop. He’s somebody you don’t want to mess with.”
Chapter Eight
Friday, June 2nd.
Fisher Lake Trailer Park.
Dean pointed a finger at his brother, “You call Reefer up and tell him to meet you at the park. You got to get this done, Glen. If Reefer ain’t capped before the meeting tonight you’re gonna be the next one marked and because I’m your fuckin sponsor, I’ll have to kill you.”
