AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Enough," Ethan said again, stronger this time. "We're leaving."
"Like hell, we are," Rachel countered under her breath, unwilling to abandon the trail as it warmed beneath her feet.
The stale scent of spilled beer and the tang of gun oil clung to the air as Rachel's gaze drilled into Kai's, the knife in her hand a sharp reminder of the stakes. Her heart thumped hard against her ribs, a rhythm that matched the pulsing neon light from the bar sign flickering outside.
"Kai," she began, steel lacing her tone, "we know Anna wasn't just some—"
"Shut it, Blackwood!" Kai spat, his lips curling over yellowed teeth.
A chuckle rolled through the deputies, but it cut short when one, an older deputy with more sense than liquor, spoke up, "He knew her, alright. Saw her name on an old report... from Carlos Acosta's bust." His voice wavered, but the words hung heavy and undeniable.
Kai stumbled to his feet, his hand flew out, fast as a snake, grabbing the deputy's collar. "You little snitch—" he hissed, but the other man shook him off, defiant.
"Truth's truth," the deputy said, standing taller. "Anna Longshadow was working for Acosta. Everyone knows."
"Who is Carlos Acosta?" Rachel said.
The question hung in the air, tension building as the deputies exchanged wary glances.
"Tell me," Rachel demanded, her voice unwavering. "Who is Carlos Acosta?"
The older deputy sighed heavily, his weary eyes meeting Rachel's with a mix of resignation and exhaustion. "Acosta is a small-time pimp. An asshole. About all."
"And how did Kai know Anna?" she asked.
But the deputy just shrugged, frowning and showing he disapproved of this question.
Kai was on his feet again, drinking at the bar once more, as if he'd almost forgotten their presence.
A pimp named Carlos Acosta linked to Anna, woven into the tapestry of crime she was unraveling. The pieces weren't fitting yet, but they were there, edges jutting out, demanding attention. A pimp might have connections to a larger crime family.
Like the cartel, their dead trucker had participated in drug smuggling for.
"Working how?" she echoed, her question sharp as the blade she wielded.
"Prostitute," Kai finally ground out, the word laden with disgust, directed not at the dead woman, but at Rachel herself.
"Thanks, deputy," Rachel said coldly, eyes not leaving Kai's. "You've been most helpful."
She stepped back slowly, the threat of violence receding but never vanishing, like the desert heat that lingered long after the sun dipped below the horizon. Her fingers relaxed around the knife handle, but her alertness did not wane. She cataloged the room, the positions of the deputies, the distance to the door.
Kai was drinking again, emptying another shot glass.
He was sniffing and pretending as if Rachel and Ethan weren't worth his time.
His back was to them now.
She knew it was a dangerous thing to have humiliated Kai Dawes in front of his fellow deputies, but she had a job to do, and his hostility was only causing difficulty.
She turned away from him now, moving double time back towards the door.
Ethan followed after her.
In a low voice, he said, "Kai was definitely sleeping with her. No doubt."
She shrugged. "Doesn't mean he killed her."
"So we're looking into this Carlos guy?"
