AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I knew it.
A surge of adrenaline floods my veins as the thrill of the chase takes hold. Natalie thinks I won’t follow her into the criminal stronghold, but this is what I live for. It’s why I joined the military. I needed a healthy outlet for all of the pent-up energy and aggression I’ve felt since I was a teenager.
Coming home hasn’t changed that.
A desk job is not on the cards for me. I have plans with Tripp and Van as soon as this business with my sisters is resolved.
A bone-deep determination to let Natalie away with absolutely nothing has me pointing my car in the same direction and putting my foot to the floor. If she thinks I won’t follow her onto her home turf, she’s got another thing coming. Driving Leah’s small car isn’t ideal when chasing someone down, hence the tracking device.
I definitely did not attach it to the undercarriage of her car when I was sneaking around last night because I feel a need to know where she is all the time. Definitely not.
As the miles go by, I squirm and grip the steering wheel tighter. Leon Lennox may be in a wheelchair and behind bars awaiting trial, but the family business is still going strong. What if they blame Natalie for her father’s arrest? She could be in danger. I should have stuck closer to her when she left.
Van has sent me reports that outline the ongoing strife within the organisation, as those left fight over what’s going to happen next. There are some legitimate businesses, but not enough for them all to go straight and definitely nothing that’s going to make them rich. Leon has lots of kids. It’s inevitable some of them will want to continue in his footsteps and keep the lifestyle they’re used to.
The red dot on my screen stops moving outside an address I know to be Leon’s bar. It’s a working saloon known more as a front for his illegal dealings, along with being the favourite hang-out for all of his cronies.
It’s hardly the smartest place for someone who helped put him away to be headed, family or not.
Calling Van’s number, I put him on speakerphone while I stare hard at that dot, willing it to move back in my direction. The longer it stays static, the more anxious I become.
“I don’t have the CCTV recordings from Zoe’s place!” he barks at me in lieu of a real greeting. “And it’s going to take me even longer if you keep calling and interrupting me.”
Trying to sound calmer than I feel, I ignore his rudeness. “It’s not that. I have a quick question for you.”
Caught off guard by my uncharacteristically reasonable attitude and hurried tone, Van encourages me to continue, and the incessant tap, tap, tap of his fingers on the keyboard stops. “Go on?”
The road ahead is a straight run to Lennox’s bar. Natalie will know I’ve tailed her before I even get out of my car, but so be it. Maybe if I abandon my car and travel the rest of the way on foot, I can sneak up to see what she’s doing here.
“I don’t suppose there are any live feeds to Lennox’s bar?”
Van’s booming laugh makes my jaw clench. My patience is already wearing thin.
“No, Chase. The leader of a notorious muscle-to-hire gang, the same man who is the brutal and sadistic criminal suspected of dozens of murders, does have CCTV in his clubhouse.” Van’s tone drips with sarcasm as though it’s the stupidest question he’s ever been asked. Maybe it is. I can picture him shaking his head and rethinking our plans to go into business together.
“You don’t have to be a dick about it.”
He thinks I’m asking because I want to know who else is in there before I stake out the premises. I don’t. I’m going anyway.
“Why are you asking?” The tap, tap, tap of his fingers tells me he’s moved on, thinking that’s the end of the conversation.
“Because I’m on my way there, and the last thing I need while I try to sort out my PI licence is a pending charge.”
The anxiety inside me settles into an eerie calmness the closer I get to that red dot. It’s calling to me like a moth to a flame.
“For fucks sake. That’s a terrible idea,” he hisses. Van’s table creaks in the background as he leans his weight on it, his typing forgotten so he can talk some sense into me. “These are dangerous men. They’ll spot a military asshole like you a mile away and know you’re not there for beer and a blow job.”
Now who’s stating the obvious?
“Why would Natalie come here?” I wonder out loud as the tree’s I’m passing thin out on either side of the dusty road. “If she’s the law, and she had any part in putting Leon away, his cronies could kill her on sight. I can understand if she was coming to visit her mother, but I don’t understand going to the bar.”
Marcus and Natalie could have targets on their backs. A new leader might try to prove a point by getting rid of them. My blood runs cold just at the thought.
“Maybe she orchestrated the whole thing and she’s the new leader. Or maybe because she’s his daughter and their sister, and she knows she’s safe there. Who knows, but you going in there could get both of you killed.”
One of Leon’s sons, Mitch, and another of his former lieutenants, are locked in a battle for control. Natalie could end up a pawn in their game. Pulling in where the trees stop and the open space around the small town starts, I climb out and stare at the gap, wondering if there’s any way I can cross it without being seen.
“Or it might stir things up a bit,” I mumble to myself, barely listening as Van explains once again why it’s none of my business, and that I should turn back. Narrowing my eyes, I see her in the distance, her slim figure climbing from her car. Her long ponytail swings back and forth as she sashays across the road and jogs up the steps of the wooden porch running the length of the tavern.
