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Elijah sinks heavily into one of the ugly folding chairs parked against the wall. I never think of him as an old man but right now he looks like he’s earned every step of his sixty-five years on this earth.
My friend and mentor scrubs a hand over his face and gestures to the chair beside him. “Won’t you sit down for a minute?”
Sure, I’ll cooperate because I owe him this much. Actually, I owe him a hell of a lot.
He waits until I’m seated. “How are things at home?”
“Great.”
He gives me a thin smile, not fooled. “You better not be fucking things up with her.”
“Trying not to.” I pause before saying the next words because I have yet to speak them out loud. “We’ve got a kid on the way.”
“No shit.” His smile widens and he shows off all his gold teeth. “That’s a piece of good news.”
“Don’t know what kind of father I’ll be.”
He bobs his head. “I have faith in you. So does she. You’ll figure it out.”
There it is again, the ghostly sense that my hand is curling into a fist. Maybe it would disappear if I knew what the fuck became of my hand. Conner and Josh Ballerini scoured the whole area for hours, finding nothing.
And dead men don’t talk.
“Halligan wouldn’t have planned this on his own.”
Elijah’s smile falls. “Yeah. The guy had a chip on his shoulder the size of Mount Oz but he had a long list of enemies and I doubt you were at the top. He wouldn’t have made that move without being backed by someone.”
Which leaves the question…
WHO?
My first thought was Pierce Carrington, that maybe he’d snapped some pieces together and figured out who was to blame for his tumble down a stairwell. He’s certainly not above brutality, given what he tried to do to Tess.
“Now you know how your daddy felt.”
Those were Halligan’s words. But someone gave them to him. Someone who wanted to be sure I made the connection to my father’s murder. Someone who was determined to not only break my body but my mind.
Could have been Carrington.
Conveniently, he’s been out of the country but the Marchenkos are looking at him for sure.
Yeah, it definitely could have been Carrington.
Elijah watches me with growing concern. “Be careful what you do next, Micah. You’ve got a family to think about now.”
I get it. He’s afraid I’ll go running off to war. “I know that.” I take a look around. “Gonna miss this place.”
“We’ll be right here. There’s always a spot for you in my gym, no matter what.”
“You’ve been good to me, El. I won’t forget.”
“Maybe you and your girl will invite me over for dinner again sometime.”
“Count on it.” I get to my feet. “I know you’re short on space so I am going to clean out my locker after all. Make room for the next angry guy with too much shit to prove.”
He rises to stand beside me and bumps my shoulder. “Nah, you were an angry boy when I met you. Raging at the world. But you’re a man now. And a good one, whether you believe it or not.”
I don’t know if I do believe it. Still, I appreciate the thought. “Will you come along for one last walk through the gym?”
