Beyond the Past (16 page)

Chapter 40

Lucas strode along the streets of Reno, Nevada alert and aware of everyone and everything around him. The plan had been set in motion two days ago.

Joe had broken into the communications portal of Group Nine and sent a message to Neal Jerrod that they had located Lucas. To make it legit, Joe had had one of his hackers break into the credit card processor at a downtown liquor store and insert a charge on one of Lucas’s old credit cards. Those at Group Nine immediately flagged the charge, and orders were sent to Neal Jerrod to find Lucas immediately and terminate him.

Lucas walked three city blocks around the liquor store waiting to be found, no longer looking homeless. His bulky parka kept him warm, and his full belly and cup of Starbucks coffee kept him going.

He’d been trying to be found for two days, and he wondered what the hell could be taking the asshole so long. “If I was hunting me, I’d already be dead,” he muttered to himself.

Gabby had insisted on staying at the cabin, and he’d lost that battle. That damn woman could be so stubborn and pigheaded. Usually, he adored the qualities, except when the tables turned and she used them on him. She waited at the cabin for him now, and once this was over, they would be able to start their new lives together.

Lucas knew what he was doing proved selfish. Yes, Neal wouldn’t rest until he had Lucas’s head on a stick, and running from him when he’d become so intimately acquainted with Lucas and Gabby’s lives seemed dangerous. As Joe said, someone would eventually step in and take Neal’s place, but they would need to start their hunt from square one, and by then, Lucas and Gabby would be wiped out of existence by Joe’s hackers.

However, he wanted to confront the man who had beaten his wife. His plan was for Neal to have a long, slow, painful death. One reason he didn’t want Gabby near this ambush—he didn’t want her to see what he was capable of.

“Lucas,” Garrett’s voice came through the earpiece he wore, “I’ve got visual contact on him. Take a right up Sierra Street. Let’s give this bastard a little help and get this shit moving along.”

“Copy that,” he said.

He walked a block and headed up Sierra Street, his gaze roaming to both sides of the street as he didn’t want to be gunned down in broad daylight or knifed as he passed Neal on the sidewalk. No, he wanted this played out his own way, on his own terms and turf.

A group of skateboarders stood in the middle of the sidewalk up ahead, and a homeless man stumbled toward Lucas. The other side of the street seemed fairly quiet.

“That’s him in the black coat at your two o’clock,” Garrett said.

Lucas had no idea where Garrett was hidden, but obviously, he had bird’s-eye view of the streets. Glancing up, Lucas wondered what building he perched on, staring through his binoculars.

He passed the pawn shop and another boarded-up casino, seeing Neal at two o’clock when he reached the intersection. The bastard stood among a group of people coming out of one of the casinos.

“Tell me if he makes me,” he muttered as he crossed the street, passing about twenty feet away from Neal.

“Keep walking, Lucas,” Garrett said. “He’s following you. He seemed a little hesitant at first, but he’s behind you.”

“How far?”

“About thirty feet. He’s hanging back.”

A few moments later, Lucas crossed the street, taking the opportunity to glance into a store window. Neal was on the phone, his gaze trained on Lucas.

“I think I’m made,” he said. “I’m going to head for the parking garage.”

“Got it,” Garrett replied. “I’ve got eyes on you.”

The public parking garage was the only one that didn’t belong to a casino. They were betting on Neal having wheels and parking them there. It was a long shot, but every now and then, long shots paid off.

Lucas turned the corner and entered the parking garage. Once inside, he sprinted to his car, wanting to ensure he stayed ahead of Neal. The garage happened to be a perfect place to shoot a target at this time of day when very few people lingered about.

Approaching the rental car, he pulled the keys from his pocket and hit the fob. The click signaled the unlocking of the door, and he pulled it open and slid in. Counting to ten, he waited to see if he was followed.

He heard footsteps echoing on the concrete and pulled the Beretta 952FS from his pocket, picked up the silencer from the seat, and screwed it on. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his nerves.

The footfalls grew louder, and a woman came into view, her heels clicking on the concrete. Exhaling a sigh of relief, he started the car and pulled out of the parking spot. At the mouth of the garage, he stopped and looked around. He didn’t see Neal in the crowds of people, and for a moment, he wondered if he’d misread the situation and perhaps Neal hadn’t been following him.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a black coat, and he glanced over again. Neal stared directly at him, and Lucas quickly looked away. He couldn’t let Neal be aware that he knew he was being followed.

He slowly turned onto Virginia Street, keeping an eye on Neal in his rearview mirror. The man’s gaze followed him for a moment, and then he sprinted across the street and got into a Ford Explorer and whipped around. A few seconds later, Lucas caught sight of him in his mirror, four cars back.

“He’s on the hook,” he said into the empty car.

“Copy that. I hear you loud and clear,” Garrett said. “You’re on your own now, man.”

“Got it.”

“Be careful, Tate. Remember, this is a guy who had no qualms about tying your wife to a chair and beating the crap out of her.”

Rage soared through him and he nodded. “I know. Revenge is sweet.”

“See you on the flip side, my brother,” Garrett said.

“Let’s hope so,” he muttered as he merged onto the freeway.

Chapter 41

The satellite phone rang, startling Gabby as she sat at the kitchen table doing a crossword puzzle, trying to figure out a nine-letter word that meant ‘stupid’ and only coming up with ‘Lucas Tate.’

Picking up the phone, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. She wasn’t cut out for all this waiting around.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Gabby,” Garrett’s deep voice rumbled through the phone. “It’s go-time.”

“Seriously?” She stood and paced the kitchen.

“Yep. Lucas is on his way with a tail. Remember, you need to stay inside while he takes care of business.”

“I know,” she said, gripping the handgun on the table. “This all seems so ridiculous to me, though. I don’t get why we just can’t leave, why this needs to be done—“

“Because he’s after both of you,” Garrett interrupted, and she could hear the irritation in his voice. “My man Lucas is doing this to protect both of you, Gabby.”

She sat back down. “I know, Garrett.”

“It needs to be done so you two can move on with your life. You’ve both been through a lot of shit while he tried to protect you. You’ve both lost a lot, and he doesn’t want you to lose anymore, you get me?”

She sighed. “I get you. When are they supposed to be here?”

“I give them about a half hour. Then you stay put and let the man do what he needs to do, okay?”

“Yes, Garrett.”

“Good girl. I’ll see you after all is said and done.”

She hit the off button and set the phone down, staring out into the snowy valley and hoping everything would be okay. She daydreamed of where her future would take her. They’d talked to Joe a little bit about where they wanted to settle down, and neither she nor Lucas liked the heat very much. Joe had also mentioned it would be beneficial if they relocated outside the country. She had no idea where they’d end up, which was both exciting and scary.

She thought of everything she’d be leaving behind, and couldn’t come up with anything really earthshattering important. Her mother had died five years ago, and she had no other family. Sure, she had few friends and she’d miss Rachel, but people moved on with their lives. Wishing she had a map, she tried to remember where all the continents and countries were located and chastised herself for not paying better attention in school.

A few minutes later, she saw the rental car round the pond and park about twenty feet from the house. Lucas ran to the trees and pressed his back against one, making himself invisible to anyone coming up the drive.

She glanced back to the hill, and a Ford Explorer came into view moments later. Gasping, she stepped to the side of the window where she couldn’t be seen. Lucas had told her to lock herself in the back bedroom until he came and retrieve her, but something held her where she stood.

Her breath came in shallow spurts, and she closed her eyes and listened, trying to get an idea of what went on. She heard a car door shut, as if someone had tried to keep the noise to a minimum. The plan had been for Lucas to shoot Neal Jerrod dead as soon as he had a free shot. She waited for the noise, the sound that would let her know she and Lucas were finally free of this life.

It never came.

After a few minutes, she got down on her hands and knees, desperately wanting to look out the window to see what happened. It was then she heard a grunt, and slowly, she lifted her head to look outside.

Instead of shooting Neal, Lucas rolled around in the snow with him, trading punches. Drops of blood spattered the pristine whiteness around them, and Gabby watched in horror as the battle raged on.

“Oh, Lucas,” she whispered, “what in the fuck are you doing?”

Chapter 42

Lucas was very aware that his plan had gone sideways, and he was at fault. When Neal moved toward the cabin with his gun drawn, all the rage he’d felt at what had been done to Gabby surged within him. He’d attacked the man from behind, tossed his gun to the side, and now they brawled, just as they’d done in his vision.

He straddled Neal and slammed his fist into his nose, his own body numb to the cold snow around them. “That’s for what you did to my wife, you fucker,” he hissed as he landed a right hook. “I’m going to kill you for what you did.”

Neal grabbed him by the throat and squeezed his windpipe. With Neal being taller, his arms proved longer. Lucas tried to hit him in the face again, but he couldn’t reach. Instead, he moved his leg away from Neal’s torso and hit him in the liver once, and then the diaphragm. The man’s knees involuntarily bended, and Lucas used his elbow and jammed it into his upper thigh. Neal grunted at the Charlie horse, loosening his grip on Lucas’s throat.

Lucas bolted his arms through Neal’s, and sent them flailing. Just as he was about to land another blow to Neal’s face, something caught him around the neck, sending him backward. It was Neal’s good leg, and Lucas had to admit, he was impressed with the flexibility.

An instant later, he took a left fist to the mouth and tasted blood. He spat it in Neal’s face, which didn’t seem to faze the man. But hey, when a guy assassinated people for a living, a little blood and spit wasn’t going to make a difference.

Neal’s left fist barreled down toward Lucas, and he caught it in his hand. He squeezed the fingers, hoping to dislocate a knuckle or two. Instead, he took a right to the jaw, stars floating before his eyes.

He let go of the fist, which caused Neal to go off balance. It allowed Lucas to sit up a little bit and slam an elbow on Neal’s chin, sending him backward. Lucas scrambled to get the upper hand, but Neal stood, as well. They stared at each other a moment, and Neal pile-drove him, wrapping his arms around his waist while his shoulder crashed into Lucas’s gut. Both again ended up in the snow, trading punches.

Lucas felt his energy draining, but his desire to inflict as much pain as possible on the asshole kept him swinging. Every punch he took, he delivered it right back. He wished he wasn’t so thin, or he would have this guy beaten by now.

He smashed his fist into Neal’s face again, and then heard the distinct sound of a knife being unsheathed. Glancing to his right, he caught the glint of the blade sparkling in the sunlight as Neal pulled it from his boot.

Neal lunged and ended up on top of Lucas. He brought the knife up and Lucas caught his hands and held them just inches from his body. If Neal buried that blade in his chest, he would definitely be very, very dead.

As he pushed with all his might to keep the blade out of his torso, his life flashed before his eyes. He saw Gabby and him when she was eight and he eleven, when he’d stopped some bullies on the playground from harassing her. Fast forward a few years, and she was twelve and he fifteen. They’d built a tree swing on the pond in the commune with three other boys, and no one wanted to be the first to try it out. Gabby had climbed their makeshift ladder, taken the rope in her hands, and swung half-way out the pond and dropped, laughing the whole time.

Their first kiss had been when she was fifteen, he eighteen. They’d snuck out of their cabins with some of the other kids and played Spin the Bottle in a wooded area of the commune. He remembered the bolts of energy that had traveled through his body as her lips softly met his.

The memories continued; the first time they’d made love by the lake, and the sickness and heartache he felt after he left her—both times—and the amazing joy at their reunions.

His thoughts traveled to the future, and he wondered what could have been. Would they have had kids? What if Gabby was pregnant right now? What if he missed out on his child’s life?

His strength weakened, despite his resolve to end Neal’s life, as the knife inched closer to his chest. He’d failed Gabby, his only hope was that she’d have the nerve to shoot Neal when he got into the cabin.

His muscles shook as the blade came closer, and as he stared at the shiny, silver tip, Lucas realized he was about three inches away from dying. Sweat poured down his face despite being surrounded by snow, and he wondered how badly the knife piercing his heart would hurt.

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and then Gabby stood over Neal’s shoulder. Her auburn hair waved in the breeze as her hard, blue gaze matched the sky behind her. She glanced at Lucas, her face a mask of calm, and then at the back of Neal’s head. Slowly, she raised her gun and pointed at his assailant. He noticed her steady hand, her unwavering glare of hate and disgust as she stared at the back of Neal’s head.

Her finger looped around the trigger and he knew this moment would change her life. She would have to live with the knowledge that she’d killed another human being. However, she’d be putting an end to her attacker, and maybe that would bring her some closure and the nightmares would eventually stop.

As the loud shot rang out, blood and brain matter spattered his face. He shut his eyes and closed his mouth as he gave one last push at Neal, the body slumping to his right, never to move again.