Firefight in Darkness (20 page)

“What’s the word, cowboy?” She asked, pushing back a curled strand of hair that had fallen over her face with the back of her hand.

His eyes followed the movement, even as he tried to push all thoughts of her not related to their mission out of his head.

“That was Rian. He was able to find out the name of the elementary school Dante attended while living here in El Paso. He wants us to go undercover and see if we can get access to the records, see if there are any clues in there as to where he might be hiding out.”

“Okay.” All seriousness now, she stood up and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

♦ ♦ ♦

The school was a few blocks from where Dante and Bristol had lived, and was also within a short drive of the strip club. Conveniently close, Blythe figured as they pulled into the parking lot, her eyes scanning the faded brick building aged by weather and time.

In a fenced playground off to the left side of the school, several children played on jungle gyms and swings, their cries and laughter carrying through the already steadily warming summer heat. Within days school would be out for the season, and the children were already gearing up for the break. She wondered if Dante had ever felt at home here, just as Jax always had. Just as she nearly did.

As she climbed out of the car she glanced at Jax, who was busy adjusting his tie. She had to bite back a laugh at how professional he looked, clad in black slacks, a long sleeved button up shirt in sage green paired with a diamond print tie in richer greens. He’d stressed the importance of making a good impression on these people, since they had to somehow convince them to release the record to them. And so he’d dressed up in business casual, and insisted she do the same.

The only outfit she’d packed that was even remotely professional was a formal dress Capri had slipped into her duffle without her realizing it. It was a trim knee length dress in a rich, navy blue, with short sleeves that barely curved over her shoulders and a rather conservative V neckline. She’d paired it with simple black pumps, and basic diamond stud earrings.

She wanted to look affluent, trustworthy, and capable. None of which she was certain she could portray without slipping up. She wasn’t a very good actress, anyway, as she was much too in tune with who she was and always had a hard time pretending to be anything different. But this was important, and she understood she had to give it her best.

She’d also slipped on a ring Lucian had given her a few years before as a birthday present, a three carat rectangular cut ruby set in a brilliant gold band. She put it over the ring finger of her left hand, as Jax had somewhat awkwardly informed her he would be pretending to be her husband. He’d dug up his class ring from high school, a simple gold band with the name of the school inscribed in the metal. From just a glance, it didn’t appear to be anything other than a plain gold wedding band.

“You ready?” Jax asked her as she rounded the car towards him. With a bright smile, she held out her hand to take his.

“I’m always ready, cowboy.”

Hand in hand, they walked towards the administrative building. Any onlooker would have simply seen a young, married couple possibly researching the area’s schools as they planned for their family. No one would assume that the man hunted demons for a living, and the girl was the embodiment of the element of fire.

When they entered the school’s administrative office, there was a pert blonde sitting at the reception desk, reading a book. She glanced up as they entered, her eyes behind her glasses flicking immediately to scan Jax up and down. She dismissed the red head as short and boyish, and paid no mind to the rings on their fingers. She knew such things were never permanent; she had an ex-husband herself.

“Can I help you?” She greeted cheerfully, smiling her best smile at the man and swiftly stowing away her romance novel. She leaned forward just enough to strategically show off her cleavage, which, to her extreme pleasure, was much more robust than what the skinny red head had.

Jax gently laid his hand on Blythe’s lower back, and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“Go sit by the door and pretend to cry. Trust me.”

She sent him an annoyed glare, but knowing she had to play the part of the distressed and hopeful relative grieving the loss of her mother, she pretending to burst into sobs and let him lead her to one of the plastic chairs by the door. She buried her face in her hands and silently wished him dead for making her do this. It was incredibly embarrassing to act like such a sissy in public, even if it wasn’t real.

Jax left Blythe where she was, and sauntered over to the receptionist, his smile apologetic. He had a distinct hunch he’d have better luck swaying the blonde on his own.

“Good morning, darlin’.” He sent what looked like an irritated and embarrassed look over his shoulder towards Blythe, who was making whimpering noises as her whole body trembled. It took all he had not to laugh. When he turned back to look at the receptionist, his flirtatious smile had the blonde’s heart fluttering. “I apologize, Kim,” he said as he glanced at her name tag. “My wife is very upset.”

“Awe, what’s wrong with her?” Kim crooned, though she could care less. She was more focused on whatever delicious cologne Adonis here was wearing.

“Her mother just passed, and, well, we’re in quite the predicament. I sure could use your help.”

“What is it you need?”

“Well, you see, my mother-in-law’s dying wish was for my wife to reunite with her only living relative, her uncle. The only problem is, we don’t know hardly anything about him, other than that he went to this school thirty years ago. If we could just take a quick peek at his records, maybe we’d find something in there that’d give us a clue as to where we can find him.”

“Awe, that’s so sweet.” Looking at Blythe now, the blonde smiled pityingly. “Unfortunately though, I can’t release the records to just any ol’ body. You have to be the next of kin.”

“Darlin’, as far as we’re aware, my wife is his next of kin.” Jax leaned up against the desk, resting his hip there as he prepared to lay it on thick. “I’d be much obliged if you could run on into the back there and pull the record for me. It ain’t gonna hurt none.” His lips curved into a charismatic grin, his green eyes focused intently on the blonde’s baby blues.

“I don’t know…” Chewing her bottom lip, she pondered how she could somehow slip him her number, discreet like, so his wife wouldn’t notice. Though she was still sobbing like a toddler in the corner, so who cared about her. He looked like he was sick of her anyway. Her mind made up, Kim smiled warmly at him. “What’s the name, honey?”

“Dante Williams.” Using the alias Rian had told him, Jax watched the blonde wink at him and saunter off, making sure her generous hips swayed in his line of vision. Instead of watching her, however, he’d already turned around to stare at Blythe.

When she noticed the blonde had left the room, Blythe lifted her head and glared at Jax. “This is so degrading. I’m going to make you pay for this.”

Enjoying the heat in her eyes, he simply grinned. “But you play the part so well. I was convinced.”

“Oh and you play the part of the sleazy scumbag husband so well, too.” She shot back, her lips curving. “And what is that bitch thinking, hitting on a married man? God, some people are low.”

“That
bitch
is getting us the information we need, so be nice.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, then suddenly shoved her face back into her hands as Kim returned. She resumed crying, upping the noise level in the hopes of embarrassing him.

Jax turned back to Kim, who handed him a file folder with a suggestive smile. “You can have a seat right here at my desk and peruse over the file if you’d like.”

He looked back at Blythe, then faced Kim again, making sure to look embarrassed and grateful. “Thanks, darlin’.”

He sat down at the chair beside her desk, and opened the file. Inside, Kim’s number was paper clipped to the top page. Glancing up at her, he smiled and slipped the number into his shirt pocket without a word, knowing she would keep quiet about this whole thing if he just played along. Then he got down to business reading the file.

His eyes narrowed as he searched through Dante’s grades, his school medical records, his teacher’s comments about his performance. He found Dante’s basic information near the back, with his name, his mother’s name, and their address in El Paso. When he came to the line for the name and address of his previous school, his breath caught in his throat at seeing an address in Phoenix listed. Well, well, he thought curiously. Looks like the detour in Phoenix had meant something to Dante as well. Which would also mean, logically speaking, that his next destination would match where he had lived after leaving El Paso.

He turned the page, and found the student exit information. Only instead of the name and address of a school, there was simply a P.O. Box. To his dismay, the box was listed as being in Chicago, Illinois.

Cursing inwardly, he shut the file and got to his feet, startling the receptionist who had been covertly watching him from behind her book. He thrust the file back at her, too annoyed to worry about playing the part any longer.

“Got what I needed, thanks.” He nodded before turning around and stalking towards Blythe, grabbing her by the arm and lifting her to her feet.

“Hey!” She scowled as he pulled her out of the office and out into the midday sunlight, leaving the bewildered Kim behind. They didn’t slow down until they’d reached the car, and even then he was all thrumming frustration and nerves.

“What’s gotten into you? What did you find in the file?” Blythe demanded, rubbing her arm bitterly as he reversed the car and shot out of the parking lot.

“I think Dante’s taking us to the same places he and his mother lived when he was a kid.” He ran a hand through his hair, still trying to work it all out himself.

“How do you know?”

“The file said he’d come from a school in Phoenix before attending the El Paso school, and then the forwarding address was to a P.O. Box in Chicago. I can’t think of any other explanation.”

He saw a flash of silver in his rearview mirror, but didn’t think much of it.

“Well, good, now we should go to Chicago. How far is it?”

He laughed, shaking his head. “A day’s drive or more. We’d have to fly. But I don’t know, I just don’t think he’s left El Paso yet.”

“Even if he hasn’t, he’s going to eventually. We can still head him off.” She reasoned.

“I don’t know.” He mumbled, seeing the flash of silver again. Glancing in his rearview mirror, he spotted the silver Mercedes following close behind them. “Jesus.”

He turned the wheel suddenly and whipped around a street corner, nearly clipping a pedestrian.

“Holy hell cowboy, where’s the fire?” Blythe shouted, grabbing a hold of the dashboard for dear life as he shifted into gear and shot past sixty mph.

“He’s following us, get down.” Jax kept his eyes on the mirror as he turned down another street, leading to what he knew was a dead end.

“Who’s following us?” Blythe whirled around in her seat, and when she spotted the silver Mercedes, her mouth dropped open. “Oh, shit. Where’s my gun? Shit, shit, shit, did I leave it at home? Goddamn this stupid dress, why couldn’t I have worn jeans like a normal person?”

“Shut up and get down, Blythe. And hold on.” He grit his teeth together as he swung the wheel again, taking them down a narrow street lined on both sides by tall buildings. About a half mile ahead was a dead end.

“Oh my God.” Blythe’s eyes widened as she glanced one last time behind them and saw the Mercedes pursuing them at full speed down the alley. “We’re gonna hit.”

He simply grunted as he suddenly pumped the emergency brake and spun the wheel, whirling the car around and bringing it to a screeching halt just feet from the end of the alley. Without missing a beat, he reached behind him and pulled out a pistol grip sawed off shotgun and proceeded to point it out the window directly towards the oncoming car.

The Mercedes slammed on the brakes and came to a skidding stop, smoke streaming up from the tires. Blythe’s heart was pounding viciously in her chest as she stared wide eyed at Jax.

“That’s a big gun you got there, cowboy.” She gulped, needing some kind of moisture to coat her dry throat as she turned back to face the Mercedes. A young man came out, his hands raised.

“P-please, don’t shoot. I’m not Dante, I’m just delivering a package from him.” He stuttered, his eyes frantically glued to the shot gun. He looked like he was no more than seventeen, with sandy hair and dirty clothes.

Jax exited the car slowly, gun still pointed, not willing to take any chances.

“Let me verify for myself that you aren’t him.” He reached into his pocket for his phone with his free hand and tossed it to Blythe. “Take a picture of him.”

“Okay.” Fumbling a bit, her hands shaking, she opened the same program she’d seen him use, and selected Dante’s name. Aiming the phone at the kid, she snapped a picture, then waited anxiously for the result. When NEGATIVE popped up, she let out the breath she’d been holding, both in relief and in disappointment. “It’s not him.”

“Okay, I want you to tell me where he is, and how you found us.” Jax ordered.

The man gulped and hesitated, trembling. “Look, I don’t know where he is now, he said he had to go, he just asked me yesterday to find you and to give the girl this package.” He reached in his back pocket and hastily pulled out a small white package. “He told me where you live, and I followed you to the school and waited till you left. I just need to give the package to the girl.”

“How do you know Dante?”

“We’re old friends. I don’t want any trouble. I haven’t seen him in years, and he shows up and asks me to do this favor for him. Then he disappears. I don’t know where he went.”

“And he gave you his car?”

The young man glanced back nervously at the Mercedes. “He said he didn’t need it anymore, that he couldn’t take it with him.”

“Because he was taking a plane?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.” Trembling a bit, the man looked towards Blythe. “Just let me give her the package, and I’ll go.”