Hell Bent

Chapter 26

Terric was on the phone with Dash when I walked into the room. “...wait. No, just a Hound, or you. That’s best.”

He flicked the phone off. “What did you find?”

“Sign that says Eli’s south of here. Direction glyph. Also this.” I walked over to him, dropped the bead in his hand.

He frowned.

“It’s from Davy’s necklace. Broken.”

“Davy was here. So was Eli,” Dessa said. “Great. But where did they go?”

“I don’t think Davy left willingly,” I said.

“Why?” Terric asked.

“His truck is out back.”

Terric swore. “He shouldn’t be hunting Eli alone in the first place.”

“Who’s coming for Gillian?” I asked.

“Dash. He’s close, and it won’t involve the Hounds. He’ll take her to the emergency room, then call the Den. Go search Davy’s truck in case he had a chance to leave something there for us.”

I didn’t even bitch at him for ordering me around. I crossed the structure then jogged out across the lot that was still mostly paved. The fact that the truck was parked so close and in the open bothered me. Davy wasn’t that reckless. So either he had thought there was no one inside, or he had come here, not looking for Eli, but looking for Gillian instead.

“What are you thinking?” Dessa asked. I remembered she was with me, glanced over at her.

Had her gun in her hand and was keeping an eye on the buildings around us.

I tried the door on the truck. Locked.

“It’s not like Davy to drive into a situation and park in the open. Makes me think he didn’t know what he was walking into. And that’s even less like him.”

“Conclusion?” she asked as I checked to see if the other door of his truck was unlocked.

“Maybe a trap. Coming to find Gillian, an injured Hound, and got ambushed.”

“I don’t think he was looking for Gillian,” she said, handing me a slim-jim from her duffel.

“Because?”

“Gillian was following Davy.”

“Is that what you hired her for?”

“Yes, but I told her not to engage.”

The lock popped and I pulled the heavy door open. “After the morgue, right? You saw how much Davy hated Eli, knew he’d go after him alone.”

“I had a hunch.”

“Wish you would have shared it,” I said, climbing into the cab.

“I didn’t know you as well back then,” she said, getting into the cab from the other side after I unlocked the door. “Or I would have done it differently.”

There were a couple gas receipts, insurance, registration, and random papers but nothing else that indicated Davy had left clues in his vehicle for us to find.

A car rolled up on the other side of the chain-link. Killed the engine.

Dash got out. He was wearing a dark leather jacket, dark jeans, and boots. And the vibe he gave off had nothing to do with the office. He looked like a man who could handle himself in a fight.

I suddenly wondered if he had combat training. Something I’d never asked him about, though I should have.

“Where’s Gillian?” he asked, coming up on me and Dessa.

“This way.” I took him in the building.

He and Terric managed to get Gillian awake and aware enough, she spoke, guessed the right number of fingers, and understood Dash was going to take her to the hospital. Even did some moving of her feet so we didn’t have to carry her.

After we got her settled in the back of Dash’s car, Terric paced back toward the warehouse.

“Listen,” I said to Dash. “I’ve kicked a few hives. I want you to be careful.”

“Which hives?” Dash asked.

“Black Crane.”

“Define ‘kick.’”

“There’s been a change in leadership, ’cause the other guy’s dead.”

He nodded. He knew what that meant. “Jeremy?”

“Haven’t gotten my hands on him yet. But I will. Don’t tangle with him. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“Be careful,” I said.

He nodded. “Take care of him.”

Dash left and I strode over to Terric.

“Show me the glyph,” he said.

I took him to the south door.

“It’s Eli’s work,” Terric said. “But why didn’t he complete it?”

I looked closer. He was right.

“Maybe the better question is, who do you think he put this here for?” Dessa asked.

“Me,” I said the same time Terric said, “Shame.”

Which meant he’d left it undone so I could finish it.

I didn’t know that I liked his calling card. Yes, it was a Directional glyph. I figured it was a trap, but we wouldn’t know for sure until I triggered it.

“Might want to step back,” I said.

I stuck out my finger, drew over the glyph to get the flow of his signature, then closed the arc at the end of the spell.

The spell flashed, and in the afterburn I could see an address.

“Shit!” Terric yelled.

The air cracked. Just outside the door stood a man. Not Eli. This was an older man.

I’d seen him. I knew his face. He was the old man in the missing person report. The one with the tattoo for Impact.

He stared at us with blank eyes as if he didn’t see us, or the world around him. Then he raised his hands, thumbs crossed, fingers spread.

And said one word.

An explosion hit, throwing us across the room, and bringing the building crashing down around us.