Page 50 of Sniper

I stood stock-still in front of the door, listening for any signs of movement on the other side. I wasn’t sure how things worked at night around the clubhouse. Were some of the guys awake to keep an eye on things? Or did the place shut down like a regular home?

Since I wasn’t going to get a direct answer, I had to risk it. Gripping the knob, I turned it as slowly as I could to avoid making a sound. Relief pulsed through me when the door opened silently. I poked my head out and looked right and then left. I tiptoed along the corridor, stopping every few seconds just to be sure nobody could hear me. It was all clear and I stepped out into the bar holding my breath until I was at the front door.

Locked.

Luckily, there was no alarm on the clubhouse bar door, and I pushed it open until the cool night air hit my skin. It was cold out, and I tugged down my sleeves, hitched my bags up on my shoulder, and I walked away. It took just a few blocks before my teeth started to chatter and a few more before the goosebumps felt permanent on my arms.

It didn’t matter, I kept going forward. I didn’t look back other than to make sure I wasn’t being followed. Anxiety ripped through me with every step, certain that at any moment I would be snatched off the street or worse, shot dead from a bullet I didn’t see coming. Each step I took felt like a victory and I felt more confident with every stride.

Steel City wasn’t exactly a big town, it didn’t need to be with Vegas just around the corner, so there wasn’t many businesses open. I grabbed a few snacks at an all-night gas station, shoving them in my bag and kept going until I spotted a block with hotels and motels on both sides of the street. I went from building to building until I found one, the second to last, who accepted cash, and I settled in the room.

Sleep refused to claim me though. I laid awake on the lumpy mattress and watched the blades of the ceiling fan as they whipped past over and over again. The sound was oddly soothing, but it did nothing to stop my racing mind telling me that this was a bad idea, a foolish mistake.

That certain death was imminent.

It was terrifying and by the time sun rose I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep, but still I laid in bed and watched the fan. It was peaceful but it was fleeting. Any moment now my life would be plunged back into chaos, so I decided to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

Chapter Thirty

Sniper

My heart pounded in my throat the same as it had before every fucking mission I went on for Uncle Sam. I’d left it too long with Katey, but every time I walked past the room—ourroom—I chickened out and walked right on by. It was a cowardly move, and I was nobody’s definition of a coward, so it left me feeling ashamed and pissed off. I also had a hangover from hell which wasn’t helping with my mood.

“Can’t put it off any longer, man.” Maverick stood beside me wearing a sympathetic smile. “It’s been too fucking long. Grace said she didn’t come down for dinner last night and when she brought up a tray with breakfast this morning it was untouched.”

That one statement alone showed just how thoroughly she’d become one of us. The old ladies were worried about her too. “She’s upset, she just needs some time to herself,” I said, more to assure myself than as an explanation to Maverick.

“Grace is worried. She knows what it’s like to be in a relationship with an abusive man. You getting angry—even if it was at the situation she told you about and not her, was probably triggering as hell.” It was clear that Maverick wouldn’t let this go until I found my courage and went inside.

“Fine,” I muttered and pulled out the key, slowly sliding it into the lock and turning until the latch clicked.

“Good man.” Maverick clapped my back and walked away, confident he’d gotten me over the hurdle that had me stuck in place.

Good man.I always thought I was a good man, but I had to rethink that over the past few hours. My treatment of Katey a glaring proof that I’d failed her in a big way. I knew it, and now I was prepared to make it right however I could.

I pushed the door and swallowed, ready to meet her searing gaze. Her look of disappointment. Disgust. Anger. Whatever it was, I prepared myself for it. The thing I wasn’t prepared for was… nothing.

“Katey?” I called out, but it was one fucking room with a bathroom and the bathroom door was wide open. She wasn’t in there, but I checked anyway. I scoured every inch of the room, under the bed and the desk, anywhere that was large enough for her to fit, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t any-fucking-where. “Katey!”

A second sweep of the room revealed that it wasn’t just Katey that was missing, but also her belongings. The duffel bag and backpack she’d arrived with were also gone. Her toothpaste and moisturizer weren’t sitting on the edge of the sink. She’d left her bodywash behind but that was probably just an oversight. Everything else was gone.

Where the fuck is she?

“Katey,” I called out again, my voice more frantic. I felt like one of those emotional people who knew the truth but refused to see it. Katey was gone and I knew it, but I called out to her anyway, desperate to believe she hadn’t gone away. That it wasn’t my fault. “Goddammit Katey!”

I spun around the room as if that would make her appear. It didn’t, but then I spotted an envelope on the corner of the desk. I walked back hesitantly, cautiously, as if it might attack if I got too close. And it felt like a fucking attack when I saw Cal’s name scrawled on top. I knew exactly what it was.

A goodbye letter.

Another goodbye letter anyway. The writing was different this time, more sure than shaky and I knew she’d left. There was a folded piece of paper beside it with my name on, I quickly unfolded the scrap and read.

I’m sorry, I can’t put you all in danger. I have to go.

Thank you for everything,

Katey

“Shit.” I dropped the letter like it burned and took a step back. And then another and another.

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