Page 29 of Killer Moonshine

“Do I want to see it?” he frowned.

“Nope. But you’ll need to.” Nine began walking toward the shed with Ghost. When two men stepped forward to stop them, Tailor and Alec brought them down so quickly their bones echoed in the quiet of the swamp.

The door to the shed was open, allowing fresh air inside. But when he shone the flashlight, Nine and Ghost both felt their blood boil. Three young girls, barely sixteen or seventeen, stared back at them. They were wearing short denim shorts, tank tops with no undergarments and were dirty and sweaty.

“Are you alright?” asked Ghost, kneeling at the entrance. The girls shook their heads. “Are you hurt?”

“We-we’re hungry,” said one of the girls. “That man said we owed him money, but we didn’t owe him anything. He said our parents bet on the dogs and lost, and we were payment. My mama wouldn’t do that!”

“I know, honey,” said Ghost. “We’re going to get you out of here. You see that pretty lady over there?”

“The tall one with the gun?” asked the girl. Ghost smirked.

“Yeah, that’s her. She’s tough, but she’s really nice. You’re going to go with her, and we’re going to get you cleaned up, some fresh clothes and find your parents.” Ghost stood, holding out a hand, and the first girl stood, taking it. She could barely walk she was so weak, so Antoine and Angel stepped forward, helping the girls to the boat.

“You’re going to be okay now,” said Piper. “Let me get you to safety.”

Ghost turned as soon as the girls were out of sight, marching toward the remaining bodyguard. He slammed his fist into the man’s face, his heavy silver rings causing blood to spurt everywhere.

“Where is fucking Hugo?” he growled.

“I-I don’t know! We don’t ever get to see him at his office. We have to see him out here,” he said. Ghost turned to Tailor.

“Kill him.”

“No! Wait! Please, I’ll tell you what I know, but I don’t know a lot. He keeps us in the dark and doesn’t tell us anything.”

While the others were being cuffed around trees, Ghost, Gaspar, Ian, and Nine stood over the bodyguard.

“Why is he doing this? He’s not making a killing out here on four dogs on a track or on moonshine. Why?”

“He’s fucking crazy. That’s why!”

“That’s not good enough,” said Ghost, cracking his knuckles. The man shook his head, holding up both hands in defense.

“It’s some sort of vendetta. I don’t know anything about it other than he’s trying to get two men to come after him.”

“Why?” asked Nine.

“Look, I heard him muttering to himself once. He does that a lot. He talks to himself like a lunatic. He said he’d show them he was good enough. Smart enough. He said no one would ever say he wasn’t good enough again.”

“Good enough for what?”

“Some fucking security job that he didn’t get here.” Nine and Gaspar looked at one another then at Ian and Ghost.

“A security job. Why here?”

“All I know is he said that they’re based somewhere around here, but he didn’t know where. He was literally standing over these huge maps spread out on the hood of a car and saying, ‘They’re here. I know they’re here, and I’ll find them.’ He was planning to let some guys in the Middle East know when and where he found them.”

The echo in the trees said it all.

“Shit.”

“Shit.”

“Shit.”

“Shit.”

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