Page 32 of Killer Moonshine

“Shit,” muttered Ian, running his way. He knelt beside him and nodded. “He’s alive, but he needs help now.”

“Evie? Autumn? Someone in flight control. I need a pickup now at the old Cypress Plantation off 61. Send someone from medical as well.”

“Roger that,”said Evie.

The men tried to give Yaz water, but he was barely conscious and unable to accept. He kept mumbling his daughter’s name in spite of their reassurances that she was alright. Evie arrived with Doc, and they loaded Yaz and took off south.

By the time the seniors got to the clinic, Yaz was showered, lying in bed with an I.V., and his daughter holding his hand.

“How is he?” Gaspar asked Doc.

“He’s dehydrated. Needs food, which he’ll get once we get more fluids into him. But other than that, he’s actually doing alright. He didn’t sleep more than an hour or two a night. Poor bastard was worried sick for his daughter.”

“Can he speak to us?” Doc nodded, moving out of the way. “Yaz? How are you, brother?”

“Grateful,” he said, smiling at him. “Grateful to your mama and all of you that Yar is okay.”

“We would have never let harm come to her. Yaz, can you answer some questions for us?” asked Ian. The man nodded as they took seats around the bed.

“Tell us about Hugo.”

“It started about five months ago. The bar was really struggling. I was worried about what Yarrow and I would do if we lost it. He came in and said he was planning to be in the area for a while but needed help with something.” Yaz shook his head, frowning. “I was stupid. I believed everything that came out of his mouth. He said he was from a major brewer of moonshine, and I’d been selected as a beta test bar. Me. Pfft!”

“It does seem a bit much,” smirked Nine. “I mean, we all love your little place, Yaz, but it’s not exactly beta test material.”

“I know, I know. I agreed. I agreed and signed those damn papers without having a lawyer look at them. I just couldn’t afford one. And before you tell me how stupid I was and I could have come to y’all, I know that now. And to top it off, he was the man that my wife ran to and fooled around with. He killed her with that shit. Yarrow doesn’t know. Again, don’t tell me how stupid I was for trusting him.”

“Well, I don’t like to repeat myself,” laughed Gaspar.

“Yeah, you do,” grinned the man. “Anyway, Yarrow, she loves to dance, and we have music playing all the time. Sometimes live, sometimes a DJ, or just piped in music. I put cameras in the bar because I thought Hugo’s men were stealing from me. I had no idea what he was going to do.”

“Why threaten you with her? What did he really want?” asked Gaspar.

“He wanted me to tell him about y’all,” said Yaz. “I didn’t figure that out until later. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it all seemed so out of context. He asked if I knew any good security agencies, and I said no. I mean, y’all have said you don’t want advertising.”

“We don’t. You did the right thing.”

“Then he started telling me about an interview he had at a restaurant in the Quarter a long time ago. He asked if I knew what companies did that. Again, I said no.”

“Didn’t he remember the name of our company?” asked Ghost.

“Well, that’s just it. He said he was looking for a group called REAPER. I didn’t know that y’all went by that name.”

“We don’t,” said Nine. “Not any longer.”

“I think he thought I was lying, and that’s when he threatened me with Yarrow’s life. I couldn’t let her be harmed. I didn’t care about me. But I couldn’t let anyone hurt her.”

“Daddy, I care about you,” sniffed the girl as she walked into the room. “We’re a team.”

“Yes, we are,” he said, kissing his daughter’s hand. “We’ll be a team for a long time to come now.”

“Yaz? Any idea where this man is located?” asked Ghost.

“None. But I do remember the phone number that he programmed into my phone. I destroyed my phone, but I called him right before I did that.” Gaspar laughed, shaking his head at the man.

“You couldn’t have led with that?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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