Page 61 of Silent Heart

Wimp.

“Is it the chicks?” Joeseph stammered. “Because I did everything you guys asked.”

I stilled. “Everything?”

“Yeah, man. I kept the icehouse open for exchanges. There weren’t enough days this year to make good ice, so the lakes weren’t frozen for long—especially not down here. But we had a good crop come through Mille Lacs.”

Dread coiled through me. Having spent long enough hunting the larger problems, I had a hunch what he was talking about. Mille Lacs Lake in northern Minnesota was a well-known trafficking spot. Yet, like other hotspots, just because people knew about it didn’t mean it was razed to the ground.

“Joeseph, you and I are going to have a little chat.” I surged forward, wrapping my arm around his throat.

As he struggled, lack of oxygen failing him, I couldn’t help but wonder at this stroke of luck. It might not be connected directly to the southwestern ring that I was currently fighting, but if the drunk’s information led to the conclusion I suspected, thisman was involved with a northern section of some trafficking operation.

A couple of days in the basement of the lake house, and I would have my answers.

I swore when I came to town that I wouldn’t seek out the bad guys, that I would lay low. But since one just happened to fall into my lap, well…I wasn’t turning down the chance to do something good.

So long as I was careful, I could work on this local threat.

“Sshhh, just go to sleep,” I murmured to his struggling form.

Pity….I wore the hunting attire tonight because I’d planned to chase him through the woods in a violent burst of energy. Stalking my prey on foot and having a game with him would exorcise the monsters in my chest. But this was bigger than my need to destroy someone who hurt my girl.

“My girl?” I whispered as Joeseph slumped in my arms.

Was that what I was calling her now? I shook my head. The worst part was how easily the words fit. How I could see the whole dream play out in my head. But creatures of nightmares such as myself didn’t get the girls.

Chapter 22 – Harley

There were only a few cars parked in front of the farmhouse. Without attracting their attention, I tiptoed inside, packed a quick bag, and hurried out the window. The moment my feet hit the sod, a voice broke through the dark.

“Still doing that?” my grandpa chuckled.

I yelped. “Jeezes! You scared me.”

And I had no idea he knew about me sneaking out the window at night. What else did he know?

Does it matter?The past was in the past.

Grandpa was coming from the barn, holding a pail. “Do I want to know where you’re off to?”

I winced. I might have existed for nearly three and a half decades on this earth, but telling my grandfather that I was sneaking out to see a boy wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have.

“He’s a good one, I’ll give you that.” My grandfather continued ambling toward the house. “Knows a thing or two about guns, hunting, and trucks, plus he has good manners. Your gran likes him.”

“I like him too,” I said, surprising myself with the answer. The simple truth was, I did. Enough that it scared me, because I had no idea what could come of liking someone like Kole.

My grandfather paused at the side door to the attached garage. “If you two are serious, maybe he can keep you safe in the big city this fall.”

Shifting in place, I chewed on that. “I don’t know. He’s not going back to school.”

“Since you’re dead set on this adventure, might be nice for you to know someone down there. Ya know?”

“I know.”

Grandpa looked up at the stars. “It’s gonna be a beautiful night. Go on, enjoy it while you’re young.”

With that strange blessing, I muttered a goodbye and hurried away. There was so much to think about, and right now, I didn’t want to deal with it. I just wanted to escape the tangled web right now.

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