Page 77 of Instinct & New Identity

I grabbedCat’shand and pulled her with me asIran to a small wooded area beyond the warehouse.Itwasn’t huge, but it was getting dark, and would provide a hidden vantage point of what was going down at the warehouse.

There was a larger tree up ahead with a slight slope down behind it that we could duck behind.Justas we squatted down behind the tree, a loud explosion came from the building we were just in, and the whole left side of the warehouse was engulfed in flames.

I glanced back to see smoke billowing out.Twomen sprinted from the side of a dumpster near the warehouse toward a car parked at the very edge of the parking lot.Itried to get a good look at the vehicle, as bestIcould from so far away.Thevehicle raced toward the gate to exit the property, but just as they cleared it, the car exploded and flames shot out.

“Were those the good guys or bad guys?”Catasked.

“I hope the bad guys.”

“What do we do now?”Catasked me as we both stared at the scene in the distance.

“Now, you turn around and don’t do anything stupid if you want to live,” a familiar voice said behind me. “Didyou really think it would be that easy?”

I turned slowly, at the same time stepping in front ofCatto protect her, and came face to face withParker.Hehad his gun aimed right at me with a look of consternation on his face.

“You’re a hard asshole to get rid of,” he remarked as all the puzzle pieces started to fit into place.

It all made sense now.Howthey knew my name, phone number, whereIlived.Theconnection withOklahoma.Howeasy it was to walk into this warehouse.Allthose random timesParkerwould show up whereIwas.

“You set me up,”Isurmised out loud, trying not to move much, keepingCatat my back sinceIat least had aKevlarvest on and she did not. “Why?”

“It’s nothing personal,” he remarked as if this was just a stroke of bad luck. “Ofall the bounties to pick up….Myboss was not happy you took in his best dealer.”

“Yourbossis the chief of police,”Itried to remind him, hoping there was a little bit of good still left in him.

“Yeah, well, the other one pays better.Andthechief…” he snarled, andIwas surprised at the derision in his voice with that word. “Seemseven after ten years on the force, he didn’t thinkIwas good enough for the promotionsIdeserved.Mynew boss, however, does, and it appears you’re just another loose end he needs tied up.Youjust saw how the other loose ends were dealt with.”

So thosewerethe bad guys in the car.Andtheir boss made sure they didn’t live to talk about what went down tonight.

I feltCat’shands reach slowly under my shirt where my gun was.Iknew what she was doing, soIneeded to provide her a distraction.

“How did you know the plan changed?”

“I'm not an idiot.Iheard your weird code shit.Andthen your buddy whispered something to your cousin then pretended to take a call on his phone and they walked away.Twocan play that game,” he sneered. “Idecided to pretend to take my own phone call and snuck off to follow him.Ioverheard him tell your buddy you suspected a mole and you were going with planCwhich would have you cut through these woods and meet up at the gas station a few blocks over when it was clear.Idecided to meet you halfway and join you in the woods.Propsto your boyAxelthough.Notsure where he got the fireworks, but that was a clever distraction.Italso worked in my favor too, because then everyone spread out and didn’t notice me running for the woods.”

Shit.Parkerwas smart,I’dgive him that.Thegun was now fully out of my holster.Inow needed to put my trust inCat.Iknew she and her sister knew how to shoot a gun.Theyhad one themselves.WhatIdidn’t know was if she knew how to shootmygun.

I took a step forward and to the left to hopefully give her an opening if she needed it.

“Don’t fucking move!”Parkeryelled and pulled his gun up higher, aiming right at my head.

I sawCat’smovement out of the corner of my eye just asParkermoved his gun away from me and toward her.Notknowing if she had enough time to react,Ilunged.Twoshots rang out, followed by another asIshovedParkerto the ground.IheardCatscream, several other voices yelled, andParkerbellowed in what appeared to be both pain and anger.Despitehis loud moans, he fought back andIstruggled to get him pinned.

Several moments later,Archerspoke from beside me. “Here,” he said as he helped grabParker, causing him to wail in pain.

I looked down to notice the blood gushing out from his shoulder and realized he had been shot.

Just then, two other officers joined us. “Igot him,” one said. “Youcan let go.”

No disrespect, butIwasn’t sure who to trust yet, so whileImoved off him,Idid not lose my grip on him just in case he fled.Theother officer grabbed his cuffs and began to put them onParker.

“QuincyParkeryou are under arrest,”Hessstarted to say as the other officer came up beside me.

“We’ve suspected him for almost a year now but didn’t realize how deep he was in this until tonight,”Hessexplained.

I had so many questions to ask him, but it wasWade’svoice that broke me out of that thought.

“We need a medic!”

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