Demons (A Detective Pierce Novel Book 2)
Author: Kane, Remington
Date: 2016-03-24
Keywords: police procedural; Mystery; Thriller; crime
Description: From REMINGTON KANE DEMONS - A Detective Pierce Novel - Book 2 Pierce goes in search of a friend's killer.

DEMONS

A DETECTIVE PIERCE NOVEL – BOOK 2

By

REMINGTON KANE

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

DEMONS - A DETECTIVE PIERCE NOVEL - BOOK 2

First edition. March 26, 2016.

Copyright © 2016 Remington Kane.

Written by Remington Kane.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

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CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

COMING MAY 7, 2016!

COMING SOON FROM REMINGTON KANE

A PLEA

ALSO BY REMINGTON KANE

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Further Reading: Angels - A Detective Pierce Novel - Book 3

About the Author

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REMINGTON KANE
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CHAPTER 1

Detective Ricardo Pierce knelt down beside the body of his friend, Detective Al Finder.

Finder lay on his back with his eyes open, and the front of his white dress shirt was stained red with his own blood. It was night, and raining, and so the blood had been diluted somewhat before the CSI techs arrived and erected a protective tarp over the crime scene.

Raindrops pattered down on the tarp like the tears Pierce felt like shedding over his friend’s fate.

Pierce saw a shadow pass over the body and stared up at the medical examiner. The man was in his fifties with graying temples and bright blue eyes. His name was Dr. Yates.

“How many times was he stabbed, doctor?”

“Well over a dozen, but I’ll know for certain once I clean him up.”

“And slice him open on your table?”

“Well, yes, Detective, I’ll need to examine him on my table.”

Pierce sighed as he gave an apologetic shake of his head.

“Sorry Doc. I don’t mean to be an asshole, but Al was a friend.”

“I understand, Detective, and I knew him as well. The two of you were involved in that media circus of a case about a year ago, correct?”

“Yes, Murphy and Owens, the Press called them ‘The Monsters.’ It was one of Al’s cases that first led me to them.”

“The women they killed, were you ever able to recover their bodies? I don’t recall hearing about that?”

“Murphy and Owens had buried them all inside an old abandoned factory. It was a place that they had worked at together after high school. The Feds handled the autopsies, and be glad that they did, there were more than a dozen victims.”

Pierce stood, took two steps, and bent down to take a look at the other body at the scene.

It was a large white male, a biker in his forties with a scraggly beard and a host of tattoos. His hair had been long, but a good chunk of it was lying several feet behind the rest of his body as the back of his head had been blown apart by a massive exit wound.

The first cops on the scene had thought that Finder and the biker had killed each other, but then they noticed that the biker’s clothes weren’t bloody. At least, not bloody in the way that stabbing someone would result in. There was also no knife found at the scene.

The biker’s body was face down in the street, and he was dressed in leather and wore cowboy boots. Pierce knew without looking that a red patch with a smiling devil on it would be found on the front of the biker’s jacket. The man had been a member of a motorcycle club called the Bay Street Demons.

The Demons were often seen hanging out in the storefront that was just several feet away. The two bodies lay right outside its front door. It was a massage parlor, and whoever had been present at the time of the murders had fled the scene.

When the coroner flipped the biker’s body over, Pierce saw there was a neat, almost surgical hole in the center of the biker’s forehead. It was too large to have been made by Al Finder’s weapon, and it sat near the top, at the border of the dead Demon’s receding hairline.

Pierce understood the significance of the angle, turned his head, and looked up at the three-story office building across the avenue.

“Why are you looking over there?” asked a voice from behind him. When Pierce turned his head, he saw his young partner, Rookie Detective Jake Collins.

Collins, a member of the force for less than three years, rose up the ranks in the department with meteoric speed. It was due to several circumstances, not the least of which was the fact that Collins was a hell of a cop.

Another factor in his promotion was a purge of dirty veterans of the force who became swept up in a huge sting set-up by Internal Affairs. Collins was also instrumental in the Murphy and Owens case.

Jake Collins was in his mid-twenties, blond, and handsome. He was also as dedicated to finding murderers as Pierce was.

When Pierce’s old partner, Bob Jerold retired, Pierce asked to have Collins take his place.

“I’m looking up there because I think that may be where the shot came from that killed the biker. Al’s weapon hadn’t been fired, and the round appears to have entered on a downward trajectory.”

Collins looked across the street.

“I guess we go over and look for brass up there.”

“That’s right,” Pierce said.

***

They found no brass casings, but checked several other rooftops, where they also came up empty.

“Rick, I’m sorry about Al. I was friends with him, but I know you two were close.”

“Thanks, Jake.”

“That means we won’t be working this case, right, because we were friends of his?”

“Probably, but we weren’t friends with the biker, so I think we’ll be working Al’s murder from one end or another.”

“Good,” Collins said. “I want this one. Some bastard thinks that they can get away with killing a cop, but we’re going to prove them wrong, aren’t we?”

“Damn right,” Pierce said, even as his phone rang. When he saw who was calling, he realized that he had forgotten to cancel their monthly dinner. It wasn’t a date, but an obligation to a friend, a man named Jimmy Drake.

“I’m sorry, man; I had to work and I forgot to call and let you know.”

“No problem, dude,” Jimmy said, with his gruff voice. “We’ll hook-up for a beer soon, or better yet, you can drop by later, you know I’ll be up late.”

“Let’s postpone it altogether. I’ve a feeling I’ll be going non-stop for a while.”

“Is everything all right?”

“A cop was killed, and he was a friend.”

“Fuck! Who was it?”

“Al Finder.”

“Damn, I met him a couple of times when I came to the station to see you. And we all had a beer together once, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“You get back to work and catch the bastard that killed Al, Rick. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Right, take care buddy.”

As Pierce put away his phone, he saw that Collins was near the edge of the roof they were on and staring down at the crime scene.

“I take it that was Jimmy?”

“Yeah, we were supposed to have dinner and I forgot to call and cancel.”

“You two are really close, aren’t you?”

“Yes we are, and I owe him a lot.”

Collins said nothing for a moment, as he walked along the roof and looked down at the scene below from different angles. He then turned and smiled at Pierce.

“Hey Rick, our second deceased is definitely a biker, right?’

“Yeah, a Bay Street Demon.”

“Okay, then where is his motorcycle?”

Pierce looked down at the scene and saw that Collins was right. The Demon’s bike was nowhere to be seen.

“I’ll be damned. How did I miss that?”

Collins frowned.

“You would have noticed sooner if not for Al. I’m sure you’re in shock, Rick.”

Pierce sighed.

“Yeah, but I’ll find the bastard that killed him; I swear it.”

“Damn right we will,” Collins said. “Damn right.”

CHAPTER 2

Pierce’s obsession with his old girlfriend, Professor Amy Lowe, had driven him to stalk her from a distance. He regularly spied on the woman by watching her through her kitchen window.

His stalking post was the back corner of a supermarket parking lot that was near Amy’s house, and which sat at a higher elevation.

One morning, just a few weeks after the Owens and Murphy case had ended, Pierce had an unexpected visitor.

Pierce was parked and had been looking through his binoculars at Amy and her husband, the man she had dumped Pierce for, when there came a loud knock on Pierce’s passenger window that startled him.

When he looked over, Pierce saw a man who was about his own age bent over at the waist and smiling at him. The man was bearded, had lots of unruly hair, and was tall and muscular. After the man made a hand signal that told Pierce he wanted him to lower the window, Pierce shouted for the man to go away.

“I can’t do that, partner. We need to talk.”

Pierce had taken out his badge and held it up.

“I’m a police officer and you’re disturbing an undercover investigation.”

The man laughed.

“That’s bullshit and we both know it. Now you talk to me or I turn your ass in for stalking that hot little blonde you’ve been watching. Which will it be?”

Pierce had given Jimmy Drake a better look after the man issued his ultimatum, and a sick feeling came over him.

“You’re with IA, aren’t you?”

Drake looked disgusted by the accusation.

“Fuck no, I’m not with Internal Affairs, but I am an ex-cop. Now unlock the door and let me in.”

Pierce had hesitated, but then hit the button and unlocked the door.

After sitting beside Pierce, Jimmy said five words.

“Tell me your story, brother.”

***

Pierce had done just that, over the course of an hour spent at a nearby diner. When not speaking, Pierce had picked at his breakfast and nervously slurped down four cups of coffee.

While Pierce had talked, Jimmy Drake had mostly listened. When he did ask a question, he stared at Pierce as if he could read his mind. That had unnerved Pierce, and he was a man who was seldom intimidated.

“What are your plans?” Drake had asked him. “We both know that you wouldn’t have been satisfied with just spying on her forever.”

Pierce had shaken his head.

“No plans, but how long had you been watching me?”

“I’m a private detective. I was hired by the supermarket to find out who was stealing from them. They thought that one of the guys that worked at night stocking the shelves was the thief, but no, it was their own security guards. It took me a little over a week to catch them. During that time, I saw you parked back there in the corner of the lot three times.”

“But how did you know I was watching Amy?”

“Easy, I waited for a morning when you didn’t show and watched her myself. I’ll say this for you, she is a cutie.”

Pierce looked at Drake and felt his heart beating fast from fear. He felt like a perp, like a peeping Tom, and a pervert. What was worse, in truth, he was all three.

“What’s next, Drake?”

“I already said. Tell me your plans. What were you going to do with that woman?”

Pierce opened his mouth to lie and Drake pointed a finger at him.

“Before you answer, know this. I will verify whatever you tell me. Lie to me and I’ll burn you to the ground.”

Pierce broke eye contact, swallowed hard, said, “I...” and then shut his mouth.

“I know about you, Pierce. I asked around, discreetly, and from all I’ve gathered you’re one damn good cop. Just tell me, brother. Tell me the truth, let it out.”

“I... built... a cell, a fucking cell... it’s in my basement.”

Pierce had been looking down at the tabletop, avoiding Drake’s gaze. When he saw Drake’s hands ball up into fists, he made eye contact and saw a look that could kill.

“How many?” Drake asked.

“What? One, just one cell.”

Drake hissed at him.

“Women, Pierce, how many fucking women?”

Pierce straightened in his seat and shouted.

“None! I swear.”

That caught the other diners’ attention, but when nothing else happened, they went back to their own conversations.

Drake stood and tossed money onto the table.

“We’re going to your house. Do you live alone?”

“Yes.”

Drake said, “Good,” and Pierce noticed that he touched the gun he carried on his hip as he said it.

***

A short time later, Drake was down in Pierce’s basement and looking at the cell Pierce had constructed.

Drake stared at the cot and the chemical toilet for long moments. Then, his eyes took in the slot built into the metal door, a slot that could be used to pass food through to a captive.

As Drake continued studying the door, his eyes widened in surprise.

“There’s no lock?”

Pierce shook his head. He was too embarrassed, far too disgusted with himself to speak, and although he tried to fight them, tears leaked from his eyes.

Drake touched the door.

“No damn lock, thank God.”

Drake motioned for Pierce to head back upstairs and the two men sat together in Pierce’s living room.

“You need help, Rick. Are you willing to get some?”

“Yes, but not through the department.”

“No, but I know someone who can help you. Her name is Dr. Emma Jansen. She’s a psychiatrist, and also a good friend of mine.”

“Why are you helping me, Drake?”

“Because you’re worth it, and because there was no lock on that cell door. That tells me that you’re not too far gone.”

“And if there had been a lock on it?”

Drake smiled.

“Let’s not go there, Rick, okay, buddy?”

Pierce had stared at Drake then.

“Maybe I should see that doctor of yours.”

Since that day, Pierce and Drake had grown closer, and the basement cell was no more.

CHAPTER 3

On the ride back to the station, Pierce sent a text while Jake Collins drove.

Pierce was texting his live-in girlfriend Val Mangieri to let her know that he was all right. Val was taking a night course at the local college. The last thing Pierce wanted her to do, was to hear about a cop being killed while on her way home from class, and to jump to the wrong conclusion.

Valeria “Val” Mangieri had come close to being a victim of Owens and Murphy, but had escaped the murderous pair by being tough and fighting back.

She and Pierce began dating, but he had kept her at a distance emotionally while he was still obsessed with his ex-girlfriend, Amy Lowe. After Jimmy Drake intervened and urged Pierce to get help, Pierce began opening up to Val, and later, he even confided to her that he was seeing a psychiatrist, as well as the reason why.

“Do you still love her, this Amy?” Val had asked.

“No. That’s one of the things that Dr. Jansen has helped me to see. I thought I was in love with her, but I haven’t seen her in years. I was in love with the girl I used to know, not the woman she is now.”

They had been sitting on his sofa when he told her, and Val had stood and began pacing.

“This is some heavy shit you’re telling me, Rick.”

“Yes, but you need to know this.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you, Val. I don’t want secrets between us. We’ve been getting serious, even talked about marrying someday. If you’re going to take that step you need to know what you’re getting into. You need to know me inside and out.”

“I thought that I did.”

They were both quiet for a few moments, but then Val walked back to the sofa and sat beside him.

“I want to speak with your doctor, this Dr. Jansen.”

“Why?”

“I want her opinion. Apparently, she knows you in ways that I don’t.”

Pierce thought it over and nodded.

“She does couples therapy, maybe that’s what we need.”

Val snuggled up against him.

“I love you, Rick, and I’m willing to fight for us. This also explains the odd vibe I used to get from you at times.”

“Amy Lowe is in my past, Val. I want you in my future.”

Val raised her head and stared at Pierce.

“This Amy, did she really dump you for her college professor?”

“It was like I was suddenly radioactive. One minute we were a couple, and the next day she treated me like a stranger.”

Val snuggled against Pierce again and held him tighter. A month after they began couples therapy, they started living together.

***

Lieutenant “Coke” Dyer patted Pierce on the shoulder as a gesture of comfort as he made his way around the desk in his office to take a seat.

Jake Collins was out in the squad room. He was busy completing paperwork from a case that he and Pierce had finished that day. Pierce wanted to have as little as possible on his plate so that he could focus on finding his friend’s murderer.

“I feel sick about what happened to Al, Rick,” Dyer said.

“He liked you, Coke. He always said that you were one of the few suits who remembered what it was like to be in the trenches.”

“He’ll be missed. He’ll also be avenged. You do whatever it takes, but you find his killer.”

Pierce blinked rapidly at those last comments.

“I’m working Al’s murder?”

“Technically, no, of course not, because you were a friend of his. However, you will be working the biker’s homicide. We both know that the two deaths are linked.”

“Fine, but who’s catching Al’s murder? He was friends with everyone in homicide.”

“The Feds will be investigating.”

“That’s unusual.”

“I made a few calls. I knew I had no hope of getting you assigned to investigate directly, but I managed to get the next best thing.”

“What was Al working on when he died?”

“Al was working on the case of a missing fifteen-year-old girl named Jenna Raines. His last entry stated that he had found a connection between Jenna Raines last known location and a sighting of the Bay Street Demons.”

“Was Al on duty or off tonight?”

“He was off, but his lieutenant says that Al was never really off the clock, sort of like you.”

“Yeah, and Al would have been driving by that massage parlor the Demons used as a hangout as he drove home. He lives—lived, only a few blocks from there. He must have seen their motorcycles and stopped in to ask a few questions, then... I guess all hell broke loose.”

There was a knock on the lieutenant’s door and Pierce looked through the glass insert to see two familiar faces. They were FBI Agents Rodgers and Abrams. Pierce had first worked with the men on the Murphy and Owens case, and he knew that they were top-notch investigators.

Coke Dyer hollered for the men to enter, and after everyone said hello, Rodgers and Abrams offered their condolences for the loss of Al Finder.

“Thank you,” Pierce said. “And I hope that your presence here tonight means that you caught the case?”

Rodgers smiled and pointed at Coke. Rodgers was forty-one, balding, but in good shape, while his partner Abrams was doughy-looking with reddish blond hair. Abrams also had the habit of keeping his mouth slightly open.

Rodgers was sharp and looked it, while a glance at Abrams would lead you to believe that he was a dim bulb. Abrams’ looks were deceiving. Pierce had been present more than once when Abrams, who rarely spoke, displayed guile, and even brilliance.

“Coke called me and I pulled some strings to catch the case,” Rodgers said. “The girl that Detective Finder was searching for, Jenna Raines, we think there’s an outside chance that she may have been abducted and sold as a sex slave to a group of Salvadorans.”

“Whoa,” Pierce said. “Either you guys are better than I thought or you know something that I don’t.”

“The FBI was looking into the Bay Street Demons. They recently came up in connection with another case.”

“I know they were suspected of drug smuggling, but white slavery? That’s a whole other world,” Pierce said.

“Yeah, but here’s what we believe. The Bay Street Demons are grabbing young girls off the street to sell to the Salvadorans in exchange for weapons. They then pass the weapons to a representative of a Mexican cartel for drugs. Once they sell the drugs, it’s all profit because the young girls don’t cost them a dime.”

Pierce shook his head in amazement.

“That’s not just sick; it’s diabolical, but can it be proven?”

“I’ve been told that Homeland Security is looking into it from the Salvadoran angle, but I think the Demons are the key, and we need to nail them,” Rodgers said.

“If we find the Bay Street Demons we’ll get some answers about what happened tonight too,” Pierce said.

“What about the shooter, any idea who killed the Demon who was found near Detective Finder?”

“No, but whoever he is, he can shoot. Our crime scene techs found brass on a rooftop half a mile away. I never even thought to search that far back. There were also signs that the shooter may have been there for a while. There was a shooter’s hide constructed out of a black tarp, and a wooden box inside to sit on.”

“Any food wrappers or water bottles left behind?” Rodgers asked.

“No, and the brass contained no prints either, but it was from a 7.62 cartridge.”

“The shooter is ex-military,” Abrams said.

Pierce nodded.

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Maybe the Bay Street Demons are in a turf war and one of the rival gang members is an ex-sniper.”

Another knock came on the door and Coke yelled, “Enter” once again. It was Jake Collins, Pierce’s partner. Collins knew Rodgers and Abrams, and he was soon brought up to speed.

“What’s your next move, Rick?” Dyer asked.

“I’m going along with the uniforms while they roust all known associates of the Bay Street Demons. Once I locate one of the gang, then we’ll get a handle on this thing.”

Someone else knocked on the door, but she didn’t wait for an answer and just stuck her head into the room. It was one of the newer detectives, a woman named Stacey Hightower. She was a good looking redhead in her thirties who was high-strung and ambitious. She was also someone that the younger Jake Collins had a crush on.

“Sorry to bust in, Lieutenant, but there’s been another murder. The person who called it in said that the DB was a biker.”

Coke looked over at Pierce.

“I’m thinking we just found a Bay Street Demon.”

“Yeah,” Pierce said, as he was headed out the door, “But it doesn’t sound like I’ll be getting any answers from him.”

CHAPTER 4

On his way to the scene of the second dead biker, Pierce learned the name of the first dead Demon.

His name had been Harold Jones, but he’d been going by his biker name of Beelzebub. Apparently, all of the Bay Street Demons had taken the name of a demon of religion or mythology.

Pierce was driving to the scene with Jake Collins riding shotgun and Stacey Hightower following behind in her own car. When Pierce saw Collins turn in his seat to look back at Stacey, he chuckled.

“When are you going to ask that woman out?”

Collins sighed.

“She wouldn’t go out with me. I don’t even think she likes me.”

“What’s not to like, and you’re a good looking kid too.”

“Yeah, a kid, and that’s how she thinks of me.”

“You’re not that young, Jake.”

“I’m twenty-six, Stacey is thirty-four, divorced, and has an eight-year-old daughter, to her, I’m a kid. Plus, I think she resents me for making detective so young.”

“Hell, we all do. At the rate you’re going you’ll be police commissioner before you’re forty.”

“I got lucky, with no small thanks to you, but Stacey spent eleven years in uniform before she became a detective.”

Pierce glanced away from the road and looked at his partner.

“You sure know a lot about her. Did she tell you all that?”

“No, but you hear things, and after all, I am a detective.”

“Yeah, but don’t get too nosy, or worse, obsessive. That can lead to trouble. Trust me, I know.”

“Do you think she would go out with me?”

“Ask her. The worst she can do is say no, and if she does, you wait a few months and ask her out again.”

“Okay, but what if she keeps saying no?”

“Then you ask other women out. Stacey is not the only woman in the world.”

“You’re lucky you found Val, Rick. It’s tough out here in the dating world.”

“I remember, kid, but you’ll find the right woman someday.”

“I want Stacey.”

“Tell her, not me,” Pierce said.

***

The second Demon was shot to death outside his front door, and the shooter had also killed his dogs. The dogs were two Rottweiler’s that Pierce guessed each weighed more than he did.

Their equally dead master, a Bay Street Demon named Ronald Austen, had gone by the name, Zagan, and Zagan had been a big boy, over 350lbs.

A large baggie of cocaine had been found on Zagan’s body, while a Glock 19 laid at his feet. He hadn’t been killed with a sniper rifle, but had taken a shotgun blast from about twenty feet away.

Jake Collins gestured at the grass along the side of the front steps, where the motorcycle of the late Demon lay on its side with a shredded front tire. The engine was off, but the headlight still glowed weakly.

“This one kept his motorcycle.”

“What did Rushinsky and Toliver have to say?” Pierce asked.

Pierce had been talking to the crime scene techs while Collins had spoken with the first cops on the scene, officers Gene Rushinsky and Grant Toliver. Collins referred to his notepad as he answered Pierce.

“According to Zagan’s nearest neighbor, an old man named Simms who lives in that house across the street, Zagan spilled his bike at the same time the first blast from the shotgun went off.”

“And then he made it into the house and released the dogs, right?” Pierce said.

“You got it. Then came blasts two through four. That was followed by Zagan yelling like a madman and firing seven shots before taking the fifth and final shotgun blast to the chest.”

Pierce knew from the techs that there were seven 9mm shell casings found at the scene. They would match the seven shots that Collins had mentioned.

“Did the old man actually say seven shots?”

“He did; Toliver says that the old guy is retired from the army and saw action in Vietnam.”

Pierce nodded.

“Sharp old guy, I’d bet from the time the bike spilled until Zagan took the blast to the chest couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, and yet the old man was able to keep track of the shots. Did he see the shooter?”

“No such luck, he heard it all while lying in bed. By the time he looked outside, the shooter was gone,” Collins said, he then looked down at the dead dogs and shook his head sadly.

“Zagan must have freaked-out over his dogs being killed and charged the shooter. If he had locked himself in the house, he might still be alive.”

“Someone, or a group, is hunting down the Demons, and I’m getting the feeling that it’s personal,” Pierce said. When he saw Agent Rodgers speaking to another of Zagan’s neighbors, he walked over to talk to him.

“You got something, Rick?”

“Just a feeling, tell me about this missing girl Al was looking for, Jenna Raines? Does she have a brother or father with military experience?”

Rodgers took out an iPad and began searching his files.

“Remember, I just caught this case, so give me a second to check.”

It took twenty-eight seconds, but Rodgers found what he was after.

“Jenna Raines has an older brother named Bo Raines. Bo Raines is a decorated Marine.”

“He’s also someone that I want to talk to. If these are revenge killings for his sister’s disappearance, Raines won’t stop killing. How many Bay Street Demons are there?”

Rodgers looked down at his iPad again.

“They’re estimated to have sixteen members.”

Pierce smiled.

“Two down, fourteen to go.”

CHAPTER 5

Bo Raines was watching Pierce and Rodgers talk, as he sighted in on them through the Leupold scope on his Remington Rifle.

Not knowing their names, he thought of Pierce as the skinny detective, while FBI agent Rodgers was the Fed with the thinning hair.

Bo watched the crime scene from the roof of a Walmart that was six blocks away, and the night vision optics of his scope gave everything a green glow.

Bo Raines was twenty-four. He joined the Marines the day after he graduated from high school at seventeen, and he loved three things—God, his country, and his family. But the person he loved most in the world was his little sister, Jenna.

If it was the last thing Bo would do with his life, he would find his sister and bring her home.

He was a big blond farm boy who looked as if he wouldn’t hurt a fly. In reality, he was a highly-trained Marine Scout Sniper with over fifty-seven confirmed kills.

Bo had learned that the Bay Street Demons might have been involved in his sister’s disappearance, and he confronted the Demon named Beelzebub inside the men’s room of a biker bar on Route 9.

He told him his sister’s name, laid a picture of her atop a sink, and told Beelzebub to deliver her to a police station by a certain date and time. If Jenna wasn’t returned, Bo had promised Beelzebub that he would begin killing the Bay Street Demons one by one until they delivered her.

Beelzebub, who was actually a former juvenile delinquent named Harold Jones, had laughed in Bo’s face and shoved him. Bo had skillfully turned the energy of Beelzebub’s shove against him and knocked the Demon to the floor, before pointing a gun in his face.

After reiterating his demand, Bo left the bar and Beelzebub relayed the story to the other Demons, including their leader, Gorgon.

Gorgon hadn’t taken Bo’s threat seriously, and now Beelzebub and Zagan were dead.

Bo could tell that both Pierce and Agent Rogers were leading investigations into the killings he had committed, and wondered if they knew the cop he had seen killed.

He had witnessed Al Finder’s murder through his scope and could lead Pierce right to Al’s murderer.

That was valuable information that Bo intended to use to his full advantage, but to do so, he would have to make contact with either the skinny detective, Pierce or the FBI man with the thinning hair, Rogers.

After spending more time watching Pierce, Bo decided that he would make contact with him. As a fellow cop of his fallen comrade, Pierce would be more vested in finding Detective Finder’s murderer and would work to find Jenna.

Bo studied the scene, looking at all the uniformed cops, plainclothes detectives, FBI agents, crime scene techs, and reporters milling about.

All that massive amount of time and energy was being devoted to finding the killer of a man who wasn’t fit to live.

If even one tenth of the effort expended in finding the Demon’s killer was used to locate Jenna, Bo would be shocked.

The police investigating her disappearance had classified it as a possible runaway until his parents had pleaded for help. Al Finder had listened to his parents, and he had been on the trail of Jenna’s abductors when he was killed.

Bo had watched the murder of Finder through his scope, but was unable to prevent it, as Finder’s knife-wielding assailant was too close to the detective to risk firing, and although he couldn’t be certain, Bo thought that the first stab of the knife had ruptured Finder’s heart.

Bo sighed.

He would prefer if he could just hand over Al Finder’s killer to the skinny detective, but the intel was a valuable tool to be used in finding his sister, and Bo would get her back, even if he had to kill every one of the Bay Street Demons, and the truth was, he would likely kill them all anyway.

For after all, they deserved it.

***

The leader of the Bay Street Demons was a man named Travis Gunn. He went by the name Gorgon. Gorgon was not a happy man.

He had just learned from one of the younger members of the group that Zagan had been killed, along with his dogs.

Gorgon had given those dogs to Zagan as a gift, and he and Zagan, who was really Ronny Austen, had been friends since high school. That was nearly thirty years ago.

Gorgon was a big man. He wore a beard, had long brown hair, and his arms were covered in tattoos. He was six-foot-three and the cowboy boots he wore made him appear even taller.

He and the other Demons, along with two women, were spending the night inside a house. The home belonged to an old woman they knew worked nights as a cleaning lady in a department store.

She hadn’t given permission for them to use her house, they just kicked in the back door, walked in, and made themselves at home. If she returned in the morning and gave them any shit about it, they’d kill her, and she would just disappear into a shallow grave in the woods.

“Was it a sniper?” Gorgon asked the younger biker, a blond kid named Dagon.

Dagon gave a sad shake of his head.

“It was a shotgun blast, and the cops are all over the place. I had to take my colors off to blend in with the crowd.”

“We all know who’s doing the killing. It’s that soldier boy.”

Those words were spoken by a Bay Street Demon named Moloch. Gorgon had also known Moloch since high school, but he never knew him by any other name. Moloch had always been Moloch. It was his idea to use the demon names in the first place. Moloch was bearded and tattooed like Gorgon, but had more muscle and was two inches shorter.

Moloch was a hell of a fighter who loved to use his fists to kill. He had watchful gray eyes and moved gracefully for a man of his musculature. He was also full of resentment.

Moloch had started the Bay Street Demons, but Gorgon had been running it ever since, although friends and allies, they often argued.

“Beelzebub said that the Marine asshole told him that he wanted his sister back or he would start killing us, and now he’s doing it,” Moloch said. “The question, Gorgon, is what’s your next move?”

“Hey asshole, we’re going to kill him, that’s our next move, but we have to find him first,” Gorgon said.

“How do you plan to do that?” Moloch asked.

Gorgon looked blank.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“I got a plan, want to hear it?” Moloch said.

Several of the Demons shouted “Yeah!”, but Gorgon said “No!”

When he realized it couldn’t hurt to hear the plan, he told Moloch to spit it out. Moloch did so, and it pissed Gorgon off that it was a good plan. Actually, it was a great plan, but he would be damned if he’d admit it.

Gorgon nodded to Moloch.

“We’ll do it, but if this shit plan don’t work, that’s on your ass.”

Moloch grinned at him.

“It’ll work, you wait and see.”

“A short wait, we’ll do it tomorrow afternoon. And hey, you fuckers quit makin’ noise. We don’t need the damn cops coming by here. Now I’m going to bed, wake me when the old lady comes back.”

Gorgon was almost out of the kitchen when Moloch called to him.

“What do you want now?”

“Hey man, I’m sorry about Ronny, you know?”

Gorgon let out a heavy sigh.

“I’m gonna miss him.”

“Me too,” Moloch said. “Now get your ugly ass to bed, you could use the beauty sleep.”

“Screw you,” Gorgon told him, but there was no fire in it.

Gorgon went upstairs and entered the master bedroom. To his surprise, his woman, Andrea Kasseri, was still wearing the dress that was stained with Al Finder’s blood. She was sitting in a chair by the window and smoking. On the floor at her feet was a bottle of tequila.

Gorgon’s face showed disgust as he looked down at her.

“Yo, baby, why are you still wearing that? You need to get out of that dress and let me get rid of it.”

Andrea looked up at him with glassy eyes. She had been very beautiful once, but the drugs and booze had muted that a long time ago. Her blonde hair held streaks of gray, still, she was good looking, but bore a scar on her left cheek from a deep cut she’d received long ago.

Gorgon loved her. He had loved her since the first time he laid eyes on her. Andrea had been Moloch’s girl, and Gorgon had stolen her away.

That love hadn’t protected them from hard times and Andrea had sold her body often in the early days. Sometimes it was for money, at other times, it was to help the Bay Street Demons get in good with a drug connection. She had also committed violence when necessary, and none of it mattered to her, not as long as she and Gorgon were together.

“I killed that cop, didn’t I?”

“Well, yeah baby, I mean hell, you stabbed that fucker a shitload of times.”

“He grabbed me and kept touching my scar. You saw him, the son of a bitch grabbed me, and you know that I can’t stand to have anybody touch me but you.”

“I know, and it will be all right. If you ever get picked up for it, we’ll blame it on somebody else, or threaten a juror. You’ll never see a day in jail, now take that shit off and go shower, the damn blood is turning black.”

Andrea held up her right hand.

“I was so mad that I cut myself while I was stabbing him, but it’s not bad.”

Andrea rose from the chair and Gorgon moved back so she wouldn’t get any blood on him. The room had an attached bathroom, and Andrea headed for it. When she reached the doorway, she turned and stared back at Gorgon.

“I don’t have any other clothes.”

“You won’t need them in bed, and in the morning you can go through the closets.”

“The closets? It’s all old lady shit.”

Gorgon smiled.

“Yeah, and you’re my old lady. Now get your ass clean and come to bed. I want some.”

“Tonight?”

“Every night, you know that.”

“Go see that skank Darla. I’m too tired.”

“I don’t want Darla, baby, I want you.”

Andrea smiled.

“Why not. You don’t last more than five minutes these days anyway.”

Gorgon scowled.

“Bitch.”

“Asshole,” Andrea said, and then they smiled at each other.

Gorgon lay atop the bed as Andrea closed the bathroom door. When he noticed that the blinds were up, he lowered them, just in case the soldier boy was lurking around.

CHAPTER 6

Pierce made it back home about three a.m. and was surprised, but pleased, to see that Val had waited up for him.

She endeared herself to him even more when she told him she had made lasagna. After Val heated up a plate for him, Pierce, who hadn’t eaten since morning, ate the lasagna with gusto. Pierce rarely ate more than once or twice a day, but thanks to Val’s delicious home cooked meals, the thin Pierce had gained five pounds since she moved in with him.

Pierce’s house had been in his family for generations. It was four-stories high and had real plaster walls and gold filigree on every doorframe.

The home had five bedrooms, and each bedroom had its own full bath, while three of them had working fireplaces. Four of the bedrooms were on the second floor, while the fifth bedroom, the master bedroom, comprised the entire third floor. It could rightly be called an apartment, except for one thing, it had no facilities for cooking.

The home was surrounded by farmland. It was acreage that Pierce rented out, while the home itself was his hobby. He kept it in immaculate condition, but it never truly felt like a home to him until Val moved in.

He often wondered how he had lived so many years without her.

She reached over and took Pierce’s free hand, to give it a squeeze.

“I’m so sorry about, Al, Rick.”

“Thanks, but I will find his killer, if he’s still living.”

“Why do you think the killer might be dead?”

Pierce went on to tell Val about the two dead Bay Street Demons.

“It sounds like they got what they deserved, and I hope that somehow you or the FBI can find that missing girl.”

“If the Demons had any sense they’d set her free, if they even know where she is. It’s possible that she was sold as a sex slave and taken out of the country.”

“How certain are you that it’s the girl’s brother that’s doing the killing?”

“Not certain at all, but he’s a likely suspect. He’s also in the wind, and his parents told the local cops that they haven’t seen him.”

“Be careful, baby. It sounds like you’ll be around a lot of dangerous people.”

Pierce gave Val’s hand a squeeze.

“What else is new?”

***

Pierce awoke the next morning after getting only three hours of sleep. After a shave and a shower, he kissed a still sleeping Val, and left the house.

He had a visitor who was waiting for him on his porch, and was smoking a cigar. It was Jimmy Drake. Drake’s normally unruly beard was combed and he was wearing chinos instead of jeans.

Pierce knew that was a sign that Jimmy, who was a PI, had a case. Chinos instead of an old pair of jeans was as dressed up as Pierce had ever seen Jimmy. If the man ever wore a suit, Pierce hadn’t witnessed it, and he’d known Jimmy Drake for over a year.

Drake was a huge man, but wasn’t fat. He was just big and tough and smart. Pierce had come to like the man a great deal, almost like a brother. He thought the feeling was mutual, despite the unusual beginning of their friendship.

It then struck Pierce that Jimmy’s motorcycle was nowhere in sight and he wondered how he had arrived at the farm.

“How did you get here, Jimmy?”

“My motorcycle, but I left it at the end of the driveway so that I wouldn’t wake Val.”

“That was considerate, thanks.”

Jimmy laughed.

“Considerate my ass, we’re talking self-preservation. Remember what happened the last time I woke her up early?”

Pierce laughed along with him.

“Oh yeah, she does have a temper at times.”

“I don’t think she likes me, man; I’m too rough around the edges for her.”

“Nonsense, you two are just opposites in some ways, but trust me, Val likes you.”

“If you say so, but anyway, I stopped by to see if you could use my help. Is there anything I should be looking for while I’m out and about. You know I talk to a lot of people during my usual day.”

“You have a case?”

“I will. A woman left a message on my phone. She wants me to track down someone, but I don’t have any details yet.”

“You could keep an eye out for any of the Bay Street Demons, the motorcycle gang. If you see them, call it in, but don’t get too close to them. They’re being hunted.”

Jimmy chuckled.

“Hunted?”

Pierce explained the case to him as they climbed in his car and drove over to Jimmy’s Harley.

“The girl’s brother, Bo Raines? He sounds like my kind of man,” Jimmy said. “He just might get his sister back if he kills enough of the Demons.”

“They’re scum, but the Demons are also witnesses to Al’s murder. I need them alive, or at least one of them.”

“Maybe you just need Bo Raines. If he was looking through a scope he might have witnessed Al’s murder.”

“You’re right, and I’m going to spend the day tracking him down.”

“Send photos of Raines and his little sister to my phone. You never know, I might come across him.”

“I’ll do it. But you know the drill. No one can know that you’re helping out. Ex-cop or not, my lieutenant would go ballistic.”

“I only hope I can be of help, and let me know when Al’s funeral is. I want to pay my respects. I didn’t know him well, but I liked him, and I respected his work. He helped a lot of runaways find their way back home.”

“But not his sister,” Pierce said.

“What’s that?”

“Al, I remember him saying that his sister ran away when he was just a kid. I think it was what made him do the job he did.”

“And what about you, Rick? Why do you chase after the really bad dudes?”

Pierce sighed.

“We both know the answer to that, don’t we? I chase them in the hope that I’ll never become them.”

Jimmy straddled his bike.

“Rick, my friend, if I believed that you were that far gone I would have put you down the day you showed me that cell you built.”

Pierce stared at Jimmy and saw that he was serious.

“Thanks for giving me another chance, Drake.”

Jimmy smiled.

“What are friends for?”

CHAPTER 7

At the station, Jake Collins had just arrived and noticed Stacey Hightower sitting at her desk. She was going over her interview notes from the night before.

Hightower’s partner, Mike Sanchez was out on medical leave after falling through a weak floor in an abandoned house. Hightower and her partner were chasing a shoplifter at the time who had stolen a pair of jeans.

Detective Sanchez broke his ankle, but was otherwise fine.

Stacey saw Jake walk in and sent him a smile.

“Hey, Jake, are you ready for another long day?”

Collins smiled back at her. Stacey seemed to be in a good mood and he might as well see if he can capitalize on it. He walked over and sat across from her at Sanchez’ desk.

“I felt guilty going home at all with Al Finder’s killer still out there somewhere, but like Rick said, we won’t be any good if we don’t get at least some rest.”

Stacey nodded, and then she went back to perusing her notes.

“Stacey?”

“Yeah,” she said, while not even looking up at him.

“I’m going to get some coffee, would you like a cup?”

Stacey pointed to the cup already sitting on her desk.

“Oh,” Collins said. He swallowed, and was about to ask her if she’d like to go out sometime, when Pierce entered the squad room and headed right for him.

“Hello Stacey, mind if I borrow my partner?”

Stacey smiled at Collins.

“Yeah, I do mind, but take him anyway.”

Pierce gestured for Collins to follow him into the empty break room, and told him about his plan to concentrate on locating Bo Raines.

“So what do you think? Is that a good idea, or should we keep trying to track down the Bay Street Demons?”

Collins said nothing. He was staring back into the squad room at Stacey Hightower.

“Jake?” Pierce said.

“What did she mean by that, Rick?”

“Hmm? What did who mean?”

“Stacey, she said that she would mind it if you took me away from her desk. Does that mean she likes me?”

Pierce gave Collins an incredulous look.

“Are you serious? What the hell do you think this is, Jake, high school? I’m trying to catch Al’s killer and you’re making goo-goo eyes at Stacey. Grow the fuck up, kid.”

Jake looked angry, then hurt, and it was followed by a conciliatory shake of his head.

“I’m sorry, Rick, really man. I’ll get my head on straight, I promise.”

Pierce let out a long sigh.

He had only blown up at Collins because of the stress he was under to find Al’s killer. The fact that he only had a few hours of sleep wasn’t helping things either.

“Stay here, Jake.”

Pierce marched out into the squad room and leaned over Stacey’s desk.

Collins was horrified. Was Pierce telling Stacey how he felt about her? As he watched, he saw Pierce turn and point at him, which caused Stacey to look his way.

Stacey nodded at Pierce in agreement about something, and then Pierce walked back into the break room.

“Rick, what the hell was that?”

“That was me telling Stacey that she was working with us for the duration of the case. I cleared it with the lieutenant on the phone while driving here. When I pointed at you, I was telling her that she would be teamed with you today. I want you two to search motels in the area for Bo Raines.”

Collins smiled.

“I’m working with Stacey today?”

“Um-hmm.”

“Just her and me?”

“That’s right kid, but it’s not a date.”

“Of course not, but thanks, Rick. It will give her a chance to get to know me better.”

“One thing, actually two things. If you do come across Bo Raines, call it in and we’ll assemble the SWAT team. The man is too dangerous to fool around with.”

“Gotcha, and what’s the second thing.”

Pierce laid a hand on Collins’ shoulder.

“Relax, maybe you and Stacey will hit it off and maybe you won’t, but you don’t do yourself any favors by acting like a lovesick schoolboy around her.”

Collins gazed over at Stacey and smiled.

“She’s just so damn beautiful, Rick, you know?”

“Tell her that, but at the right moment, okay?”

Pierce poured a large cup of black coffee and headed for his desk. Collins followed, so giddy about being paired with Stacey that he had forgotten all about coffee.

“Rick, what are you going to be doing today?” Collins asked.

“I want to talk with Bo Raines’ parents. I need to try to get a feel for the guy.”

“You think they’ll help you?”

“I don’t know, but they know him better than anyone, so it’s worth a try.”

Stacey appeared and smiled at Collins.

“Let’s get an early start, Jake, all right?”

“Sounds good to me,” Collins said.

Pierce watched them walk off together, and despite the age difference, he thought that they looked right together.

“Good luck, kid,” he whispered, and then he logged on to his computer.

CHAPTER 8

Gorgon slapped Andrea hard on her bare ass and told her to get up and get moving.

The old lady had come home from her night job, and had actually been pretty cool about the break-in. Gorgon had heard that she had been some long dead biker’s woman back in the day, and that she only quit riding after taking a bad spill. Gorgon saw evidence that the spill had been serious, because the old lady still had the scars from road rash running up her left arm and the side of her chin.

Andrea also had scars. They were on her legs and were burn scars from a house fire she had been in while a young teen. That blaze had killed her father.

“Come on, baby, the old woman wants her bed back, but she said it’s cool that you take some clothes.”

Andrea looked up at Gorgon through squinted eyes.

“What time is it?”

“It’s time to go, Ho, now get up.”

Gorgon looked over at the open doorway and saw the club’s groupie, Darla, smiling at him. Darla was a petite young brunette who was the horniest woman he’d ever known. She walked over to Gorgon and grabbed his crotch.

“Good morning.”

Gorgon pushed her hand away.

“Not now, and who told you to come up here?”

“Moloch said that I needed to clean the room and help Andrea.”

Andrea spoke to Darla without opening her eyes.

“I don’t need your help, unless you brought me some coffee?”

Darla ignored her and walked into the bathroom. “I gotta pee.” She did so, but didn’t close the door, so that Gorgon could look at her.

Gorgon mouthed the word, “Later,” and Darla grinned.

“I need coffee,” Andrea said.

“Then get your ass up and come downstairs and get some,” Gorgon said, as he walked out of the room.

Andrea had fallen back to sleep before Gorgon made it downstairs, and Darla pulled up her pants. After gathering what she had come for, Darla placed it into a white, translucent garbage bag that had been in her pocket. Afterwards, she tied the top of the bag into a tight knot.

A short time later, Darla left the house and walked over to Moloch, who was seated on his motorcycle at the side of the house. When he saw the bag, he grinned.

“You got it?”

Darla kissed him and handed him the bag. Moloch saw streaks of red through the bag’s material. He had sent Darla up to the bedroom to retrieve Andrea’s bloody clothing. Her dress would be damning evidence that proved Andrea had killed Detective Al Finder.

Moloch climbed off the bike and removed an old sweatshirt and jeans from a saddlebag. He replaced them with the bag Darla had given him, and handed his clothing to Darla.

“Do you remember what to do?”

“Yeah, baby, but when do I get the coke?”

“As soon as you finish the job, now get busy.”

Darla scurried off towards the backyard and Moloch went inside the house.

***

A little while later, as they were all leaving to travel south, Moloch watched Gorgon sniff the air as he walked over to get on his bike.

“What’s burnin’?”

“Andrea’s old clothes, they should be ashes by now,” Moloch said.

Gorgon cursed.

“I forgot all about them. I’ve been busy thinking about the surprise we’ll have in store for Soldier-boy later.”

“You found the address?”

“Hell yeah, they’re on the Internet. I even know what the place looks like,” Gorgon said, as he reached into an inside pocket of his jacket. “The old lady let me use her copier, here take this one. The address is on there.”

“About those clothes, Darla was gonna just toss ‘em in the garbage, but I thought it’d be better to burn them.”

“Hell yeah, if the cops ever found those bloody clothes, Andrea would be fucked.”

“I know,” Moloch said.

He also knew that if he ever got arrested for anything, that he could barter his way out of it by throwing Andrea under the bus.

It might also be a way to force Gorgon out of the club someday. But first, Soldier-boy had to die.

Minutes later, they were all on the move, but oddly enough, they all left separately, as they headed south to get payback against Bo Raines.

CHAPTER 9

Pierce shook the hand of Bart Raines while thinking that he looked like an older version of his son, Bo. However, Bart’s hair was dark, not blond.

Like his son, Bart Raines had been a Marine, and he was wounded in the first Gulf War. The man looked like a tank to Pierce, although he did notice that Bart Raines walked with a slight limp.

Karen Raines, Bo’s Mother, was a good looking woman in her mid-forties who had the same strawberry-blonde hair of her missing daughter, Jenna.

Pierce was with them on their farm on Route 523 in Flemington, New Jersey. There were cows visible in the near distance and Pierce had seen chickens walking about. On his ride in, he saw that a neighboring farm actually had buffalo roaming about.

Pierce looked out from his seat on the Raines’s front porch. If you just woke up there somehow, you’d never guess that you were just minutes away from a number of shopping centers and major highways.

Pierce’s own rural property was situated much the same, as urban sprawl expanded each year and crept closer to his bucolic acreage. He sometimes wondered if the entire state of New Jersey, The Garden State, would someday be nothing but factories, highways, and shopping centers.

Whenever that thought did cross Pierce’s mind, he and Val would take a drive farther south into Salem County, in the Delaware Valley. Spending time among the small towns, large sections of open land and beautiful vistas would restore him.

Stopping in at the area’s wineries didn’t harm his disposition either.

***

“Have you located our daughter, Detective Pierce?” Bart Raines asked.

“No sir, I’m sorry to say I haven’t, and the officer who was searching for her... he was murdered yesterday.”

Bart Raines grimaced as he nodded his head.

“Yeah, we saw that on the news this morning. Detective Finder was a good man. I could tell that he was serious about bringing Jenna home.”

“Your son is equally determined to do so, although I can’t say that I approve of his methods.”

Karen Raines glared at Pierce and then spoke to her husband.

“Maybe we should call our lawyer?”

Bart Raines reached over and gave his wife’s hand a squeeze.

“No need, if I’m reading Detective Pierce right, he’s not out to get Bo, but you knew Detective Finder personally, didn’t you?”

“Yes sir, we were friends.”

“I thought so. I could see the grief in your eyes when you told me that he’d been killed. Now, you can’t work his murder investigation because you’re too close to the victim, but you can work the killing of these bikers, am I right?”

“Yes, and I’m aware that you’re ex-military, but were you ever a cop, Mr. Raines?”

“My uncle was, and I have two cousins on the town police force. See, Detective Pierce, my boy Bo knows the law, he respects the law, and as a Marine, he’s even taken a pledge to defend The Constitution. Now, all that being said, Bo has reason to believe that the Bay Street Demons have abducted our Jenna. They will return her to us safe and sound or as God is my witness, my boy will see that they all die.”

Pierce let those words hang in the air for a moment before he responded. When he did speak, he tried to come across as neutral, when the truth was, he couldn’t fault Bo Raines’ tactics. Degenerates like the Bay Street Demons only understood brutality.

“Regardless of the outcome, your son’s life has changed forever. The best thing he could hope for is to go to trial and be found innocent.”

Karen Raines leaned forward. Her blue eyes were so vibrant that Pierce could tell that she had been a stunning beauty in her younger years.

“What would you do if a group of animals abducted someone you loved, Detective Pierce?”

Pierce didn’t even hesitate in answering.

“I would hunt them down and kill them. I would also find myself in a world of trouble, because another cop would be hunting me down to bring me to justice.”

“And putting our son in jail for killing these bikers, is that your idea of justice?” Karen Raines asked.

Pierce sighed.

“No ma’am, it is not.”

Bart Raines stared at Pierce.

“Ask your questions, Pierce. It’s why you’re here.”

Pierce smiled. He’d be dammed if he didn’t like these people.

“Have either of you been contacted by your son lately?”

Both of them shook their heads.

“Do you know how I can make contact with your son?”

More head shaking. Pierce removed a card from an inner pocket and wrote his cell phone number on it.

“If Bo makes contact, please tell him to get in touch with me, all right?”

“That I’ll do,” Bart said. “But he won’t be making contact. We won’t see him until he brings our Jenna home.”

“I pray he does bring her back, for her sake and yours. Also, I want you to know that we’re still looking for your daughter.”

Karen Raines wiped at a tear.

“I just want my children back home safe and sound. Is that too much to ask?”

“No ma’am,” Pierce said. “It’s not.”

***

Pierce was five minutes from the farm and headed back to the station when he realized what he’d been seeing over the last few miles.

A motorcycle went by on the other side of the highway. It was the fifth one he’d seen in the last four miles and they had all been headed south, towards the Baines’ farm.

Pierce’s first thought was that he was seeing the Bay Street Demons, but then he scoffed at the idea. The Demons rode together in a pack, not separately, and there were thousands of people in New Jersey with motorcycles.

And yet, every rider he’d seen was dressed like a biker, right down to the leather vests and boots.

No one had reported seeing the Demons since the murders at the massage parlor the night before. Pierce had assumed that they were laying low somewhere and licking their wounds.

But would they do that?

No, they wouldn’t. Pierce thought.

The Demons would be more likely to come up with a plan to fight back against Bo Raines’ attack with one of their own.

They would fight back. They would fight fire with fire. Bo had killed two of theirs, maybe they would kill two of his. Or, better yet, kill one and take one as a hostage to draw him in.

When another motorcycle flew by going south, Pierce studied the rider as well as he could at highway speed. The rider was wearing a mirrored helmet, but his long unruly hair spilled out from beneath it.

Pierce only caught a glimpse, but the rider’s vest bore a patch, and although Pierce couldn’t discern an emblem, he did see a flash of color. It had been red, such as the crimson gang patch worn on the vests of the Bay Street Demons.

Pierce made an illegal U-turn across a grass median strip and headed back to the Raines’s farm.

He had been looking for Bo Raines, but he’d found the Bay Street Demons.

CHAPTER 10

Jake Collins and Stacey Hightower had spent the morning checking local hotels and motels for a sign of Bo Raines.

They were coming up empty after a promising lead turned out to be just a look-a-like for Raines. The man had been big and blonde, but he was forty and a drug company representative from Delaware.

When Stacey declared that she was hungry, Collins suggested a diner he knew of on Route 206, and the two of them were soon seated together in a booth and having pancakes.

“My daughter is going to be jealous. She loves blueberry pancakes,” Stacey said.

“What’s her name?” Collins said.

“Christine, but she’s only eight, so of course she’s called Christy.”

The waiter appeared and poured more coffee. Jake noticed that the man was checking out Stacey while trying not to be obvious about it. After the waiter walked away, Stacey smiled at Jake.

“So, what’s her name?”

“Excuse me?” Jake said.

“The girlfriend, what’s her name?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend, Stacey.”

“Get the hell out of here, a hunk like you.”

Jake cleared his throat.

“It’s true, but what about you, are you seeing anybody?”

Stacey shook her head.

“No, I’m not.”

Jake’s grin lit up the diner, but Stacey held up a hand.

“Before you get any ideas, I don’t date cops. No offense; it’s just a rule with me.”

Jake was heartbroken. One second Stacey was calling him a hunk and the next she was telling him that he was disqualified as dating material.

“Your rule sucks,” Jake said.

Stacey looked taken aback by his bluntness.

“Oh really? Well I think it’s a good rule. A person’s work life and their personal life should be separated. It keeps things simpler.”

Jake pushed his plate away and took a sip of his coffee. He drank his coffee black. It was a habit he had picked up from his partner, Pierce.

Stacey leaned closer.

“You know, if I ever decide to break my rule, you’d be at the top of the list.”

“Stop, I don’t need you to patronize me. I’m not a kid.”

“I never said you were, but you are kind of young.”

“So are you,” Jake said.

Stacey laughed.

“Now who’s being patronizing?”

“I mean it, Stacey. You’re a young good looking woman, even if your no dating cops rule sucks.”

Stacey stared at Jake until he became uncomfortable.

“What?”

“Nothing, now why don’t we get back to work?”

***

Pierce left his car along the side of the road on route 523, climbed a four-foot-high fence, and moved towards the Raines’ farmhouse.

He knew that he would feel like a fool if he were wrong about the Bay Street Demons being on the verge of attacking the farm. If Bart Raines caught him lurking about his property and nothing was wrong, he would have some explaining to do.

He soon put that fear aside when he walked over a hill and saw a line of motorcycles parked together without their riders.

Pierce removed his gun, as he tried to recall the last time he had used it while on duty. It had been years, and at that time, he hadn’t needed to fire it. He knew that wouldn’t be the case this time.

His gun was a Glock 19 and he was a good shot, but not a marksman by any means. As he moved towards the farmhouse, he took out his phone and was relieved to see that he had good service. Before dialing 9-1-1, Pierce pointed his gun towards the sky and pulled the trigger once.

If Bart and Karen Raines were unaware that they had uninvited guests, they weren’t anymore.

***

Gorgon cursed and looked over at Moloch as the sound of Pierce’s warning shot echoed through the air. They were crouched near the barn with six other Bay Street Demons, while another man waited nearby for a signal. That man, a raw recruit named Chuck, was riding a motorcycle with a sidecar. The sidecar was to be used to transport their hostage.

Gorgon turned and looked back from where the shot came from.

“That couldn’t be the farmer could it?”

“No,” Moloch said. “We just saw him and his wife go in the house. He couldn’t have circled around us that quick. It was probably that kid, Chuck.”

“Why the hell did Chuck fire off a round? Now Soldier-boy’s parents will know we’re here,” Gorgon said.

Moloch shrugged.

“I didn’t even know he had a gun, but does it really matter? I mean, what’s the worst that the farmer can throw at us, an old shotgun? There’s eight of us and we’re here to kill him. I say we rush the house, kill the bastard, and take Soldier-boy’s mom as a hostage.”

Gorgon thought it over, and yeah, they did have eight guys and a ninth man if it was needed. When he looked at the other Demons, he saw that they were looking at him in puzzlement, wondering why he was hesitating at all.

He stood straight up and began walking towards the farmhouse. He had to look strong and in command. He just hoped that the farmer couldn’t shoot worth a damn.

***

Inside the farmhouse, Bart Raines was removing weapons and ammo from his gun safe while his wife kept watch at the windows while holding a shotgun.

When she saw Gorgon step out from behind the barn, and followed by the other men, she shouted to her husband.

“Bart, it’s those bikers! There’s a bunch of them.”

Bart Raines came up beside his wife. He was wearing a tactical vest while carrying an AR-15.

“If anyone but me comes in this house, use the shotgun,” Bart said.

He was headed for the rear door in the kitchen when his wife grabbed his arm.

“Look out there. There’s eight of them and they’re all armed. Stay in here with me and wait for the police to arrive.”

Bart stared out the window and saw that the Demons were spreading out as they drew closer.

“We can’t wait. If they rush the house front and back, they’ll make it inside. I have to take the fight to them. Now get down behind the old cast iron stove and keep that gun pointed towards the back door.”

“Please be careful. Oh God, this is like living in a nightmare,” Karen said.

Bart kissed her, opened the door, and stepped outside while shouldering his rifle.

***

Pierce was coming up behind the young biker with the sidecar at about the same time that Bart Raines had been taking his rifle from his gun safe.

The biker with the sidecar was young, maybe eighteen, and he had his eyes locked on the barn and appeared to be nervous.

Pierce grabbed a motorcycle helmet off the rear of the bike and smashed it against the side of the kid’s head. Normally, Pierce would have done the whole “Police! Put your hands where I can see them and get down on the ground,” routine. But there was no time for that, and speaking aloud might alert the other Demons.

The young biker fell to the ground like a sack of loose sand and sprawled in the grass.

After cuffing the kid’s wrists behind his back, Pierce moved on, heading closer to the barn, and towards the house, where danger awaited.

CHAPTER 11

Jimmy Drake kept a virtual office in an upscale building, and it was where he would meet new clients.

He had no need of a full-time secretary and his real office was either his motorcycle or his pick-up truck, depending on which one he was using at the time.

He had an iPhone and an iPad, and they were usually all the office equipment he needed.

Whenever he read a novel about a PI, he wondered why the idiot would have a real office and a secretary. The office made it handy for his enemies to find him, while the secretary was invariably used as a hostage in every other book.

To Jimmy, it made much more sense to be elusive and to have none of the people you cared about involved in your business.

He had rented the bland office for two hours and it would cost him a hundred bucks. That was okay, because it was all part of the service he provided, and his client would ultimately be footing the bill.

He spotted his client the second she climbed out of her BMW, and even from three floors up he could tell that she was a hot one.

From the little she had said on the phone, he knew that someone was treating her badly, but that it was more than a simple dispute in a divorce. He didn’t even know her real name, just that she said to call her Mrs. Smith. It wouldn’t have surprised Jimmy had she not shown up at all.

Only about four out of five clients actually appeared after making their initial contact. People got cold feet, changed their minds, or maybe they solved their problems themselves. In any event, Jimmy had spent many an hour sitting in the office and waiting for someone who never showed.

He was glad that this one had decided to appear, and even happier when she stood in the open doorway, and he could get a good look at her up close.

The woman was blonde, shapely, and well dressed in labels that even Jimmy had heard of, like Gucci, Prada, and Armani. Jimmy shook her delicate hand and asked her to have a seat, as a nagging feeling came over him that he had met the woman before.

He saw no look of recognition in her eyes, and so he pushed the feeling aside and asked her how he could help.

After hesitating and looking around the office, the woman released a sigh and then spoke.

“I had an affair, and now I’m being blackmailed.”

“All right, that’s nothing I can’t handle, but before we move ahead with the details, why don’t you tell me your real name Mrs. Smith.”

More hesitation, followed by another look around the room, and then she spoke again.

“Mr. Drake, I’m Professor Amy Lowe.”

Jimmy felt a shock of surprise but didn’t display it, as he took out his iPad to take notes.

Professor Amy Lowe was the former love and obsession of his friend, Rick Pierce.

“Tell me more,” Jimmy said, and he hoped like hell that Pierce wasn’t somehow involved.

***

Jake and Stacey were back to checking motels when they caught a break.

Not only was the desk clerk certain that Bo Raines was staying at their motel, but the motel had hidden cameras that recorded the guests entering and leaving their rooms. When the clerk played video of the guest in Room 14, both Jake and Stacey were sure that they were looking at Bo Raines.

“He’s out right now,” said the clerk, a thin man with a reddish goatee and a receding hairline. “But the room is paid for until tomorrow.”

“Do you know what sort of vehicle he’s driving?” Jake asked.

The clerk thought for a second and then answered.

“Yeah, it’s a motorcycle. A big black one.”

Stacey thanked him, and then she asked the clerk to inform the maid not to clean the room.

Jake took a spare keycard from the clerk and headed towards the room, but Stacey halted his progress.

“Whoa! We should call it in right away. We can’t be absolutely certain that he’s not in there, and what if he were to return right now?”

Jake sighed, knowing she was right. They called the lieutenant and put the conversation on speakerphone. After listening, the lieutenant, Coke Dyer, told them to hang back and wait for SWAT to show.

“Is that the right call, Coke?” Jake asked. “Shouldn’t we watch the room instead? Because of the camera, we’re almost certain that he’s not in there.”

Stacey’s eyes widened. Jake Collins was a rookie detective and he was questioning the decision of a man who was a cop before he was born. To her surprise, Coke agreed with Jake.

“Yeah, Collins, you’re right. If you’re certain that the video shows Raines is out of the room, then you and Hightower set up a surveillance until I can get a team out there.”

“Great Coke, anything else?”

“Yeah, good work, kid, you and Hightower both.”

“Thanks Lieutenant, we’ll check in again in an hour.”

When Jake ended the call he saw that Stacey was smiling at him.

“Why the smile?”

“I’m impressed. You weren’t intimidated by the lieutenant and you actually changed his mind.”

“The lieutenant is cool, and he’s not afraid to admit that he’s wrong.”

“I like him too,” Stacey said.

Jake hit a speed dial button on his phone to call Pierce. When Pierce didn’t answer, he left a message on his voicemail.

“No answer?” Stacey said.

Jake shrugged.

“I guess Rick is busy.”

***

Pierce ducked low and peered around the corner of the barn.

When he saw the eight armed Bay Street Demons headed towards the house, he hoped that Bart Raines had something decent to defend himself with, or else the fight would be a quick one and both he and Bart Raines would be dead.

That was when the rooster appeared. The bird charged at one of the Demons while ignoring the others, most of whom had continued towards the house.

The back door of the farmhouse opened up and Pierce watched as Bart Raines walked out with an AR-15 pressed against his shoulder.

The former Marine was outnumbered but undaunted, and he opened fire on the Bay Street Demons.

CHAPTER 12

If not for the damn psycho rooster, Gorgon knew he’d be dead.

He had been leading the assault on the farmhouse, taking point, and getting closer. That was when the biggest damn chicken he had ever seen attacked him. It was a rooster. The thing had to be two feet tall and was aggressive as hell.

It charged at Gorgon from the front and made him come to a stop. Then, he had to dance around to avoid its thrusting beak. When it pecked at his boot, Gorgon kicked it and made it squawk and head off in a different direction.

While that was going on, Dagon, a young Bay Street Demon, had led the charge with a few of the other Demons around him. Moloch, as usual, missed no chance to give Gorgon grief and had stopped to point and laugh at him while he dealt with the rooster.

That was why the two of them were behind the others when Bart Raines stepped out onto his back porch and opened up with the AR-15.

Dagon died first, as two rounds blew his head apart. Another Demon died when he took one in the throat, while three others ducked behind an old pickup truck and returned fire.

One of the other Demons had headed towards the front of the house and Gorgon and Moloch went with him. Once there, they kicked in the front door.

If they could get their hands on the farmer’s wife, they would have leverage against the farmer. And later on, they could use the woman as bait to trap her soldier boy son.

Gorgon and Moloch were heading up the stairs, certain that the woman would be cowering in her bedroom. While they did that, the other Demon sprinted towards the kitchen to ambush the farmer from behind.

When the double blast of a shotgun came from the kitchen followed by the sound of a body falling, Gorgon and Moloch figured that they had been wrong.

The farmer’s wife was in the kitchen, and armed as well.

They rushed her while she was reloading. Moloch punched her hard on the chin and rendered her unconscious. Afterwards, he hefted her onto a shoulder.

Gorgon smiled as he looked at Karen Raines and ran a hand across her ass.

“She ain’t bad looking at all.”

“We’ll fuck her later. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Moloch said.

Gorgon led the way, as the firefight at the rear of the house intensified.

***

Pierce got into effective firing range of the gun battle just as Bart Raines took a round in the arm. The wound caused the former Marine to lose control of his weapon and it left his hands and tumbled onto the back steps.

There were two Demons left standing, and they sprinted from behind the pickup truck. They were both bringing their weapons to bear on Bart when the two of them let out screams and fell to the ground. Pierce had placed three rounds in each of them while firing a barrage of bullets that mostly missed their moving targets.

Still, he had struck them in the legs and back, and he didn’t feel bad at all about shooting them from behind without issuing a warning.

Pierce was about to move in on them when he saw movement on his right. It was Gorgon and Moloch. When Pierce saw that they had Karen Raines, he felt torn between rescuing her or helping her husband.

But then, he saw that Bart had slid on his stomach atop the porch steps and regained control of his weapon. Meanwhile, the two Demons Pierce had shot were both badly wounded and out of the fight.

Pierce went after Gorgon and Moloch, and as he did so, he wished he had more ammo to reload with. He had fired all but two of the fifteen shots that his magazine held in taking down the two Demons. The round he kept chambered had been fired as a signal to warn the Raines of danger.

Then, he heard it, the sound of a police siren growing near.

Low ammo or not, he had to stop the abduction of Karen Raines. Once he did that, he could hold on until backup arrived.

Rounding the opposite side of the barn, Pierce watched as Moloch dumped a stunned Karen Raines into the sidecar of the motorcycle. While that was going on, Gorgon kicked the young biker that Pierce had rendered unconscious. The kick sent the young man tumbling down a small hill and out of his way.

“Police!” Pierce said. “Show me your hands!”

Gorgon and Moloch were both empty-handed. Moloch because he had been carrying Karen Raines, while Gorgon had just holstered his weapon to grab onto the bike’s handlebars.

Neither man showed Pierce their hands, rather, he saw their asses, as Gorgon and Moloch took off running in opposite directions.

Pierce was about to fire but changed his mind. He wasn’t a horrible shot, but he doubted he’d hit either of the running men, and with only two rounds left, he didn’t want to empty his weapon.

Karen Raines was just regaining her senses when Pierce came up to her. She became more aware and widened her eyes as the screaming began back at the house.

***

Of the two men Pierce had wounded, only one of them was in any condition to talk, and talk he would, if Bart Raines had a say in it.

“Where did you bastards take my daughter?” Bart asked the man, and as he asked, he drove a thumb into a bullet wound in the man’s back.

The Demon howled in agony and Bart repeated his question.

The man cursed at him defiantly, and Bart flipped him over, unsheathed a knife, and stabbed him in the left eye.

By the time the man recovered enough to speak, Pierce was coming around the barn with Karen, while a patrol car was rocketing along the farm’s gravel driveway.

Bart leaned in and whispered into the Demon’s ear.

“Tell me where you took my daughter or I’ll cut out your other eye and then start on your nuts.”

The man told him all he knew, and when Bart was certain he wasn’t lying and was of no further use, he slit the Demon’s throat and stood back to watch him bleed to death.

Pierce had seen the slaying, and he locked eyes with Bart as Karen Raines went to her husband and checked out his arm wound.

“What did the man tell you, Raines? Did he know where I can find your daughter?”

Bart didn’t answer Pierce, and when the first cop left his car, he shouted a command for them to drop their weapons.

Pierce and Bart Raines complied, and before long, identities were confirmed and Pierce was giving a statement to a police officer.

She was a young woman. For her final question, she pointed over at the body bag containing the Demon with the gashed throat and gouged out eye.

“Detective, who killed that man?”

Pierce nodded towards Bart Raines.

“Mr. Raines killed that man after a struggle... in self-defense.”

Bart Raines had been near enough to hear, and he sent Pierce a nod of thanks, as an EMT worked on his arm wound.

Pierce didn’t respond. He was looking at the spent cartridges that Raines’ AR-15 had spat out. There were over a hundred casings littering the ground along with four empty magazines.

Bart Raines had killed four Demons, his wife had slain another with a shotgun, while Pierce had wounded one Demon and captured another. That meant that there were only seven Bay Street Demons left if the FBI had their facts straight about the motorcycle gang.

Seven, from an original sixteen, and the Raines Family had only begun their battle against the gang the night before.

If the Demon that Bart had tortured had given up the location of the remaining members, Pierce felt certain that the younger, better trained, and well-armed Bo Raines would make short work of them.

If the Demons did know where Jenna Raines was and could get their hands on her, they sure as hell better do it, or they would become extinct.

Pierce took out his phone to report in, and wondered if his lieutenant would even believe the story he had to tell.

CHAPTER 13

FBI agents Rodgers and Abrams were using Pierce’s and Collins’ desks during the detectives absence from the station.

They had spent the morning going over Al Finder’s recent reports along with his personal notebook. The blood-stained notebook, like the daily reports, was meticulous in its detail, and the agents were impressed by Detective Finder’s work.

“It’s no wonder this guy had such a great record at finding runaways,” Rodgers said. “I don’t know when he slept. You usually see this kind of obsession with the job from the undercover narks.”

Abrams nodded in agreement, as he was busy looking through the scraps of notepaper he’d found in Finder’s car. Unlike the rest of the late detective’s paperwork, the scraps of paper just seemed like random thoughts written down on whatever was handy at the time.

Most of it was scribbled on napkins from fast food restaurants and Abrams assumed that Finder had written them while driving. Abrams became convinced of his assumption when he found that the scribbles were later transferred to the notebook.

When he came across one note written on a napkin that had no corresponding notation in the notebook, he assumed it had been written last. The note had two addresses written on it, along with the words. CHECK THEM OUT! JENNA?

One of the addresses was in Atlantic City, but the other one was the massage parlor where Al Finder was killed.

Abrams passed over the napkin. Rodgers read it and understood the significance.

“We know he checked out the massage parlor, unfortunately, but did he ever get a chance to give Atlantic City P.D. a ring?”

“It looks like he thought the girl might be there,” Abrams said.

“Yeah, and she sure as hell wouldn’t be there alone.”

Rodgers brought out his iPad, as Abrams did the same. Within minutes, both agents were looking at the location in Atlantic City. The image on their screens was a year old, but thanks to the mapping service they could see what lay around it, which wasn’t much. Although, several casinos were visible in the distance, as well as the Barnegat Bay.

“This place is an ass-ugly warehouse of some sort,” Rodgers said. “The paint on the building is so old that I can’t read the company’s name.”

“Maybe someone is warehousing girls there,” Abrams said.

“Yeah, but if so, it’s not the Demons, they might grab the girls off the street and sell them, but it would be the buyers controlling the warehouse.”

“Salvadorans?” Abrams said.

“Probably, and they’re likely armed to the teeth. I hope that you didn’t have any plans partner. It looks like we’ll be raiding that warehouse tonight.”

Abrams nodded. The warehouse was probably nothing, but it was better to go in heavy with the Atlantic City P.D. at their backs rather than stumble into something serious.

They spoke to Coke Dyer and told him what they’d found, and then they were off to speak with the Atlantic City P.D.

***

The Uhlerstown–Frenchtown Bridge is a narrow two lane roadway positioned over the Delaware River. Gorgon and Moloch rode their motorcycles over the bridge and entered Pennsylvania. Moloch was leading the way, as he had told Gorgon that he knew a place where they could hide out.

They’d been lucky and hadn’t passed any cops, but that luck wouldn’t last forever.

They knew that the police in New Jersey would be searching for them, but it was less likely that the cops in Pennsylvania would do the same.

Moloch had grown up near the Delaware River until he was in his teens. He had a faint memory of how the rural back roads were set-up, although he had only returned to the area once since leaving it at the age of fourteen.

A short time after crossing the bridge into Pennsylvania, Gorgon followed Moloch around a curve and they rode over another bridge. It was narrow, made of thick wood planks, and seemed ancient. Once they were over the second bridge, the road curved left and Gorgon found himself at a T intersection.

They went right, then left, then another left, and soon they were at a small farm that was overgrown and long abandoned. On the locked gate was a sign that said, NO TRESPASSING!

While the farm was neglected, on either side of the property were well-tended fields that belonged to others.

Gorgon and Moloch had to get off their bikes and help each other. They found a spot where there was a gap in the wooden fence, but there was a ditch between it and the road. They had to move the motorcycles down into the ditch one at a time and then up the other side.

Moloch then insisted that they pushed their bikes along, otherwise the sound of the engines might travel to the nearby farms.

“If the cops came around asking questions, someone might remember hearing two motorcycles riding around over here.”

“What is this place, Moloch?”

“It’s where I grew up before I moved to New Jersey. I think it still belongs to my older brother, but he’s doing time in Frackville.”

“Doing time? What for?”

“He killed our mother, but the bitch had it coming.”

Moloch led Gorgon through a strip of land that had trees growing on it. The trees weren’t big and didn’t look very old, but they were enough to shield them from the eyes of any passersby on the quiet country road.

As they reached the end of the trees, Gorgon saw a structure looming up ahead. It was an old house. The home was in need of repair, but far from dilapidated, despite the peeling paint.

“We can hide out here?”

“Yeah, my sister lived in it for a while, until she sold most of the damn furniture to buy drugs. She’s dead now; she died of a drug overdose three years ago.”

“Sister? First a brother and now a sister, how come I never met them when we were growin’ up?”

“They were both older than me, and my brother was in prison. Anyway, there’s no electricity, but there’s well water. Maybe I can get the hand pump primed and running.”

“Who else knows about this place?”

“Just me, and now you, but shit, we had to hide somewhere.”

“Yeah, your great plan didn’t exactly go the way we thought it would.”

“No shit, and that fuckin’ cop almost got us too.”

“Let’s get inside and think things over. I also better call Andrea or she’ll think I’m dead.”

Moloch tried the windows and found one that was unlocked in the kitchen. They climbed inside directly above the room’s double sinks, and took seats at an old oak kitchen table set.

Moloch scowled at the debris that was piled in one corner. It consisted of beer cans, cigarette butts and condom wrappers.

“Look at that mess. I bet the damn high school kids use this place as a hangout.”

As Gorgon took out his phone to call Andrea, Moloch continued looking around the kitchen of his childhood home. Memories flooded back, some good, but most of them were horrible. Including the memory of the night his brother shot their mother to death.

He rose from the table.

“I’m gonna check things out,” he told Gorgon, but in reality, he didn’t want the man to see him cry.

CHAPTER 14

Bo Raines was headed back to his motel room when he took out his phone to check for messages. His mode of transportation was the Harley that had belonged to the first Demon he killed, Beelzebub. Bo considered it a spoil of war.

His father had sent him a text from one of the throwaway phones they had made plans to use, and Bo knew that it was likely bad news.

Once the message was relayed, his father would destroy the cheap phone it had been sent on, while Bo would likewise discard the phone he received it on.

Each of them would then switch to the next cheap phone they had designated for use. After contact was made again, they would be down to the third and final set of phones. All three sets had been purchased at different locations and would be extremely difficult to trace.

Bo knew from the fact that there was a message that the news was important, or else his father would not have made contact. The first part of the message worried him, but the second part gave him hope.

NOT MUCH TIME. DEMONS CAME TO FARM, MOM AND I ARE FINE, 5 MORE DEMONS DEAD, 2 IN JAIL.

COP NAMED PIERCE SAVED YOUR MOM. I TRUST HIM. I INTERROGATED A DEMON AND HAVE AN ADDRESS FOR YOU. MAYBE JENNA IS THERE? THE DEMON DIDN’T KNOW WHAT BECAME OF HER.

What followed was an address in Atlantic City. It was the same warehouse that FBI agents Rodgers and Abrams came across. Below that was Pierce’s full name and phone number, and finally, four words.

I LOVE YOU, SON!

Bo Raines was three blocks away from his motel room when he made a left at the next light and headed for the nearest highway that ran south. He was going to Atlantic City.

***

Back at the motel, Jake and Stacey were growing bored while waiting for Raines to return, not knowing that he had changed his plans.

When Jake called in to report, they learned of Pierce’s gun battle at the Raines’ farm in Flemington.

“Is Rick all right, Lieutenant?”

“He’s good, Collins, and it sounds like Bo Raines is a chip off the old block. His father killed four more Bay Street Demons and his mother capped a fifth one. Rick says that there’s another Demon that will need surgery and one he’s going to interrogate.”

“Damn, and here I am just sitting on my ass.”

“Your relief is on the way there, so I want you to join Rick in Flemington. Now put Hightower on the line.”

Jake handed Stacey his phone, and Coke Dyer gave her a choice.

“Since you’re helping out on this, I’ll let it be your call. You can stay there and wait for Bo Raines to show, head to Flemington with Collins, or come back here and hold down the fort with me, which will it be?”

“I’ll stay here. It’s still early and Raines might show.”

“Fine, but stop in my office before you call it a day, and Stacey, expect it to be a late one.”

“Right Lieutenant, my mom is watching my daughter and so I’m good to work as long as you need me. Also, thanks for the opportunity. I really want to help find Al’s killer.”

“We all do, Stacey, now stay safe.”

When Stacey handed Jake back his phone, she saw that he had a look of disappointment on his face.

“What’s that look for? You wanted to stay here, didn’t you?”

“Of course, it looks like the action is over in Flemington, and thank God Rick is okay. I feel bad about not being with him.”

“Yeah, but we’re stretched pretty thin right now. It’s one reason I’m staying here. If Bo Raines does show up, it may take everyone we can find to take him down.”

“You be careful if he shows, and call me and Rick. We’d never get back here in time, but we would still want to know.”

Collins waited until the surveillance team showed before leaving. Stacey would be on duty until nine p.m., when the next team showed, and then she would catch a ride back to the station with the first team. The teams consisted of patrol personnel who were called in on overtime.

They were dressed in street clothes and using unmarked cars. The instant anyone spotted Bo Raines, SWAT would receive an urgent call.

Collins felt somewhat sad as he drove away from Stacey. He had enjoyed spending the morning with her.

When he looked in the rear view mirror he saw that she was sending him a wave goodbye.

Collins waved back, tooted the horn, and smiled to himself.

Stacey may have a rule against dating fellow cops, but rules were made to be broken.

CHAPTER 15

The young punk that Pierce knocked unconscious at the Raines’ farm was named Chuck Ralston. He was a good looking kid, who was tall and had an athletic build.

Ralston wasn’t an actual Demon, but a wannabe, and so Pierce assumed that meant that there were still eight Bay Street Demons left, plus the one he’d wounded, who was recovering from surgery.

Chuck Ralston came from money, and daddy’s lawyer showed up in Flemington even before Pierce’s partner, Jake Collins did.

Pierce determined that the lawyer was inexperienced in criminal law, and was a business attorney who handled contracts. Ralston’s father must have figured that a lawyer was a lawyer, but Pierce saw an opportunity, and he was going to exploit it.

He needed Chuck Ralston to talk. He had to find out what happened on the night that Al Finder was killed.

Jake Collins had joined up with Pierce at the Raines’ farm, which was now a crime scene, and Jake was surprised at the level of chaos that had occurred at the bucolic residence.

Chuck Ralston might be a rich Daddy’s boy, but his wealth wasn’t in brain power. Despite his lawyer’s numerous pleas to stop, Ralston spoke freely to Pierce and Collins during his interrogation. He assumed he held the upper hand and wanted to flaunt it.

It turned out that Chuck was still five days away from his eighteenth birthday. He believed that being a minor gave him protection from serious charges. It did not.

***

Pierce sipped from a cup of coffee while he spoke to Chuck.

Jake was taking down notes, even though the interview was being recorded by the Flemington P.D. Taking notes was one of Pierce’s rules. Technology was a grand thing, but as reliable as a junkie.

Pierce had once lost an entire three hour interview with a bank robber who had killed a teller. That interview had also been recorded, but some flaw in the download software stored the tape under an unknown heading, along with over a dozen other current and past interviews.

It was in the police department’s cloud storage somewhere, but no one could find it. Luckily for Pierce, his partner at the time, Bob Jerold, had been taking notes from behind the mirrored glass of the interrogation room.

Jerold was retired, but Pierce still saw him from time to time when he was out and about, and they occasionally caught a ballgame together.

However, from the time of that incident, Pierce had taken notes, and had passed the chore on to Collins.

“You’re in trouble, Chuck,” Pierce said. “My guess is that you’ll be charged with the attempted abduction of Karen Raines, as well as the attempted murder of her husband.”

Chuck Ralston laughed.

“Nah-uh, I was out, dude. You cold-cocked me from behind, remember? I don’t know shit. I was just out taking a walk on that farm when I came across that motorcycle with the sidecar.”

Jake chuckled and then turned his head to speak to Pierce.

“Is this kid really as dumb as he’s making out to be? Forget the farm, he’ll also be going down for Detective Finder’s murder. I heard on the way in that Ralston’s prints were found at the scene.”

Pierce stared back at Jake, as he silently admired the lie he’d just told. Maybe the kid’s prints were at the scene, at the massage parlor where Al was killed. However, no such report had come in about a match, and even if it had, that wouldn’t be proof that Chuck Ralston was there the night Al was killed. Jake was guessing that a seventeen-year-old would have hung out in the massage parlor if given a chance.

Chuck suddenly looked worried, as did his lawyer, a Mr. Tracconi. Tracconi was a short man with a nice pinstriped suit. Pierce thought that the lawyer looked as if he felt out of place inside the interrogation room. He’d seen suspects who seemed more at home.

“Chuck, I advise you once again to remain silent. Once we hear the charges against you, then we’ll respond.”

“Charges? I’m seventeen, I’m a kid. I should just get community service, right?”

“You helped to kill a cop, Ralston,” Pierce said. “You don’t do a few months in juvie for killing a cop.”

“I didn’t kill that cop!” Chuck shouted. “I was in the back with one of the girls when it happened.”

Jake shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re a Bay Street Demon and the Demons killed a cop. Do the math, kid. You’re an accomplice to murder.”

Chuck leaned forward in his seat.

“It was Andrea, Gorgon’s girlfriend. She’s the one that killed that cop. I didn’t see it, but damn was she bloody.”

The lawyer, Tracconi moaned, then mumbled something about sticking to contract law.

“What’s Andrea’s last name?” Pierce said.

“I don’t know, but I can tell you where she is, or was. They move around a lot.”

Pierce pushed a notepad and pen across to Chuck.

“Write down everything you know about the Demons and about the murder and the attack on the farm. If you do that, I’ll talk to the DA about a deal for you.”

“What sort of deal?”

“Your lawyer and the DA will hash it out. It would go well for you if you told us where to find Jenna Raines.”

Chuck looked down at the table.

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“If you do, talk, helping us to find her would almost guarantee you a walk.”

“I don’t want to do any time, not hard time. Look at me, those old queers inside the prison would be all over me.”

Pierce did look at Ralston, and a thought occurred to him.

“How exactly did the Demons grab Jenna Raines? I would think a fifteen-year-old girl like Jenna would run the other way once she got a look at the Demons.”

Chuck gazed down at the table again, then picked up the pen and played with it.

“Chuck, look at me, Chuck.”

Chuck peeked up at Pierce.

“You’re a good looking kid. I bet fifteen-year-old girls just go ga-ga over you. Am I right?”

Jake saw where Pierce was going and jumped in.

“You’re the bait, aren’t you? You hook up with the girls and let the Demons have them.”

“What do you get in return, Chuck?” Pierce said. “Money? Drugs?”

“No, Rick,” Jake said. “This son of a bitch feeds those innocent girls to the Demons for free access to the women in the massage parlor. That’s it, isn’t it Chuck?”

Chuck shook his head, but the truth was in his eyes. Not wanting to lose him completely, Pierce told the boy to write down what he knew about Al Finder’s murder. But if Pierce could have his way, he’d love to hand Chuck over to Jenna’s father, Bart Raines.

***

In Pennsylvania, Gorgon and Moloch were going over the many ways they were screwed.

They were wanted as accomplices in a cop’s murder and for the attack on the farm. They were also wanted in connection with the disappearance of Jenna Raines.

On top of that, half of their club members were either dead or in jail, and some psycho Soldier-boy was hunting them down.

They were upstairs in what had been Moloch’s room when he was a boy. Someone, likely Moloch’s sister, had cleared the furniture out of the room years ago. They sat on the floor and talked, while appropriately leaning with their backs against the wall.

“Shit man,” Gorgon said. “I don’t even have enough gas in my ride to get back to our new crib.”

“Me either,” Moloch said. “I was planning to gas up on the way back. Anyway, you know that the cops are looking at anyone on a motorcycle now.”

“Yeah, man, that’s why I told Andrea to have the crew stay inside until we can get back.”

“What about the meeting we had with the Salvadorans?”

“That’s not until tomorrow. We’ll leave here after midnight and head back, then I’ll think of something.”

“The Salvadorans are expecting at least two girls, and now we don’t have Chuck anymore.”

“Screw pretty-boy Chuck, we still got some coke. I’ll send Darla out tomorrow to hook-up with some girls and bring them back for a party. Once they walk through the door, they’re ours.”

“But they can’t be too old, make sure she knows that. They don’t want anyone over fifteen.”

“She knows. She was the one getting us girls before Chuck, remember?”

“Oh yeah, but Gorgon, man we need to get away. Can the Salvadorans help with that?”

“Yeah, they got connections. We’ll be in Mexico in a few days. Once we get some new paper, we can come back to the states, maybe L.A. Then we’ll be good, as long as we don’t get our prints run.”

“And what about the Soldier-boy?”

“He’s taken care of, I told Andrea to give him what he wants, his sister.”

Moloch stared at Gorgon as if the other man had gone insane.

“What the hell are you talking about? How is Andrea gonna do that?”

Gorgon shrugged.

“It’s done. She said she’ll do it, her and Darla.”

“If that works and Darla can find some girls for us to grab, then all we have to do is head back tonight, get down to AC, and then get the Salvadorans to help us. Will they want cash too?”

“They’ll help; and the girls will be payment enough. We’ll need our cash to start over and buy new ID’s.”

“If Darla gets the girls then we’ll be set, but that’s a big if; you know she’s flaky.”

“Yeah, but she gives great head,” Gorgon said.

“Fuck yeah,” Moloch agreed.

They grew quiet, as outside the sun set. Gorgon drifted off to sleep first, then Moloch.

Neither of them would wake until after midnight.

It would be a rude awakening.

CHAPTER 16

In Atlantic City, FBI Agent Daniel Rodgers was putting his phone away, while shaking his head at his partner, Abrams.

The two of them were in the shadows of a burnt out building that was a block away from the warehouse they suspected might be the lair of white slavers.

There were lights on inside the building and they had seen one man come out and drive off. The man had a swarthy complexion, and through his binoculars, Abrams had detected a shoulder rig under the man’s denim jacket.

Rodgers had been waiting for the Atlantic City P.D. to get back to him, but instead, he received a call from his supervising agent.

“We are to stand down, partner. It seems that Homeland Security has a mole in there.”

“Are there any girls being held captive?”

“Yeah, three of them, but the word is that Jenna Raines isn’t one of them. Two of the girls are Asian, while the third is a white girl with dark hair.”

Abrams sent his partner a look, along with a shrug that said, “What the fuck!”

“Yeah, I know. I would love to go in there and get them out too, but apparently there’s a raid set for tomorrow night. Some big shot with ties to terrorists is due here, and get this, the mole says that the Bay Street Demons are coming too.”

“Still,” Abrams said. “The girls.”

“I know partner; it sucks that they have to stay captive for another day. But twenty-four more hours might make a difference and result in less girls being grabbed off the streets.”

Abrams shook his head in disgust. He knew that it made sense to wait for more fish to enter the barrel before they began shooting. He also knew that the three girls being held captive were going through hell, as were their parents.

“Pierce?” Abrams said.

“I’ll call his lieutenant and give them a heads up. The boss said to keep quiet, but screw it. Pierce has a right to be here.”

“Twenty-four hours,” Abrams said. “After that, I’m going in.”

Rodgers reached over and gave his partner’s shoulder a squeeze.

“I’ll be right at your side. But for now we’ll call it a night.”

Rodgers and Abrams left the shadows of the building and began the walk back to their car.

Once he was certain that they had departed, Bo Raines stepped out from even deeper shadows within the building.

He had been there watching the warehouse when Rodgers and Abrams arrived, and had heard everything they said. Like Abrams, Bo would give it another twenty-four hours.

After all, the Bay Street Demons were due to pay the building a visit.

Bo Raines planned to be there to greet them.

***

Andrea and Darla rode slowly past the police station where Pierce worked. Their speed reduced further as they turned into the parking lot of the supermarket and fast food restaurant across the street.

The fast food restaurant was dark, having just closed for the night, but there were lights on in the market, as a night crew stocked the shelves. That was all right, the workers were busy and would stay inside, and there was no sign of anyone else in the parking lot.

Andrea was driving. She made a complete circle around the market before heading back towards the dumpsters by the fast food chicken joint. She and Darla had hoods up, which were pulled tight. Not satisfied with that, before entering the area, they had both tied a scarf over their nose and mouth to obscure their faces from any nearby cameras. Darla was also wearing sunglasses.

Andrea left the motor running while they dropped off their passenger, Jenna Raines.

As she left the lot and pulled back onto the street, it took every shred of restraint Andrea had not to speed away.

She wore layers of clothing, and yet, she was shivering. Despite the overnight dip in the temperature, Andrea had to continue to drive with all the windows down, because of the lingering smell.

As Andrea drove away, she made a call, one that was answered in the building they were driving past, the police station.

“Nine-one-one, please tell me your emergency?”

“There’s no emergency,” Andrea said. “But I know where you cops can find Jenna Raines.”

***

Pierce’s lieutenant, Coke Dyer, left the station with two uniforms and checked out the dumpsters. He knew what he’d find even before he got close, because of the odor of decay.

It was Jenna Raines. She’d been dead for days and was streaked with dirt. It appeared as if someone had buried her, then dug her up and placed her in a blanket. The corpse was naked, but Coke saw no apparent sign of death until he realized that her head was hanging at an odd angle. Someone had broken Jenna’s neck.

There was a note written in block letters.

SHE WAS KILLED BY BEELZEBUB THE NIGHT WE TOOK HER.

IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.

SHE TRIED TO RUN AWAY AND WHEN HE GRABBED HER BY THE HAIR SHE WENT ALL LIMP.

HER NECK WAS BROKEN AND SO WE BURIED HER.

TELL HER BROTHER TO FUCK OFF. WE GAVE HIM WHAT HE WANTED.

The note filled Coke with rage and he had to walk in a circle for a moment to let his anger subside. If one of the Bay Street Demons had been in arm’s reach, he would have strangled them. He regained control of himself, said a prayer for the dead child laying at his feet, and made a call to wake up the ME.

***

Pierce and Jake Collins had returned to the station earlier from Flemington, after giving up on the search for Gorgon and Moloch.

Jake had opted to rejoin Stacey as she sat on Bo Raines motel room. He had thoughtfully brought her food from an Italian restaurant that did take-out. The kindness bought him some points with Stacey, along with a smile of gratitude.

The two of them decided to give the motel a few more hours before calling it a night. As they waited for Bo Raines to appear, they talked about their lives.

While Jake was bonding with Stacey, Pierce was having a long talk with Internal Affairs. It concerned the use of his firearm at the Raines’ farm, as well as the physical force he had used against Chuck Ralston.

The meeting ended with Pierce handing over his weapon and being given a choice of three days of desk duty or three days off.

Pierce was furious that he was being given a mandatory three-day stint of desk duty while Al’s killer was still on the loose. When the Internal Affairs detective pointed out to Pierce that he wasn’t working that case, Pierce spoke words to the man that most would consider profane, and certainly insulting.

A fellow cop had been stabbed to death, he himself had faced off against a group of armed men earlier, and all IA could think about were their procedures.

In the end, Pierce left Internal Affairs with his weapon being held until his three days of desk duty were up. He knew that Val would have loved for him to take the three days as down time, but he’d rather be working at a desk than doing nothing.

As could be imagined, Pierce was not in a good mood. Then, he returned to the squad room and was told by Coke that Jenna Raines was dead.

“Fuck!”

“The Bay Street Demons left her body across the street by the dumpsters,” Coke told him. “She’s downstairs in the morgue.”

Coke then showed him the note which was in a clear evidence bag.

Pierce read it, cursed the Bay Street Demons, and slammed a fist atop his desk. Afterwards, he sank into a chair and said nothing more. Anger, frustration, and grief had left him drained.

***

Jake Collins had been laughing along with Stacey Hightower as the two of them were driving back to the station. Then, his phone rang. It was Pierce.

After ending the call and telling Stacey about Jenna Raines’ fate, the two of them grew quiet for the rest of the ride back to the station.

After he parked and stepped out of the car. Jake just stood there. Stacey had been heading towards the side entrance. When she noticed that Jake hadn’t moved, she returned to the car and stood before him.

“What’s wrong? Is it about Jenna Raines?”

Collins sniffled, then sighed.

“I met that girl’s parents today, Stacey. I was in their house, saw the family photos, and I can just imagine how gut-wrenching the loss of that girl will be to them. Look what it’s already done. Not only have they lost their daughter, but Bo can never come home, or he’ll likely do time, or worse, if he resists arrest.”

Stacey took a deep breath, then wiped away a tear. When Jake opened his arms, she didn’t hesitate, but just fell into them and embraced him.

After a few moments passed, Jake kissed the top of her head and they separated. When Jake studied her face, he saw that Stacey wore a determined look.

“This is why we do what we do, Jake, and we’re going to get the bastard that killed her.”

“And also the bitch that killed Al,” Jake said.

“Yes, we’ll find Jenna’s killer, and also Al Finder’s murderer. Us, the FBI, Homeland Security, whatever it takes, but they won’t go unpunished.”

Jake sent her a sad smile.

“Let’s get inside. It’s been a long day and we still have things to do.”

As they reached the building, Jake held open the door for Stacey. Instead of entering, she looked up at him.

“Hey Collins.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t date cops, but we both have to eat sometime and I love flicks. When this is over, why don’t we catch a movie and a meal together?”

Jake grinned.

“I can live with that.”

Stacey entered the building while talking over her shoulder.

“But it won’t be a date.”

“Of course not.”

“Because I don’t date cops.”

“I get that.”

“All right then, as long as that’s clear.”

“As a bell,” Jake said, and Stacey giggled.

CHAPTER 17

Moloch awoke with a start, as a hand was clamped over his mouth.

It was Gorgon, and he was whispering for Moloch to stay quiet.

“There’s people downstairs. It sounds like kids.”

Moloch rubbed his eyes and took out his phone.

“Shit, it’s after midnight,” he whispered.

Laughter drifted up to them from the kitchen, as did a familiar odor.

Gorgon grinned.

“They got weed, man. It’s Friday night and the local kids are partying.”

“In my fucking house,” Moloch whispered, as a scowl darkened his features. He sure as hell wasn’t allowed any parties in the house when he was a kid. Hell, he was lucky to go a day without a beating.

The two of them crept quietly from the bedroom and down the stairs. The house was old and creaked, but the teenagers in the kitchen made enough noise to drown out the sounds.

Once they were on the ground floor, Moloch gestured for Gorgon to follow him into the dining room, which was devoid of furniture. From there, they could look in on the kitchen through a gap in the door. The kitchen was lit by candles, and there were blankets on the floor, in opposite corners of the room.

There were four teens, two boys and two girls. The boys were sixteen, maybe seventeen, as were the girls, although they looked younger than the boys. The teens were drinking beer to go along with the pot.

The boys seemed high, but the girls were getting drunk, and they laughed at anything anyone said. One of the girls was a definite flirt. She was giving her girlfriend’s boyfriend a foot job beneath the table through his jeans. The other girl and boy were oblivious, and it made Moloch smile.

After observing them for a few moments, Gorgon moved away from the door and gestured for Moloch to follow him.

Once they were in a far corner of the dining room, Moloch saw that Gorgon was wearing a huge smile.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Yo, brother, think about it. We need two young girls right? Well, they say that the Lord will provide.”

Moloch looked towards the kitchen. When he turned back around, his grin was as wide as Gorgon’s.

“Fuck yeah, and they’re both blonde and cute.”

“The thing is, the boys have to go. We don’t need any witnesses and—what are you looking at?”

Moloch pointed out the window. There was a pickup truck outside. It had oversized tires that elevated it high above the ground.

Gorgon chuckled.

“Shit, how the hell did we sleep through that thing pulling up to the door?”

“I don’t know,” Moloch said. “But this just gets better and better. We can take the girls and haul our bikes back in that thing. The cops won’t be looking for us in a pickup.”

Loud laughter came from the kitchen. It was followed by the sounds of movement, and then silence. When Gorgon and Moloch went and peeked in at the teens again, they saw that they had begun kissing. When the kissing grew more intense, both boys had hands roaming beneath their girl’s clothing.

Gorgon was busy watching the girl on the right while she removed her top to expose firm breasts. The girl reminded him of Andrea at that age, and he remembered what it was like to be with her in their early years. The girl was brazen as well, as she invited the boys to take turns with her if they wanted to.

When the other girl called her a slut, she just smiled and gave her the finger.

Moloch whispered. “Should we let the boys have a little fun before they go?”

“Yeah, let ‘em fuck, and damn don’t I miss being sixteen.”

Moloch said nothing, he just unzipped his pants and began playing with himself as he watched the show in the kitchen.

CHAPTER 18

Pierce handled the sad task of informing the Raines about their daughter’s death.

Bart and Karen Raines were staying with relatives, since their home had become a crime scene. Due to the late hour, Pierce knew that he must have woken the whole house. And given the nature of the news, he doubted that anyone would get back to sleep.

Pierce had barely slept since Al Finder was murdered, and the thought of sitting at a desk for three days pissed him off.

When he informed Jake that he would be teamed up with Stacey during that time, it amused him to see the young man struggle to not break out in a smile.

“So how did you two get along today?”

“Great, Stacey and I work well together.”

Pierce laughed.

“You don’t care if we ever partner up again, do you?”

“Not true, but I am looking forward to spending more time with Stacey.”

Coke called them all into his office and Pierce saw that the lieutenant looked as exhausted as he felt. Coke was also pissed about the decision that Pierce be on desk duty for three days, but understood that it was standard procedure after a shooting, righteous or not.

Pierce passed along what Chuck Ralston had said. That a woman named Andrea had killed Al Finder. Since they had no last name to go by, they would have to try and find an Andrea among the Bay Street Demons’ associates. It was not expected to be an easy task, since the Demons and their ilk often lived life off the grid. So far, the computer search had turned up nothing.

The lieutenant then went on to fill them in on what was happening with the FBI’s investigation. When he told them about the warehouse and the belief that there were girls being held captive inside, the room erupted.

“Whoa guys,” Coke said. “Calm down. It’s not my call. That order comes straight from Homeland Security. It’s also a secret. So you never heard it from me, and I never heard it from our FBI friends.”

“They’re risking those girls’ lives just to catch one more scumbag. It’s not right, Lieutenant,” Stacey said.

“Listen, Stacey, I know it’s tough to swallow, but by this time tomorrow, those girls will be free. Agent Rodgers also says there’s a chance that the Bay Street Demons will show as well.”

Pierce threw his hands in the air in disgust.

“Seriously? And I have to sit here at a desk?”

Coke smiled at him.

“You’re not going to be sitting at a desk. In fact, since you’ve all worked so hard and have put in so many hours, I want the three of you to take tomorrow off.”

Pierce had been pacing, but he came to a stop and stared at Coke. Jake shot to his feet and both he and Stacey said that they didn’t want to take time off until Al’s killer was behind bars along with the Bay Street Demons.

Coke just sat behind his desk smiling at them.

“Are you all done bitching? Good, and you know, most people love to get time off.”

Pierce looked at Coke sideways. He had known the lieutenant for years. The man was up to something.

“What’s this about, Coke?”

Coke gave him a look of pure innocence.

“I don’t know what you mean, Rick. However, I do have a suggestion for you, actually, for all three of you.”

“And that is?” Pierce said.

“Go home, get plenty of rest, and sleep late. When you wake up, have a nice leisurely breakfast. Then, why don’t you all meet and have some fun in Atlantic City?”

Pierce grinned.

“Atlantic City?”

“Yeah, there’s still a casino or two open down there, I think. Go play some craps, have fun.”

Jake and Stacey laughed, then Stacey looked at Coke with a serious expression.

“Lieutenant, I like your suggestion, but I heard that there were some bad areas down there that should be avoided.”

Coke grabbed a notepad from his desk and tore off the top sheet.

“That address is said to be in a high crime area; I’d stay away from there, unless I was armed and just happened to be wearing my vest. You know what I mean?”

Jake took his seat again.

“It would be nice to run into some friends down there.”

“I’m sure you will, especially if you three hang out in front of the Caesars’ casino, say, at four o’clock.”

Pierce cocked an eyebrow.

“Are these federal friends?”

Coke nodded.

“Homeland Security is trying to cut Rodgers and Abrams out of the action too, and guys, be careful, hmm? Gambling can be dangerous. Now get out of here.”

Jake and Stacey left first, but Pierce stayed back and hung in the doorway.

“However this goes down tomorrow, those two don’t get any stink on them. If any shit hits the fan, I’ll take the heat.”

“You and me both, and hey, Pierce?”

“Yeah?”

“Bring me back some saltwater taffy; I love that stuff.”

“Will do, Coke, and someday soon, I’ll also bring you Al’s killer.”

Coke grinned.

“Now that’s a safe bet.”

CHAPTER 19

The two teen boys died violently while in the midst of seeking pleasure.

The two young couples had moved to different corners of the room to lay atop blankets. Gorgon and Moloch had moved into the kitchen while the teens were engaged in a um... distracting activity.

They each grabbed one of the boys by the hair and stabbed at their hearts.

The two girls shrieked as their mortally wounded lovers fell to the floor beside them. The screams died in the girls’ throats. They had turned into mews of fear when Gorgon and Moloch brought their guns out and threats were shouted.

After that, the girls were subjected to having to wash the dead boys’ blood off themselves as Moloch and Gorgon watched them while they were still naked. They then let them get dressed in the clothes that they had discarded while engaged in passion with the boys.

All signs of drunkenness had subsided, as fear cleared the girls’ minds. Terror is sobering.

The teens had brought the blankets along for their comfort, and Moloch cut strips off of them to tie the girls’ wrists behind their backs. With that done, Gorgon moved the girls into the living room, while Moloch searched the boys pants for money and the keys to the pickup truck.

Once they overcame the initial shock, one of the girls couldn’t stop quietly crying while the other one kept promising the two Demons sexual favors if they would only let her go. She even offered up her crying friend, as well as two other classmates. She said that the girls were twin sisters, who she said she could trick into coming to the house. Moloch realized that she was the same girl that had given one of the boys a foot job earlier.

Gorgon laughed at her.

“They would come here this late?”

“If I said we had cocaine, yeah, so will you trade? Me for Trina and Tina?”

Moloch wrapped a gag around her head and pulled tight.

“Sorry honey, but a bird in the bush, you know?”

The girl was talking behind the gag. Curiosity made Gorgon loosen it.

“What? You can sweeten the deal?”

“Gold! My dad collects gold, you know, like coins and gold bars. He doesn’t trust banks.”

Gorgon and Moloch looked at each other, seeing their own flicker of interest reflected in the other’s eyes. Then, Gorgon asked the girl a question.

“Where does he keep the gold?”

“In a safe in his office at home, and it’s a big one. If I had to guess, I’d say that he’s got over two hundred of those coins, plus some silver ones, and bars, silver bars.”

“What’s your name?” Moloch asked her.

“I’m Cindy, and that’s Kara.”

Moloch grabbed the girl’s face and leaned in close.

“If you’re lying about the gold, Cindy, I’ll kill everyone in your house, understand?”

The girl nodded, she could do nothing else the way that Moloch was pinching her face. When he released her, she flexed her jaw before speaking.

“I sneak in and out through the basement and I also know the combination to the safe. I can get you in the house, you take the gold, and I go back to bed like nothing happened. In the morning, my father will just think he was robbed.”

Moloch raised an eyebrow at Gorgon. Gorgon sent him a slight nod and then he told the girl to stay quiet while they talked things over in the corner.

Moloch looked at the other girl, Kara, before moving away, but saw that she looked defeated. Her gag was still in place and her hands were tied behind her back. He walked over to stand in a corner with Gorgon and whispered.

“What do you think?”

“I think she’s telling the truth about the gold, but lying about the amount,” Gorgon said. “I mean, shit man, if her father had two hundred gold eagles, hell, that’s like a quarter mil.”

“Yeah, the two hundred count is probably bullshit, but even twenty would be worth checking out.”

“I say we do it. Even if it’s a trick, we’ll still have her and the other girl and—hey! Where’d the other one go?” Gorgon said.

Moloch turned around and saw Cindy, but no Kara. He ran into the hall just in time to see Kara with her back turned to the front door. She was unlocking the door with her bound hands, and once she opened it, she turned and bolted outside.

Kara’s gait was awkward because her arms were tied at the wrists behind her back. Still, she was swift. Kara made it down the stairs and was running across a weedy field by the time Moloch made it off the porch.

Moloch saw that Kara was attempting to scream for help as she ran, but the gag muffled the sound. When she turned her head to look at him, her eyes were as large as the full moon that lit her path.

She tripped and fell backwards just as Moloch was closing in, and he had to jump in the air to avoid stepping on her. Behind the gag, Kara was screaming again, but not for help, they were screams of pain.

She had fallen atop an old rusty hunk of metal that in the past had been a bale spear for a tractor. Someone had abandoned it years earlier, and the elements had worn away the paint and oxidized the metal. However, the blades remained sharp, and two of them pierced Kara’s flesh as easily as they had once pierced hay bales.

One spear entered through Kara’s back and exited her right breast, while another had ripped open her stomach. She was dying, and her screams became gasps, as the life leaked out of her in both blood and vitality.

“Fuck!” Gorgon said. He had dragged Cindy along with him and they stood beside Moloch to watch Kara die.

“Ugh, that’s gross. I can see her intestines,” Cindy said.

Moloch pointed at Kara, Kara whose eyes no longer seemed focused on anything.

“I thought you two were friends. You don’t seem too upset.”

“She’s a bitch. I just met her this week and was hanging with her to get to Jimmy. Jimmy was supposed to be a badass, but you killed him like he was nothing.”

“Was Jimmy the one you fucked tonight?”

“No, that was Billy.”

Kara’s gasps ceased, and Cindy stared down at her in fascination.

“She shouldn’t have run. Once you had the gold, you wouldn’t need us, right?”

Gorgon shook his head.

“Our deal is with you; we would have kept her ass.”

“And what about now?” Cindy said.

“If there’s as much gold as you say, we’ll let you go.”

“I’m not lying. My father drives a crappy car, never fixes up the house, but he’s got gold. It’s like his thing, you know? My mom says he grew up dirt poor.”

They left Kara’s body and walked back to the house. Moloch went inside to extinguish the candles in the kitchen. When he returned outside, he found that Gorgon had untied Cindy.

“She ain’t goin’ nowhere,” Gorgon said. His arm was around Cindy, while her hand was down his pants.

Moloch laughed.

“Damn girl, we should let you join our club. They’d love you.”

Cindy smiled.

“I just go with the flow, and both of you guys are cute, and a lot badder than Jimmy.”

Moloch opened the rear gate of the pickup truck and loaded up the motorcycles by guiding them up a ramp made from boards he’d found on the property. Gorgon helped him. He was convinced that Cindy wouldn’t run, and he was right. She just stood by the truck watching them work.

The bikes were secured with strips from the blankets that the teens had brought with them, and covered up with a tarp that was already laying in the bed of the pickup.

Cindy sat up front in the middle and gave directions as Moloch drove. He discovered that there was a way in to the farm behind the house. It was just a gravel road, but it hadn’t been there when he was growing up. The gravel path ended a hundred yards from the gated driveway and placed them back out onto the county road.

“Hey guys, are you really going to let me go?”

“Yeah, if you ain’t full of shit about the gold,” Gorgon said.

“I’m not, but couldn’t I have a few pieces too, like a finder’s fee?”

Gorgon and Moloch both laughed, but Cindy pouted.

“What’s so funny?”

Gorgon wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

“You’re all right, Cindy, our kind of people.”

“So I can have some gold?”

“Shit, why not?” Moloch said. “It serves your father right for being a miser.”

Cindy grinned. Three of her friends might be dead, but she had a chance to stick it to her cheapskate father and make some money. All in all, it was a good night.

CHAPTER 20

Bo Raines had been sitting on the edge of his motel room bed in Atlantic City when he received the devastating text from his father.

I’M SO SORRY, BOY. JENNA IS DEAD. THE DEMONS DROPPED HER BODY OFF NEAR THE POLICE. LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. I LOVE YOU.

Bo slid onto the floor where he lay crying, while mourning his little sister. Once his tears dried, he vowed to avenge her.

***

Pierce finally made it home after one a.m., and to his delight, Val was still awake.

She met him at the door and after looking him over for injuries, she hugged him as if she would never let go.

“I was so scared that you were lying when you said that you weren’t injured. They showed pictures of the Raines’ farm on the news and said that five men were killed.”

“They were all Bay Street Demons that were shot by Bart Raines and his wife, Karen. It will probably go up to six soon. The man I shot isn’t expected to live.”

Val searched his face.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty about that and I hope that you don’t.”

“I have no guilt; I’m just glad that I was there to help. If I hadn’t gone back to the farm I think the Raines would have been in deep trouble.”

“They say that nothing is worse than losing a child.”

“Yes,” Pierce said, and then he took Val’s face in his hands. “Thanks for staying up. It’s so damn nice to come home to you.”

They kissed, embraced, and once they separated, Pierce stared at her.

“Will you marry me, Val?”

“What?”

“Marry me. I’ll do the whole ring and bended knee scene soon, I promise. But for now, I just want to hear you say it.”

Val laughed, and this time she took Pierce’s face in her hands.

“Yes, I will marry you, Ricardo Pierce. I love you to death. I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too, Val, and I want to spend my life with you.”

They kissed again, and then just held each other. Val offered to heat up food for him, but Pierce declined. He had no appetite. When he told her about his three days off, she smiled, but then, he told her his plans.

“Won’t that get you in trouble?”

“Probably, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit on my ass when I have a chance to catch Al’s killer and the Demons at the same time.”

“But they took your gun,” Val said.

“I have others, and one is unregistered and untraceable to me.”

Val sat up straight.

“This sounds serious, Rick. Ask Jimmy to go with you.”

“Maybe, and I will be seeing him tomorrow. He says that there’s something he wants to talk to me about. By the way, he thinks that you don’t like him.”

Val said nothing.

“Val?”

“He’s... okay, I guess. I just find him to be a little crude.”

“Maybe he is, but you just said that you trusted him to watch my back.”

“That’s true, and maybe I shouldn’t judge that shaggy book by its hairy cover.”

“He likes you. He’s always telling me that I’m a fool not to have put a ring on you by now.”

Val smiled.

“What do you know, I do like him. Is that why you finally asked?”

“No, but he’s right, and I love you.”

They kissed, rose from the sofa, and headed up the home’s wide staircase hand in hand.

“Rick?”

“Yeah?”

“When can I expect to see that ring?”

“What ring? You already said yes.”

“Don’t even try it, mister.”

Pierce laughed, scooped Val up in his arms, and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs.

CHAPTER 21

Cindy’s house was in the next town over. It sat among homes which all looked to be in much better condition than Cindy’s.

Moloch drove past the house slowly, and then parked the pickup truck in the rear of a barber shop that was a block away.

“That house looks like shit,” Moloch said. “You’d better not be trying to play us, girl.”

“I’m not. My dad spends all his money on gold. That’s why the house sucks.”

Gorgon took out his gun and aimed it at Cindy’s chest.

“All right, here’s how this is gonna work. Moloch and I will walk with you back to the house. We’ll all be nice and quiet. If you make any noise, Moloch and I are gonna shoot your ass and then get the hell out of here. If you try anything once we’re in the house, we’ll kill your whole damn family. Any questions?”

“Yeah, where’d you get those names, Moloch and Gorgon? Is that like from Harry Potter or something?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Moloch said. “You just stay quiet, get us the gold, and you’re home free.”

“And I get gold too, right?”

“Right,” Gorgon said.

“Can I have half?”

“Half? Hell no.”

“How much then?”

“We’ll give you five coins,” Gorgon said.

“Twenty.”

“Five.”

“Ten, please?”

Gorgon laughed and put his gun away as he looked over at Moloch.

“I’ll be damned if she don’t remind me of Andrea back in the day.”

Moloch nodded his head.

“Give her ten coins. She deserves it, and yeah, she reminds me of Andrea too.”

“Who’s Andrea?” Cindy said.

Moloch’s answer surprised Gorgon, and was laced with resentment.

“Andrea was my girlfriend, but now she’s Gorgon’s bitch.”

“Shit Moloch, I forgot you two were together first, but that didn’t last long.”

“No, it didn’t,” Moloch said.

Gorgon straightened in his seat as a light bulb went off in his mind.

“Wait a second, is this why you’re always such a pain in the ass, because of Andrea?”

Moloch waved dismissively at the question.

“That’s it, ain’t it? But hell man, we were kids back then. You’ve been holding a grudge against us all this time?”

“No, and forget I said anything. She’s your woman, not mine. She dumped my ass the second she saw you.”

“Yo, Moloch.”

Moloch looked over at Gorgon.

“What?”

Gorgon shrugged.

“I’m sorry man, really. Dude, pain in the ass or not, you’re like a brother to me, you know?”

Moloch had to swallow before he answered.

“Yeah, bro, no hard feelings.”

Cindy raised up a hand.

“Excuse me, but are we going inside? I want my twelve gold coins.”

Gorgon laughed.

“We said ten you greedy bitch. Damn, I might adopt you. Now let’s go.”

***

They made it to the house without incident, and then Cindy guided them to a door on the right side. It was a large old house, three stories high, with a basement and an attic.

The side door opened onto the landing of the basement stairs. Cindy led them up several steps, opened a door, and entered the kitchen.

The house felt nearly as chilled as the night air, but it was quiet. After skulking down a hallway, Cindy turned left and entered a home office.

The room was cluttered, but there was a desk sitting in front of a pair of windows that faced the street. The light in the ceiling fixture came on when Cindy slid a knob on the wall. The higher she slid the knob, the brighter the room became.

When it was just bright enough to see by, she pointed at a closet next to the switch and swung open its double doors. Inside was a safe, and it was huge. It was six-feet high, four-feet wide and must have weighed well over a ton.

Moloch whispered, “Fuck me,” while Gorgon ran an admiring hand over the metal beast. Cindy gave a little laugh and then went to work on the combination. She had the safe open in short order. When she reached back and slid the light to a brighter setting, Moloch and Gorgon both let out sighs of pleasure.

“Sweet Jesus,” Gorgon said. “There’s a freakin’ fortune in there.”

Cindy’s estimate of two hundred 1oz. gold coins was inaccurate. It was closer to three hundred. There were also several green boxes containing five hundred 1oz. silver eagles. Along with the coins, there were seven rough-hewn kilo weight bars of gold, and three smooth and shiny 100oz. bars of silver.

The problem became the weight of the metal. The gold weighed over thirty pounds, and the silver totaled more than two hundred.

Cindy’s father had the gold coins stacked in three separate metal lock boxes. The boxes sat open in the safe and the coins glittered like diamonds. Moloch and Gorgon decided to carry the boxes and just stick the kilo bars in their pockets. Cindy had a better idea.

On one of the shelves above the safe was a backpack. As they were loading the gold into it, Cindy reminded Gorgon of their deal.

“I get ten gold coins, remember?”

Gorgon was happier than he had been in a long time. He grabbed one of the kilo weight bars of gold and thrust it at Cindy.

“Take that. That’s worth more than thirty coins.”

Moloch opened his mouth to protest but then smiled.

“Yeah baby, take a bar, and hell, you can have all the silver too, it’s like chump change compared to the gold.”

Cindy gasped.

“All the silver? How much do you think it’s worth?”

“About fifty or sixty grand, but that shit weighs as much as I do,” Moloch said.

Cindy gave a little shake of her head.

“I’ll just take my gold bar and my dad can keep his silver.”

“You’re a good daughter,” Gorgon said.

Once they filled the backpack with the gold, Moloch helped Gorgon put it on. It was heavy, but Gorgon loved the feel of the weight.

Moloch whispered something in his ear and Gorgon nodded and took out his gun. When he pointed it at Cindy, she looked more pissed than frightened.

“We had a deal.”

Moloch and Gorgon laughed, as Gorgon put away his gun.

“We were just fuckin’ with you,” Moloch said, and then he pulled her close and kissed her. “Do you want to come with us?”

Cindy thought it over, and then shook her head.

“I would, but I got a little sis—”

“Cindy? Is that you, honey?” said a voice from the hall, as a light came on outside the room.

The voice was female, and sounded as if it came from the foot of the stairs.

Cindy mouthed the words, “That’s my mom.”

“Cindy?” said the voice again, as it drew nearer.

Gorgon and Moloch both took out their guns, and then a male voice boomed, as heavy footsteps sped down the staircase.

“Alice, I told you to stay back. Whoever that is down there, I got a shotgun.”

Gorgon and Moloch aimed their guns at the doorway as the footsteps grew nearer.

Gorgon reached out and slapped at the light switch, sending the room into darkness, as he did so, Cindy’s mother appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a bathrobe and slippers, with her dark hair up in curlers.

Cindy rushed towards her mother.

“Mom, stay back!”

Cindy’s father appeared. He was a blond man going bald and wore only a pair of striped boxers below a hairy beer belly. When he saw the figure rushing at him from out of the shadows, he pulled the trigger on the shotgun.

The blast caught Cindy in the face and blew her head apart.

Gorgon and Moloch fired, hitting both of Cindy’s parents multiple times each. Her father got off another blast, but it missed the two Demons and shot out a front window.

Gorgon looked down at Cindy and grimaced at the sight of her dead body. Past the broken window, lights were coming on all over the neighborhood. They had to go and put miles between themselves and the house. The cops would be coming, and in such a rural area, any vehicle on the road would stick out like a beacon.

Gorgon and Moloch stepped over Cindy’s dying parents and headed towards the basement door they had entered the home through.

As they passed the staircase, they both came to a skidding stop. Sitting on the landing and rubbing the sleep from her eyes was Cindy’s little sister. The girl was six and looked like a younger Cindy, but her long hair was dark instead of blond.

The little girl stared at them with frightened eyes.

“Where’s my mommy?”

Moloch looked at Gorgon, then at the little girl, and then he stared down at the gun in his hand.

“Don’t, man,” Gorgon said.

“She’s seen us.”

“It don’t matter. She’s too young, and we gotta go now.”

Gorgon resumed walking towards the kitchen, but Moloch spoke to the little girl.

“What’s your name?”

She didn’t answer, but tears welled up in her eyes as she sensed that something was very wrong.

“Stay up there, kid,” Moloch called to her, as he ran to catch up to Gorgon. “The cops will be here soon. Just stay up there!”

***

They drove north, then east, and were two minutes from Andrea and the rest of the Demons when Gorgon let out a loud curse.

“What?” Moloch asked.

“Cindy, the little bitch still had the kilo of gold on her. I forgot all about it.”

“Shit, me too, and you know what?”

“What?”

“I liked her.”

“Me too, man, me too.”

“We still need two girls to trade.”

“Screw it, we’ll use some of the gold.”

“Why? Bitches are free.”

“Yeah, but they’re a lot of trouble. It’s because of that little Jenna girl that all this shit is happening in the first place.”

“What about her brother, Soldier-boy, you think he’s done with us?”

“I don’t know. All I want to do is get to Mexico and leave all this crap behind us.”

“Gorgon, don’t tell Andrea what I said earlier about me and her. Hell, she probably don’t even remember.”

“I won’t say anything, but we’re cool now, right?”

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Moloch said.

He then remembered that he had Andrea’s bloody dress in one of his saddle bags.

He decided he would hold on to it and hide it somewhere. Friends again or not, that dress might come in handy someday.

CHAPTER 22

Pierce awoke late the following morning after getting a good night’s sleep and found a note from Val, who had already left for work.

He was sorry he had missed her, but knew he needed the sleep. After shaving and showering, he called her at work.

Val worked for a former TV news anchor named Maria Romo. Romo had her own cable news show and Val was her assistant. Although the program aired at night, it was filmed during the day, and they usually recorded three shows at a time.

On the days they filmed, Val had to be at the studio early, but the rest of the week she could work from home, and had the summer months free.

When Pierce checked in with the station, he learned that the Demon he had wounded had died. As he told Val, he felt no guilt over the thug’s death.

Jimmy Drake showed up just as Pierce was starting on his second cup of coffee and Jimmy greeted him with a warm handshake.

“You faced some shit yesterday, Rick. I’m glad to see you’re in one piece.”

“I’m good, but I may be facing more trouble tonight.”

Pierce explained about the raid on the warehouse and how he, Jake, Stacey, and the two FBI agents Rogers and Abrams planned to crash the party. Jimmy said that Pierce could count him in as well.

“I know that area, Rick, and there’s an old road that leads in there. It’s covered with weeds now and I bet the Feds don’t know a thing about it.”

“Where’s it lead to?”

“An ancient shore road that was washed out by some tropical storm decades ago. There’s half a road there now. You can still access it by the A.C. Expressway, if you know how, which I do from working on a case. If we go in that way, we’ll be able to see the action without getting spotted by anyone.”

“All I want is the Bay Street Demons, and a woman named Andrea. Our witness says she’s a middle-aged blonde with a scar on her left cheek. We believe she stabbed Al to death.”

Jimmy blinked and then scratched at his beard.

“Andrea, why does that name sound familiar?”

“It’s not unusual; you must have heard it before?”

“Yeah, sure, but there’s something else, something nagging at me, but maybe it will come to me later. Right now, we need to talk.”

“I’m listening.”

“It’s about Amy Lowe.”

Pierce sat his cup down. He was drinking coffee, but Jimmy had grabbed a beer from the fridge.

“What about her?”

Jimmy pointed up.

“Let’s go upstairs and sit on that great balcony of yours. I have a little story to tell you.”

***

They settled on the balcony that was adjacent to Pierce’s bedroom. It granted a view of the fields at the rear of the house. The farmer that rented the fields from Pierce was growing corn this season and the green stalks swayed amid a gentle breeze.

“So what’s this story, and what does it have to do with Amy?” Pierce said.

“She hired me yesterday. The case was easy and now she’s another satisfied client. As an ex-client, I’ll discuss her with you, but it goes no further than us, okay?”

“I don’t know what it is yet, Jimmy, but I don’t keep secrets from Val.”

“Smart man, and yeah, you can tell her.”

Pierce leaned forward in his seat.

“Okay, so why did Amy hire you?”

Jimmy smiled at him and Pierce looked back at him questioningly.

“What’s with the smile?”

“I’m proud of you. You didn’t ask me how she looked or if she mentioned your name. You really have gotten her out of your system, haven’t you?”

“Thanks to you and Dr. Jansen, yeah, Amy’s in the past. Val is my present, and my future.”

“Cool, and just so you know, Amy Lowe hasn’t lost her looks, but that is one screwed up lady.”

“Explain that?”

“She was being blackmailed by a student she’s slept with, a nineteen-year-old student. He had no proof, no video or nothing like that, but he wanted her to give him money or he’d talk to her husband.”

“How did you handle that?”

“I made him understand that ratting out my client would be a bad idea, a very bad idea.”

“I guess Amy’s marriage is on the rocks,” Pierce said.

Jimmy grinned.

“Oh, the marriage is as fine as it ever was, for now. But when I explained the facts of life to the kid and made sure he wouldn’t bother her again, he gave me some news.”

“What news?”

“Our professor Amy has a thing for the young ones, and her blackmailer knew three other students that she’d been with. They’re all adults, eighteen and over, but the lady definitely has a preference for youth.”

“If that’s true, then why did she dump me for an older man?”

“Money, son, good ol’ money. She told me that she needed to keep her husband in the dark at least until his father died. It seems that she believes that Arthur Lowe is about to inherit big bucks.”

Pierce nodded.

“Yeah, I remember now, Lowe came from old money, but it’s back in England. Is his father ill?”

“The old man is dying, and he’s doing it in one big ass house near London. I have a friend over there who’s an ex-cop, and he checked things out. The money is gone, Rick. That huge house belongs to the bank. When the old man dies and the will is read, your Amy is going to be one disappointed gold digger. Another contact told me that Amy and her husband are deep in debt. I guess they’ve been spending above their means and counting on that inheritance.”

“Amy has been with Arthur Lowe since college. Are you telling me that was all about money?”

“Think about it, Rick. Didn’t she dump you after your father nearly gambled away everything?”

Pierce stood up and leaned on the railing.

“Son of a bitch, she dumped me for Lowe because of my father? She must have hooked onto me in high school after seeing this house and the land.”

“Yeah, that’s my bet. Amy Lowe is a woman with some issues, and God help the next man she gets her hooks into. Amy dumping you was a Godsend. You dodged a bullet, Rick. Hell, you dodged a cannon ball.”

Pierce turned and stared at Jimmy. He then began laughing so hard that he had to sit and hold his sides. When he finally stopped, he wiped tears from his eyes.

“Oh God, what an idiot I was, and for so many damn years.”

“That woman is poison. She’ll dump the professor too, just you wait and see.”

“Jimmy, I don’t give a damn what she does, and oh yeah, Val and I are getting married soon.”

Jimmy grinned.

“Good, I know she doesn’t like me, but that woman is the best thing that ever happened to your skinny ass. She loves you, I can tell.”

“We don’t have a date for the wedding yet, but will you be my best man?”

“You’re damn straight I will, Rick. Thanks for the honor.”

Pierce laughed again.

“Jesus, all those mornings I sat in that parking lot watching Amy through binoculars... I must be an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot, you were just in love with a woman who didn’t exist.”

“And now I have Val.”

Jimmy raised his beer can in a toast.

“Life is good.”

***

Miles away, Gorgon and Andrea lay in bed and played with the gold coins he and Moloch had stolen from the safe at Cindy’s house.

The Bay Street Demons were crashing in a home that one of them knew would be empty. The owners were clients of the Demon’s mother, a cleaning woman. She had given them the alarm codes so that they could hide out there while the owners were off on vacation in Hawaii.

When Gorgon returned early in the morning, he woke Andrea by tossing coins at her one after the other. She came wide awake when she realized what they were.

She told him the story of digging up Jenna Raines, and he told her the story of how they got the gold.

“This girl, Cindy, was Moloch really gonna hook-up with her?” Andrea said.

“If she said yes, hell yeah, she was a tasty little thing.”

“She sounds like she would have fit right in, but the last thing we need is another Darla.”

Gorgon rose from the bed and stretched.

“I’m gonna grab us a place on the beach when we get down to Mexico.”

“What are we gonna do down there?”

“We’ll hook up with the cartel we sell the guns to and start making some fat bucks with them. Hell, we should have done that instead of this girls for guns then drugs bullshit in the first place.”

“We couldn’t, remember? We had no money to get our foot in the door. At least with the girls we could trade them to the Salvadorans for weapons.”

Gorgon scooped up a handful of coins.

“We got money now, baby, but I’m not doing shit for a while. I just want to lay on a beach with you for the next few weeks. While I’m doing that, I’ll make some contacts, and then we’ll be players again.”

Andrea stood and walked over to him naked.

“That sounds great, and hey, how many coins are there?”

Gorgon shrugged.

“I didn’t count ‘em. There was no time.”

Andrea kissed him and began pulling him towards the bathroom.

“We’ll count them after we shower.”

Gorgon let her pull him along, knowing by Andrea’s smile that he was in for more than a shower.

***

Minutes later, when the sounds coming from the bathroom told her that Gorgon and Andrea were occupied, Darla snuck into the room.

She had been listening at the door, as she often did. She wasn’t the sex-starved airhead that everyone took her to be.

If Gorgon didn’t know how many gold coins he had, then he sure as hell wouldn’t miss the five she grabbed off the bed. When she was halfway out the door, Darla returned and grabbed a sixth coin, and then a seventh.

It was all she could do not to laugh out loud.

CHAPTER 23

Pierce drove down to Atlantic City while alone in his car, but followed behind Jimmy Drake’s motorcycle.

Jimmy pulled off the A.C. Expressway and onto a service road for an electric company’s switching station. The tan brick building was sprawling and sat behind a chain-link fence that was topped with barbed wire. Not far away from it, on the other side of the building, Pierce could see a blue water tower shining in the sun.

The service road was older than the building and was only kept in good repair near the front, by the highway. Once you were past that and driving along the fence, you had to go slow because of the cracks and potholes.

Jimmy stopped his motorcycle along the fence and Pierce parked behind him and stepped out of his car.

“Why did you stop here?” Pierce asked.

Jimmy pointed to the road ahead.

“We go on foot from here because once you go around that bend there, Mother Nature has reclaimed half the road. I could make it on my motorcycle, but its too narrow for a car.”

Pierce nodded in understanding and they started walking. The disintegrating lane ran down to an equally ancient roadway that many decades past had been a thriving thoroughfare.

The second road was wider, with ruins on both ends. The nearest side of the road was dry, while the other side was submerged beneath the lapping water of the Barnegat Bay, as were the left and right ends of it, which both curved into the water.

What remained above the waterline was a weed-infested surface that was about the size and length of three basketball courts. Its surface, although mostly flat, had a substantial dip in one section and was lined with cracks and a couple of wide trenches ran along other parts of it.

In the distance, Pierce could make out the tops of several casinos and thought that the view would be better at night. There was trash all along the shore at the edge of the ruined road, but it was mostly debris from the bay.

Jimmy led Pierce on foot over the uneven ground to the far end, where there were the remains of a crumbled building. There wasn’t much left but the bottom part of one wall and a heap of debris.

When they walked around the wall, Jimmy stopped abruptly, and Pierce nearly ran into him, but then he looked over to see where Jimmy was pointing.

It was a wide patch of ground that sat beneath the shade of a few trees. In the sandy soil were numerous tire tracks from motorcycles, along with boot prints.

“The Bay Street Demons?” Pierce asked.

Jimmy shrugged.

“Maybe, and it would make sense for them not to pull up to the building on their bikes when they came to do business. That would sure as hell make people wonder what was going on inside.”

“If Homeland Security doesn’t know about this way in, then we might be able to take down the Demons first and have the element of surprise on our side.”

“I doubt Homeland Security has considered this route, and let me show you why.”

They walked away from the water to the end of the crumbling wall and found themselves looking at the side of a hill. When Pierce moved farther away from the wall, he saw that there was a concrete drainage ditch. The ditch was wide, but only about five feet deep. Jimmy pointed north, where the top corner of a brick building could just be seen.

“That’s the warehouse, Rick. If we moved down into the drainage ditch and walked a little ways, we could climb out near the warehouse’s back door.”

“Won’t Homeland Security place men near the ditch?”

“Near, but not in it. Their main concern is the terrorist they’re expecting to visit the building. That means their focus will be on the building. We don’t need to catch the Demons at the building. Hell, we don’t really need to go near the building at all. We can take the Demons down in the middle of the drainage ditch.”

“Are there places to hide down there?”

“Yeah, I remember there being other ditches farther along that feed this one. They’d be perfect for hiding in.”

“What if the Demons don’t come this way?”

“They may not, but it’s still a great place for us to view the action from. But I’ll tell you, seeing those tire tracks back there make me think that the Demons know about this route in.”

“How do you know about this area?”

“I was hunting down a casino embezzler a few years ago. When I followed the man he came here for a meeting with another casino employee, a security guard. The two were in on the theft together. I never did learn which one of them picked this spot to meet, but it was probably the guard, he grew up in the area.”

“I’ll bring Jake Collins and the others here later and see what they think, but it looks like a great place to set up. If the Demons do come in this way, it’ll also be a great place to spring an ambush.”

“I won’t be joining you here until tonight, but I’ll be around,” Jimmy said. “Feds give me the creeps.”

Pierce laughed.

“Rogers and Abrams are cool, and they want to catch Al’s killer as much as I do.”

They went down into the drainage ditch and walked hunched over until they were near the warehouse. On the way back, as they returned to the bay, something snagged Pierce’s attention and he pointed at it.

It looked like another dilapidated building but it was round and tapered. One side of the structure’s base sat in the water. Like the roadway, it was slowly being reclaimed by the bay.

“What is that, Jimmy, do you know?”

Jimmy squinted at it.

“It’s an old stone lighthouse, but the top section is missing all its glass.”

“Oh yeah, I can make it out now, and I bet that you can see quite a distance from up there. I guess there’s a lot of history behind these ruins.”

“Yeah, and I know the raid isn’t supposed to go down until midnight, but why don’t we get out of here before we’re spotted?”

“Good idea, but I’ll be bringing everyone back here soon to get a look at the area. If the Demons show up tonight, they’re ours.”

***

Laying atop the ruined lighthouse and concealed in tan camouflage, Bo Raines sighted in on Pierce through his scope.

He had seen Pierce before, but not Jimmy, and he assumed that they were to be a part of the raid on the warehouse later.

Bo thought of Pierce as the skinny detective, and although he couldn’t be certain, he thought that Pierce was the cop who saved his parents at the farm. Bo decided to find out. He called the cell phone number that his father had sent him. The one for Pierce.

When the skinny detective reached into his pocket and took out his phone, Bo smiled.

He now had a name for the man.

***

Pierce saw the unfamiliar number on his phone and wondered who was calling. He answered it as he stood near the bay.

“Hello, this is Pierce, who’s calling?”

“Detective Pierce, this is Bo Raines, and sir, I want to thank you for saving my mother and father.”

Pierce covered the phone and told Jimmy who was on the other end, he then spoke to Bo.

“You’re welcome, Bo, and call me Rick, after all, we’re on the same side.”

“Are we? Or would you arrest me on sight and place me in a cell beside the Bay Street Demons?”

“I am a cop, but I’m also a man who has a sister, and I am so sorry for your loss.”

“I’m sorry for yours as well, sir. I saw Detective Finder’s murder. It was committed by a middle-aged blond woman who has a scar on her left cheek. She’s a hanger-on with the Bay Street Demons.”

“Yes, I’ve recently learned about her. Her name is Andrea, and I’ll catch the Bay Street Demons, Bo, count on it.”

“No sir, I will kill the Bay Street Demons, and you can count on that.”

The line went dead and Pierce put away his phone.

“What did he have to say?” Jimmy asked.

“He said that he was going to kill the Bay Street Demons.”

“Maybe someday, but there’s no way he could know that they’ll be down here later, right?”

“I don’t see how. I was almost kept out of the loop.”

Jimmy smiled slightly and looked around, as an idea occurred to him.

“Why do you think Raines called you now, while we’re here?”

“I don’t know; why do you ask?”

“What would you do if you came across Bo Raines, Rick?”

Pierce looked thoughtful, then shrugged.

“The cop part of me wants to arrest him, but there’s another part of me that wants to give him a medal.”

“I’d let him have the damn Demons, and if I could I’d help him escape.”

“I guess that’s why you’re not a cop anymore.”

“Yeah, now ask yourself why you still are one.”

“I do that often, Jimmy, and if I came across Bo Raines, I might have to make a choice between doing my duty and doing what’s right.”

Jimmy pointed at Pierce.

“See, that’s why I’m no longer a cop. Doing your duty and doing the right thing should be one and the same, but they’re not.”

Pierce wanted to argue the point, but found that he couldn’t.

CHAPTER 24

As Coke suggested, at four o’clock, Pierce, Jake Collins, and Stacey Hightower just happened to run into FBI agents Rodgers and Abrams in front of Caesars Casino.

The group then walked across the boardwalk to The Pier Shops and sat together inside the food court. Pierce filled them in on the location near the warehouse he’d been shown by Jimmy. After everyone ate an early dinner of fast food, they followed Pierce to the old road near the bay.

Pierce noticed that Jake and Stacey had driven down together and that they seemed to be getting along well. He was happy for his partner and hoped the two would become a couple. He liked them both, and thought that they might be good for each other.

Agent Rodgers smiled as he made a sweeping gesture.

“This place will be a good staging area for us if nothing else.”

Stacey nodded in agreement, and then made a suggestion.

“If the Demons appear, let’s not jump the gun on them. If Rick’s friend is right, they’ll make it easy for us to capture them by entering that drainage ditch. Why don’t we go take a look at it and see where we can set up an ambush? If the Demons show, we’ll have them dead to rights.”

“Sounds good to me,” Pierce said. “But we’ll also need people to stay here. There are five of us, six with Jimmy, let’s walk that ditch and then we’ll have a better idea of how to implement the plan.”

Abrams spoke for the first time since greeting everyone in front of the casino.

“Where will your friend be Rick? We don’t need any friendly fire incidents.”

Pierce took out his phone and brought up a picture that had been taken months earlier. It showed him with Jimmy and Jake at a football game. Stacey, Rogers, and Abrams studied Jimmy’s face.

“Jimmy is a big guy and he still has the beard,” Pierce said. “He’ll be watching my back, so why don’t we do this. Jimmy and I will be Team One, Stacey and Jake will be Team Two, and Abrams, you and Rogers can be Team Three.” Pierce turned his head and spoke to Collins. “Did you bring what I asked you to get?”

“Yeah, Rick, they’re in my car, six two-way radios and two night-vision monoculars. I borrowed them from my brother’s pawn shop. He said if we damaged any of it he would kill me.”

“He’ll get it all back in one piece, but you and Stacey keep one monocular and pass the other to Rogers. The area around the drainage ditch will be darker than out here by the water, and the moon will be almost full tonight.”

Pierce began walking towards the collapsed wall.

“Let me show you the drainage ditch.”

The others followed Pierce, unaware of the fact that they were being observed through a rifle scope by Bo Raines.

***

At the same time, Bo Raines was being watched by Jimmy Drake.

Jimmy was eyeing Bo through a pair of binoculars. He was hidden from view behind an abandoned car in a weedy lot that was on the other side of the drainage ditch.

When he saw that Bo was looking elsewhere, Jimmy went on the move, determined to sneak up on Bo Raines. Jimmy wanted to talk to the man, not hand him over to Pierce.

It took him nearly an hour of painstakingly slow movements to climb to the top of the crumbling lighthouse. Jimmy was determined not to make a sound that would alert Bo of his presence. However, when he finally made it to the top, he found that he was alone.

Then, he saw the note. It had been secured from the wind by a rock that acted as a paperweight.

NICE TRY, FRIEND, LET PIERCE KNOW THAT THE DEMONS ARE MINE.

Jimmy searched the surrounding area for a sign of Bo, seeing nothing, he lowered the binoculars and smiled. If the Demons showed, they would be in for one hell of a surprise.

Before placing the note back under the rock, Jimmy wrote a note of his own, to Bo. He then made a show of pointing to the note while gesturing with his pen.

Although he couldn’t see Bo, he was certain that he was being observed by him.

Jimmy placed the note under the rock again with the hope that Bo would read it. He then flashed a thumbs up sign and made his way back down the shaky spiral staircase of the old lighthouse, a building that had been designed for sending signals.

CHAPTER 25

Just before midnight, Gorgon drove a stolen box truck down the cracked road that ran alongside the fence of the switching station.

There was a patch of land big enough to make a three-point turn with the truck. Gorgon used the space so that the truck would be ready to drive away quickly, if needed. He then backed up so that Moloch could do the same with his vehicle, which was following him.

That left the rear of the truck facing the bay, and made it easier for them to unload their motorcycles. They didn’t dare drive down on them either together or separately.

Gorgon had seen more than one motorcycle pulled over by a cop on the highway as he drove down. While he couldn’t be certain that the police were pulling bikes over randomly in hope of finding them, it seemed a safe bet.

Andrea was seated beside Gorgon while Moloch followed behind in a stolen van. The van contained the rest of the Demons, along with Darla, who had fallen asleep on the ride down. Moloch followed Gorgon’s lead and turned the van around, but if everything went right, they would be on a ship by morning and headed to Mexico.

When she awoke, Darla looked around with a blank expression and asked a question.

“Where are we?”

“A.C. baby, but we’ll soon be in Mexico,” Moloch said.

Darla kissed him.

“I want to be your Señorita.”

One of the other Demons laughed.

“Darla, you’re everybody’s Señorita. Hell, you gave three of us blowjobs this morning.”

“Four,” said a Demon named Rum. He was a shaggy-looking man with dark blond hair. Moloch had tried explaining to the young man that rum wasn’t an actual demon, but an alcoholic beverage, but then figured what the hell, and so the name stuck.

Darla pouted.

“I just like being friendly.”

“We ain’t complainin’, honey,” Moloch said.

Everyone poured out of the van and stretched as Gorgon and Andrea did the same by the truck. They had arrived later than they had planned, and were still a short walk from the waters of the bay. They were unaware that they weren’t the only ones in the area.

***

Pierce was among a grouping of wild bushes on the left side of the road, near the bay. He had seen the headlights of the Demons’ vehicles.

After taking out his two-way radio, Pierce tuned in to the proper channel to inform his group that there was activity out on the road by the switching station.

The group radioed back their acknowledgement, and then Rogers had news as well.

“There’s a lot of shouting coming from the rear of the warehouse. It looks like two of the men are arguing over something.”

“Could that be a part of the raid, maybe a distraction?” Pierce asked.

“Maybe,” Rogers said. “But it looks intense. In any event, the raid goes down in two minutes, so keep us apprised if those sounds you hear are the Demons.”

“Roger that,” Pierce said. He then called Jimmy on a separate channel.

“Go Rick,” Jimmy said.

“Where are you?”

“Straight ahead and to your right, behind the wall. I’m laying on my stomach at the base of the wall where there’s a hole I can fire through. This old stone wall will offer some cover, and when the Demons show, we’ll have them in a crossfire.”

“That’s not the plan, Jimmy. Rogers and Abrams will arrest them on federal charges. We’ll only shoot if they resist.”

“I hear you, but there’s a player in this game that’s a wildcard, Bo Raines.”

“Raines is here?”

“He was in that old lighthouse earlier. When I went there he was gone, but I’d bet my bike that he hasn’t gone far.”

Pierce reddened in anger.

“Damn it, Jimmy. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“I want Bo to go free and these scumbags deserve to die. You might have gotten in the way of that.”

“So what you’re saying is, that once the Demons come down here, they’re dead, slaughtered?”

“What I’m saying is that Bo Raines won’t be stopped, and if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

The sound of several motorcycles coming to life reached Pierce’s ears.

“The Demons are here. I hear motorcycles up by the chain-link fence,” Pierce told Jimmy.

He then called the others and let them know that the Demons had arrived and that Bo Raines was in the area as well.

Pierce heard everyone reply, but then his two-way radio came to life with Rogers’ voice.

“That argument at the rear of the warehouse just turned into an execution. A third man snuck up behind one of the others and blew his brains out. I sure as hell hope that wasn’t Homeland Security’s mole.”

Abrams came on the air next.

“Homeland Security agents are moving in and—”

The sound of a blast came over the radio and everyone called Abrams name at once, but it was Rogers that answered.

“Abrams and I are good, but Homeland Security has trouble. The Salvadorans have grenades and submachine guns. I count three agents down. Pierce, Abrams and I are going to join the fight, you and the others handle the Demons. Rodgers out.”

Pierce called Jake Collins.

“Can you see what’s going on?”

“Yeah Rick, and it’s not good. We’ve got to help Homeland. The Salvadorans are firing on them and we know what side the Demons will be on if they join the fight.”

Pierce gripped his two-way radio as he took a second to think.

“Listen to me, Jake, you and Stacey help Rogers and Abrams. Jimmy and I will deal with the Demons.”

“There’s too many Demons for the two of you, Rick,” Jake said.

“You forget, Bo Raines is here, now go, partner, go help Rogers!”

“Stay safe, Rick. Collins out.”

The radio went quiet, but then Jimmy’s voice came through.

“Hear that rumble growing louder? That’s the Demons. We have to keep them from joining the fight.”

Pierce came out of hiding, ran to the center of the decaying road, and moved his suit jacket aside so that the badge on his hip was visible. The road in front of him had collapsed and was lower than the section he stood on, while behind him was a trench a foot wide. If he had to, he could dive into it to take cover.

Jimmy called to him from behind the wall.

“What the hell are you doing, Rick?”

“The Demons get one chance, Jimmy. The instant they raise a weapon, waste them.”

“I think Raines will beat us to it.”

“Yeah, and that’s what I’m counting on, but I need one of them alive. I have to find the woman named Andrea. They know where she is.”

The rumbling grew louder as the Demons slowly made their way down the path and onto the mostly flat, but cracked and weedy, road.

Gorgon was first, followed by Moloch, then came the others, and they lined up in a semicircle facing Pierce, whose weapon was drawn but hanging by his side. The bikes were so loud that they drowned out the sound of the lapping water, while their headlights threatened to blind him. If not for the fact that the Demons were parked atop a sunken section of the roadway, their headlight beams would have rendered him blind.

Gorgon and Moloch took off their helmets and glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Pierce.

“Evening Officer,” Gorgon shouted. “What can we do for you?”

Pierce took a step closer, while turning sideways. It not only made him a smaller target, but would make it easier for him to drop down and roll into the trench.

“Bo Raines is nearby. If you sacks of shit want a chance of staying alive, toss your guns away, then get down on the ground and raise your hands in the air.”

A tense moment passed, and then Gorgon spoke.

“That ain’t gonna happen, cop.”

Pierce smiled.

“I was actually hoping you’d say that.”

Pierce was bringing his gun up, intending to shoot Gorgon, but he was too slow, much too slow.

CHAPTER 26

Gorgon had left Andrea and Darla behind with the stolen truck and van.

If things went bad with the Salvadorans, they would have to take off in a hurry. If all were well, he’d send a couple of the Demons back to fetch them.

He had no idea that the Salvadorans were engaged in a battle with Homeland Security. By the time the first grenade went off, the Demons had been on their loud bikes and wearing helmets.

As soon as they made it down to the bay, Gorgon knew that things would not go smoothly. He had spotted Ricardo Pierce, and then pointed him out to Moloch.

Gorgon couldn’t be sure, but he thought it was the same cop who had been at the farm the day before. The skinny bastard was holding a gun at his side and displaying a badge on his hip like he was Eliot Ness or something. If he wasn’t alone, he sure as hell seemed to be.

Gorgon was wearing the backpack with the gold in it. It would be shitty enough to get arrested, but to lose the gold, that would be a freakin’ nightmare.

He stopped his bike and took out his gun slowly, to let it hang by his side. He made a hand signal for the other seven Demons to stop, and watched them follow his lead. After he took his helmet off, he saw that Moloch had done the same. Moloch’s eyes reflected what Gorgon was feeling. There was no damn way that they were going to prison.

Another look around seemed to confirm that the cop was alone. It was time to find out what game he was playing.

“Evening Officer,” Gorgon shouted. “What can we do for you?”

Gorgon watched the cop move closer, even as he kept an eye on the man’s gun.

“Bo Raines is nearby. If you sacks of shit want a chance of staying alive, toss your guns away, then get down on the ground and raise your hands in the air.”

Gorgon heard Moloch whisper a curse, and from the corner of his eye, he could see that Moloch was looking around for Soldier-boy. It was a bluff by the cop, Gorgon was sure of it. If Soldier-boy was near, he’d be shooting at them.

Gorgon smiled.

“That ain’t gonna happen, cop.”

When the cop grinned back, Gorgon saw a steeliness enter his eyes.

“I was actually hoping you’d say that.”

In a flash, the cop was bringing up his weapon, but he never got the chance to use it.

***

Pierce was standing five yards away from Gorgon, as he raised his gun, the ground in front of him exploded. He leapt away so fast that he nearly tripped and fell backwards into the trench. Pierce actually had to hop over it to keep his balance, as more shots drove him farther back.

The Demons all had their weapons out and were looking around when the shooting stopped. The shots had been fired from a water tower, which sat on the other side of the switching station. The rounds had driven Pierce back so far that he was near Jimmy Drake.

Jimmy had run out from behind the wall to help Pierce and saw anger and fear reflected on his friend’s face, along with confusion.

“What the hell, Jimmy? Was Bo Raines playing with me or trying to kill me?”

Jimmy grinned.

“Neither, I think he was just herding you out of the way.”

“What do you mean?”

In the next instant, there was a loud explosion. It was followed by an inferno.

The last motorcycle on the left, the one ridden by the Demon named Rum, erupted in flames that engulfed the two men nearest to him. Rum’s body, which had flown into the air, had not yet hit the ground when the next explosion occurred.

Another motorcycle exploded and flames shot to the left and right of it, engulfing all but Moloch and Gorgon. They had recovered from their shock and were moving away together when Gorgon’s motorcycle bloomed into flames beneath him.

The explosion tossed him towards the water of the bay, but unfortunately, for Gorgon, he landed a few yards short. Flames ate at his flesh. Gorgon shrugged off the backpack and clawed at his burning clothes until they were off. Then, mercifully, he made it into the water by crawling.

Moloch was merely singed by the fire, but then, what was left of Gorgon’s motorcycle crashed into him and he went down. The sound of three consecutive shots came, and Moloch yelped in pain. The cry was followed by yet another explosion, as his bike also came ablaze.

He too was now on fire, with both his beard and hair alight. But Moloch was on his feet, and he ran straight for the bay, while limping from a leg wound.

***

Still standing by the wall, Pierce and Jimmy were looking on in both wonder and horror at the devastation taking place.

Jimmy clapped Pierce on the chest.

“Incendiary rounds, Rick; Raines is firing incendiary rounds at their gas tanks.”

Pierce barely heard Jimmy. He was too busy looking at the women who had appeared and run onto the road. One of them was young, but the other had some mileage on her.

She was a good match for the description of Andrea that Chuck Ralston had given Pierce. Although he was too far away from her to say for certain, Pierce thought that he saw a scar on her face, as she swiveled her head to take in the scene.

The younger woman seemed to be in shock by the carnage before her, while the older one was crying and pulling at her hair. When the young one spotted him and Jimmy, she tugged at the older woman’s sleeve and pointed.

When the older woman looked over at Pierce, he could see a visage of hate staring back at him.

She took a step towards him, but the younger woman was shouting at her and telling her that they had to leave.

“Jimmy, go help Jake and the others. I think I’ve just found Andrea.”

“Rick, what about the Demons?”

Pierce looked across the ruined road and saw several mounds of burnt flesh lying among flaming debris. And God help them, but some of the smoldering flesh still lived and moaned in agony. At the water’s edge, the waves had deposited Gorgon and Moloch back on the shore, where they both writhed in pain from the burns that covered most of their bodies.

“The Demons are done for. Now go, please, help my partner.”

“Be careful of that bitch; she’s already killed one cop.”

“She’s mine, Jimmy, now go!”

Pierce looked back at Andrea and saw that she and the girl were fleeing. He went in pursuit, determined to catch Al Finder’s killer.

***

Andrea had been torn between running to the shore to comfort Gorgon, or saving her own ass and getting away.

She chose her own ass, and it didn’t take much urging by Darla for her to do so.

Besides, Gorgon would die, she just knew it. Her father had suffered similar burns when she was a girl, and modern medicine or not, Gorgon was dead.

Those were her thoughts as she fled back to the truck, but when she reached it, she remembered the van was blocking her.

“Darla, are the keys in the van?”

“I don’t know, but look, here comes that man. Is he a cop? Oh shit, he is, I see a badge sparkling on his hip.”

Andrea said a prayer as she ran to the van and ripped open the door. When she saw the key sitting in the ignition she lit up in a smile.

“Yes!”

Darla was nearly left behind as Andrea pulled away. Darla had just climbed in on the passenger side, but had yet to shut the door and almost tumbled out.

Andrea was maneuvering the van around the worst patches of the crumbling road surface. If she got a flat they’d be screwed.

When she heard the truck start up behind her, she threw caution away and pressed down on the pedal.

That made the ride rougher, but increased her speed and kept a gap between her and the truck. She knew that if she could just get on the expressway, she could make it into the city and lose the cop among the crowds on the boardwalk.

She was looking in the side view mirror when the van’s left front tire fell into a deep hole. In the interior of the van, it felt like they’d fallen off a cliff as the van jounced in and out of the hole. Darla left her seat with a scream and wound up on the floor.

Andrea kept her seat, but lost control of the wheel as her foot left the gas pedal. The van skidded along the chain-link fence to her right, cracking the mirror on that side and sending sparks flying. Andrea gripped the wheel, righted the van, and was stepping on the accelerator when the truck slammed into her hard enough to rattle her teeth.

***

As Andrea had done with the van, Pierce had shouted, “Yes!” when he saw that the truck had keys. The small box truck had an automatic transmission and he had it moving in no time.

The dips and bumps in the road were heinous and Pierce felt like he was riding a wild bronco. But he held on, he pressed down on the gas, and he kept up with the van.

When Andrea lost control and her foot slipped off the gas, Pierce moved up on her rear. Before she could get back up to speed, he rammed the van in such a way as to drive it into the fence.

Andrea tried to get off the fence, but her efforts were useless, and when she slammed into a support pole, the chase was over.

The chase had ended, but not the struggle.

Andrea leapt from the van clutching a knife and charged the truck. Pierce had just stepped out and was still getting his footing on the uneven ground. When he looked at her, he saw the scar on her cheek, along with Andrea’s knife, which was gleaming in the moonlight.

The blade came down towards his chest, but it never connected, because Pierce sent a vicious right into Andrea’s face that broke her nose.

When Pierce saw that she still gripped the knife, he kicked her. His foot connected with her chin and sent her head snapping back, and the knife went spinning away.

A quick look told Pierce that Andrea was out cold, and he approached the van with his weapon drawn.

“If I see a gun I will kill you!” Pierce shouted.

“I ain’t got a gun! I ain’t got a gun!” Darla yelled in a voice that was nearly a scream.

Pierce advanced cautiously on the vehicle and looked inside, with his weapon leading the way.

Darla was still on the floor of the van. She sat in front of the seat with her back against the door. Her empty hands were held high, and there was a tentative smile on her face.

“Hey, see, I ain’t armed, and you know what, I can help you.”

“How’s that?”

Darla’s smile formed fully.

“I want to make a deal.”

CHAPTER 27

Bo Raines stepped out of the weeds and debris to walk among the dead and dying. He then moved down along the shoreline until he stood above Gorgon and Moloch.

The two burnt men were in so much pain that Bo wondered if they were even aware of his presence.

Bo had been about to move on when the glitter caught his eye. A small hole had been burned into the top of the backpack, and a gold bar was visible. When Bo looked inside and saw the rest of the treasure, he shook his head in amazement.

A glance around the area told him that he was alone with the Bay Street Demons, or rather, what remained of them. Bo let his rifle lean against his legs and shouldered the backpack.

Both Gorgon and Moloch were moaning from the agony of their wounds, and for an instant, Bo was tempted to place a mercy round into each of their heads. The impulse passed swiftly when he thought of his sister, and he knew that the human devils laying at his feet couldn’t suffer enough.

Once he had the backpack secured, Bo gripped his rifle, but before he could lift it, he heard Pierce’s voice come from behind him.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to move along; as you can see, there’s been some trouble here.”

Bo turned and saw that Pierce was approaching him with his weapon holstered. He sent him a nod.

“Yes, Detective, I was just leaving.”

Pierce sighed.

“Where will you go? What will you do?”

Bo looked down at the groaning, writhing forms of Gorgon and Moloch.

“Scumbags like these two aren’t rare. There are other girls at risk out there because of it, girls just like my little sister. I couldn’t save her, but maybe I can save others. I’ll keep busy, Detective, oh, you can count on that.”

Pierce cleared his throat.

“As I said, you should be moving along, and may God protect you.”

“You too, Detective Pierce, you too.”

Pierce watched as Bo walked towards the drainage ditch, upon reaching it, he went left, in the opposite direction of the warehouse. When Gorgon emitted a hoarse scream and reached out a beseeching hand, Pierce ignored him, and took out his two-way radio.

Jake Collins answered and had good news, the battle at the warehouse was over, and none of their group had been hurt.

“Jimmy filled us in on what happened to the Demons, but what about Bo Raines?”

“Raines?”

“Yeah, Rick, did he get away?”

“He’s in the wind, partner, but I think we haven’t heard the last of him.”

“Rogers dispatched two ambulances and a patrol car to your location, but you’ll have to meet them out by that fence.”

“Will do, and I’ve apprehended two women, they’re handcuffed to a van, and Jake, one of them is Al’s killer, Andrea.”

“Great, Rick, and we’ll meet up soon. What a night, huh?”

“More like a nightmare, and yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

***

The Salvadorans had bitten off more than they could chew and were all killed during the gun battle they’d begun.

The three girls being held captive were freed. However, Homeland Security’s undercover officer turned out to be the man who was executed from behind. Two more Homeland agents died, and a third was saved by mouth to mouth resuscitation administered by Stacey.

Homeland Security wasn’t buying the, “We just happened to be in the area,” bit that Pierce and the others were trying to sell. But, they were so grateful for the help they received that Homeland, along with the Atlantic City Police, decided not to press the issue.

They also allowed Rogers and Abrams to cart off Darla and Andrea. That pleased Pierce, as he was looking forward to interviewing them both. They still didn’t know why Andrea killed Al, while Darla told Pierce that she could help him get Andrea convicted.

***

Pierce stood with Jimmy, Jake, and Stacey as they watched the Atlantic City CSI’s go over the debris from the ruined motorcycles.

One of the techs pulled a sealed white garbage bag from a compartment on Moloch’s bike. He made a face when he cut open the bag and peered inside. He then brought it over to a folding table that had been set up. The table had a powerful lamp attached that was being powered by a nearby generator, and the tech held up a dress to examine it.

“Is that blood?” Pierce asked the man. “If it is, it must be fresh.”

“No Detective, I think it’s just red food coloring.”

Jake shrugged.

“I don’t get it. Why would one of the Demons be carrying that around?”

Stacey pointed at the dress and made an observation.

“It also looks like something an old lady would wear.”

***

The following Monday morning, Darla was smiling at Pierce, as he interrogated her.

“I can give you the clothes that Andrea was wearing when she killed that cop.”

“Yes, you claim to have the clothes? How did you come by them?”

Darla, whose full name was Darla Switzer, fluttered her eyes at Pierce.

“I’m not just another pretty face.”

“I’m beginning to see that,” Pierce said. He was alone with Darla and her lawyer inside an interview room. Behind the mirrored glass, Jake and Stacey watched, while Jake also took notes.

Darla wanted to walk on all charges. In exchange, she would tell them where to find Andrea’s bloody clothes. She had never given them to Moloch. She had only handed him a dress that she had dyed with food coloring. If Moloch had ever bothered to open the bag Darla had given him, her ruse would have been discovered.

Andrea’s bloody clothes, dress included, were buried in the backyard of the old lady’s house they had crashed at the night the first Demon died.

Darla might be a nymphomaniac, but she wasn’t stupid, and she knew Moloch planned to keep those clothes as a get out of jail free card. It was a card she would play instead.

The Demons were all dead. Gorgon and Moloch expired overnight within minutes of each other. The other Demons had all died at the scene.

Pierce would hate to let Darla walk away scot-free, but the DA wanted those bloody clothes to use against Andrea.

Pierce remembered something he’d seen in Darla’s file, and he decided to use it to buy time. Ignoring Darla, he spoke to her lawyer, a public defender named Owens. Owens was a good lawyer, and he knew that if his client was telling the truth, he held the upper hand.

“Mr. Owens, the DA is willing to drop all charges save one against your client.”

“That one charge better not be accomplice to murder,” Owens said. He was in his thirties and overweight, with sparkling blue eyes and thick wavy brown hair.

“Your client is wanted on a possession charge. We want her to serve 90 days on that and we’ll drop all the rest.”

It was a lie. The DA didn’t give a damn about the marijuana possession. He only wanted Andrea’s bloody dress so that he could have a slam dunk case against a cop killer.

Owens nibbled his bottom lip.

“Why should my client do any time at all?”

Pierce smiled and spread his hands.

“It’s an election year, Owens. It doesn’t look good if she just skips on everything. The 90 days is to ensure that the Press doesn’t report that she was released without even a slap on the wrist. The voters wouldn’t like that.”

Owens considered the offer, and then he and Darla whispered back and forth. When they were finished, Owens had a counter offer.

“Thirty days in county, and the DA signs an airtight agreement that she won’t be charged with anything having to do with the Raines’ family.”

Pierce hated to agree. He knew that the conniving little bitch sitting across from him was an accomplice to the Demons’ crimes. However, given the DA’s eagerness to reach an agreement, he also realized that the 30 days was a gift.

“It’s a deal,” Pierce said. “I’ll sell it to the DA.”

Darla grinned at him, and it was all Pierce could do to stop himself from reaching across the table and slapping the smile off her silly face.

CHAPTER 28

The funeral for Detective Albert Finder was held on Wednesday afternoon.

To no one’s surprise, numerous women showed up to pay their respects. They were not former lovers; they were the beneficiaries of Al Finder’s dogged determination. Many of the women had been young runaways who had become involved in prostitution. Al had convinced many of them to either go home or to seek the help of a women’s shelter.

Some had even been abducted and rescued by Finder. They cried as many tears as his friends did, and felt the loss of the detective just as deeply.

Pierce attended with Val at his side, and they were accompanied by Val’s best friend, Ginny. Ginny was a dark-haired pixie of a woman. She and Al Finder had once gone on a blind date set up by Val. The two then dated, but Ginny was put off by Al’s obsession with his job. They had ended as friends, and she was shedding tears at graveside.

Pierce was pleased when he saw Jake and Stacey arrive together, and he sensed that there was something going on there. Jimmy Drake came alone, but was dressed in a suit, while his shaggy beard had been combed along with his hair.

As Jimmy walked towards them in the cemetery, Ginny grabbed Val’s arm.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s Rick’s friend, Jimmy Drake; you’ve heard me mention him.”

“That’s Jimmy Drake? Why didn’t you tell me that he was gorgeous?”

Val opened her mouth in shock.

“You think Jimmy is hot?”

“Oh yeah, look at all that hair. It’s so sexy.”

When Jimmy joined them, Pierce made the introductions, and it seemed to Pierce that Jimmy’s eyes often looked in Ginny’s direction.

The funeral ended, and Pierce stopped to speak with a relative of Al’s, an aunt who lived in Florida. As they spoke, the aunt lamented the sad fate of her nephew. When she mentioned something about the family history, Jimmy, who was standing next to Pierce, snapped his fingers.

Pierce looked at him.

“What? You just thought of something?”

Jimmy pulled Pierce aside as Val continued talking with Al Finder’s aunt.

“You remember when I said that the name Andrea struck a chord with me?”

“Yeah, why?”

Jimmy told him what he had just recalled, and when they confirmed that his memory was correct with Al’s aunt, Pierce still couldn’t believe that Jimmy’s suspicion could be true.

“I know it sounds crazy, but check it out.”

“I will,” Pierce said. “But I hope to God you’re wrong.”

***

Chuck Ralston had been released from jail as Al’s funeral was in progress.

His father had wised up and hired a lawyer better suited for criminal cases. The end result was that Chuck Ralston was free, but would be on probation for one year.

Chuck’s father had hired a car to meet him outside the Flemington jail and bring him home. The car had just dropped him at the foot of his driveway, and Chuck waved to the driver as the man pulled away.

Chuck had big plans and was looking forward to partying with some of his friends from school. It was Chuck’s eighteenth birthday, and now he was a man.

He was a dozen feet from his front door when a bullet struck him in the left temple and blew out the back of his head.

The courts might be willing to treat Chuck Ralston with kid gloves for serving up Jenna Raines to The Bay Street Demons, but Bo Raines wasn’t as forgiving.

When Pierce learned about the slaying, he simply shrugged.

CHAPTER 29

A week after Al Finder’s funeral, Pierce and his partner Jake Collins were in a room inside the county jail. Sitting across from them was Darla and her attorney, Owens.

Owens looked annoyed. He started in on Pierce right away.

“My client has an iron-clad deal in place, Detective Pierce, so just what are these new charges you claim she’s guilty of? I’ll tell you right now, this better have nothing to do with the abduction and murder of the Raines girl or the assault on her parents’ home.”

Pierce looked over at Darla and saw that she appeared worried. That was good; she should be worried. She was about to be charged as an accomplice in the deaths of six people.

He sent a nod to his partner and Jake held up a plastic bag that contained a gold coin.

Pierce saw Darla gasp and clutch at the end of the table.

“A gold coin?” Owens said. “What is its significance?”

“This is one of seven gold coins we found in your client’s possession at the time of her arrest,” Pierce said. “It was stolen from a home in Pennsylvania over a week ago, on an early Saturday morning. This coin still held the right thumbprint of the man they were stolen from.”

Owens sighed.

“So you’re charging my client with robbery?”

“No sir, Pennsylvania law enforcement will handle the charges; I’m just here to deliver the news. Also, your client is facing more than robbery charges.”

Owens looked as worried as his client as he asked his next question.

“What are the additional charges?”

“Well, it gets a little complicated, but I was told that she’ll be charged with six counts of murder.”

“What?” Owens said with a shocked expression, as beside him, Darla shook her head violently.

“I was not in Pennsylvania. I was here that night and I can prove it,” Darla said.

“Please do,” Pierce said.

The worry left Darla’s eyes and a look of smugness replaced it.

“I was right across the street from the police station with Andrea. That was the night we dropped off that girl’s body by the dumpster.”

Owens exhaled a slow breath.

“If that can be substantiated, then my client is in the clear. Per our agreement, she cannot be prosecuted over any activity that involves the Raines’ family.”

Darla grinned.

“There were cameras by the dumpsters. There’s got to be a video.”

“Oh there is, and I’ve seen that film,” Pierce said. “As has my partner here. Jake, what does that video show?”

“It shows two individuals dressed in bulky clothing,” Jake said. “They’re also wearing hoods and sunglasses, and have scarves covering the lower half of their faces. They could be almost anyone.”

“No! no, talk to Andrea, she’ll tell you. That was us, me and her.”

Pierce smiled.

“You want us to talk to Andrea Kasseri, the woman who you betrayed, by giving us her bloody clothing? Is that the Andrea you want me to talk to, hmm?”

Darla grabbed at her hair.

“No, damn it! I didn’t kill anyone. I was never in Pennsylvania.”

“I also hear there’s a witness,” Pierce said. “A young mother was awakened by her baby’s crying and happened to look out the window of the nursery. She says that just minutes before the shooting started, she saw two large ‘biker types’ walking towards the house with a woman between them. She didn’t get a good look at the woman, but her general description matches your size and height, Miss Switzer.”

Owens had a pained expression on his face.

“There were six people killed at that house?”

“No, there were three at that house. Another three, all minors, were found deceased at a property that can be linked to the dead Demon named Moloch. It appears the murders all took place within a short time.”

When Darla looked at her lawyer, the expression on his face did not appear to be hopeful.

“Pennsylvania authorities will contact you later today, Mr. Owens, and they’ll most certainly get in touch with you Miss Switzer. Thank you both for coming.”

Pierce waited until Darla was almost out of the room, and then he signaled the female corrections officer to wait a second.

“Miss Switzer, were you aware that Chuck Ralston was killed last week?”

Darla looked surprised by the news, but then made a face at Pierce.

“What, you gonna pin that one on me too?”

“No, we’re fairly certain that it was Bo Raines who killed Chuck Ralston. Actually, Mr. Raines seems determined to kill anyone who had anything to do with his sister’s death. If you do end up back out on the street somehow, I would advise you to keep looking over your shoulder. Bo Raines is still out there.”

The color drained from Darla’s face. She was looking at doing hard time in a Pennsylvania penitentiary for crimes she didn’t commit, or, she could be found innocent and be set free, to then be hunted down like a rabid dog.

Owens wagged a finger at Pierce, and then he followed his client out of the room.

Pierce and Jake Collins sat and waited.

They had another piece of business to take care of.

***

Andrea was escorted into the room ten minutes later, and without a lawyer.

She had waived her rights to have one present. Andrea had already made a deal with the DA to serve a sentence of Life, with the possibility of parole in thirty years.

Andrea looked haggard by her incarceration, and she was grieving the loss of Gorgon. Around her eyes, faint signs of bruising remained from when Pierce broke her nose.

“What’s this all about. I already signed the plea agreement.”

“Miss Kasseri, I’d like to know why. Why did you kill Detective Al Finder?”

Andrea stared at Pierce, locking eyes with him. When he didn’t look away, she shrugged.

“The bastard grabbed me and kept saying my name while he touched my face, my scar. I can’t stand it when anybody touches my scar... except for Gorgon.”

“You received that scar while you were still very young, correct?”

Andrea nodded.

“I was told that you were scarred when you ran back into a house that was on fire, sprinted up a burning staircase, and rescued your brother. There are burn marks on your legs as well, but that scar is the result of jumping headfirst through a second-story window while shielding your baby brother in your arms. Your mother survived with only a burned hand, but your father died in that fire.”

Andrea looked puzzled by Pierce’s knowledge of her past.

“How do you know all that?”

“That story was told to me by a close friend.”

“A close friend? A close friend of yours?”

“Yes,” Pierce said, and then continued. “You grew up in a little town just south of New York State and ran away from home when you were sixteen. Why didn’t you ever go back, or try to make contact?”

Andrea laughed.

“Go back? After doing the shit I did to get by? You think my mom would have liked seeing me with Gorgon and the Demons?”

“She might have, and oh, she remarried after you left. Were you aware of that?”

Andrea shook her head.

“I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”

“I’m sorry to say she’s dead, and so is your brother, but you have an aunt that’s still living, your father’s sister.”

Andrea leaned forward as she became animated.

“Wait! Whoa, go back. My baby brother is dead?”

Pierce ignored her question, or rather, he decided to let her answer it herself.

“When your mother remarried, she wed a man named David, David became a second father to your little brother, and he raised him like a son. David Finder was a good man.”

Andrea looked blank for a second, then said, “Finder? Like the cop?”

Pierce sent her a solemn nod. For a moment, he wondered if Andrea’s brain was too befuddled by all the years of drugs and alcohol to make the connection.

When she suddenly sucked in air and exhaled it in a great heaving sob, he knew that she had understood, and that she was coming to terms with the monstrous act she had committed. When she spoke, her voice was laced with pain and disbelief, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“That cop, Al Finder? That was my baby brother? That was Albert? He changed his last name?”

“You cut yourself while you were stabbing him to death. Your blood was found on your dress along with his. DNA testing has confirmed that you were siblings.”

“No! no, no, no, nooo,” Andrea said, but she knew, she knew.

“Al said your name and touched you on the cheek because he recognized you. He had been searching for his big sister for decades, and fate had finally brought you two together. You once risked your life to save him, and then you ended that life.” Pierce shook his head sadly. “It’s Goddamn Shakespearian.”

Jimmy Drake had remembered Al Finder talking about a sister named Andrea, and how even after so many years had passed, he still looked for her. Al still held out hope that someday they would reunite, and he could finally have his sister in his life again.

Pierce stood with Jake and headed for the door, when he looked back, he saw a woman suffering in emotional agony. Andrea might someday be released from prison, but the knowledge of what she had done would never leave her.

Jake patted him on the shoulder, and the two of them left the jail with heavy hearts, while missing their friend, Detective Al Finder.

CHAPTER 30

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

––––––––

Pierce and Val laughed along with Jimmy and Ginny as they watched little Kimberly Raines chase after her new puppy.

Six-year-old Kimberly was the sister of Cindy, and the sole survivor of the gold robbery that Gorgon and Moloch had committed.

When Bart Raines and his wife, Karen, learned that Kimberly had been left all alone in the world by the actions of the Demons, they decided to petition the court to adopt her. Because of the deaths of her sister and parents, Kimberly faced a grim future.

Pierce and others intervened on the Raines’s behalf and red tape was pushed aside to speed up the process.

Kimberly’s adoption was made final only hours earlier, and was celebrated with the addition of another new family member. It was a puppy named Daisy, who little Miss Kimberly had named herself.

Jimmy Drake and Val’s friend, Ginny, had been dating since shortly after their introduction at Al Finder’s funeral.

Val had warmed up to Jimmy once she began spending more time around him, and the two couples were often seen together. Val and Pierce were set to wed within a few short days, and Val’s diamond engagement ring sparkled in the sun.

Pierce’s partner, Jake Collins had planned to come to the farm as well, but Stacey’s daughter, Christine, was having a school play, and as Stacey’s boyfriend, Jake wanted to be there to applaud her performance.

***

After dinner at the farm, Bart Raines sent Jimmy Drake a nod and then stood up from the table and patted his stomach.

“Oh that was good, Karen, excellent, but now I think I’ll go outside and have a cigar.

Jimmy said, “I’ll join you, Bart,” and the two of them left the house and walked over to the barn. After lighting up their cigars, they looked around to make certain that they were alone.

“Is there any news from my boy, Jimmy?”

“Yeah, Bo liked those pictures of Kimberly and thinks it’s great that you’re adopting her.”

“Does he need money? Maybe he should have held on to some of that gold he sent us.”

“No, he doesn’t need money, and anyway, that gold belongs to Kimberly.”

“Where is Bo now? The last I heard of him was when he wiped out that group of white slavers in Texas.”

“I don’t know where he is, Bart, but when I hear from him, I’ll pass it along.”

Bart held out his hand.

“You’re a good man for doing this for us, Jimmy, a damn good man.”

Jimmy smiled as he gripped Bart’s hand.

“Not as good as your son. Now let’s get back inside; I saw an apple cobbler in the kitchen and I’m not missing out on that.”

***

At that moment, in a back alley in New York City, three men looked on in amazement as the skull of a forth man was torn apart by a round sent forth from the fire escape above them.

The weapon that fired the round was equipped with a sound suppressor, but the shot still echoed off the brick walls of the alley as if someone had struck them with a hammer.

Two of the remaining three men went down as they were trying to free their guns. The forth man was slower to react because his hands were full. He finally dropped the bundles of cash he had been holding.

He then backpedaled towards a nearby van, as he freed his gun and aimed upward. He was cut down by three rounds in the chest before he could fire his weapon or escape in the van.

A figure dressed in black made his way down to the alley. When he scooped up the fallen cash, he placed it in a pouch on his belt. The money would serve as a war chest for future campaigns.

He found the keys for the van in the jacket pocket of the last man he killed. He used them to open the back door of the van. There were three girls inside, and not one of them was older than fourteen.

They were terrified. They had been abducted while walking home from school two days earlier, and had been in the van ever since. They had received nothing but a little water during their ordeal and were forced to soil themselves whenever they had to urinate.

Bo Raines smiled and spoke to them in a quiet tone as he freed them from the zip ties that bound them, and removed the gags from their mouths.

“I won’t hurt you, and the men who did hurt you are dead. I know you’re all scared, but it’s over and you’ll be going home.”

Bo helped them to climb from the back of the van, and pointed out towards the avenue.

“Walk down the alley and out to the street. There’s a pizza parlor there and I’m sure the owner will call the police for you.”

The girls appeared dazed and had suffered abrasions on their wrists from failed efforts to get free of the restraints. Although young, they moved stiffly at first. Their imprisonment in the van, along with the accompanying emotional and physical stress had served to deplete their youthful vitality.

One of the girls was blond and had a bruise on her cheek. She looked so much like Bo’s sister, Jenna, that it broke his heart a little to look at her. She sent him a tentative smile.

“Mister, did my daddy send you?”

“No honey, but I’m sure he must be dying to see you, now go, all of you, and try not to look at the bodies.”

The other two girls were crying and holding each other, while the blond girl glanced about at the men Bo had killed. When her eyes fell on the man who had died last, the one who had possessed the keys to the van, a look of hatred hardened her innocent face.

“Go now, girls,” Bo said. “The people in the restaurant will help you.”

The little blond girl tore her eyes away from her former captor, and when she looked back at Bo, she smiled.

“Thank you.”

Afterwards, she reached out and took the hands of the other girls and began hurrying away down the alley.

Bo watched them in the mirror as he drove off in the van. When the girls reached the avenue and turned towards the pizza parlor, he took out a picture of Jenna and kissed it.

“For you, little sister, that was for you.”

COMING MAY 7, 2016!

ANGELS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 3

COMING SOON FROM REMINGTON KANE

UNLEASHED!

In the year 2033, the police don’t uphold the law, they unleash it.

A PLEA

Thank you, precious reader, for spending time with one of my books. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider writing a review. Without reviews, an author's books are virtually invisible on the retail sites. Let other readers know what you thought! You can leave a review by visiting the book's page and I will greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

—Remington Kane

ALSO BY REMINGTON KANE

The TANNER Series in order

- INEVITABLE I - A Tanner Novel - Book 1

- KILL IN PLAIN SIGHT - A Tanner Novel - Book 2

- MAKING A KILLING ON WALL STREET - A Tanner Novel - Book 3

- THE FIRST ONE TO DIE LOSES - A Tanner Novel - Book 4

- THE LIFE & DEATH OF CODY PARKER - A Tanner Novel - Book 5

- WAR - A Tanner Novel - Book 6
- SUICIDE OR DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 7
- TWO FOR THE KILL – A Tanner Novel – Book 8
- BALLET OF DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 9

- MORE DANGEROUS THAN MAN – A Tanner Novel – Book 10

- TANNER TIMES TWO – A Tanner Novel – Book 11

- OCCUPATION: DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 12

- HELL FOR HIRE – A Tanner Novel – Book 13

- A HOME TO DIE FOR - A Tanner Novel – Book 14

- FIRE WITH FIRE – A Tanner Novel – Book 15

The TAKEN! Series in order

- TAKEN! - LOVE CONQUERS ALL
- TAKEN! - SECRETS & LIES
- TAKEN! - STALKER
- TAKEN! - BREAKOUT!
- TAKEN! - THE THIRTY-NINE
- TAKEN! - KIDNAPPING THE DEVIL
- TAKEN! - HIT SQUAD
- TAKEN! - MASQUERADE
- TAKEN! - SERIOUS BUSINESS
- TAKEN! - THE COUPLE THAT SLAYS TOGETHER
- TAKEN! - PUT ASUNDER
- TAKEN! - LIKE BOND, ONLY BETTER
- TAKEN! - MEDIEVAL
- TAKEN! - RISEN!
- TAKEN! - VACATION
- TAKEN! – MICHAEL
- TAKEN! - BEDEVILED

Also

- THE CONTRACT: KILL JESSICA WHITE – A TAKEN!/TANNER NOVEL

- REDEMPTION... Someone's taken her
- DESOLATION LAKE
- SLAY BELLS

- MONSTERS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 1

- DEMONS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 2

Please join my Mailing List and Learn about New Releases. Also, get access to FREE Books and Short Stories, including The TAKEN! ALPHABET SERIES & THE FIVE STAGES OF TANNER

REMINGTON KANE
http://www.remingtonkane.com/contact.html

Did you love Demons - A Detective Pierce Novel - Book 2? Then you should read Angels - A Detective Pierce Novel - Book 3 by Remington Kane!

From REMINGTON KANE

The Author of The TANNER SERIES

Angels -  A Detective Pierce Novel - Book 3

Ricardo Pierce's two young daughters are kidnapped by a man from his past.

Read more at Remington Kane’s site.

About the Author

REMINGTON KANE is the author of the wildly popular TANNER SERIES as well as the equally thrilling TAKEN! SERIES.

While The TANNER Series and The TAKEN! Series are similar in that they're both packed with action, the hit man Tanner has a little more grit to him.

Please visit www.remingtonkane.com to learn more.

Read more at Remington Kane’s site.