Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Good idea.”
Shep leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he started searching through the past week’s surveillance footage. It was a lot. A hundred cars or more passed through that lot every damn hour, and it didn’t take long for them to all blur together. We were an hour in when Ghost lunged forward and pointed at the screen. “There.”
Shep paused the footage at just after midnight on Wednesday night. It was a slow one, which made it easy to spot the Charger as it crept into view. Shep froze the frame, then rewound it slightly, playing the sequence again in slow motion.
“Can you get the plate?” Ghost asked, sounding hopeful.
“I’m trying.”
The camera angle shifted, and we finally had a clearer view of the car's rear. Shep paused the video again, zooming in on the license plate. The numbers were partially obscured, but a few characters were discernible.
"JX5... something," Shep grumbled, frustration edging his voice. "I can’t make out the rest."
He switched to another camera feed, and this one captured a different stretch of the street. The Charger reappeared, but this time, it was moving faster as it approached an intersection. Shep tried pausing the footage, but he couldn’t get a clear view of the plate. “Damn it.”
“You gotta keep trying,” I pushed. “We’re too close.”
“Okay, boys.” Dad stood as he said, “Let’s take a break and give Shep some space to do what he needs to do.”
We were all eager to find something on the guys who’d done this, so there was a slight resistance before the guys started to get up and disperse from the room. I didn’t want to go, but I could tell by the look on Shep’s face that he needed some breathing room. So, I gave him a pat on the shoulder and followed the others out of the door.
I was curious to know how Big Louie was doing, so I made my way down the hall to the infirmary. When I walked in, I found Blade standing at Louie’s side. He was checking his monitors, and from the looks of it, Louie wasn’t in great shape. The man who was all smiles and so full of life was now hooked up to a heart monitor and was covered in bandages.
I walked over to Blade and whispered, “How’s he making it?”
“He lost a lot of blood, but he’s holding his own. Just waiting for him to come around.”
“You think he’s gonna pull through?”
“Yeah, but he’s gonna have a rough go of it for a couple of days.” Blade gave me a pat on the back before saying, “I’ll give you two a minute.”
Once he stepped away, I grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the gurney. I didn’t expect him to answer when I whispered, “Hey, Louie. It’s Memphis.”
“Hmmm.”
“Hey, man.” His eyes fluttered open. “It’s Memphis. How ya doing?”
“I’m hanging in,” Louie rasped, his voice rough and gravelly. “What’re you doing here?”
“I came to check on you.” I swallowed hard, pushing back the emotions that were building in the pit of my stomach. “I heard what you did, and...”
“They killed Nix.”
“Yeah, they sure did.”
“I tried to stop ‘em, but they were too quick.”
“I know, but you tried and that’s more than most would do.”
“I shoulda done more.”
“No, Louie,” I interrupted. “You took a bullet for him. Hell, you took two and still tried to save him.”
“I didn’t want him to die.”
I reached out and gently placed a hand on Louie’s shoulder. “None of us did, but we’re gonna find the guys who did this and make them pay for what they’ve done.”
“It was the Paulette boys.”
“Who?”
“They’s hang out over at Macomb’s bar on Sixth.” He inhaled a pained breath before he wheezed, “I see ‘em there when I do my rounds.”
“You sure it’s the same guys?”
“Yes, sir.” He nodded. “I watched ‘em when one of them ran up on the curb and dented that front fender.”
“You got the names of these assholes?”
“Nah, man. I did my best to steer clear from those guys. They’s nothing but trouble.”
“You’re a smart man for that, but don’t you worry. We’ll find them and set things straight.” I gave his shoulder a light squeeze. “You hang in there, and if you need anything, you just let us know.”
“Thanks, boss.”
I gave him a nod, then quickly headed back to the conference room to let the others know about my conversation with Louie. While I hated that we’d lost Nix and that Louie was wounded, I felt a rush knowing that we were closing in on the guys who’d hurt them.
We would find them, and we would have our vengeance.
And when it was all said and done, everyone in a hundred-mile radius would be reminded of one important fact—You don’t fuck with Fury.
Antonia
I hadn’t planned to stay.
I was just going to have dinner with my father and head back to my apartment, but I just didn’t have the heart to leave him there alone. He’d refused to admit it, but I knew something was going on with him. Besides, it had been months since I’d been at home, and it was like old times being there with him.