Hero At Large

He laughed. “Well, it was a weapons charge. You see, the police found two hundred Russian assault rifles in my possession, and they just wouldn’t accept ‘I’m a collector’ for an explanation.” He ended with a sarcastic chuckle.

“I don’t think it’s funny.”

“Really, you don’t? Gee, that’s odd, because I thought getting arrested was funny. And getting convicted—that was hilarious. And I thought I would die laughing when they sent me to—”

“That’s enough. You don’t have to make fun of me.”

Gray knew he was being cruel, but he couldn’t stop himself. It surprised him how much resentment he felt toward her at that moment.

Of all the clubs in L.A., why did she have to pick this one? If she’d stayed in Texas, she might never have known if he were dead or alive, but that would still be better than returning to find her worst fears confirmed.

Gray could see her disappointment. Before she left she’d told him how much she believed in him. She was getting out of the inner city, and she’d been certain that he would, too. Instead, she found just the opposite. If she stuck around long enough, she’d discover he’d given an old adage new meaning—if you can’t beat ’em, take over.

“I guess a lot has happened since the last time we saw each other,” she said.

Gray expelled a harsh laugh. “You can say that again.”

Rennie stared at her hands. They were trembling slightly.

Instantly, he felt terrible for upsetting her. None of this was her fault. He couldn’t say anything to change her mind about him. Lying to her was surprisingly easy, but it was killing him that he had to.

He forced himself to get a grip on his temper, taking a moment to study her. Her hair was short now. She’d traded in the ponytails and French braids he remembered for a slick, trendy cut that flattered her gamine features.

“You look beautiful…and successful,” he said, noticing the diamond studs sparkling in her ears. He was glad she’d moved up in the world, but part of him still wished she hadn’t had to leave him to do it. “What have you been doing with yourself?”

“I’m a psychologist.”

“Perfect. I bet you have your own office where the rich and pampered of Beverly Hills make weekly appointments to whine about their overindulgent mothers and their cold, stern fathers.” Despite his best effort, he couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Things were going from bad to worse.

Rennie’s lips twisted at his mockery. “Well, you’re right about one thing. Only one thing. I do have my own practice. But it’s in downtown L.A., not Beverly Hills. I work at the Help Center. I counsel women who have been battered or abused.”

Gray opened his mouth to respond, but Rennie cut him off. “So what about you? You’re what? A bouncer here?” Her tone was imperious.

“That’s right. You know there aren’t a whole lot of options for an ex-con.”

Rennie stood from the table. “My friends are probably worried by now. I’d better get back to them. Uh, it was…nice seeing you again.”

“No, it wasn’t.” He stood, too. “Not as nice as it should have been. But, like you said, a lot has happened since we last saw each other, Rainbow,” he said, using his old nickname for her.

He could tell he’d caught her off guard. The change in her demeanor was immediate. The line of her lips softened, and her eyes became dewy.

In that split second, they were transported back to a time where only the two of them existed. Before she had a chance to recover, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. He needed to be close to her for just a moment. He had to have a memory to carry with him.

“You take care of yourself,” he said, pulling back.

She nodded and bolted down the stairs and, most likely, out of his life.

After Rennie left, Gray stayed behind trying to make some sense out of what had just happened.

Franco walked over and sat down across from him. “Hey, G, what’s up with TK? You cutting him in?”

Gray looked up slowly. He hadn’t been expecting to hear that name for a while. “What do you mean? He’s in prison.”

“Not any more.” Franco grinned. “Los says a key witness just…disappeared.” He snapped his fingers to demonstrate. “They had to let him out.”

Gray felt his lips tighten. Once upon a time, TK had been their gang leader. “Where have you seen him?”

Franco shrugged. “He’s come around a few times. I thought he would have caught up to you by now.”

“Is he looking for me?” It was clear that TK had been avoiding him. That could only mean trouble.

Franco sobered, finally realizing that Gray wasn’t as thrilled with the news as he’d expected. “I don’t know, but he knows we’re all working here with you. So, you gonna cut him a piece of the action, or not?”

“We’ll see. If you run into him again, tell him I want to talk to him.”

Franco nodded. “I’m going on my break. Later.”

After Franco left, Gray swore under his breath. It wasn’t hard to imagine what was going through TK’s mind right now. He’d always had grandiose dreams about the money and power they were all going to have, but he’d never been able to make it happen. He was sloppy and he’d kept getting caught. Once TK had started going in and out of prison, the gang had fallen apart. Now it seemed Gray had stepped into his shoes and taken over his dreams—and he was succeeding.

Gray knew TK wouldn’t appreciate having to be cut in on his old territory. When Gray came back to L.A., he’d heard TK was up on murder charges, tied up in a trial that should have dragged on for months. Gray hadn’t expected to have to deal with TK at all.

Back in the day, Gray and TK had never agreed on anything. If TK did want a piece of their operation, it wouldn’t be long before he tried to run things again. Gray couldn’t let that happen. There were too many other forces at work here.

Still, he couldn’t quite leave TK out in the cold. His men wouldn’t understand. It didn’t even matter that their old gang no longer existed in its original form. They would always be bound together by the old codes and traditions.

Dealing with TK was going to be tricky. Now that he was out of prison, he’d expect things to go back to the way they were when they were all banging. It would be useless to try to convince him that those days were over.

After all, everyone knew that the only way out of a gang was to die out.

Chapter 3

Gray awoke the next morning to the persistent ringing of his doorbell. Cursing as he dragged on his jeans, he hopped to the door and shouted, “Who is it?”

“Overnight Express.”

Gray rolled his eyes and jerked the door open.

On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the dark-haired package carrier dressed in the standard polo-shirt-and-shorts uniform. The man narrowed his green eyes, squinting at the envelope in his hand. “I’ve got a delivery here for Kee…Keesh—”

Gray snatched the envelope out of his hands. “Shut up and get in here.” Glaring at his partner and longtime friend Seth Greene, he tugged on the thread unsealing the letter. “I don’t suppose you could have waited until a decent hour?”

Seth made himself at home on Gray’s sofa, propping his feet on the coffee table. “Ten o’clock is a decent hour for most people.”

“Maybe, but you know I had to work at the club until three last night.”

“Anything interesting happen?” Seth rested a throw pillow behind his head.

Gray dropped the envelope without looking at the contents, shoving Seth’s feet down from the coffee table. Oh, yeah, something very interesting happened. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with his assignment.