Liam

 

I’d been up for hours when a snowmobile came into view from the halfpipe. Joiner noticed as well, then gestured for me to go again, regardless.

Even though I had a compelling list of worries, I forced those thoughts out to focus. The only way I was able to do it was with practice. I had to condition the mind just as much as the body.

It was part of being a pro athlete. Part of the reason I was once the best snowboarder in the world. When my feet were strapped in, when I was on the pipe, there was nothing else. No one else. Being distracted could get me killed.

I blocked out Alex’s arrival and positioned myself. Pulling the goggles down over my eyes, I blew out a breath and erased my mind. I pushed off, the board making a sound I sometimes heard in my sleep.

It was a solid run. I hit the landings and made the turns. Was it my best ever? Nope.

But it was good. It was progress. And my knee was hanging in.

“Looking good!” Alex yelled, and I started toward him, toting my board with me.

“I’m taking a few,” I told Joiner when I passed him.

“Not too long. Don’t let your muscles get cold.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered and moved on. I was hitting it hard today because I refused to train yesterday. Like I was going to drag my ass out of bed and leave my brand-new wife to pound the powder. It was bad enough I was back at it today.

Joiner was acting as if I’d missed weeks instead of one day. It was going to be interesting to see how my knee was at the end of this all-day session because I had to basically fit two training sessions into one day.

I’d wanted to whisk Bells off on some tropical honeymoon. Trade the snow in for some sand. Ever since I opened the letter from Crone, I was wishing I had. It might be good to get her the hell out of here for a while.

Of course, our problems would still be here when we returned, or worse… They’d follow us just like they’d followed us to our honeymoon suite.

Crone was a bastard.

“Got your message,” Alex said when I was close. “What’s going on?”

I hitched a chin toward the small house. “Inside.”

I left my board and boots by the door, tugged off my gear, and ran a hand through my hair on my way to the small fridge. “You want some coffee or something?”

“Haven’t had any coffee yet,” Alex replied.

I dropped a pod into the machine on the counter and hit the button, then moved by to get a bottle of the specially formulated drink I loaded up on when I was training.

“This is some dedication,” Alex observed, waiting for his coffee to finish pouring. “If I got married the day before yesterday, I’d still be knee deep in my bride.”

I chugged some of the drink and then set it on the counter to reach into my coat and pull out the note Crone sent. “We got a little wedding gift from Crone,” I spat and tossed it beside Alex.

Snatching it up, he read it through quickly, then slammed it down on the counter. “What the fuck?”

“He sent matching shirts… including one for the baby.”

“Oh, fuck no!” Alex roared. “What kind of scumbag threatens a baby?”

“The kind with a death wish,” I replied, cold and calm.

“How’s Bellamy handling this?”

“She doesn’t know.” I admitted.

Alex looked at me as if I’d grown an extra dick right in the middle of my forehead. “She saw the shirts, assumed they were from the staff, and I didn’t correct her. That scumbag has taken enough from her. I wasn’t letting him take her wedding night, too.”

Alex nodded. “I get it. But you’re gonna have to tell her. She has to know.”

I let out a few curses and sat down. “I know.”

“Where’s she at?”

I made a sour face. “Work.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Kill him,” I said honestly.

Alex lifted the coffee and sipped it. “I can help you make that happen.”

Letting out a frustrated growl, I shoved out of my seat and made a call.

“Agent Frost,” he answered on the second ring.

“I need to get back in there.”

“And where is that?” Frost replied, not surprised at all I didn’t bother with a greeting.

He’d get a greeting when he got Crone off our backs.

“I need to see him again. Put me on the list.”

“You can’t see him—” He started to protest.

“He contacted me, threatened Bellamy and the baby.”

Frost’s voice grew a little louder in my ear, as if he sat forward suddenly. “How?”

I told him about the note and the clothes. Then I added, “And he left it on the doorstep of the honeymoon suite we were staying in that no one knew about.”

“Okay, Liam, I need to know exactly what the note said.”

“I’m going back to that prison,” I declared. “And I want his release revoked.” This time I wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“You owe us this,” I ground out, angry.

“He’s already been released.”

The words felt like a bullet ripping through flesh and pummeling right into my heart. “What did you just say?”

Alex perked up from where he was lounging.

“All his paperwork went through. He was released yesterday. He’s no longer in custody.”

“And you didn’t think I needed to be made aware!” I yelled.

He cleared his throat. “I tried to call. You didn’t answer.”

Fuck me. Couldn’t a guy get one damn day? “I got married. I was busy.”

“Congratulations,” Frost said, sounding more annoyed than happy.

Like I gave a flying fuck.

“Where is he?” I demanded, spinning around and looking at Alex. He’s out, I mouthed.

Alex whistled low.

“In New York, at his home. He’s being monitored. We have people in place to make sure he stays put.”

“Spare me the shit. We both know it’s not good enough.”

“We’re doing everything within the law.”

I snorted. “That’s the problem. You jack-offs are doing everything by the book while he has no rules.”

“I did everything I could, Liam. The Bureau did everything we could. My hands were tied.”

“Well, mine aren’t,” I inflected dangerously.

“I don’t like the way that sounds, Mattison.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like worrying that my pregnant wife is going to be killed by some animal you let out of prison!”

“I’ll send some agents out. I’m going to need that note.”

“What the hell for? So you can say you tried to do something when shit hits the fan again?”

“I know you are frustrated—”

“You have no idea,” I growled.

“Please, Mattison. Let me do my job.”

“Do it fast,” I replied and disconnected the call. “What an asshat,” I said, tossing the cell on the counter.

“You’re right, you know. They’re bound by a bunch of boundaries and laws. Crone isn’t,” Alex remarked.

“The only way this is going to be over is if I take him out.”

“Killing a man changes you,” Alex said, matter-of-fact.

“So does standing by and letting the same man kill your family.”

Alex inclined his head. “I just want you to think about what you’re doing.”

I cocked my head to the side. “You think I would regret it?”

Her pursed his lips and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “No.”

“Then why are we having this conversation?”

“Because it’s my job to be your conscience just like it’s yours to be mine.”

I appreciated that. I really did. Alex was the best friend I would ever have. “You’ve kept me straight more times than I care to admit.”

“Same. It’s what we do.”

I nodded, then asked, “What choice do I have?”

“You don’t.” Alex asserted. “If I was in your position, I would do the same.”

It wasn’t lost on me that we were standing around talking about killing a man like we sometimes talked about the weather.

This is what life had become.

This was the man I’d become.

No. This was the man Crone was forcing me to become.