He’d been easy to spot, not because we knew what he looked like but because his loud, angry voice made him hard to ignore as several patrons moved away. Blood had formed clumps in his usually perfectly tousled hair and coagulated on his split lip. His clothes were ripped to the point one sleeve clung by only a few threads, his feet were barefoot and filthy and his hands and knuckles were covered in makeshift bandages, many of which had bleed through. One particularly bad gash on his palm was exposed, leaving stains on his pint glass as a macabre aftereffect.

  The woman behind the bar frowned at something he was saying and thrust a forefinger into his chest as she leaned within millimeters of his face and responded through gritted teeth. Blaze shook his head and threw up his hands as she spun on her heel and stalked away.

  Now that I’d seen her in the flesh—I realized I had underestimated Diamond Destiny. Even behind those Bo Derek looks and wildly-colored locks, the only thing reminiscent of her teeny weeny bikini days was the ample showing of bosom, prominently displayed by the low-cut t-shirt sporting the bar’s name. Grimacing as I noted the pair of guns she had working, I was betting she could have given Decker a run for her money. Having said that, Blaze—whether he realized it or not—had gotten off lucky. This time.

  “Blaze,” Decker called out as we approached.

  He picked up his pint glass and chugged its contents within a few gulps before slamming it on the bar.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked without even a glance in her direction, fisting both hands on the bar.

  Decker sidled up to the seat next to his and faced him.

  “Looking for Cam. And yet, found you.”

  Blaze snorted and from his slurred speech, it was clear he was either a light-weight or had already pounded several beverages.

  “Well, as your beady little eyes can see, that rat-bastard is not here.” He cartoonishly gestured around the bar with one arm before pausing. “Wait—how did you know?” He tapped his head. “Ahh, sweet Anna. Where is my raven-haired goddess? And why hasn’t she come to fetch me?”

  Or save him from himself, I thought to myself, shocked by what I was witnessing. One would be hard-pressed to deny it had been a long, hard day but I had never seen him in such a mood. It was not a look he wore well. It was probably for the best that Anna wasn’t around to see him in this manner. She had enough on her plate, taking in nearly as much, if not more than Blaze had in the short time since we had landed in town.

  Apparently, Decker was no more amused than the rest of us as she stared him down, her tone sour as she responded, “At your condo. Waiting for you.” Blaze broke away from her piercing gaze and Decker added, “You do remember calling her.” It settled in as more of a jab than a question.

  Blaze ignored it, tipping his empty glass on its side and spinning it. “Where’s Cam, then, Ms. P.I.?”

  “That’s what we should be asking you,” Decker replied, her eyes never leaving him. “What exactly did you do to your friend? And where the hell is he?”

  “I have no idea.” Blaze hung his head, frowning. “She didn’t know, either.”

  He gestured down the bar toward Destiny, who was busy pouring fresh beers for a couple at the other end. When she caught him staring she glared and turned her back, causing him to huff.

  “Said he hasn’t been here and that he’s not responded to any of her calls. Mine either.”

  “Just what did you expect, Blaze?”

  “Don’t start with me, Decker,” he spat out as he shot her an angry look. “You…you started this.”

  I gave her a heck of a lot of credit—Decker stood her ground. “No Blaze. Let’s be straight. Whoever’s been threatening you and your crew started this. You brought me in to end it.”

  Blaze returned his glass to an upright position and slammed it onto the bar top with such force he caught a variety of looks from patrons—not to mention a venomous one from Destiny.

  “Yeah, well, you’ve done a stellar job to this point, Decker.”

  “Not interested in your sarcasm, Blaze. Perhaps you should take it easy on the grown-up beverages,” she replied, reaching for his glass.

  Blaze clumsily snatched it away and attempted to stare her down, though his eyes were barely slits and weren’t focusing on anything in particular.

  Finally, he snorted and managed to slur out, “You tell your pops that, did ya, Decker? Maybe if he hadn’t been hitting the bottle so hard, he would have caught your poor mama’s killer before he met his maker.”

  I sucked in a breath as he tossed back his head and released a repulsive howl, slapping the man to his left on the back as he did. The man had the good graces to look away and move to another seat.

  In hindsight, it would be the first, and only, time I would see Decker break out of character—a flash of anger sparked in her eyes as she ground her jaw, balling her hands into fists. In that moment, I witnessed the rage and saw what was within the core of her being and perhaps—at some level—her soul.

  It was both frightening…and familiar.

  And then, just like that, it was gone.

  I’m not sure what happened but somehow, somewhere she dug down deep inside and suddenly, the emotion evaporated and the anger turned to nothing more than a squint as she leaned in so close Blaze must have felt the heat of her breath on his ear.

  “Let’s not forget, I told you to tell them…all of them…about me…about everything…for weeks…and yet, you refused.”

  Blaze tempted fate, continuing his belligerent antagonism. “And we know how well that sage advice turned out, don’t we?”

  Decker slapped him up the backside of the head but he was so far gone, he was starting to look like a bobblehead. Even when he released a slow hiss, she would not be swayed. Her smile turned cruel, almost demonic as she replied and though her tone was sharp there was no humor behind it.

  “Get real, Blaze. You aren’t seriously arrogant—or ignorant—enough to place the blame for what happened to Bryce…on me?”

  “No, Decker. I blame myself. For hiring you,” he replied through gritted teeth. “And I blame Abe and Elijah for recommending you and to be honest, I seriously don’t even want to be looking at your face right now, much less wasting any more of what time I have left on this earth talking to you.”

  “Touché. Consider our business concluded. I’ll send you a bill tomorrow. Now that we know where you are, we’ll be on our way.” Decker’s unnerving smile remained intact as she added, “As a parting piece of advice—on the house—call your fiancé and let her know that while you are a complete jackass, you’re still alive. Better yet, call a cab and go show her.”

  “Go to hell, Decker. Like you give a rat’s—”

  Before he could finish that original comeback, Decker moved past him and strode toward Destiny, who had been intently watching the entire exchange.

  I patted Blaze on the shoulder and Leah leaned into him, whispering as we followed Decker, “Please, do call her, Blaze. She’s a wreck. One of us can drive you back.”

  Blaze nodded, though it was clear he wasn’t absorbing her message as he glared at Decker, who was engaged in a discussion with his former peer and girlfriend.

  “At least I tried,” Leah mumbled to my back as we moved through the crowd to join the two unlikely cohorts.

  “Probably better than he deserved,” I replied over my shoulder. “But we owe it to Anna. How she chooses to deal with it is up to her.”

  We sidled up to Decker, who promptly introduced us to Destiny, who in turn offered us both a firm handshake and a warm smile. As she perused us, I realized Diamond Destiny was definitely more than met the eye. Once you got past her exterior, there was a spark behind those icy blue eyes, which were filled with excitement and an intelligence that suggested she was wise to ways of the world. I doubted she minded that people underestimated her and was sure she used it to her advantage.

  “Decker’s been filling me in on everything that Blaze was too incoherent to spit out. Just a shame to hear about Bryce.” Destiny shook her head. “Another righteous dude gone far too soon and though I never believed he’d leave this life the easy way, I always thought it would be on his terms. Guess the universe had other plans. It’s always a somber reminder that while we think we’ve got the world in the palm of our hands, we’re never really in control. Of anything.”

  There was a moment of silence before she added, “And now, this fight between Cam and Blaze? That one I definitely didn’t see coming. I’m glad you showed up when you did. Not that it excuses his behavior but at least it explains it.”

  Decker nodded. “You mentioned calling him a cab?”

  “Yeah, it’s shown up and gone. Flat out refused it, threatened to sit outside all night and wait for Cam to show.” Destiny turned to us. “I was just telling Decker that I haven’t heard from him since this morning. Not by phone or in the flesh.”

  “Could he have stopped by your place? Gone there to clean up, take a shower, that kind of thing?” Leah asked.

  “This is my place.” Destiny went on to explain that she had a small apartment at the back of the bar.

  “Convenient,” Leah murmured.

  Destiny nodded. “We’re open seven days a week and considering the bar is in my name, I like to be hands on. Not to mention, it’s pretty much my livelihood these days, though there is still the homage to my previous life.” She waved a hand at the décor before adding, “I’m sure Decker has supplied all the gory details on that topic.” She laughed after catching our guilty expressions. “I simply meant my stint in—and retirement from—extreme sports.”

  “By choice,” Decker added.

  “Oh yeah, always.” Destiny laughed. “Not that I consider age a factor but I’d lost my appetite for it. It was getting harder and harder to drum up fresh material—stuff that our diehard fans wouldn’t already anticipate. I think a lot of us never realized we should have gotten out before we did and by then, it was either too late or we ended up dead.

  “I didn’t want that for myself and while this bar may look like a dive, it’s mine—something that’s physical and tangible—and it provides something for the community, even if it’s just a drink after a hard day, or a group of friends to commiserate with…or like Blaze, somewhere to go when you’re lost or have got nowhere else to go.”

  “Well, judging from all the photographs lining the walls, you’ve got something good going here. There are some pretty famous faces up there,” Leah replied, pointing at a picture of a current A-list actor.

  Destiny shrugged. “Guess it depends on how you define fame. You know what I mean, Decker.” She nodded at photo of an older man that looked oddly like Decker, except for as the fact he was clearly intoxicated and in a precarious situation with a pair of double Ds.

  Decker barely glanced at the photo, her expression unchanged as Destiny continued, “For example, that skinny dude over by the pool table? He’s a single father of three. Works as an EMT—arguably one of the toughest jobs out there. Brought two children—babies really—back from the dead just this afternoon, after their babysitter left them in a hot car while she went into the mall to see her boyfriend.

  “Or that chick at the table to the right of him—the one with the obnoxious shade of red hair? She was able to convince a battered wife to leave her abusive husband and get herself and her children into a safe refuge before he made good on his threat to kill her next time he saw her.

  “They are the ones that truly deserve the fame.” She shook her head and frowned before adding, “They make a difference in this world and expect nothing in return, while some of us demand it purely to soothe our over-inflated egos.”

  “We all serve a purpose, Destiny,” Decker replied firmly, her tone sincere. “We just have to find our passion and know that when we put ourselves out in the world, both it and everyone in it are getting the very best versions of us. Because we love what we do.”

  Destiny reached a fist across the bar and knocked it against Decker’s. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a hell of lot wiser than you let on?”

  Decker hacked out a laugh. “Just my pops. And that was only when I bested him at his own game.” When she caught our confused expressions, she added, “I solved a case he couldn’t crack.”

  Destiny started to reply but got derailed as she glanced down to the bar, frowning.

  “We’ve got ourselves a little problem, gals.”

  We followed her line of sight and released a collective groan.

  The spot Blaze had previously occupied was empty.

  “Well, crap,” Decker growled as we proceeded to the front of the bar and out into the brisk air.

  On the ground, a pint glass had been smashed across the asphalt.

  And that gorgeous 1969 Pontiac GTO in midnight blue?

  Gone.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After the initial shock wore off—and several expletives were tossed out into the stratosphere—we alerted Anna, hoping Blaze would return to the condo in one piece, though holding no illusions he would even return to his home.

  Cam, after all, was not there and Blaze would not stop searching for him until his mission was complete.

  Unfortunately, the alcohol he’d ingested would not only serve as a danger to himself but everyone on the road he came into contact with. But as terrifying as that prospect was, I was far more concerned with the outcome of a reunion between Blaze and his friend. If round two came to fruition, I wouldn’t want to bear witness to the aftermath.

  It was no surprise that Anna was less than thrilled to learn where we’d located him and even more frustrated that he’d escaped in an impaired condition. Out of respect, we were silent until she finished her rant, at which point, she noted our silence and quickly added that she wasn’t angry at us, specifically, for failing to prevent what she described as an inevitable situation, after what the duo had been through that day.

  She did express confusion and said that she could count on one hand the number of times Blaze had overindulged in alcohol. And, more importantly, she couldn’t recall any situation where he’d actually been ignorant enough to think he could get into a vehicle and drive. She sighed as she mentioned having a few friends on the police force she could call to keep an eye out for Blaze’s car.

  Of course, she also realized that if Blaze was spotted, law enforcement would be bound to intervene, which would result in an arrest and jail time. The laws were strict and even Blaze’s father would not be able to get him out of trouble this time.

  “Wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Decker responded when Anna finished. “At least we’d know where one of them was.”

  “I just hope Cam’s fate doesn’t end up the same or worse. I can also have them look for his truck and hopefully by the end of this hellacious day, we’ll have them both back where they belong,” Anna replied.

  And both in one piece, I thought to myself.

  We agreed to head back to Blaze’s, where Decker would drop us and we’d help Anna clean up the mess in his condo. Decker indicated she wanted to check on a few things and would meet up with us in the morning.

  We said our goodbyes to Destiny and made an agreement to keep one another up to date. She kept her concern for Cam close to the vest, assuring us he was just probably too embarrassed to have shown his face in the bar until she’d closed for the night. That was several hours away and personally, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the worst of thoughts from emerging, much less sit still, while waiting for him to return.

  No, if I had been Destiny, I would have left my bartender in charge, jumped in my car and scoured the city and all of his known haunts, dialing his number nonstop, until I could sock him in the gut for making me worry. After we left, I said as much to Leah, which of course, Decker overheard.

  “Don’t blame her for not reacting with more emotion. She’s known Blaze, Bryce, Cam—all of them—for a long time. And, she’s definitely been through worse.”

  “Worse than death?” Leah snorted, before adding, “Because honestly, I can’t conjure anything worse than that, no matter how resilient—or bull-headed—you all are. Dead is dead and unlike the supernatural zombie crap, resurrection in this realm is purely fiction.” With that, she spun on her heel, stomped to Decker’s vehicle and jumped in the back alongside Nicoh, who’d slept through the entire outing.

  “Don’t take it personally,” I said to Decker, who stared at Leah sitting rigidly in her SUV. “This hits a little too close to home for her—for both of us. Death has come knocking at our doorstep one too many times. After a while, even though the wound is no longer bleeding it never seems to completely heal.”

  “Tell me about it,” she murmured, hopping into the driver’s seat while I rode shotgun this time around. “I’ve been picking at that scab all my damn life.”

  We rode in silence, except for Nicoh, who chewed on his paw. It was a welcome break from the accident site and the subsequent scene at the bar. I opened the window and allowed the evening air to whip strands of my hair into a frenzied mess.

  Before long, Decker dropped us at Blaze’s condo and as we entered, we found Anna on her knees, scraping the remnants of a table lamp into a dustpan.

  Without as much as a glance or a hello, she pointed at an overturned entertainment center, its contents scattered in various conditions throughout the room.

  “Not much assistance when it comes electronics repair,” Leah grumbled, picking up what was left of the blu-ray player.

  “Idiots,” Anna mumbled, dumping the dustpan into the garbage can, before picking up a trophy in the shape of a surfboard. She wiped it clean with a rag before placing it back on the shelf and moving onto the next.

  Though she hadn’t said much since our arrival, it was hard not to notice that her words were slurred. And while she hadn’t been drinking, she also hadn’t eaten the entire time we’d been in L.A.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21