MasukShare
Part 20
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-03-27 13:54:02
Bab terkait
Drengr Part 21
Becky walked up to the table with my bill and the card machine in her hand. “We’re basically closed, Blake.”“I’m waiting for Charlotte,” I said and handed my card over. Becky smiled but didn’t say a word as I put my pin in. Her face was an open book and I could read every thought she had. Even if that hadn’t been one of my skills, I would have known what she was thinking.Charlotte was cashing up and Becky grabbed her bag from behind the counter. She and Rosie walked past me to the door and she whispered to her friend. “I told you they’re a couple.”Charlotte finished up behind the counter and sat down across from me with fresh coffee. She looked worried and her thumb nail looked chewed on. “What the hell is going on, Blake?”“Apparently Andrew called the Dubuque police on Thursday morning to run my plates. He must have memorized them when he saw us drive away from your house,” I told her. “Max basically just needs to verify my whereabouts over the weekend.”“You were in California a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-28Drengr Part 22
I walked out of the police station and turned toward the diner where I had left my bike. Max followed me outside. “Blake, wait up!” he said loudly behind me. I stopped walking and turned around to face Max.Max caught up to me, a little out of breath. “I didn’t know they were already here.”“It’s fine, Max. The truth is still the truth. I was with Charlotte from Wednesday night until Friday morning and then I went to Chicago,” I said to him.Max nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s what Charlotte told that Harris guy too.”“What exactly did she tell them?” I asked him.Max scratched his head and I could see the indecisiveness in his eyes. “She verified what you said, that you two were at her house and left for your house at around midnight. She said you left for Chicago on Friday morning and returned on Sunday and took her home.”“That’s it?” I asked him.“They had a million questions about the time and so forth and then she admitted that you two are in a relationship and you had a fight ea
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-29Drengr Part 23
Harris opened his window and looked at me. His eyes were red-rimmed and he looked tired. “I’m going for my jog now. You’re welcome to follow.”I took the seven-mile track as the car cruised behind me slowly, following me. I smiled to myself all the way through Peosta and back down the main road heading to Epworth. Harris had parked his car at that intersection and I shook my head.I turned right on Lone Pine Road and headed home. I whistled for the dogs as I stood on the porch and went inside. I had to stick to my routine which meant I would have to go to the diner for breakfast. Harris and Michaelson would have heard that I eat breakfast there every day during the week.I parked my truck in front of the diner at exactly seven-thirty a.m. like I normally would. I sat in the truck and waited for Harris to park his car. He got out when I did and followed me into the diner. I sat down at my table and he sat down at the only other empty table near the end of the counter. He could barely s
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-30Drengr Part 24
I started dinner and went upstairs to shower while the meat grilled in the oven. I would have to somehow convince her to go along with this relationship story to save both our asses. She was an accessory after the fact now.Even though it had been self-defense, they were essentially intruders in my house. I had gotten rid of the bodies and we both had lied about it. It was those lies that could have serious consequences if the truth ever did come out. I had told her I buried them but there were no bodies on the property. They thought I was the boyfriend taking revenge for domestic violence.Charlotte pulled into the driveway at eight p.m. and walked into the house through the kitchen door. The dogs were going crazy as they met her in the kitchen.“Honey, I’m home!” she shouted and I laughed as I walked into the kitchen from the living room.“They can’t hear you,” I said as she put a bottle of wine down on the table.“The wine’s for me,” she said as I looked at the bottle.“You shouldn
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-31Drengr Part 25
“You’ll need to tell me some stuff,” Charlotte said and emptied her wine glass. “You know, random stuff. People ask questions and I do have friends that are going to ask me what you’re really like.”“Okay. I have an older brother, Jack. Our parents are dead, so it’s just me and him. I don’t really have a preference in food, it’s just fuel for your body to keep working adequately,” I said and she snorted.“Fuel for your body? And you don’t see how saying stuff like that makes people think you’re weird?”“Fine. I prefer meat,” I said to her. “I prefer silence to music, reading to watching television. I try to jog every day and I love my bike.”“When’s your birthday?” she asked me and narrowed her eyes. “The real birthday.”“It’s just a date,” I said to her.“Tell me!” She said seriously and scooped a dollop of mashed potatoes onto her fork and looked at me.“You wouldn’t,” I said as she smiled.“Then tell me,” she countered.“Okay, fine, it’s today,” I said.“Really? It’s your birthday
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-01Drengr Part 26
“You should teach me how to shoot,” she said as we walked to my bedroom.I handed her one of my T-shirts and pulled a pair of trunks on. I pulled the covers down and we both got into bed. “You managed to hit me,” I reminded her.“I was aiming for your head,” she said and burst out laughing.“You’re a terrible shot. I’m not sure I’ll be able to teach you how to shoot,” I said and she slapped me on my arm and turned to face me.Instinctively I moved closer to her and put my arm around her. “That was mean.” She moved right up against me and pulled my hand toward her face.I tightened my hold around her and pushed my one leg between hers. It felt natural and comfortable and her back was snug against my chest.“I guess we’re not pretending anymore,” she said softly and my eyes popped open.“I guess not.” Could it really be that easy? Lying in bed together we fit like two pieces of the same puzzle and it had happened so naturally to just climb into bed with her, as if we’d done it a hundre
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-02Drengr Part 27
“Morning, Blake,” Peter Gunston said and sat down opposite me.“Peter.” I wondered what he wanted and if he was going to say something about the self-defense class at my barn. He was the principal of Western Dubuque High School. He stood at five foot nine inches and leaned towards overweight.“Kids are all abuzz about that class you did,” he said and I smiled. “Would you consider—” I interrupted him right there.“Sorry, Peter. I travel too much for my own work to commit to anything right now,” I said to him. His face fell as he stood up and got his takeaway coffee from Rosie and left the diner without saying another word. I looked at my watch and wondered when Charlotte would be back.“Hello, Jericho.” I stiffened as her hand moved from one shoulder to the other as she walked past me and sat down at the table. I looked at her and her smile didn’t do anything for me.“What are you doing here?” I asked her as Nick walked in and sat down next to her.“Hey, buddy.”“Nick.” I glared at the
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-03Drengr Part 28
Harris and Michaelson followed me out of the diner. I got into my truck and pulled my phone out. I put my earphones in and dialed Jack’s number. I drove off when it started ringing.“Hey, little bro,” Jack answered.“Can you try and keep your mouth shut?”“They just care,” he said. “So, are you getting married yet?”I laughed. “Not just yet, but she spent the night.”“You see, I told you to turn on the charm and keep the rest a secret,” he said with a laugh. We talked for a bit and I ended the call as I parked in the garage. I saw the kid sitting on my porch steps with the dogs lying next to him.“Mr. Blake,” he said and stood up as I walked up the porch steps.“William,” I said and unlocked the kitchen door. I stepped inside the kitchen and held the door open for him. He followed me inside and sat down at the kitchen table. I took a can of Coke from the fridge and handed it to him.“Thanks,” he said and looked around.“Are you okay?” He had the beginnings of a shiner under his right
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-04
Bab terbaru
Drengr Part 41
I dialed Bluebird’s number from the new phone. Jennifer Yang was the most brilliant hacker I knew. She was even better than Jack. She was a silver spoon baby and worked for nobody. We met in college and she did everything for me that I couldn’t do through Jack or didn’t want them to know about.“Hey, Bluebird,” I said when she answered.“Hey Jericho. What do you need?” She was always straight to the point and a no-nonsense type of woman. I smiled.“Phone trace on Charles Huxman, sending his details now,” I said.“I’ll send you everything I find. I assume you want his live location?” dhe asked me.“You know me too well. Send it to this number. I’ll send you four more names,” I said.Jennifer laughed. “You plan on being busy.”“No rest for the wicked,” I said and ended the call. I closed the laptop and put it back in the backpack.“Bo!” I called out to him. He popped his head around the corner, his phone glued to his ear. “Call me with a drop when you’re ready.”“I got you, man,” he sai
Drengr Part 40
I took the backpack and the two Jericho’s and headed to the garage. I placed the Jericho’s with their silencers in the compartments and put the backpack on my back. The bike was almost on empty and I drove away from the farmhouse, wondering if I would ever return to it.I felt like I had lost something. ‘It’s just a house. You can rebuild,’ I said to myself as I turned onto the Old Highway and sped up slightly. I had taken the bike because it was faster. The truck could drive further than the bike on a tank of gas, but it also made me a sitting duck if I was found.Protocol calls for agents to report to HQ unless otherwise stipulated. We had safe houses scattered all over the world and I had used a few of them over the years. My problem at this stage was that my address had been leaked. I couldn’t help but wonder what else had been leaked and why. I checked my phone when I stopped for gas in Centralia and I called Jack.“Status?” he asked me.“Almost extracted,” I said and I could hea
Drengr Part 39
I woke up seven hours later to a quiet house. It was too quiet as I walked down the stairs. There was a note on the kitchen table in Charlotte’s handwriting.“Blake,William and I have gone home. I can’t talk to you right now.”I looked at it and threw it in the dustbin. I started laughing. The one time I had told her the truth, and she didn’t believe me. She had believed every lie I had fed her but it was the truth she was blind to. I couldn’t blame her for leaving, it all looked bad. The photo, the text from Nataly, it all pointed to me doing something that I hadn’t.It hurt though, her leaving and taking the kid with her. It hurt. All the feelings hurt. I felt sad and angry at myself and the house was empty once again. The old Blake would have preferred this, but the real me, I was lost somehow. How ironic life turned out to be.My cup stood exactly where I had left it that morning and I looked at it. I picked it up and threw it against the wall of the laundry room. The dogs jumped
Drengr Part 38
I parked the bike in my apartment building’s parking lot and went upstairs to my apartment. I didn’t even bother to switch the lights on as I took the bloodied clothes off and stepped into the shower. I stood under the scalding water and scrubbed everything off me.I sat down on the edge of my bed and for the first time in my life, I cried. I cried out the guilt of Robert’s suicide because I might as well have killed him myself. I hadn’t felt bad when I killed Lydia, only afterward when Robert found her, did it hit me. His pain had become my pain.Robert Gold had been my friend for ten years and even though most of what he knew about me had been a lie, we’d still been friends. We had spent real time together and I couldn’t be sure that my reaction was due to me never having suffered a personal loss or if I was losing my edge.I got dressed in my riding gear and packed my backpack. I locked up my apartment and drove home to Epworth on the bike. The highway was basically empty but not o
Drengr Part 37
“Where have you been?” Robert asked me.“I just closed another deal in Greece. Work never stops and that’s why I prefer to stay at home,” I said and Robert laughed.“You should get out more often, live a little. Don’t you get bored working all the time?” he asked me.“Unlike you, Robert, I like to work. Before you know it, I’ll be worth more than you are,” I said and he shook his head.“I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of that,” he said almost bitterly and handed me a drink from the bar.“Thanks and cheers,” I said and we clinked our glasses together.“Hey, I want to show you something,” Robert said as I walked with him.We went upstairs and walked down the same hallway I had walked with Lydia earlier. Robert stopped in front of their bedroom door and smiled at me. I hadn’t planned on Lydia’s body being discovered so soon.“I acquired this in London last month. Tell me what you think,” he said and opened the door. Robert switched the lights on and we walked further into the room.
Drengr Part 36
“Hi,” I answered my phone.“You clean up nice, little bro,” Jack said and I smiled. His call was right on schedule.“You would hate it. This really isn’t your scene,” I said and he laughed. I could picture him in his dimly lit office in front of his many computer screens, typing away and listening to radio calls and checking camera feeds.“Yeah, I can only imagine the torture of free booze and uninhibited women everywhere. Horrific,” he said as I scanned the room.I saw Lydia walking towards the bar and she glanced at me. Her smile widened when we made eye contact and I smiled back at her.“Is that why you called me?” I asked him.“No. I just called to say that June’s invited you to the kids birthday party on Sunday,” he said.“I’ll let you know. You do realize that I’m already supposed to be alone with the wife,” I said.“Have fun,” Jack said and smiled.I placed our call on hold and I watched Lydia from across the room. I could wait patiently. The perfect timing was when the laughte
Drengr Part 35
I settled back against the couch in my living room and opened the package from Bo. I took out the two leather casings and I opened one. I looked at the contents and smiled.I thought back to the file Jack had sent me about William’s mother. I had a plan for her as soon as I got back to Iowa. She was never going to be the mother that William deserved and maybe with this, I could make his life a little better.I wiped everything in the leather casing and walked to my bedroom. The tuxedo was in my closet and I put the invitation in my jacket pocket and went to bed.I didn’t sleep well. I had too many conflicting emotions and thoughts that were going through my mind and eventually I fell asleep at five a.m. It was still a restless sleep because conflicting emotions were something new to me.At ten a.m. I was woken up by my ringing phone.“Yeah?” I answered the phone with my eyes still closed.“Where are you?” Jack asked me in a hushed voice.“What time is it?” I asked him.“Ten a.m. littl
Drengr Part 34
Nataly opened the gate and we all drove into the parking area of her building. We made our way over to the elevators and an old lady was looking us up and down.“Hello, Mrs. Duffard,” Nataly said.“Oh, hello dear.” She leaned in closer to Nataly and looked disapprovingly at us. “You shouldn’t hang around with all these men. What will people say?” I started chuckling and Nick jabbed me in the ribs.“These are just friends from work,” Nataly said.“If you say so, dear,” the old woman said and got off on her floor.“Yeah, Nataly. What will people say?” Charlie quipped as the doors closed again.“Oh, shut up,” Nataly said and laughed.It felt like old times, the team working together, laughing, joking and competing together. It almost felt like Nataly was my friend again. We ordered food and settled down in her living room.My phone vibrated in my pocket and I saw it was Max. “Excuse me,” I said and walked toward the back of Nataly’s apartment and answered.“Hi Max, can I call you—”“Blak
Drengr Part 33
A week later, I was busy packing my backpack as Charlotte sat on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest. “Don’t be mad.”“I’m not mad,” she said but the look in her eyes told a different story.“We talked about this. I can’t tell you everything and you accepted that before we started this relationship,” I said.“I know, but I don’t have to like the fact that you’ll be in Chicago with your ex for the whole weekend,” she said.“It’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like we’ll be alone,” I said.“She’s your ex, Blake. I saw the way she was looking at you, she’ll find a way to be alone with you,” she said.I left the backpack on the bed and sat down next to Charlotte. I took her hand in mine and looked her in the eye. “I’m not a cheater, Charlotte. If I wanted Nataly back, I’d be with her. I don’t want her back, I don’t miss her. I’m here with you and that’s where I want to be. She can try to be alone with me, I still have a choice in what happens and I choose you.”“What if you don
