Page 54 of Striker

“I have a question for you, Dos. Did my dad have any personal side things going? I’m in the process of handling the estate my mother left me.”

“Your mom was one of the good ones.”

Dean wouldn’t go that far, but he didn’t argue.

“Your dad dabbled in plenty of side gigs. He liked money.”

“Like what?”

“Gambling, laundering, drugs, weapons…you name it. But holding onto it was another matter. He bought a lot of property.”

Dean thought he had his answer, but now he wasn’t sure. He just never thought of his dad as a hoarder. Certainly not with the kind of cash he had under the floorboards. Looked like he was no closer to the truth. After a half an hour, he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

He entered the room and hit the wall with the heel of his hand until he cooled down—until he could take a breath without wanting to lash out at someone. “O,” he whispered into the comm. “Can you get me an unregistered gun and make sure it has blanks?”

“Yes,” she said in his ear. “Are you all right?”

“No, but I will be. I’m going to try to get a look in the back. Maybe we don’t have to go through with this plan if we find what we’re looking for here.”

“When?” she asked.

“Now.”

“We have ears on the bar, so we’ll alert you if there’s a problem.”

“Copy that,” he said.

He exited the bathroom and slipped down the short hall toward the rooms with the cots. The door to the storage area was just past it. When he got there, he looked over his shoulder, but he was alone. He went to turn the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s locked. Picking it.”

“I guess you got a well-rounded set of skills from the Navy,” Logan said.

“Hoo-rah,” Dean said softly.

He fit in the lockpicks and turned them until he felt the lock release. Slipping them back into the concealed place in his belt buckle, he opened the door, relocked it and slipped inside.

It was dark with nothing but a dim light showing him stacks of goods.

He started his search.

* * *

Ophelia sat in the van while Jessica, Gage, and Logan murmured about how they were going to handle this murder-for-hire that Dean had just agreed to. The consensus seemed to be that Gage would talk to his boss, convince him to go along to save his life. The Black Hearts were coming for him.

Ophelia heard loud and clear they wouldn’t be sending Dean alone. Ave would have to make this an Oscar-winning performance.

“He’s been gone kinda long,” Cal said, and Ophelia sat up straighter.

“I doubt he got lost,” Tubby said.

“Go look for him,” Dos said.

“Dean. They’re looking for you. You have to get out of there.”

“I can’t, babe. Someone came in. This is a dead end, but I can’t get out yet!”

Ophelia thought quick, then caught the sight of a woman walking down the street. “How much money do you have?” she asked the others.

“What?” Jessica furrowed her brow, confused.