Jack purposely ended it fast knowing that Pope expected it to be drawn out, bloody and violent. He was sure Pope bet on the other two and had made the decision to have two opponents rather than one simply to show dominance.
Tyson moved in quick to gather the winnings and they slipped away before Pope could change his mind. In the cab on the way back, Tyson threw some of the money in the air and watched it settle like snowflakes.
“Holy shit. Did you see the look on Pope’s face? I haven’t seen him that pissed in a long while. We just made a cool three grand tonight,” he said, gathering up the money and thumbing off Jack’s share. “How about we party?”
Jack shook his head. “I’m kind of tired.”
Tyson’s smile faded. “Right. Yeah, gotta get that sleep in.” He patted Jack on the shoulder. “I guess now that I’m gonna be managing your career, I should probably think about what you’ll eat and…”
“Tyson. Settle down.”
His youthfulness was getting the better of him.
He recalled those days. The late nights. The hard partying. The women, and the need to make his mark on the world. He’d made it but it wasn’t something he was proud about. Jack looked out the window, squinting into the darkness of the forest. His mind was far from fighting, the money or any threat Pope could be. His thoughts were with Dana. With the image of the man watching her in the video. Where was she? Was she safe? Was she alive? He got this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A sense that he wasn’t doing enough to find her, and yet he was doing everything he could under the circumstances.
When they returned home that evening, Shanice was waiting in the kitchen.
Since getting out of the cab Tyson hadn’t stopped talking about how they were going to take this to the top, and then maybe once Jack had more clout and earned the respect of Pope he wouldn’t need his permission to fight. Tyson would create his own event. It was all dreams but who was he to piss on them?
Tyson chuckled as he shouldered his way into a dark kitchen. He flipped the switch and was still talking when Jack saw his mother sitting in a chair at the table.
“But when we get to Albuquerque, that’s where the real money is. And—”
He turned and the smile vanished from Tyson’s face.
One glance at both of them and Shanice jabbed her gnarled finger at Tyson. “I’ll speak with you in the morning.” Tyson was about to reply but he knew better. Instead, he gave a nod, said goodnight to Jack and wandered upstairs. Once his door shut, Shanice stared at Jack’s cut lip.
“I prayed today and the Lord gave me the answer,” she said getting up and walking over to him and shoving the wad of money he’d given her earlier that morning into his chest. Jack clasped it. “I want you gone by the morning.”
She didn’t wait for an explanation and Jack never tried to give one. He knew she was only looking out for her own.
Chapter 15
Zach’s source came through but the Telluride business owners didn’t. Kelly was tapping away at her keyboard that morning writing up a rough draft on what they’d uncovered so far when Zach returned with two cups of coffee.
He’d knocked several times breaking her train of thought. “Open up, Kelly.”
“All right. All right.”
A few more kicks from him and she pulled the door open.
Zach handed her a coffee as he charged in and proceeded to roll straight into what his source had dug up. “So I was right. Jack Winchester was somehow caught up with the San Francisco mob. While there isn’t a lot of information on what his ties were, it was pretty serious. What they had on him was enough that they could have sent him down for a long time. But it never happened. Call it luck. Fate. Whatever. Get this. He was used as a bagman for the cops because that psycho had specifically requested him. While my source can’t say for sure whether he was the mystery guy, they know for sure that he was given immunity and sent on his way without even a slap on the wrist. How about that?” he said, squatting down and leering at her computer. Before she could respond he continued jabbering away. His brow furrowed. “I don’t get it. Armstrong, you’re not mentioning his name in the article?”
“Well we don’t have enough proof.”
“Of course we do. We know he was there at the time. We know he carried the bag. Who else could it be? He’s also linked to Dana Grant.” He took a large bite of a muffin and brushed crumbs off his lap onto her computer. She rolled her eyes and went over and shut the top.
“Do you mind?”
“Very much so,” he said with a smile.
Kelly walked back to her desk and took a seat. She peeled away the outer wrapper on her muffin and took a bite. After wiping her lips she continued, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Without a photo we don’t have anything. It’s all speculation. We need something more. Something concrete.”
Zach nodded. “Well what did the store owners say?”
“Not much.” She took a gulp of coffee. “It wasn’t because they didn’t have footage or they weren’t willing to help. Neither was it the fact that I told them that I was a reporter from the Chronicle and had worked with Dana. It seemed they were protective of their privacy, more specifically Jack’s.”
“But she’s missing?”
“Didn’t seem to matter.”
He snorted. “Well that’s what happens when you do work in this town for free. I still can’t get my head around that.
