Where the people could go.
What the people could do.
What the people could say.
What the people could… fill in the blanks.
Colby stared back at her. “Did my mother speak with you again?”
“We exchanged some words. Yes.”
“What did she say?”
She hesitated.
“Alicia. What did she say?”
“That you would eventually grow tired of me. That I would always be living in the shadow of Skye. And that one day I would wake up and you would be gone.”
He gritted his teeth at the thought of her meddling in his life. If she couldn’t get at him directly, she would take an indirect path. It pissed him off to no end. He shook his head as he put a watch on his wrist, as if time mattered. Days blurred into weeks and it was all the same shit, surviving, trying to keep his head above the water.
“But you know what, Colby. This has less to do with your family and everything to do with what you want. You need to decide what matters. What do you want?”
He shrugged, throwing the question back. “What do you want?”
“After everything we’ve been through. Peace. Not having to look over my shoulder and wonder if one of your family, the Stricklands or someone else is going to stab me in the back. You. I also want you,” she said. “Is that asking too much?”
He blew out his cheeks, his mind circling between her, and his family. Living away from them for so many years had made it easy. It had made it easy to forget the past but now he was back, he’d reconnected, gotten answers to questions that had bothered him. There was a chance to put it behind him, change the past and… when he didn’t reply fast enough, Alicia turned and headed for the door. “Well, I guess that answers that.”
“Alicia.”
She didn’t stop and he didn’t go after her.
Chapter Twelve
Twelve people died in the explosion. Although it had rocked the community, this time fewer people seemed affected by the loss. That’s because suicide, death and coming under attack was beginning to become a way of life. While they hadn’t experienced it inside the fence in some time, it still happened, on runs out of the city. Not everyone returned. That was the risk of trying to survive in a powerless world.
Later that morning Colby headed over to Humboldt County Courthouse. The police department had a ham radio. It was only meant to be used by the Office of Emergency Services so they could stay abreast of changes in other counties and towns throughout California but Johnson had given him clearance. He said it was just another perk. Another way he could entice him to take a position with the department. Johnson was like a drug dealer, letting him taste some of the benefits to get him hooked. And if he was honest, it had worked. A nice house inside the city, food, medicine, fresh clothes, water, invitations out to private meetings. He wanted him to know what it would be like working with him.
In some ways he had Dan to thank for that. He’d told Johnson before passing on the baton that if he needed a right-hand man, Colby was the guy.
“Hey Cathy, Johnson in?” Colby asked.
She set some paperwork down. “No, he won’t be back until this afternoon.”
“Is the ham radio in use?”
“No, it’s all yours.”
He ventured down into the basement and entered a cramped room. It smelled musty. He could hear different members of the team talking outside. Some guy walked past with a stack of paperwork in hand. He glanced at him and gave a nod. To some it might have seemed odd that people in the community would still be working, but that’s what had convinced him that there were still good people among them. They weren’t all out to kill, destroy or climb their way to the top of the ladder for control over the city.
Colby took a seat. The huge ham radio was set up on a table. He put the headset on and went through the process of contacting Miriam. Instead of going all the way up there, he just wanted to check in with her and see how Kane was. He was planning on bringing him back later that evening but Miriam had convinced him to let the dog stay there an extra night.
“Miriam. You there?” Static came over the line. A moment later a gruff familiar voice picked up.
“Colby?”
“Alby. So it is true,” he said, looking up toward the door then getting up and closing it. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was. Johnson had been clear that as long as he stayed out of sight, he was more than happy to let it go. Mistake number two? Possibly.
“Where are you, Colby?”
“Eureka.”
“You spoke with your mother?”
“Yeah, sounds like you’ve got her all bent out of shape.” He heard him chuckle and then take a huge drag on a cigar or cigarette and blow it out. “You aren’t going to do anything stupid, are you, Alby?”
“Of course not. I just want what’s mine.”
“And that would be?”
“Like I told your mother. My dog, and my gold. You know where they are?”
“Your dog is with Hazel. As for the gold. It’s with Heath.”
“Sonofabitch! I knew it.”
“What’s the deal, Alby?”
“The deal is your cousin. He won’t hand that over to me.”
“Why not?”
“I’d prefer not to go into it. Shit! I knew she was screwing me over. You know that’s why she moved it there. He won’t hand it over, not after what I did.”
“And you won’t tell me so I can’t help. Look, is Miriam there?”
“No. She’s been out all day.”
“With Kane?”
“Kane’s here with me. I might add, he’s one hell of a dog, Colby. Well
