Wicks couldn’t keep his tongue in check. “You think just because you got the drop on me once that you’re something special.”
Nomad held quiet.
Wicks continued, feeling a swell of adrenaline inside. “I’ve seen guys like you before. Always opportunistic. Always looking for the advantage when someone not’s looking, instead of a straight-up fight. Like a real man. Won’t work again, asshole.”
“Why don’t you have your driver pull over? Then we’ll see. Straight up, as you say,” Nomad said, breaking his silence.
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t ya?” Wicks replied, wondering if the prisoner’s worn-out voice was a ruse, its tone as ugly and mangled as the face hiding beneath the mask.
“You’re the one baiting me to go one-on-one,” Nomad said, leaning to the side to show the rope keeping his hands secure. “But of course, everyone becomes the tough guy when the opposition is no longer a threat. Like you said, I’ve seen guys like you before. And yet I’m still here.”
“Look around, dude. Do you see anyone to save your ass, like before? I mean really, what kind of man needs a bunch of bleeding-heart women to do his bidding? Seriously, it makes me laugh.”
“As if I would need any help to get the bulge on a tub like you.”
Wicks curled his fists and flexed his biceps, unable to stop the rage from showing. “Okay, buddy. Soon. Trust me, soon.”
Nomad shrugged. “You don’t even have to untie the rope. Plus I’ll give you the first shot. Just have your guy pull over and let’s see what’s what.”
“Oh yeah, this ain’t over.”
“Is this where I turn?” Allison said from the driver’s seat.
Wicks motioned with his head toward the front of the truck, not wanting to take his focus off Nomad. “Answer him.”
Nomad leaned and aimed his attention forward, holding for a two-count before he spoke. “Take a left at that oak tree ahead. When you see a bolder that looks like a giant cube, make a sharp right, down the next path. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
“You better not be pulling something,” Wicks said to Nomad.
Nomad sat back in his seat. “I’m a man of my word. Fuel, explosives, supplies. That’s what you’ll find inside.”
“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“Believe what you want. I speak the truth.”
“You must think I was born yesterday, asshole. Nobody in their right mind would give up all of that. Not for a bunch of useless Scabs. Even if they are females, nobody’s ever going to dip their wick in that nasty hooch. Parts be falling off the man.”
“I should have expected nothing less from a man like you. Always predictable. Always taking the low road.”
Wicks let out a thin smile, his mind conjuring up a dozen ways to beat the prisoner into submission. “Just keep it up, buddy. Your time is coming.”
CHAPTER 13
Summer ran the end of the nozzle over Sergeant Barkley’s neck, letting the water soak in before moving it down and around to the bottom of his snout.
She couldn’t believe how much blood had soaked into the strands of fur, but her fingers were able to loosen most of it. The redness released, then mixed in and ran clear with the runoff as it swirled around the shower drain and disappeared.
Krista stood a few feet behind Summer, grilling Simms. “All right, tell me what happened. Don’t leave out a single detail. I want the truth, all of it.”
“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Simms said, his tone cautious and leading. “You know, out of earshot of both of them.”
Summer realized the blonde boy was referring to her and the dog. “Just pretend we’re not here.”
“Go on, out with it,” Krista said to Simms. “I’ve got shit to do.”
“Well, it’s simple really. That dog got loose and tore into Zimmer.”
Summer shifted her weight to the left, blocking the shower door after Barkley turned his head to look at Simms. She figured it was best to keep herself positioned between the two of them. Just in case.
Krista continued, “Got loose, how? He was on a leash, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t expecting him to take off like that. Next thing I know, his teeth were buried in Zimmer’s neck.”
“Just out of the blue? The dog attacked?”
“Something obviously sparked it,” Summer said, keeping her eyes trained on the dog, while her hands continued their cleanup. “Ask him how, Krista. There has to be a reason.”
“She’s right. There has to be a reason.”
Simms paused before he spoke again. “Look, the last thing I wanted was for any of this to a happen. But it did and I’m not the one who did it. That dog did.”
The tone in Krista’s voice turned even more direct than before, almost like a cop interrogating a lowly drug dealer after a bust. “Why were you in Zimmer’s office? Weren’t you supposed to be out exercising the dog?”
“Yeah, that was the plan until I got a message from some dude I don’t know that Zimmer wanted to talk to me about something. I was only two levels up, so of course I went to his office. Figured it was okay. I mean, it’s still walking the dog, right?”
“You didn’t find it odd that Zimmer wanted to have a chat? It’s not like you two are buddies.”
“No, we’re not. But he’s a higher rank and I figured I needed to do as I was told.”
Krista’s voice increased in volume when she said, “But he’s not your section chief. I am.”
“Plus technically, you work for me now,” Summer said, still washing the dog.
“I get all that, but I wasn’t sure. So I went.”
“Okay, so you went. Then what happened?” Krista asked.
“I sit down and he starts in about some things he’s concerned about and whatnot.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t remember exactly. In fact, I’m not sure he even said for sure, but I was nervous and just trying not to get into trouble. I’m the new guy, remember?”
“Was he talking about someone in particular or something else?”
“I think it was a general thing, like he was worried for the safety of everyone. That he didn’t like the way things were going around here.”
“That sounds like Zimmer,” Summer quipped.
“Then what?” Krista asked.
“He goes on for a bit, then he asks me if I’m loyal to the cause.”
“What cause?”
“Not sure. I think he meant to his cause.”
“Zimmer doesn’t have a cause, other than to stir shit up,” Summer said. “We all know that. He just sits in his office and stews, looking for something to do.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure he didn’t like the way we took charge and changed the rules with the new Ruling Triad,” Krista said to Summer. “We did kind of do an end run around him. Not sure anyone would have been okay with that, least of all him.”
Summer shook her head. “Yeah, well, that’s his problem. He’s a man, so he just needs to zip up his fly and deal with it.”