It had snowed overnight, a thick blanketing of sticky white that clung to every surface of Entrance and made it gleam diamond bright under the full light of a cool toned sun. The glitter of it in the pine boughs caught my eye as I stood at the edge of the forest backing the Waverly’s property staring across the field at a rusted old car and two figures wrapped in dark clothes already waiting for us.
The cops had started setting up their scene deep in the night. The two forms and the rusty bucket had already been there. It irritated the cops, but then, at least they’d known better than to try to conceal their presence from the killer. He would know they were there no matter how hard they tried to hide.
He’d picked the right spot for the exchange. Aside from the copse of trees on either side of the clearing, the expanse was large and flat, unideal for snipers or any other surprises the pigs might’ve used against him. The forest at his back gave him the ideal cover to disappear, or at least get a head start in the chase. I traced the path of the trees over the flat valley up onto the incline of a decent mountain farther in the distance. Lion confirmed plainclothes policemen were surrounding the broader area too, but I had as much confidence in them as I did in any kinda God.
Again, the killer was proving smarter than the average lowlife.
“Got a bad fuckin’ feelin’ about this,” I muttered as I leaned against the cop car harboring my woman.
If I had it my way, she wouldn’t leave the damn thing until this was done. In my mind, there was no reason she even had to be there, but the cops wanted her there in case the killer requested verbal confirmation it was her.
“You gotta have some faith,” Lion encouraged, even though he looked drawn and pale as he studied the maps on the hood of the car that traced out the area.
“He’s got too many places to run from here,” I pointed out, driving my finger into the map. “Fuck, Lion, how the hell do you think this is gonna go down?”
“He’s here, man. This is as close as we’ve gotten to seeing the fucker. Even if we just get a visual, it’ll be fucking worth it.”
“If anything happens to her…” I growled, hand flexing so hard on the hood it made the metal pop beneath my grip.
Lion shot me an unimpressed look. “Rein it in, Priest. If the cops decide you’re obstructing them, they’ll arrest you in a heartbeat. You think they don’t want to already? You got a reputation, and any one of these men would be happy for the boost it would give to their careers to take down The Fallen’s enforcer.”
I grunted as I turned away to watch the faux-Bea shift on her feet at the front of the police cars and cops with equipment. She was wearing Bea’s puffy white winter coat and thick cream pattern tights under a pink dress that just peeked out from under the hem. Her hair was down and curled in the way Bea did hers and she was doing a decent job of affecting Bea’s innocent manner.
Still, she wouldn’t pass.
Maybe from three hundred yards.
Maybe from fifty paces.
Any closer and the killer would see the square face instead of the heart, the brown eyes instead of the blue, the pretty girl instead of the fucking angel.
“How’re you doing?” Hutchinson asked as he walked up to us.
I shot him a cold look.
He chuckled without humour. “Seems about right. Listen, we’re ready to go in. I know you’ll stay here with Bea, but I’ll put Moore on her too. He won’t leave the car.”
“Fuck Moore.” The bastard was the one to interrogate me about the murders.
“He’s on edge,” Lion explained calmly. “Ignore him.”
“We could use you up front,” he offered. “We’re sending Bennet out with Harcourt, but if you wanna go with, I won’t object.”
Lion cast me a sidelong glance, probably wondering if I would cause trouble unsupervised, but eventually, he nodded. I received a back slap as he moved past.
I’d never liked Lionel Danner before he hooked up with Harleigh Rose, and I barely liked him now. In my mind, once a fucking cop, always a fucking cop. But I got that he was looking out for the club, for Bea, and even for me, though before being with Bea, I wouldn’t have even acknowledged that.
As if my thoughts prompted her, Bea slid to my side of the car in the back and knocked on the window. I bent down to peer inside, catching sight of her smile. She pressed her hand to the window, and I got the idea she was thanking me for my trust.