Shine (Kentucky Outlaw Book 1) (25 page)

Essing said, “You talk a good game, but you’re out of your element here.
 
Should’ve stayed up on the hill behind those iron gates.

His good hand gripped her throat and squeezed.
 
She clawed at his hand, digging her nails into his skin, but it did nothing.
 
A dark haze appeared at the edge of her vision and closed in.
 
She felt her hands weaken and had the horrible realization that this was where it all ended for her.
 
Not when she was old, surrounded by loved ones, but in a stupid maze of pipes next to a stinking fertilizer plant.

Then Essing let go.
 
Julie dropped to the ground, gulping for air as Essing’s head went straight into a large pipe.
 
Ethan appeared, grabbed Julie’s hand, and got her to her feet.
 
They ran away from the fertilizer plant, through the pipes.
 
She was still catching her breath but she found a burst of speed when a shot rang out and a bullet hit the pipe next to her head.
 
Ethan quickly moved to the right, and Julie, having found her footing, was able to keep up without his help.

They were nearing the end of the pipe maze and Julie had no idea where they could go from there.
 
The alley she had originally run from was a hundred yards away, which would give Essing plenty of time to take aim and fire, but with no place else to go they kept moving forward.
 
One more shot rang out, missing her by inches.
 
They cleared the pipes and dug in, running as hard as they could towards the alley.
 
They heard another shot, but this time the sound came from in front of them.
 
She turned and saw Austin, standing with his gun between both hands, smoke coming from the barrel.
 
He fired again, and then a third time.
 
Julie looked behind her at his target and saw Essing fall to the ground.

The police had been searching the area for the driver of the car that crashed, which was why Austin had been there.
 
He’d been coming up the same road Ethan had when he heard shots being fired.
 
He took off and got there just in time to see a crazy man with a gun shooting at his sister.
 
Austin didn’t hesitate, but pulled his weapon and did what needed to be done.
 
Ethan didn’t much like Austin anymore than he had a couple of days ago, but he had to give the man credit, he was real police.
 

Austin called for backup and they searched the area, but didn’t find anyone else, even any workers of the fertilizer plant.
 
Apparently the plant only ran two shifts a day and everyone had gone home for the night.
 
The man who attacked Julie was identified as Cornelius Essing, special assistant to Mark Alexander, the well-known state senator.
 

Julie told the police exactly what had happened, leaving out the part about breaking into Alexander’s campaign headquarters, but sticking to the truth about everything else.
 
She told Chief Brady that something Traxler had said had made her think that Alexander might have had something to do with the murder of Nick Butler, so she had gone down there to get a quote, which was when Essing had kidnapped her and forced her to drive to this part of town. He was going to kill her because Essing had admitted he and the senator were involved with Nick’s murder, along with Traxler and Kenny Salo.
 
She gave her statement from her hospital bed, while getting treatment for her injuries.
 
Julie was scheduled to see the hospital counselor, but told him that it was going to take a lot more than some asshole like Essing to make her get, as she put it, “all weepy”.

Ethan had been arrested on the spot and taken down to the police station, where he’d sat in an interview room for three hours before anyone so much as brought him a cup of water.
 
By that time, the blood had dried to his face, while his side was a deep purple and hurt like hell with every single breath he took.
 
Officer Willbrook sat in the room with him and asked him to tell his story, so he said he’d been driving home when Julie called him saying she was being attacked.
 
He drove down there right away and found them, got into a fight with Essing, then they had run and Officer Prescott shot Essing dead.
 

“That’s it?” said Willbrook.

“That’s it,” answered Ethan.

“And what about the car we found crashed less than a mile from where Ms. Prescott was being attacked?”

Ethan shrugged and Willbrook cocked an eyebrow, not even bothering to hide his hatred for Ethan.

“The car, “ Willcott pretended to refer to his notes, “was a black Mazda RX-8 with stolen plates.
 
Vehicle identification number doesn’t come with anything either.
 
It belonged to a Luther Peeples, but he died five years ago, there was no record of a sale, and that car disappeared until tonight.”

“Lots of strange things happened tonight.”

Willcott threw his notebook on the table.
 
“You know what a runner car is?
 
It’s used in running illegal liquor.
 
See the bootleggers get a really fast car and that car drives out first to grab the attention of any cops around so then the moonshine makes it to the buyer without any trouble.”

“Interesting,” said Ethan.

“Everyone in this county knows your family runs moonshine.
 
Everyone.
 
Tomorrow morning I could call my son, who’s just five years old, and I ask him who runs moonshine in this town and he’ll say the Daltons.”

Ethan shrugged, so Willcott came around the table and got in Ethan’s face.
 
“We both know the truth, so stop fucking around.
 
In the same car you used to flee the police just days ago, you were coming back from a run when your little girlfriend called you up and said she was in trouble, so you drove there with the cops following you the whole way, crashed that piece of shit car of yours and got banged up in the process.
 
Then somehow, God only knows how, you got away.”
 
When Ethan didn’t respond he yelled, “Tell me the truth, asshole!”

The door came open and Lenny Summers came in.
 
“Get away from my client.
 
Look at this man, he needs medical attention and you have denied him that.
 
I’ll sue you and this whole department for violating his civil rights.”

“Fuck his rights,” said Willcott.

Lenny got in his face and smiled.
 
“I’m so glad you said that, because the video camera on the other side of that mirror is running.”
 
Lenny turned to Ethan, “Get on up, son.
 
They aren’t keeping you here anymore.”

“He’s not going anywhere,” said Willcott.

“Is he charged with a crime?”

Willcott looked so mad he could spit.
 
“Not at the present only because we haven’t found the evidence, yet.”

“Then he’s leaving. You give me a call if any evidence shows up.”

The two walked out, neither of them saying a word until they got into the car.
 
Driving towards the hospital Lenny said, “What did I say?
 
I told you to get rid of that car.
 
Now it’s in police custody.
 
If they find one smudge of a fingerprint they’ll lock your ass up until judgment day.”

“Give me a little credit, Uncle Lenny.
 
I wore gloves while driving.”

“What about the engine?
 
Huh?
 
I know you and Jackie fixed that thing.
 
Chief Brady will tear it apart looking for anything he can use.”

“How’s Julie?” Ethan asked.

“She’s fine.
 
She got treated for her injuries last night, but I’m not sure where she got off to.”

Ethan imagined that she’d probably be back at her father’s house.
 
After last night she’d be kept under lock and key.
 
It was ironic, he’d avoided jail, but she was probably in one right now.
 
A nicer jail, bigger rooms, and better food, but she’d still be locked behind the gates of the house.

It took him a while to get released from the hospital, but he was eventually sent home with two cracked ribs and contusions in several places.
 
He was lucky, all things considered, but he wanted Julie next to him when he was walking out of the hospital.
 
What he got instead was Jackie, helping him down the steps.
 
The doctor had ordered him to wear a leg brace for a couple days and it made stairs a little hard.
 

“You pulled some crazy shit last night.
 
I thought I was the wild one,” said Jackie with an idiotic grin on his face.
 
“I ain’t never outrun four cop cars.
 
Never.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” said Ethan, breathing through his teeth as he stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Come on, man.
 
They were shooting at you,” Jack said, loudly.

“Hey keep your voice down, cops might be around some place.
 
I’m not going to jail on account of you shooting your mouth off.”

“Relax.
 
Uncle Lenny says the cops are running scared.
 
Chief Brady had no idea they kept you in that room for so long when you needed doctoring.
 
He says Willbrook’s been suspended.”

“Where’s Julie?” Ethan asked.

“What?”

“Julie Prescott,” said Ethan loudly, as if Jackie was deaf.
 
“Where the hell is she?”

“Um, about that.”

They turned the corner to the parking lot and there, standing in the sun with the wind blowing through her hair, was Julie.
 
She was leaning against the Mustang wearing sunglasses and a light jacket.

“I heard you needed a ride,” she said.

“She wanted it to be a surprise,” said Jackie.

Ethan stood there with a big, dumb grin on his face, but he didn’t care.
 
Julie ran to him and threw her arms around him.

“Careful there.
 
Still a little banged up,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

She kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair.
 
He breathed in deeply, taking in her smell.
 
The pain left his body, and he wanted to stay in her arms forever.

“I got my car,” said Jackie.
 
“I’ll meet you back at the house.”

“Thanks for picking me up,” Ethan said to her.

“I had to bring your car back.”

He wanted to drive, but she wouldn’t allow it.
 
They took their time getting back to the Dalton house, driving slowly around corners and taking in the warm spring air.
 
Ethan leaned his head back on the seat and studied her while she drove.
 
No one else had ever driven his car before, not with him in it anyway, but he was fine with her behind the wheel.
 

“So, how’d it all come out?” he asked.

“Kenny Salo killed Nick, but Traxler killed him and now Traxler is sitting behind bars for both murders.
 
Essing, who put them up to it, is dead, so I guess that’s a form of justice.”

“Alexander?”

She shrugged.
 
“Can’t win them all.
 
The cops questioned him when it came out that his top aide tried to kill us, but there was no connecting him to it all, nor was there any connection to Essing and the Dixie Mafia.
 
Alexander has paid all the right people, so even if there was evidence, it wouldn’t come to anything.

They rolled along further.
 
Ethan closed his eyes and considered falling asleep.
 
Some evidence might exist to put Alexander away.
 
Traxler’s garage was set up to record conversations, and it was possible something had gotten recorded between Alexander and Traxler.
 
That is, if the cops discovered it, but if they did it was almost certain they’d have Ethan on there dropping off a shipment and talking about storing the Mazda in the garage.
 
He let out a long sigh.
 
He could either let Alexander go or sign his own prison sentence.
 
Ethan didn’t like either of those options.

When they got back to the house, all the Daltons were there waiting for them.
 
Jackie was smoking, but still grinning, while Ged hugged Julie and shook Ethan’s hand.
 
Even Zeke was smiling.
 
They were just happy to see them, free and mostly healthy.

“You did good, son,” said Zeke.
 
“You knew what needed doing and you did it.”