Sin (The Waite Family) (37 page)

The building was a mess. She’d seen it a few times when she’d been out and had remembered it from her childhood.
She thought it had been abandoned then too.
She was moving over some
empty crates when she found the body.

The man had been there for at least a year, if that. Even in the darkened area he was in she
could
see that he’d been shot.
The neat hole between where his eyes had been looked
to
be made by a large
caliber
gun. Most likely a Glock.
He was dressed similar to her, dark clothes, heavy boots. He had on a light jacket so she thought he’d either been here less
than
s
he’d thought or he’d had been dead longer
,
as it was nearly freezing outside and he wasn’t dressed for this kind of weather.
She stepped around his body
,
giving him and any evidence that might still remain a wide berth.

Sin heard the man talking
when
she’d
been with Shipley
,
but it wasn’t until she saw him that she recognized him. Da
le Barnes and
,
Christ
al
mighty
,
he was bragging about having her killed.
And also how he’d felt it was his duty as a United States soldier to make sure things remained a man’s army.

“Can you
believe
they let a
G
od damned woman lead us
?
” he was asking presumably Shipley.
“
She should have been home raising
brats
,
but
t
he fucking dyke was out shouting orders at us like we were her fucking
servants.”

Sydney heard Shipley laugh. It was a sharp bark of laughter then he was coughing again.
But he hadn’t answered and that scared her more than Barnes did.

As she moved into a better
position
to take Barnes out
,
she tried to remember if he’d ever given any clue that he was in with Magellan.
He’d make some comments
about
it being a
man’s
place. Hell
,
she did too.
But they had laughed
it
off or so she’d thought.
She rounded the next wall when
she
remembered something else, something he’d said when they’d landed just outside of the
Air force
base that first day.

“Well gents
,
and you
,
Captain Waite, it’s been a real pleasure knowing you all. I hope you all know it’s been well worth it and all in good fun.”

They’d laughed at him…not with him
,
now that she thought about it, but at him.
He was always fucking
it
up when he tried to say something profound or clever and they’d all thought that’s what he’d been doing then.
But he wasn’t.
He was giving them all the middle finger basically.

When
s
he had him in front of her she looked at hi
m, really looked at him. He was young
,
she realized with a start.
She’d always assumed he was about Shipley’s age
,
but he was probably closer to Payton
’s
and hers. But he was fat where they were both lean, saggy where they were tone
d,
and he was as ba
ld
as they came.
She supposed that she’d been looking more at his abilities, or the lack
thereof,
as a soldier
rather than
as a man.

She must have made a sound because he suddenly turned to her with his weapon pointed at her. She had hers pointing at him as well. She could see
then
that
he was bleeding
. T
here was a stain of blood on his right shoulder and a pool of it under his leg. The blood loss was a great deal.

“Well
,
hello there.
Have you made peace with your momma, girl?”

She tho
ught
it was an odd question so ignored it.
“You fucked up
,
Barnes. Messing with what’s mine.
I’d like to take you back to a trial
,
but…well
,
I don’t
think
you’re gonna make it.”
She grinned at him.
“Drop the gun and I’ll get you some medical help.
I want you to be nice and healthy when you stand before a firing squad.”

“
Fuck you
,
bitch.
You’re gonna die long before me.”
She fired when he did.

She had to crawl back to Shipley and was terrified when she got to him that he’d died.
When he opened his eyes and looked at her, for several seconds she thought he didn’t know who she was.

“You hurt?”
She nodded and he closed his eyes again.
“I’m as good as dead
,
captain
,
but don’t let them do nothing
that will prolong this shit.”

“I won’t.
I promise you.”
She moved to the space between his legs and knew that nothing in this world, not even if they were here right now
,
would save him.
“You should have waited for me.”

She watched him breath
e
and when he finally spoke she had to lean forward to hear him.
“You’re not going to be happy with my tale
,
but I’m afraid—
”
His coughing cut him off.
“I’m not going to be telling it all.
One door opens and a whole set of mysteries open up for you
and not a one of them helps.
You’re gonna have to watch your back from now on, you and that lover boy cop.
”

“Shipley, I never told you this before
,
but your timing really sucks and you tell a story like shit.”

He laughed then he coughed again. “Your mother?
She ain’t no saint.
Your daddy wasn’t either
,
b
ut I’m guessing you already figured that one out.
She is—
”
This time
,
blood poured from his mouth when he started to cough.
“Sydney, I have loved you like my own.
Be happy.”

Sin watched him struggle and knew that he wasn’t going to say anymore.
When he took a hitching breath, she cried when the blood on his chest seemed to suddenly stop flowing.
In her head she knew he was gone.
It was her heart that couldn’t come to grips with it.
She pulled out her cell phone and called the police to tell them where she was.

~Chapter
21~

Payton was trying to remain calm.
Trying
to remain calm was a lot more work than he thought it should have been. He started pacing outside the yellow tape again when he heard his name being called. He looked up at Cain as he strode toward him
,
speaking before he got there
.

“
Band
-
aid
ripped off quickly or peeled back slowly?
I’m a slow
,
take my time kind of guy. You know…build up to
—
”

“What the fuck are you talking about?
How is Sydney and when can I see her?”
Payton could feel the tension hike to new levels in his body when Cain frowned.
“She’s hurt.”

“Yes,” Cain said
,
then frowned again.
“She’d been shot. Upper right shoulder. She won’t let me near her yet.”

When Cain looked at the warehouse
,
so did Payton. They watched as a group of MP’s
,
or Military Police
,
was being led by David Patterson.
This couldn’t be good.

“They’re going to arrest her
,
aren’t they
?
” Payton asked no one in particular.
He started forward as he spoke.
“She’s a
civilian
now, they have no right.”

Cain grabbed his arm to stop him.
“They seem to think they do. So does she.
But that’s not the issue.”

Cain pointed to an area away from the crowds.
And when they were perhaps a good ten yards away, he continued.

“She won’t let them touch her friend until he’s pronounced,” Cain whispered to him.
“She won’t even let me touch her to see if she needs immediate care.”

Pronounced?
Dead? Who the hell was
—
“Shipley. She’s making sure he’s gone before she lets anyone near him.”
Cain nodded.
“Did he have a
DNR
in his jacket too?”

Payton didn’t say anything about Sydney and her
midnight
run with a suicide attempt
,
but he did wonder if this was what this was all about.

“Jacket?
Oh you mean his file.
I’m not sure.
She mentioned it. I’m not…they’ll sh
o
ot her if she doesn’t let them near him soon.
I don’t…she wouldn’t listen to me
. She actually called me the e
nemy
and threatened me.”