Tanned Hide (6 page)

I should have been worried. I should
have run. But Mom’s words. They just. . . broke me.

What the hell was I doing with my
life?

I shook my head. No matter. Philip was
more important. I ran out into the living room.

“
Neil?” Trecheon’s voice
sounded from the front door.

“
Can’t talk,” I said and
ran out the back door.

Though darkness had descended on my
home, my puma instincts and knowledge of the backyard let me run at
full speed through the grass. I picked my way through the trees
toward our secret place.

It troubled me that I didn’t see any
new sign of disturbance among the brush. No broken branches, no
footprints, nothing. Did Philip actually come this way? Or did he
run out into the street? What if The Triple Danger saw him leave
and cut him down before he ever got to the trees? What if I had
completely missed his body in the dark?

Suddenly a desperate need to find him
exploded in my chest. I thrashed through the brush toward the
hideout, praying that almighty Draso spared at least one of my
family members.

I got to the hideout and threw open
the door. “Philip? Philip, you here?”

I felt his embrace before I saw him.
He threw himself at me, pawing at my jacket, claws out. “Neil, they
hurt Mom and Dad! I ran like you said. I. . . I. . .” He dissolved
into tears.

I gripped him like I never had before.
Thank God. Thank Draso.

Maybe I could fix at least one thing
that I screwed up.

“
It’s okay now, Philip.
Really. Everything’s fine.” I still couldn’t let him go. But I had
to. I had to get to Mom. “Just. . . just stay here for a little
while longer. I have to go help Mom, but I’ll be back.”

“
Dad is dead, isn’t he?”
Philip sobbed. “I saw that deer lady take her knife
and--”

“
Don’t think about it,” I
said. “I need to help Mom. Stay here. Just a moment
longer.”

Philip nodded and crawled back into
the hideout. I watched him a moment, then ran back for
Mom.

God, just give me five more minutes
with her.

Seven

When I got back into the house, Trecheon had managed to get
one hand free and was working on the other one. He met my eyes.
“Philip?”

“
He’s fine,” I said, the
numbness starting to wear off. I jogged over to the phone on the
kitchen wall. Maybe I could call for help. Maybe I could save Mom.
But when I picked up the receiver, it was completely dead. A quick
examination showed me that the Triple Danger had cut the phone
wires. Damn it. “Where’s your phone?”

“
They took it from me after
they crucified me on your door.”

Dad didn’t carry a phone. He hated the
things. And Mom’s purse wasn’t hanging by the door, so I could only
assume it was missing too. Damn it! The only means for saving Mom.
“Watch the door and. . . I’m going to spend a few minutes with
Mom.”

“
I’ll try and fix the wires
and call for help as soon as I get free. You take care of your
mom.” Trecheon frowned. “Neil, you have to know I tried. I
didn’t--”

“
First-day-hire, right?” I
said. It wasn’t his fault. I knew it wasn’t. “Can’t compete with
CEOs.” I turned my back on Trecheon and paused. “I’m sorry I
dragged you into this, Trech.”

I called him Trech on purpose. I
needed to hear him berate me for it, if just for the normalcy of
it. But he didn’t.

“
Go see your mom,” he
said.

Somehow that hurt more than if he had
just yelled at me. Trecheon once told me that only close friends
were allowed to call him Trech. I continued to call him that
because I always thought we were close friends. Or maybe I was
trying to make him my close friend.

The fact that it took this kind of
tragedy to allow me to call him by a nickname. . . I just shook my
head and padded down the hall.

Mom was still staring at the ceiling,
but she stirred when I entered the room.

“
He’s fine, Mom,” I said.
“He’s safe.”

“
Neil. . .”

I sat next to her. “Mom, don’t talk.
You’ll. . .” A lump grew in my chest and throat and cut off my
words. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t speak when I needed to speak,
now more than ever. All I could do was look at my dying Mom, unable
to do anything. She probably had seconds left. And it was my fault.
I didn’t even deserve to be with her while she died.

And then I felt her arms wrap around
me. She drew me to her shoulder and just held me there. Her grip
was so weak. It was a wonder she could move at all.

I broke. Just broke. The lump made its
way to my face and sobs racked my shoulders. I gripped her back.
Memories of growing up flashed through my mind. Mom seeing me off
to school. Tutoring me after class. Teaching me to swim and ride a
bike. Holding me before Trecheon and I were shipped out after boot.
Pushing me through HVAC certification when college didn’t
work.

Mom gave me everything. This was how I
had paid her back.

“
I don’t hate you,” she
whispered. “I’m sorry. . . I shouldn’t have said that.”

“
You have every right to,”
I said. “I’m a horrible person.”

“
Neil--”

“
Don’t,” I said. “Just
don’t. I am.” And it all came out. “This. . . this is my
fault.”

“
Because of gambling
debts?”

“
I don’t have gambling
debts,” I said. “I. . . I’m an assassin. For hire. I used the
skills I learned in war to become one because it’s the only thing
I’m good at.” I took a deep breath. “I was trying to use my
abilities to help people for once. Trecheon and I went after a mob
boss. I didn’t think they’d find me, but they actually set me up
and. . . and they went after all of you as revenge. It’s my fault
you’re sitting here. . . dying.”

Mom sat there, patiently and silently,
to her credit. She never loosened her grip on me. She took a deep
breath.

“
You dragged Trecheon into
this?”

I nodded. “Yes. I’m not proud of
it.”

“
That’s. . . that’s why he
came to help.”

“
Yes.”

“
Neil,” she said. “Just. .
. get out of that life. Get Trecheon out. Please. Get out and
protect your brother. You’re his only family now. I’m begging
you.”

I stared at the floor. She was right.
I had to. But could I? Could I actually escape after everything
that had happened? I didn’t know. I still had too much to work out
in my head. But I could protect Philip. “I’ll take care of Philip,
Mom. I promise.”

“
Good,” she said. Her eyes
fluttered and started losing their light. She tried to speak, but
she could only mouth the words before her grip loosened and her
arms fell at her sides.

I fought the tears threatening to rip
my eyes out. “I love you too, Mom.” I carefully leaned her lifeless
body against the wall and pressed her eyes closed. “I’m
sorry.”

I don’t know how long I sat there
staring at Mom, but when I finally got up and headed back out,
Trecheon had gotten himself free and was in the kitchen, messing
with wires on the phone, muttering about the Triple Danger’s
destruction. Philip sat at the kitchen table, ears pinned back,
frowning, eyes dry from crying. I splayed my ears.

“
Philip, I told you to wait
until I came back to get you!”

“
Uncle Trecheon is here,”
Philip said. “I’m fine. Where’s Mom?” Trecheon lifted his head and
glanced at me.

I sat hard on one of the kitchen
chairs. I couldn’t even speak.

Philip just looked at me, wide eyed.
“Oh no.”

“
I. . . I’m sorry, buddy,”
I said. “I did all I could.”

Philip blinked and stared at the
carpet. Somehow, that was worse than if he had just
cried.

Trecheon’s hands paused at the wires,
splaying an ear. He glanced at the phone a moment, then turned to
me and handed me a piece of paper. “They gave me this before they
left.”

I unfolded the thing and glanced at
it. Just a few simple words, but they threatened to unhinge
me.

Your parents are the cost.
Your brother is the bargaining chip.

What the hell had I gotten my family
into? 

Eight

“
So you can’t think of anyone who would want to kill your
parents?” A policeman, a mongoose specifically, sat on the other
side of the table, calmly taking my statement with all the
indifference of a law enforcer that had seen too much.

I stared at the table, holding my
hands in my lap, trying to fight down the lump that still hadn’t
completely worked its way out of my throat.

After I had had a moment to let the
shock calm down, Trecheon managed to get the phones working and
called 911. The police were there instantly, but of course, both my
parents were pronounced dead at the scene. Trecheon had the sense
to tell Philip not to tell anyone about what he had witnessed. He
also kept him as isolated as possible from everything while I
reluctantly assisted the police.

That was hours ago. Now dawn was
approaching and I sat in a small room in a local station with a
dispassionate policeman, still wearing my dress blues.

I shook my head. “No. I have no
idea.”

“
Did they have any gambling
debts or gang connections?”

I raised an eyebrow. “My parents? Are
you kidding?”

“
You never
know.”

“
No way,” I said. “My
parents were too straight laced.”

“
What about
you?”

I shook my head, letting the grief
show as much as possible. If I was lucky, it’d hide my guilt. “No.
Nothing.”

“
Hmmm.” The policeman
dragged out the word, then wrote something down.

I looked at him. What was
that?

“
I suppose that’s all the
questions for now, Mr. Black,” the policeman said, an obvious edge
in his voice. He flipped his notebook closed. “We’ll be in touch,
certainly.”

“
Thank you,” I said. I
stood up. “I’ll be taking my brother and going home now.” I would
not let Philip be some bargaining chip. I had to get him and get
out of town, lay low for a while. If I was lucky, I could start
anew somewhere and drop some anonymous tip about my parent’s true
murderers. I wouldn’t let them get away with this.

The policeman didn’t stand. “Sorry,
Mr. Black, but Philip won’t be going with you.”

I paused, splaying my ears. My stomach
churned. “What?”

“
I said Philip won’t be
going with you,” he repeated. “As of right now, until further
notice, he is a ward of the state.”

A sudden anger boiled inside me,
melting away the lump in my throat. “What do you mean he’s a ward
of the state? He’s my brother! I’m taking him home.”

The policeman leaned over the table,
glaring at me. “Tell me, Mr. Black. What were you doing at Matron
Fawn’s funeral earlier today?”

I froze. Oh. Shit. He knew. He even
used the term Matron. He knew something was up. “I, ah, was
invited.”

“
Why?” the policeman asked.
“From what we can gather, you have absolutely no important
connections with Ms. Fawn. And trust me, Mr. Black, we can gather a
lot about their connections.” He lowered his gaze. “Yet you
received a personal invitation from her three siblings and you
went. The CCTV cameras didn’t catch you leaving until long after
the funeral.”

Were the police watching me too? “I
fell asleep in the prayer room.”

“
Then you groggily wandered
out of the cathedral and stole a bike?”

How does one answer that? I sat back
down in the seat.

“
The bike was registered to
Fawn Inc.,” the policeman said. “When asked about it, they said no
harm done and they won’t press charges. Though CCTV footage
revealed that the bike had its key. Can you tell me why they would
leave a bike there for you? When you took a cab to get to the
funeral and you have no connection with them?”

I pressed my hands into my lap. “This
has nothing to do with my parents’ murders.”

“
Depending on how you
answer, it could have everything to do with your parents’ murders,”
the policemen said. “I’ll ask again, Mr. Black. Why were you at
Matron Fawn’s funeral?”

“
Would you believe that her
sisters threatened me?” I said quietly.

“
Absolutely,” the policeman
said. “But then I would ask why.”

I said nothing.

“
The Fawn Family threaten a
lot of people,” the policeman said. “But they have reasons. They
threaten business rivals. But they’re a major corporation dealing
in foreign imports. You,” he looked over a paper. “Are the owner of
a small HVAC company. You don’t even hire additional employees,
according to our research.”

I frowned, but still said
nothing.

“
They also threaten their
various ‘protection’ clients,” he continued. “But they would be
fools to invite them to the Matron’s funeral. The FBI have been
involved with the Matron’s activities for years. They knew we’d be
watching them and checking up on all the guests. Surely one of the
protection clients would break and confess under pressure, so why
take that risk?”