The Combative Read online

  “And you’re telling me all this because?”

  “Just to let you know your plan didn’t work. What? You thought I wouldn’t think you’d stoop so low? That I wouldn’t be prepared for it? I’ve got a newsflash for you: I’m already ahead of you. And you can’t use them to get to me either.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’ve got it all figured out then.”

  “I’ve also got a present for you.”

  “You shouldn’t have.”

  “You’re right, I shouldn’t. But I did. Come to 1847 Westview Drive.”

  “Sounds like a familiar place.”

  “It should. It’s yours.”

  “And what will I find once I get there?”

  Jacobs didn’t reply and hung up.

  “So what’s the scoop?” Franks asked.

  Jacobs shrugged. “I dunno. I guess he’s coming.”

  “You didn’t get a confirmation?”

  “I said what I wanted to say. The rest is up to him.”

  “So what exactly is your plan here, anyway? You gonna gun them all down once they get here?”

  Jacobs looked disappointed. “No, I don’t think I’m equipped for that. Also depends on how many men he brings, or whether he actually comes himself.”

  “So what are we doing? Just dropping the car and leaving?”

  “No. We’re gonna watch and see.”

  Franks looked around, not seeing any good spots. “Watch from where?”

  Jacobs pointed over Franks’ left shoulder. “Right over there. There’s a group of trees and bushes right in front of the fence. We could blend in nicely right there.”

  Franks looked at his car. “Uh, that’s kinda gonna stick out like a sore thumb.”

  “Well, you obviously would have to move it.”

  “I got a better idea.”

  “Which is?”

  “How about you go over in those bushes, and I’ll sit in the car down the street, that way if you gotta jet out of here in a hurry or something, I can swoop the car in, you can hop through the window, and I can wing us off to safety? What do you think of that?”

  “What? Afraid of something?”

  “No, man, of course not. You know me. I am the bastion of courage.”

  “You are, huh?”

  “Of course. Have you ever known me to run from a fight?”

  “We don’t have that much time to list it.”

  “Please. Haven’t I run into the fire enough times to save your hide to get a… a…”

  “A what?”

  “I dunno. I forgot where I was going with that.”

  “Whatever. If you wanna go sit in the car down the street, that’s fine.”

  “Cool. I’ll make sure I still got a view of the front wherever I go. If you get in trouble, you call me on the old Batphone.”

  Jacobs nodded and reached into the car for his weapon. As he went over to the bushes, Franks took the car and peeled out of the property. Jacobs didn’t know how long it would take for Ames to get there, but he assumed it wouldn’t be a long wait. And he was right. He only had to wait about ten minutes before Ames’ crew arrived.

  And Ames arrived with a big crew. Jacobs secretly hoped that Ames would come with just one or two men, even though he knew that was unlikely. Then Jacobs could spring out of the bushes and end this thing once and for all. But he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Ames must have expected some kind of trick, because it looked like he brought half of his gang with him.

  Ten cars came through the gate. And all of them had at least four men inside. They parked in three rows. Ames’ car was in the middle. Jacobs watched from the bushes as all the men piled out of their vehicles. He hoped he could get a clear shot at Ames, though the cars and men blocked his aim. He could see Ames walking to the car that the men were trapped inside the trunk of, but his sight line was off.

  If this moment had been six months ago, he probably would have taken the shot and taken his chances afterward. But now Tiffany had entered his life, and if he had any hopes of ever having a normal life again, he needed her in it. And that meant not taking unnecessary or stupid chances. And this would probably qualify as both.

  If there were only two or three men, his decision would be easy. He’d still take the shot. But with forty men in the vicinity, that would be suicide. It’d be unlikely he’d be able to get away. And with Tiffany now in his thoughts, he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, take that gamble.

  Ames walked over to the car and stood just behind the trunk. “Open it up.”

  One of his men walked over to the driver’s side to pop it open. Another of his men came over to Ames and stood in front of him.

  “You should probably stand back, boss. Just in case.”

  Ames nodded and took a few steps back. Though if there were a bomb planted, it probably wouldn’t have made much difference.

  “Maybe you should go back in the car,” the man said.

  “Just open it,” Ames said

  The trunk popped open, and his guard went over to it and lifted it up fully. He looked inside and saw the two men lying in there. He looked back at Ames and waved at him to come look. Ames stepped forward and saw his men. He had a disgusted look on his face, but he wasn’t really surprised by what he found. He expected something like that. Though he was a little surprised they were still alive.

  “Get them out of there,” Ames said.

  As his team helped the men out of the trunk, Ames walked back over to his car. He leaned up against the front of his hood. He was now completely out of Jacobs’ sight. The two men got out of the trunk and immediately went over to Ames’ position.

  “You two look like crap,” Ames said.

  Both men looked embarrassed. “Sorry, boss.”

  “What happened?”

  “We went to the house like you told us. We looked around and didn't see anyone. So we went around the back. We were just about to get inside, then bam, out of nowhere, this guy shows up.”

  “Jacobs?”

  “No, some other guy. Don’t know who he was.”

  The look on Ames’ face indicated he thought they were lying or crazy. “Some other guy? Franks?”

  “No, somebody else. Never seen him before. He’s not one of the people associated with Jacobs that you told us about.”

  “What’d he look like?”

  “Big guy. Six-one, six-two, two hundred and something pounds, probably. Looked like a weightlifter or something. Or maybe a boxer or MMA fighter or something.”

  “And this guy, this one guy, took out the both of you?”

  “We tried, boss, we really did. He was just… I mean, I dunno… he was just good.”

  Ames was getting angrier by the second. “So this one guy took out both of you? One guy?”

  “Boss, we did our best. Really. He was just better.”

  Another of Ames’ trusted men leaned over to him. “Who do you think this guy is, boss?”

  “I don’t know,” Ames replied. “Maybe Jacobs sent out for some hired help.”

  “You want me to put the word out? See if we can find out who it is?”

  “Yes. Do that.”

  “What else do we do about the Vogels?”

  “Nothing for now. Not until we know who else we’re dealing with. We’ll come up with a new plan. One that Jacobs doesn’t see coming.”

  9

  Jacobs got home and was instantly greeted at the door by Tiffany and Gunner. Tiffany kissed him on the lips. Though he was pleased with the kiss, he thought he detected something troubling on her face.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Tiffany smiled and waved her hand, trying to play it off. “Oh, it’s… nothing.”

  “Don’t do that. If we’re gonna do this, let’s not have any secrets, huh? Just say what’s on your mind.”

  “OK.” She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how she wanted to say what was thinking. “I’m… I don’t want to be the anxious worrywart or anything, but I’m just glad you’re h
ere. Every time you walk out that door, I get a little scared that you’re not coming back.”

  Jacobs took her in his arms and hugged her tight. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  They pulled away from each other, and Tiffany wiped a tear from her eye. “Like I said, I don’t wanna be that nag or that person who’s constantly… whatever… I’m just glad you’re back.”

  “Hey. You don’t have to worry. I can handle myself.”

  “I know you can.”

  “And now that I have you, I’m being extra careful. I won’t get into anything unless I’m sure I’m walking out of it.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise. Besides, I couldn’t leave you and Gunner dealing with Eddie all by yourselves. That’s a punishment worse than death.”

  Tiffany laughed. “Hey, stop ragging on him all the time. He’s…”

  “Listen, he’s a lot of things, and most of them he deserves to be ridiculed for, but I couldn’t do this without him. He’s always been there for me, and no matter what I say about him…” Jacobs looked away for a second, not wanting to say anymore.

  “You care about him. Just say it.”

  “No.”

  “Just admit it.”

  “I… can’t.”

  Tiffany kept laughing at his stubbornness to reveal his true feelings for his friend. “C’mon, just say it.”

  “Nope.”

  They both started laughing together, then went over to the couch when his phone rang. Jacobs looked at the number, and his mood instantly changed. The smile wiped off his face quickly as he prepared himself.

  Right away, Tiffany recognized the problem. “What is it?”

  Jacobs just shook his head, then answered the phone. “Yeah?”

  Ames laughed. “It’s so nice that we have this constant communication available to us now, isn’t it?”

  “What do you want?”

  “I liked the little present you left for me. I’m a little surprised that they’re still alive, but…”

  “Is there a point you wanna make?”

  “Not really. I just wanted to see if you were interested in meeting face-to-face.”

  “What for?”

  “Maybe we can hash out our differences.”

  Jacobs laughed. “Yeah, right. You just wanna get me to a place where you can ambush me.”

  “I give you my word. No tricks.”

  “Well, we both know what your word is worth, don’t we?”

  “Now, now, there’s no reason to resort to cheap shots, is there?”

  “What do you really want?”

  “I told you. I would just like a discussion with you.”

  “We’re having it now.”

  “I like to look people in the eye.”

  “Oh yeah? Since when?”

  “Do you want to keep going with the cheap shots, or do you want to possibly put our issues behind us?”

  “I know you’ve got something up your sleeve.”

  “Brett, I’m simply asking you to meet so we can possibly put our differences aside. Wouldn’t it be better to take that chance than have us killing each other? Or people we care about?”

  “Depends.”

  “If you meet with me, we discuss things, maybe we can get on the same page. Then you can live in peace knowing that your girlfriend, her family, and you, are safe. And I can go on about my business without thinking that you’re coming for me. Isn’t that worth the risk for all of us?”

  Jacobs still didn’t trust the man. And he wasn’t sure Ames deserved to have a truce. But for Tiffany and her family’s sake, he thought he’d better listen. “Fine. I’ll meet with you. But if you think I’m gonna walk into a meeting with you and have fifty of your cronies around, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  “Name the terms.”

  “I’ll meet with you. One on one. Nobody else.”

  “I can agree to that. How about we make it a place that’s on neutral turf? No, you know what? Just to show that I’m on the up-and-up, I’ll even do it on your turn. How about we meet at the cemetery?”

  “The cemetery? Why?”

  “It’s a place you know well, you’re familiar with it…”

  “And some of your boys tried to knock me off there the other day.”

  Ames laughed. “That was under our previous arrangement. If we come to an understanding here, there’s no need to fear.”

  “Yeah, right. And we just happen to stand out there in the open, and you have a sniper nearby who gets to take a free shot at me? No thanks.”

  Ames laughed again. “So distrustful.”

  “You give me good reason to be.”

  “Perhaps. How about we do it like this? We’ll meet at the cemetery right out in the open. I know you’ve got a friend out there who obviously has a set of skills himself, so bring him. Put him somewhere. Give him instructions that if you go down, so do I. That levels the playing field a little, doesn’t it?”

  “Maybe.”

  “If one of us gets hit, the other one’s not getting away, which means we both have a reason for the other to literally walk away from this meeting.”

  “Possibly.”

  “So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

  “When did you wanna do this thing?”

  “Since we’re both obviously awake and in the moment, why not do it now?”

  “Fine. I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes.”

  “Sounds good. I hope we can come to some sort of arrangement.”

  Jacobs hung up and looked at Tiffany. She looked worried.

  “What was that about?”

  “Ames wants to meet.”

  Tiffany put a hand over her mouth, not liking the sound of that. “Oh no. You’re not going to do it, are you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Brett, why? Why would you meet with him?”

  “If there’s a chance of us putting this behind us and getting you out of danger, I have to take that chance.”

  “Please, Brett, no. It’s some sort of trick.”

  “It doesn’t sound like a trick. He’s willing to meet one on one, out in the open.”

  “He’ll have someone there to shoot you.”

  “If I call Nathan and have him there to back me up, it’ll be fine. Ames knows if someone shoots me, then someone’s shooting him. He’s not taking that kind of chance.”

  Tiffany had another horrifying thought. “What if it’s just a ploy to get Nathan away from my parents? What if he’s just doing this because he knows that will draw him away and give him a free shot to send someone else after them?”

  Jacobs sighed. He hadn’t thought of that, but he couldn’t discount it either. It actually made perfect sense. He put his hand on his face and rubbed his cheeks as he thought about it. “No, you’re right. We can’t take that kind of chance. We’ll have to leave Nathan where he is.”

  “So you’re not going to go, right?”

  “As stupid as it sounds, I have to.”

  “But why? You know he has no interest in actually letting us go.”

  “My inclination is that you’re right. But maybe he says something I can use later on. Maybe I can get him to slip, say something I can use to my advantage.”

  “But if Nathan’s not going, then you’ve got no backup.”

  “Sure I do.”

  “Who?”

  “I’ll call Eddie.”

  Tiffany pulled her head back, and her eyes widened. She loved Franks, but she also knew his limitations. “Brett, you know I love Eddie, but I also know he’s not exactly…”

  Jacobs grinned. “I know. But in this case, he’ll do. I don’t actually expect him to need to do anything, anyway. Besides, I’ll have my vest on just in case. Everything will be fine.”

  “Take Gunner with you.”

  Jacobs shook his head. “No. I want him here with you, just in case. If you were here alone, I’d worry. But if he’s here, I know you’re protected.”

  Tiffany took a dee
p breath. She didn’t like anything that she was hearing. But she also knew that Jacobs wasn’t changing his mind. And he did know more about this type of stuff than she did. She just had to trust that he knew what he was doing. And that he’d come back to her.

  10

  Jacobs pulled into a parking spot at the cemetery. He already had his gun out in case it was a trap. Before getting out of the car, he looked around for signs of trouble, though he didn’t see any. It was dark, so it’d be tough to see even if there was something there. Jacobs put his ear comm in and tested it.

  “You hear me, Eddie?”

  “Loud and clear, man.”

  “I’m gonna get out now. You see Ames yet?”

  “Well, I see someone standing out there. Wait, let me look through this scope.” Franks looked through the scope on his rifle and got a clear view of Ames’ face. “Yeah, that’s him, man. I gotta say I’m surprised. I didn’t think he’d actually show.”

  “Maybe he’s on the level after all.”

  “Fat chance, man. If he’s on the level, then I’m getting ready to step on the moon.”

  “You need bigger boots.”

  “You know what I’m saying. Hey, before you move in, you sure you wanna do this?”

  “Pretty sure it’s too late now,” Jacobs said.

  “It’s never too late. It’s only too late when you’re dead. Then it’s way too late. But now? Not even close.”

  “Well, I’m going anyway.”

  “What if Tiff was right? What if this was just a way to lure you and Nathan out, then have them swing down on her parents again?”

  “Well then, I guess they’re gonna have a nasty surprise waiting for them.”

  Franks laughed. “Yeah, I guess they will. Sure would be nice to see that.”

  “I’m going in.”

  “Wait, before you do that.”

  “How many times are you gonna hold me up?”

  “Just one more time.”

  “What now?”

  “You do realize I’m not the greatest of shots, right?”

  “I’m fully aware.”

  “So if something goes down, I may or may not hit what I’m aiming for.”

  “Just do the best you can.”

  “OK. Just wanted to make sure we’re clear on that.”