Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE HUMID LOUISIANA AIR clung to Sage’s skin as she and Parker made their way from Bryce’s cramped investigative office to the Bayou Bar. Her mind whirled with a mix of emotions—determination to save Jacob’s ass while ignoring the nagging sense of déjà vu that pulled at her as memories of the last time filled her head. And then there were the emotions of when she first knocked on Bryce’s door, begging him to teach her the ropes as she dug into her father’s murder. However, none of that took into consideration Parker and the way she was feeling about him now.

She couldn’t shake the image of Bryce from her mind. The man who had once been her rock during an extremely rough period of her life, teaching her the ins and outs of investigation with a sharp mind and quick wit, now seemed a shell of his former self. His office, once a hub of activity, felt more like a tomb—papers strewn about haphazardly, the musty smell of neglect permeating every corner as if the place never got cleaned. The man himself looked worn, his eyes shadowed by dark circles, his normally impeccable appearance now disheveled and unkempt.

As they drove, Sage found herself lost in memories of her early days as an investigator. She needed three years of experience to get her investigator license, and Bryce had offered to take her under his wing when she was raw with grief, desperately seeking answers about her father’s murder. No one else would take her on, believing herself too emotionally charged to think clearly and make rational decisions, which she probably was. Bryce, however, was different. He said he saw the talent in her and taught her to channel her pain into purpose, to observe every detail, to question everything. But despite their best efforts, her father’s case had gone cold, leaving a wound that never fully healed.

“You’re awfully quiet. Everything okay?” Parker’s voice cut through her reverie, his tone tinged with concern as he shifted slightly to face her more.

She nodded, gripping the wheel tighter as she forced herself back to the present. “Yeah, just… thinking about Bryce. He doesn’t look good.”

Parker gave a weak shrug. “He looks like a man who drinks too much, smokes too much, and probably is known by first name at every fast-food joint in New Orleans.”

Sage cut him a quick glance, wondering if that’s what her future held—burning out, drowning in living life minute by minute without a care for the future. After all, didn’t that describe her wild side over the past few yeas? However, she pushed the thought aside as she focused on the task at hand. If the Broussards were behind everything, then it was time to rattle some cages to see what fell out.

The Bayou Bar loomed before them, a weathered building that seemed to have sprouted from the very swamp itself. The neon sign flickered weakly in the bright sunlight, announcing they were open for business if anyone dared to cross the threshold. As she pulled into the parking lot, she took a deep breath, steeling herself for the confrontation to come. And she knew there would be one, because if they wouldn’t talk to Parker, they sure as hell wouldn’t talk to her. Not willingly, anyway.

As they pushed through the heavy wooden doors, the stench of stale beer and cigarette smoke assaulted her senses. The bar was dimly lit, with a handful of patrons scattered about, nursing their drinks in sullen silence, men who should be at work, but spent their checks avoiding it at all costs. She scanned the room, not taking long to find their target sitting on a barstool—the youngest Broussard male.

He sat at the far end of the bar, probably because it was closest to the back door and a quick escape. A couple of rough-looking men hid in the shadows behind him, more than likely his bodyguards in case trouble walked in. Well, she had news for them—trouble had just entered the building. She chuckled to herself. I’ll have to use that line with Elvis. Trouble has entered the building.

She doubted the man perched at the bar was over thirty years old, but his sharp features and cold eyes seemed to be a Broussard trademark from the photos she saw pinned to the walls in Elvis’s hotel room. As they approached, his gaze locked onto them, a sneer twisting his lips as he raked his gaze over Parker.

“Back for more?” He shook his head. “Not smart, Franklin. Not unless you’re here to tell me where your brother is.”

Parker tensed beside her, but she ignored him, stepping closer to the man at the bar. She purposefully stepped between Broussard and one of his thugs, showing the man she wasn’t afraid of them. “So, you’re a Broussard. Which one?” She glanced around the bar, her brows arched. “Obviously not a shot-caller if you’re wasting away in here instead of where the action is.” She turned back to him, shrugging. “So, what? You’re…?”

Broussard scoffed as he slid around on his stool so he could face her better. However, she didn’t back up. “I’ll give you this, you’ve got more balls than your shadow here.” He tilted his head as he raked her with his gaze, making her feel as if she needed a shower. “And just who might you be?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Not how it works. See, I asked first.”

He stared at her for a hard minute, his eyes narrowing. A couple of heartbeats later, time that almost had Sage thinking she overplayed her hand, he laughed again, gesturing to the bartender for a round of beers. “I like you. When we kill Parker and his brother, I’ll let you live.”

She shrugged as the bartender set the beer beside her. “I can’t say that’s going to stop me from sending your ass to jail.” She picked up the beer, downing half of it before setting the bottle back on the table and turning back to Broussard. “Now, how about we both stop puffing out our chests—mine sticks out more, anyway—and you simply give me some answers? If Jacob did do what everyone seems to think he did, I’ll make sure he goes away for it.”

He cocked his brow at her as he turned to glance at Parker. “Last time you were in here, you swore he was innocent. Promised to find my, um, property and the cash that went missing. Now you think he might’ve done it?”

Before Parker could answer the man, Sage stepped between them, keeping Luc’s attention on her. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks. What matters is the truth. Now, tell me what Jacob did for you. What was his job?”

“And just who the hell are you? You’re not cops because they wouldn’t work with your boy there. So, what does all this have to do with you?”

She smiled at him. “Like I said… I asked first. Which Broussard are you?”

He stared at her again, probably warring within about how much he should or should not tell her. Finally, he blew out a breath as he shifted in his seat, turning to face her more. “I’m Luc. Now who the hell are you and why are you digging into this?”

“Name’s Silver. Sage Silver, and I knew Jacob from a few years ago when trouble found him then. Parker asked me to look into it, so I brought my security team with me. Now that the introductions are over with, how about you tell me what Jacob did for you? How far up your ladder did he get?”

Broussard scoffed as he leaned back, his eyes never leaving her face. “He never got past the first rung. The stink from a couple of years ago still clung to him, so we made him a runner. That’s it. Nothing too complicated. Pick up, drop off. Simple jobs. Until he fucked it up, that is.”

She didn’t need to ask what Jacob had been picking up and dropping off. That part was clear enough. “So what went wrong?”

Luc shrugged. “I guess that depends on who you ask, doesn’t it? As far as we know, he got greedy and thought he could skim off the top, maybe keep the entire package for himself. All we know is that it went missing, and he was the last one to have it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Parker stiffen. She subtly shifted her weight, ready to intervene if he did something stupid.

“And you’re sure about that? No chance someone else could have gotten to the package?”

The younger man’s eyes hardened. “We don’t make mistakes. Jacob betrayed us, simple as that.” He finished his beer and set it down with a thud. “Now, I’ve been generous with my time. You want to find Jacob? You better beat us to it.”

“When did you find out he was a cop?”

The look on his face revealed he had no clue what she was talking about. He bounced his gaze back and forth between her and Parker. “A cop? Jacob? Lady, if that’s true, then he should go to prison for some of the shit he did. Now, as I said…”

One of Broussard’s thugs, a mountain of a man with a shaved head and arms covered in tattoos, stepped forward menacingly. “Now. I think it’s time for you two to leave.” A growl rumbled out of him as he reached for Sage’s arm.

In a flash, Parker was between them, his fist connecting solidly with the thug’s jaw. The man stumbled backward, crashing into a nearby table before landing hard on the floor.

“Hey, it worked!” Parker yelled.

She sighed as she felt her body tense. “We could have simply left.”

But there was no time for that now. The bar erupted into chaos. Patrons scrambled for the exits as Broussards’s other men surged forward. Sage’s training kicked in, and she found herself back-to-back with Parker, fending off attacks from all sides.

It was over almost as quickly as it began. Sage’s ears rang with the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood. She tasted blood in her mouth from a split lip, and her knuckles stung from connecting with someone’s face. But as the dust settled, she and Parker were still standing, while Broussard and his men nursed their wounds.

“This ain’t over,” Broussard spat, wiping blood from his nose. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

Sage met his glare with one of her own. “Neither do you.” She then turned on her heel and stormed out of the bar, Parker close behind.

The afternoon was stifling, which did little for her mood, and only seemed to match the atmosphere of the bar. She leaned against the hood of her car, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart as she slammed her fists to her hips. Parker stood beside her, his presence a comforting anchor.

“You okay?” he asked, echoing his earlier question.

She nodded, wincing slightly as she probed her split lip. “Nothing I can’t handle. You?”

Parker flexed his hand, his knuckles already bruising. “I’ll live. Though I gotta say, it felt great not getting my ass handed to me in that bar again.”

Despite everything, she found herself chuckling. “I bet it happens to you a lot, huh?”

He rolled his eyes, giving a slow shake of his head.

Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the caller ID. “It’s your brother,” she told Parker, before answering the call. “Neat vanishing act this morning.”

Jacob’s voice came through, tinged with a mixture of amusement and concern. “Well, I didn’t want to be a hindrance between the two of you if you needed his room for… well, you know.”

“Bullshit. You’re running. Just like last time. Your handler’s dead. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There’s a lot of things I’m not telling you, and I don’t intend to start now.” She heard him take a deep breath. “I’m calling to tell you to keep Parker away from this. I had told him I needed his help, but if these people will kill a cop, then who knows what else they’ll do.”

Sage frowned as she cut a quick glance at Parker. “Keep him out of it? I don’t think he’s going to like that idea too much.”

“Listen, you two just got your asses handed to you, and you’re lucky to have walked out of there. I assure you, they won’t let you leave next time. They’ll carry you out.”

She shoved herself off the car, jerking her gaze around the bar. “Where are you, Jacob?”

“I’m long gone. Don’t worry. Just keep my baby brother out of this. It’s for his own good. You can handle yourself. He’s not like us. I was wrong to involve him in the first place.”

“Come in and you can keep an eye on him yourself. My team can protect you. Their former SEALs, for crying out loud. No one’s busting through them, trust me.”

Jacob’s laugh was bitter. “Protect me? Sage, you can’t even protect yourself. Just get him as far away from this as you can, and then you two can play twist the sheets all you want.”

Sage felt her cheeks burn, both from embarrassment and frustration. “That’s none of your business. And it doesn’t change the fact that you’re in danger. The Broussards?—”

“The Broussards play for keeps,” Jacob cut her off, his voice suddenly serious. “This isn’t a game. You need to back off. Get your team to back off. And get my brother out of it. They’ve already threatened to kill him.”

She turned her gaze back to Parker, her eyes going wide, just as Jacob ended the call.