Evolved by Michelle Schad

Author:Michelle Schad [Schad, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chaos Publications
Published: 2019-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

09

Too many bones popped as James turned his neck in a slow circle. Each crack echoed inside his ears, adding to the now-constant ringing assaulting his ear drums. The flight from London to Denver was shorter than he expected, though that did not help the stiffness he felt in his joints or the sudden spasticity in his right hand. He flexed it as they finally pulled into a spot just outside of Boulder city limits. A vehicle was waiting for them in Denver when they arrived to finish the trip. They pulled into a dimly lit parking lot like something out of a gangster movie, giving James’s stomach a flip.

“Look alive, detective, we’ve got company,” Karma said, as he exited the vehicle. James saw the eagerness to be back in action, to be doing something other than sitting around in the break room or, worse, gardening. Three of the five hours in-flight had been nothing but complaints about retirement, complaints that James hoped would serve them well now as he followed the elder man out of the car. Eric did the same, their doors all closing in the cold winter air in near-unison. Emma remained in the car, watching, while Grim was still back in Denver getting several things sorted.

What started as a bit of rain rapidly turned to pellets of freezing ice and angry, black clouds that followed them across the Atlantic and deep into the Rockies. It gave James’s gut another twist it did not need. The storm hadn’t reached them yet, but that did not mean it wouldn’t break while they stood there in little more than padded pillowcases and beanies.

Three people waited in the parking lot, all leaning against one side of a very large Hummer2 SUV. One of the three was the size of a house and wore a black hoodie. The other two were decidedly smaller, one male, one female, also wearing similar black hoodies. If the situation weren’t so dire, their appearance might be comical.

“Eric,” James said.

“I gotchu, brother,” the Texan replied, giving the other three a head jerk of a greeting. “What’s up, Crush?”

Virgil. James bit back a grin. He missed the giant man and his onion bricks. He missed everyone he knew in Chicago. Hadi especially. The former bartender noticed a change in James’s mood recently and questioned it, growing angry when James shrugged it off as ‘work stuff’. James worried about him, worried about his temper and mood shifts; worried about his addiction.

“Could ask you the same question, Mysty boy. Gotta say, this shit hole really ain’t the best of meeting places for crap like this,” the man replied then fixed his eyes on James. “Jimbo.”

James followed Eric’s lead, offering Virgil a respectful nod as he brought himself back around to the immediate moment.

“Let’s get this done with, Kreedy,” the man in the middle said in a low rasp. “I’m missing darts for this.”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, Polly, we’re all here for the same reason,” Eric continued, addressing the man that looked like a ghost against the black hoodie he wore.

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