Priest headed toward a side door with the bags in hand, and with each step he took, his determination grew—along with his fury. He had no idea what he was going to find once he stepped inside, but the thought of Julien spending even a minute in there alone with Jimmy had Priest turning homicidal.
He placed one of the bags on the ground, and as he opened the side door, he put his foot out to hold it there. Jimmy had been smart with his cash amount, likely knowing it would take Priest two hands to haul it all in, and when he got inside and the door closed behind him, Priest took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness that greeted him.
For years Priest had had trouble sleeping. He’d found that closing his eyes didn’t banish the demons, instead inviting them in, and because of that, he’d become an expert at sitting silently and patiently in the dark, aware of his surroundings in ways that others might not be—that habit of his, it appeared, would pay off tonight.
Running along one side of the warehouse there were several windows that had been boarded up, and as his eyes adjusted, Priest realized one in the middle was covered in some kind of material that let a tiny slip of light in.
Without a sound, not even to draw a breath, Priest pivoted to the left, sensing another’s presence. He narrowed his eyes in that direction, and the outline of a person took form. They were sitting, and there was no movement, just stillness, in the vast emptiness of that abandoned space.
Priest gripped the handles of the bags a little tighter as his breathing came faster, every instinct in his body telling him to drop them and run to the one seated in that chair—but Priest knew better, so he waited.
Jimmy had always liked the element of surprise, and there was no reason to believe that tonight would be any different. So Priest needed to play this just right.
As the blood rushed around his head, Priest tried to temper the ringing in his ears, but it was no use. His pulse was racing and his adrenaline was skyrocketing.
“Well, it’s about time.”
The voice that had plagued Priest for decades echoed around him as though it had been spoken through a megaphone.
“Look how grown up you are. Last time I saw you, you had pissed your pants and were cowering like a little girl. The years have treated you well.”
Priest said nothing, refusing to rise to the bait. He knew his silence would grate on Jimmy’s last nerve, and not a second later, whatever had been covering that middle window was pulled away from the broken glass, and the moonlight flooded inside, illuminating the one who was seated—Julien.
As Priest’s eyes took in everything in front of him, he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, and then find Jimmy and squeeze the breath right out of his. Julien was tied to a chair by his arms and legs, there was blood dripping down the side of his neck, and his right eye—fuck—was swollen shut. There was something stuffed in his mouth to keep him quiet.
Priest was moving before he could order himself not to. As his stride ate up the distance, Jimmy said, “Careful, Joel. Be very careful what you do next here.”
Priest’s steps immediately slowed, his common sense kicking in and reminding him that getting Julien or himself killed was not the outcome he wanted tonight. Right now, Julien was alive. Priest needed to keep him that way. He needed to rein in the emotions making his blood boil, and use them to burn the one stoking the flames.
Priest dropped the bags, and as he took another step closer, Jimmy finally stepped into the light.
In all the years that had passed, nothing much had changed about Jimmy’s appearance. His eyes were still a window into the soulless husk of a human, and his hair—which had been a shade brighter than Priest’s own—was now peppered with grey.
Priest steeled himself against the automatic response his body had to that face, because flight was not an option. The only option here was fight.
Fight for Julien.
Fight for Robbie.
And fight for the little boy this man had destroyed all those years ago.
“I brought you what you asked for,” Priest said, and pulled the passport from his pocket and dropped it on the bag beside him. “Passport and money. Now give me Julien.”
Jimmy chuckled, and the sound crawled up Priest’s spine, reminding him that Jimmy was a dangerous creature, like those who lived in the swamps he had slithered out of—a creature that needed a clean cut to be eliminated.
“You don’t have time for small talk?” Jimmy said, and Priest noticed the gun stuffed in the front of his belt. “It’s been years, Joel. Don’t I deserve a little catch-up before I have to be on my way?”