Hard Case VI: The Killer Inside (John Harding Book 6) by Bernard Lee DeLeo Read Free Book Online

face tats were creepy good.”
    “Get a good look at the Bay, DL,” Tommy joined in the Cheeseburger broil. “You’ll be right at home on Monday in the banana suit. God only knows what you’d have to do to beat Eric the Red.”
    “Don’t give him any nicknames, T. His real name’s enough. How cool is Rutger Northman? Hey… if I get whupped, it will be by a real Viking.”
    “Yeah, DL,” Tommy replied amidst our audience enjoyment of the one liners, “I’ll get that engraved on your tombstone – ‘Here lies the Dark Lord, beaten to a pulp by a thousand year old Viking. Go on. Get out of here, but remember what Marla said about keeping Lora in the dark concerning your opponent. That’s good advice.”
    “Thanks for the suggestion, but Lora and Al will be fine. I took on the Viking’s friend Van Rankin. Lora saw him and didn’t flinch. Maybe we need some positive thinking around here instead of organizing a burial detail every time I fight.”
    “You’re right, DL,” Tommy agreed. “I’m positive that no amount of time in the Bay will keep you from sleeping with the fishes.”
    “That’s just mean.”
    * * *
    On the ride to the Jack London Square Ferry Terminal I received the silent treatment. Lora and Al, until the ride, gave me one syllable answers for any question. Lora drove us in our new soccer mom SUV without comment. I thought maybe I had a couple too many Bud and Beam brothers, and Lora thought I was smoked. That was not the case, but I may have smelled like it even after brushing my teeth and gargling. They knew I’d be having a couple anyway because of going into the Bay, so I didn’t think my drinking led to the sounds of silence. Al ignored me with her i-thingy phone and earmuffs, probably listening to the great ‘Beeper’, which reminded me her blackmail terms time limit for no Justin Bieber jokes was over. It was a mystery I decided to let ferment while I still had a buzz from my time at The Warehouse. What good would come of verbal investigation to solve a mystery I was probably better off not knowing about. Lora, sensing by my silence I would not be playing detective at my own family roast, started the ball rolling.
    “Al found some video clips of The Berserker. We were curious about the fighter you were meeting for a contract signing.”
    Uh oh. At least I didn’t follow Tommy and Marla’s advice, playing ignorant. “How did he do in the video clips? I haven’t seen him fight yet.”
    Al ripped her earmuffs off at my innocent question. “He’s a monster Viking, Dad, and you know it!”
    I smiled over the seat at Al. “He does have a cool name and face tats. His real name is Rutger Northman. Is that cool or what?”
    “You can stop gushing about his name, Cheese.” Lora porked me with my less cool nickname. “He’s beaten every one of his opponents by brutal knockout or the referee stopping the fight to prevent a killing.”
    “We’ve been through all this before. I’m in the heavyweight division of UFC. My opponents are going to be big. I’m big. Maybe he’s at home with his significant other, and she’s ragging him about how brutal I am. Has the Viking killed anyone in the octagon?”
    “No… but-”
    “No but nothing,” I replied with logic. “It’s not a fight to the death. We’ll be fighting in front of thousands at the Mandalay Bay, and millions on TV. We could enjoy all this together instead of making the match into a journey to the Afghan mountains. I’ve been to the Afghan mountains. A fight at the Mandalay Bay arena is absolutely not the Afghan mountains.”
    That shut them up. I pulled the Recon Marine Vet card on them. Heh… heh. After the airing of our grievances, the chill in the air went away for a time. Al did a blow by blow description for me of her soccer goals scored earlier in the day. Lora chimed in with the boys really played rough. Al pointed out when she couldn’t play with the boys anymore because of size, she’d have to switch to