Homecoming by Denise Grover Swank Read Free Book Online Page B

closed lid, hearing the man’s muffled begging.
    “Don’t you even think about it,” James hissed.
    Will’s anger flared. “Think about what?”
    “Think about letting him go. You signed up for this. Well, guess what. This is it.” James pointed at the trunk. “You’re probably wondering what they’re going to do to him once we drop him off. Wonder all you like, because after you drop him off, your job is done and soon enough, you’ll move on to the next one.”
    Will rubbed his face with his hand. “He knew we were coming for him. He’s not some innocent guy. He offered to pay me double to let him go. It just proves he’s guilty.”
    James shook his head. “You tell yourself that all you like and hopefully someday you’ll believe it. I take it that you know where you’re going?”
    Will nodded. “Yeah.”
     “Let’s go.” He turned his back. “I’ll follow you.” James disappeared around the corner again as Will climbed into the front seat.
    Will pulled onto the road, James following several car lengths behind. It was only a five-minute drive to the warehouse but long enough for Will’s conscience to lodge its disapproval. He was torn between letting the guy go and handing him over. What had he been fighting for the last seven years? He’d hunted and killed men who did the same thing he was doing right now. Will had turned into a thug. 
    He’d already started down this path several years earlier. His history degree would get him jack shit for a job, and he’d become a trash man before joining James’s fishing-guide business. His career choices were limited. But he could make good money doing this and the reality was that the people he would be expected to deliver deserved what they got. And maybe Will had become a thug, but he’d lost his idealism years ago. The sad truth was there were no heroes in this world. It was survival of the fittest. You either hunted or were hunted. Will had no intention of being hunted.
    Sure, he deserved to languish in a jail cell for the rest of his life, but by some odd twist of fate, the military saw it differently. Who was he to argue? That didn’t absolve him of his crimes. He was still a murderer. So, what better job for someone as debased as he had become?
    It was a pretty speech. If only he could completely convince himself of it.
    Will stopped the car in front of a slightly ajar sliding door. James pulled up behind him and stood at the back of the trunk. Will removed the keys and unlocked the trunk as the man sat up, bumping his head on the lid.
    “Careful, now.” Will cooed. “We don’t want to mess up that pretty face.”
    The man jumped up and tried to bolt, but Will grabbed his arm. “I’ve got kids. Please. I’ll pay you triple.”
    Will froze. “How much do you think that is, exactly?”
    James leaned into Will’s ear. “Don’t you  even  think about it.”
    “I’m just weighing my options.” Will gave the guy a grin, the good in him dying with every second. He could feel himself slipping away and he gladly let it. He was no longer that man.
    The man became frantic. “What’s he paying? Two hundred? Five hundred?”
    “You must have been a very naughty boy.” Will laughed as he and James pulled him toward the doors. “He’s paying me more than that.”
    James’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly hid it.
    They led the guy into the warehouse. Will was amazed the guy didn’t fight more. But then maybe he knew he’d never get away.
    A man met them inside, his gaze landing on Will.
    “He’s my business associate,” James said.
    The guard turned without a word and walked down a row of shelves toward the back of the warehouse. The back corner glowed with light. The closer they got, the more agitated the man became. Will and James had to hold his arms and drag him.
    Guilt twisted in Will’s chest, catching his breath. Who was he to be judge and jury for this guy? But he wasn’t. He was merely delivering the guy to