Evie reluctantly climbed into the car while King paused, staring in the same direction Evie had before getting inside.

“Don’t tempt me,” Shade muttered, moving backward.

Dismantling his rifle, he placed it back in the canvas bag. He saw the Predator who had kidnapped Penni and Ice drawing nearer. He silently dropped between the railcars, crawling on his stomach underneath, stealthily moving forward under them until he reached the end.

Shade heard running footsteps pass by, freezing in place. He pulled his .50 caliber Desert Eagle he had tucked into his pants. The first one who looked under the rail car was going to get his face shot off. The second would get one in the artery of a leg. Shade saw the two pairs of feet moving closer to his position.

“Hold up, Jackal.”

“Max, keep your voice down,” Jackal hissed.

“Ice texted. He said King told us to haul ass out of here.”

Shade shook his head. The Predator had barely lowered his voice.

“I saw,” Jackal said, “but I want to find the shooter.”

“Doesn’t matter what you want. Ice ordered us back to the clubhouse. We’re lucky the cops aren’t here yet.”

Shade saw one pair of booted feet moving away.

“Coming?”

“Fuck, I’m coming.” The second pair of boots moved away.

Shade remained still for the remainder of the night, slipping out before dawn to run toward his hidden rental car. Changing in the car and placing his canvas bag in a specially made suitcase, he then pulled out, driving to the airport.

Returning the rental car, he wheeled his suitcase to the front of the airport. He stared at several employees behind his sunglasses, standing out front. He wheeled it toward the one standing by the closest door.

“Bruno?”

“Yes, sir?”

“How’s the food here?”

“A little salty for my taste.”

“I like mine salty.”

“Can I check your bag for you?”

“Thanks.” Shade let him take the handle of the suitcase. An envelope of cash was placed in his pocket as he brushed against his side.

“Elmo will meet you at your destination,” Bruno said, holding the door open.

Shade nodded, going inside the airport to check in.

The plane was on time and Shade boarded, handing the stewardess his coat as he went to first class while ignoring her flirting smile.

After the plane took off, she leaned over provocatively, showing her full breasts.

“Did you enjoy your business trip, Mr. Burns?”

“It could have gone better,” Shade said, looking out the window.

She lowered her voice seductively. “Would you like something?”

Shade turned back to face her, his eyes dropping to her tits before rising to her eyes. “Just a whiskey,” he said coldly.

* * *

Shade sat on his haunches on the roof of the supermarket, watching the man Digger hired to kill Lily place his groceries in the car. He had taken the money to kill Lily, and he had a reputation of always finishing the job. He was good, just not good enough. One simple mistake had led to his downfall. Knox had tracked him down, giving Shade the information he needed.

Shade felt not an ounce of regret when Ray raised his head. He took the kill shot, placing the bullet in the exact same spot he had put Digger’s.

His wife screamed as he fell to the pavement. Shit, he had done her a favor. Her husband had been stashing the money he made for his assassinations in offshore accounts. Shade was willing to bet, when he retired, he would have disappeared and left her behind as his last victim.

Crawling across the roof, he tore his rifle apart and placed it in the metal box. When he was finished, he stood and picked up the box, before climbing down the metal ladder. The supervisor stood below, waiting.

“Well?” he asked impatiently.

“All done. I took care of the problem. The motor that keeps the freezer cold had a clog in the coolant line. I flushed it out, and your freezer should be cold enough to freeze your balls off before you get back inside.”

“Thank Christ. I lost my bonus this month and had to run a meat sale the last two days to get rid of the meat in the freezer.”

“Well, it’s all fixed now.” Shade reached in his pocket, pulling out a pre-made bill then handing it to him. “You can pay that online if it’s easier for you.”

“Thanks. I will.”

“Have a nice day.” Shade placed his metal box in the back of the borrowed truck before climbing inside then shutting the door. He would clean it down and dump it not far from the owner’s house. They would think it had been taken out for a joyride, and it had.

* * *

Shade held his rifle steady, slowing his breathing one heartbeat at a time, focusing only on the woman sitting at the picnic table. Watching her smoke the cigarette, he let her take six puffs before he pulled the trigger. It was the longest shot he had ever made at almost three hundred meters.

When her head hit the table, he knew he had succeeded in making the kill. Loosening his legs which had been gripping the tree trunk for sixteen hours, he slid the strap of his rifle over his shoulder then climbed down the tree to land on his feet.

Hurriedly, he broke down the rifle, placing it carefully in the canvas bag as he heard the loud blasting of the sirens.

He took a brief glance at his wristwatch before smoothing out the leaves beneath the tree. Jogging in a zigzag pattern through the wooded area, he increased his speed, jumping over the water to land on the other side of the creek. Once on the other side, he walked downstream several feet before deftly jumping sideways into the creek. Turning in the other direction, he began walking upstream.

He was two miles up before it started getting deep. Shade pulled on the straps of his bag so it would ride higher on his shoulders. When the water became waist-deep, he came to the tree he had been looking for. Jumping up with all the strength in his legs, he managed to grip the low-hanging limb and climbed up onto it until he could reach the trunk of the large tree. Shimmying down, he took off running through the woods for three miles. As he turned the bend, he came to a campfire with two men sitting on the riverbank, fishing.

“What took so long?” Rider asked, taking a hit from the joint in his hand.

“Kiss my ass,” Shade said, going inside the tent where he took off the canvas bag and placed it in a trash bag, zip-tying it closed before placing it inside the cooler. The fish inside were four days old. Shade had to hold his breath when he opened it. Anyone opening it would puke their guts out from the smell, assuming it was rotten fish inside the trash bag. If the dogs did track him there, the fish inside the cooler would throw them off the scent.

Shade slammed the cooler shut then took off his camouflage pants and shirt. He dressed in jeans and a T-shirt before packing his wet clothes back outside, throwing them into the campfire after dousing them with lighter fluid.

Placing a metal grate on top, he set a frying pan with fish in it onto the fire. It didn’t take long before the smell of frying fish filled the air.

Shade stood up, stretching before walking toward Rider. He crouched down next to him, taking the joint held out to him.

Cash tossed him a cold beer, which he caught with the other hand.

“We heading home in the morning?” Cash asked.

“Yes.”