BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1), Philip Duncan [bill gates book recommendations TXT] 📗

“For how long?” Langley asked.

“No clue, but we are going to have to be extra cautious now. Parker won’t think twice about bringing us both in if he sees something he doesn’t like.”

“Well, shit,” Langley said. “Do you think they have surveillance on the house too?”

Decklan nodded his head. “If there is anything I know about my brother, it’s when he puts his mind toward something he goes all in. I would say, depending on how long he’s had detail on us, anywhere we have been he knows about.”

“Even the strip club when you met with Vladimir?” Langley asked.

“It’s possible, but he didn’t say anything about it.”

They both looked around the parking lot to see if they could tell if someone was watching them, waiting for them to drive off. Now that they both knew they were being followed they could keep an eye out.

“What did he say when you asked why he was following us?” Langley asked.

“Just some bullshit about wanting to make sure I didn’t do something stupid. The real answer is he wants to make sure I don’t interfere with his investigation.”

“I guess you weren’t lying then,” Langley said.

“About what?” Decklan replied.

“About your relationship with your brother. It seems just as messed up as you described, if not worse.”

“I can usually brush it off and ignore him, but I have been on edge lately.”

“And rightfully so,” Langley added.

They headed back to the dock to resume their plan. Decklan needed it more now than before. Plus, it would be much harder to have them followed on the open water.

Finally back to the dock and aboard the boat, Decklan untied from the pier and pushed off. It had been several months since he had taken the boat out since their lives had been extra busy, with his wife's work picking up and him being at home with the kids. The last time he was out here was July 4th weekend with the whole family, including Parker and his wife. Although they didn’t hang out much, the wives got along great.

Parker and his wife didn't have any kids because they were both too focused on their careers and the timing just never worked out. Decklan’s kids did love their uncle, though, and despite his relationship with him, he was happy to see his little brother caring for his kids so much.

“Man, it sure is peaceful out here,” Langley said. “This is the first time I have been on the water without preparing for a mission. It’s nice.”

Decklan grinned and nodded in agreement. “There is no better place to be when you want to clear your head and get away from all the noise. Out here, it’s just you and the ocean.”

After running the boat a few miles offshore, Decklan decided to turn the engine off so they could just float and relax, or at least try. He remembered that he had some food and drinks that they always kept handy down on the bottom deck.

“You want a beer?” Decklan asked.

“A beer sounds perfect right now, thanks,” Langley replied.

Decklan went to grab a couple, one for him and one for Langley. Even though he had to be careful with his drinking, he figured one beer miles away from any trouble wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“Here ya go. I hope light beer is okay,” Decklan said as he tossed it to Langley.

“Light beer is the preferred choice at my age,” Langley said as they both laughed.

As they both sipped on their cold beers, Decklan couldn’t help but think about the couple that Parker mentioned had just got murdered. He was kicking himself for not asking more questions, even though his brother probably wouldn’t have told him anything. They needed to figure out a way to find out who they were and where they lived so they could get inside and look around for any clues that could help. He was hoping that if it was the same guys, maybe they left something behind this time. Maybe they were not as careful as they were with his family.

Langley could tell Decklan was racking his brain about something. “Hey man, everything okay? I can see smoke coming out of your ears from the gears turning so hard.”

“I am just thinking about what my brother said back at the station about the most recent murders. Do you really think Vladimir could be behind it? What would have been his motive to take out a young couple like that?”

“Vladimir doesn’t need a motive, remember? He’s a ruthless, heartless bastard,” Langley replied.

“What do you think about finding out where that couple lived and going to take a look for ourselves?” Decklan asked.

“I think that sounds like a dangerous and potentially deadly idea. So, count my ass in.” Langley replied as he finished off his beer, and they both laughed.

“Great. Let’s hang out here a little longer. I am not ready to give up the peace and quiet just yet. This is the first time in days I have felt like I could actually breathe,” Decklan said.

“You and me both, brother,” Langley replied.

They were beginning to feel like a real team. Like Batman and Robin, except in this situation they were both Batman because they both had their own vengeance to exact.

CHAPTER 14

After a couple more beers for Langley, they decided to take it back in and get back to work. The time away from reality was refreshing and much needed for both of them, especially Decklan, but they knew just floating around out here wouldn’t make their problems go away. If anything, things would probably get worse. It seemed as if Vlad and his group of thugs were starting to make more noise. Langley was aware of the kind of things he was capable of and about how long he was usually in one place, so this wave of destruction could continue for quite some time.

Decklan was curious about the latter. “How long does Vladimir usually run his drugs