When Angels Cry_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Read online

  Shay held up a hand. “I’m done, and we already paid. You done, or did you want something else?”

  James shrugged. “I’m good.”

  The tomb raider grabbed her purse from a chair beside her. “Then we should get going. But one thing first.”

  “What?”

  She walked to the young women’s table. She leaned over the table and gave them a feral grin. “He’s way too much man for either of you. You couldn’t possibly handle him.” She winked. “I’m still sore, and it’s a week later.”

  With that she flounced out calmly, giving them the finger as she walked away. Gasps filled the room.

  Yeah, probably won’t be able to come back here for a while.

  James followed her, not speaking until they were outside. “What the fuck was that about?”

  “Just a little friendly girl talk.”

  “You’re not gonna kill them, are you?”

  Shay laughed. “I’m the new improved Shay Carson.”

  “What does that mean? You kill them slowly instead of fast?”

  “I don’t have to kill everyone who pisses me off. Just some of them.”

  James grunted. “I don’t know if that makes me feel better, but I had a good time. The pizza was good.”

  Shay patted him on the arm. “We’ll make a connoisseur out of you yet—or at least a pizza lover.”

  “If you say so.”

  2

  Why do the fuckers always run?

  Trey charged after the bounty. He had to give the guy credit. The bounty moved damned fast for a guy with a huge gut, but the power of fear wouldn’t overcome the anger fueling the pissed-off bounty hunter.

  “Don’t make me knock your punk ass down, Leonard,” Trey shouted. “I’m already not in a good mood since you’re running.”

  The other man hopped onto a fence and vaulted over it in one smooth movement. He glanced behind to verify if Trey was still on his ass.

  Enough with this parkour shit, bitch.

  The bounty hunter leapt onto the fence and replicated the man’s move a few seconds later. “I just got these threads. If you make me tear a hole in them, I’m gonna rip you a new asshole. You hear me, Leonard? This suit wasn’t cheap.”

  The bounty kept up his pace although sweat poured down his face and jumped the next barrier, a low-lying wooden fence. Trey closed on the man and jumped over the fence head-first, tackling the bounty. The top points of the fenceposts only narrowly missed snagging his dark suit.

  Leonard collapsed to the sidewalk with a grunt, Trey on top of him. The bounty hunter bent the man’s arm back, and the criminal squealed in pain.

  “Stop fucking fighting me and you won’t get hurt. You’re a level-one bounty, Leonard. That means you’re worth money to me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here fucking with you. This ain’t personal.”

  The man slumped to the ground, moaning but not fighting anymore.

  Trey shook his head. “Was that so fucking hard?” He cuffed Leonard’s hands behind his back and pulled him to a stand before dusting his pants off. “You’re lucky, Leonard. Looks like my suit is okay.”

  The other man glanced behind him. His gaze traveled Trey’s body for a moment. “Damn, that is a nice suit.”

  “Of course it is. I don’t wear rags on the job. I’m trying to maintain a style here.”

  “Just saying, I’m surprised you would risk the thing. What do you do if someone shoots you?”

  “That shits annoying, and it’s already happened.” Trey pushed the man toward his F-350. “Anyway, I’m with the Brownstone Agency, bitch. We do whatever it takes to get the bounties, just like the big man himself. Hell, I’ve seen him go the extra mile myself.”

  “Wait, Brownstone actually runs the agency?”

  Trey opened the back door of F-350 and shoved Leonard in. “What the hell did you think? That I just started some business and called it the Brownstone Agency?”

  “I thought it was a franchise thing, you know? Like McDonald’s. You pay Brownstone money to use his name.”

  “Bitch, please!” Trey circled around the truck and hopped into the driver’s seat. “Franchise? I should pop you just for that. Brownstone doesn’t need money. The man’s a class-six bounty hunter. He could retire to Cabo San Lucas today if he wanted.”

  He glanced at Leonard. The anger, suspicion, and fear on the man’s face had been replaced by curiosity.

  Here we go again. I should print up some pamphlets with questions and answers to speed this shit along.

  “What’s he like?” Leonard asked. “Brownstone, that is.”

  Trey started the truck. “Brownstone? You know what he’s like. He’s a motherfucking badass. He’s the king of badasses. The man took down the Harriken not just in LA, but in fucking Tokyo. Think about that. He did shit the cops and FBI couldn’t do, and there’s a hell of a lot more of them than Brownstone.”

  Leonard nodded eagerly. “I heard Brownstone sleeps with like ten women a night.”

  “Shut your mouth, bitch. Brownstone’s a gentleman. He’s no man-whore. Ten women a night? I can’t even believe you said that.” Trey pulled away from the curb.

  Leonard’s eyes widened. “Wait. Shit! Brownstone drives an old truck. Is this the truck?”

  “You wish it was Brownstone’s truck. This is the sole property of me, Trey Garfield.” The bounty hunter shrugged. “Ain’t saying I didn’t get a little inspiration from the big man. It’s a classic. You want to be a winner, then do what winners do.”

  “I heard he killed a guy who got in a fender bender with him because he loves his truck so much.”

  Trey scoffed. “Brownstone ain’t no thug. He’s a professional, and he only goes after you if you’ve got a bounty or you’ve threatened someone he cares about. Everyone he’s taken down has had it coming. If he was killing people when they got in accidents with him, do you think the cops would let him walk free doing jobs?”

  Leonard frowned. “I guess not. But, hey, what about that Marine thing? It’s bullshit, right?”

  Trey turned a corner. “What do you mean? Bullshit how?”

  “I mean, the news made it sound like he lured a bunch of hitmen to Camp Pendleton and the Marines captured them. It’s not like Brownstone has the military working for him. He’s just some bounty hunter.”

  Trey answered with a snort. “’Just some bounty hunter?’ That’s the problem with guys like you.”

  “What?”

  “Brownstone understands something a lot of you bitches don’t.”

  “Huh?”

  Trey shook his head as he changed lanes. “Respect. Because he gives respect, people respect him, and that includes most of the 5-0 and the military. Nah, the Marines don’t work for him, but they did him a favor.” Trey laughed. “We also got a former Marine drill instructor as our main trainer and recruiter now at the Brownstone Agency.”

  Leonard looked glum. “I wanted to join the Marine Corps, but I took the ASVAB and they said I wasn’t smart enough.”

  Trey chuckled. “People like you must be the reason they have to stick ‘front toward enemy’ on claymore mines.”

  Leonard muttered under his breath and anger flashed across his face for a moment before the curiosity and eagerness returned. “Hey, is it true that Brownstone maintains a personal gang?”

  “Kind of.”

  “Kind of?”

  “What the fuck do you think I used to do before I worked for the Brownstone Agency?”

  Leonard blinked. “Shit, seriously?”

  Trey grinned “Yeah. Brownstone’s turning criminals into criminal hunters. We’re gonna clean up this town, and little old nanas will be able to walk outside in the shittiest neighborhood without fearing pieces of garbage. I bet you in a few years LA will be the safest city in the country. They should rename this shit Los Brownstone.”

  “Brownstone’s doing all that, even though he’s a junkie?”

  “Brownstone’s a junkie?” Trey snort-laughed. “Bitch, what are you t
alking about?”

  “I thought he took a lot of dust. That’s why he’s so fearless.”

  “He’s fearless because he’s a badass.” Trey shook his head. “He likes beer, but the only thing he’s addicted to is barbeque.”

  “Barbeque?”

  “Yeah. He loves it so much that one time he took a day trip all the way to Vegas just to go to someplace called Jessie Rae’s.”

  “Must be a hell of a barbeque place if he’s willing to drive there all in one day.”

  “Don’t know. Never been. But if the big man likes it, there’s a reason.” Trey stopped at a red light. “Plenty of good barbeque in LA, though.”

  “What’s the most badass thing Brownstone has ever done?” Leonard inquired. His eyes were lit up like a kid talking about his favorite movie star.

  “Most badass? Other than wiping out the Harriken in the US and Tokyo? That’s pretty badass.”

  Leonard nodded. “Yeah. Just, some of the stuff I’ve heard on the news is hard to believe. It’s hard to know what’s just bullshit Brownstone’s spreading and what’s actually true.”

  Trey rubbed his chin. “Damn. Too many moments of pure badassery to pick from. He beat down King Pyro because that fucker threatened his family, you know? You see that on the news?”

  “The bank robber who could melt metal with his bare hands?”

  Trey nodded. “Not only that, Brownstone’s taken out necromancers, including a body-jumper in Detroit and this fucker down in Mexico who was so badass the Mexican military tried to bomb him out. I want you to think about that. They sent the fucking military after some bastard’s ass, and he survived…until Brownstone showed up. That means Brownstone’s basically the equivalent of an army.”

  Leonard whistled. “Yeah, all that Harriken shit gets the news, but they were normal people, not magic freaks.”

  “Damn right. You know, before he killed the Harriken in Tokyo, they sent all sorts of crazy-ass killers after him. Not just hitmen, but people with serious powers. Magic shit.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “That’s because you’re a small-time thief, not a big gangster or anything.” Trey snorted.

  Leonard shrugged. “Man’s got to make a living.”

  “By robbing little old nanas?”

  The criminal looked down and cleared his throat. “Let’s talk about Brownstone some more.”

  Trey chuckled. “Fine. Brownstone’s willing to take on anyone, magical or not. Not just people from Earth, you know? He’s taken down more than a few elf criminals who have all sorts of spooky-boo magic and other shit from Oriceran.”

  “What about those killers you mentioned? They Oriceran?”

  “Nope, humans, but he took down some Oriceran hitmen when the Harriken had that bounty on him.”

  Leonard shook his head. “I remember hearing about that. Some of my friends thought about going after him. They said it’d be like the Lotto.”

  “You’re still alive, so you must not have gone after him.”

  “Seriously? I hid in my apartment until all that shit was over.”

  Trey barked out a laugh. “Good plan. Hitmen who go after Brownstone end up dead or in jail, magical or not. Just like there was this bitch in Tokyo he fought… Well, she was actually German, but she went to Tokyo after him. She sucked up a bunch of souls and had the strength of like a hundred people, from what I heard. No one had won a fight against her in years until Brownstone.”

  “Shit, are you talking about Sabine Haas?”

  “Yeah, that was her name. I wasn’t there. I just heard about it later.”

  Leonard looked stunned. “Brownstone beat the Collector? I thought she was immortal.”

  “Might have been, until she met Brownstone.” Trey turned at an intersection. “Everyone thinks they can take down the big man, but here’s the truth: if Brownstone’s coming for you, it’s safer just to turn yourself in to the police. Because if you've got the big man’s attention, you’re in for a world of pain.”

  “Come on!”

  “Just think of him like a personal hurricane who has decided to beat your ass down. You can hide from the hurricane, or go find some place to protect you, but you ain’t gonna be taking that hurricane out.”

  “Garfield,” Sergeant Mack called from the front counter. “Bring your boy up.”

  Trey stood, and Leonard followed without even being yanked. The ride over had involved enough bonding that Trey could probably have removed the handcuffs without trouble.

  They made their way to the counter.

  The bounty hunter chuckled. “You want some Brownstone trivia, Leonard.” Trey pointed to the sergeant. “The cop who’s about to process your ass was once the landlord of James Motherfucking Brownstone himself.”

  Leonard stared at Sergeant Mack. “Shit, seriously?”

  The cop shrugged. “He was a good tenant. Paid on time, kept the place clean. Never had any complaints.”

  The criminal shook his head. “I can’t believe you know Brownstone personally. Hey, why did he even go after the Harriken to begin with?”

  Sergeant Mack tapped his keyboard for a few seconds before answering. “You don’t know? I thought everyone knew.”

  The cop glanced at Trey, and the other man shrugged. He was surprised himself that Leonard didn’t know.

  The bounty leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I’ve heard a lot of shit, and some of it’s crazy. I’ve heard the Harriken killed the secret son he had with some Oriceran princess. I’ve heard that they blew up his house. Shit, I heard that Brownstone got angry because some Harriken asshole cut him off in traffic.”

  “They did blow up his house, or at least someone did because of a bounty.” Sergeant Mack shook his head. “But he went after the local Harriken way before that for a different reason.”

  Trey snorted. “Bitches got what was coming to them. Fucking cowards.”

  Leonard looked between the two men. “What? Why? What started it all? It’s not like Harriken haven’t been in LA for a long time.”

  “The Harriken killed his dog.” Sergeant Mack sighed. “They thought they were intimidating him, but all they did was sign their own death warrants.”

  “Killed his dog? You telling me that guy killed hundreds of guys because they killed his dog?”

  “At first, anyway,” Trey interjected. “After that, it was because those bitches didn’t get the message and kept trying to send hitmen and shit after him.”

  Leonard stood there, utter disbelief on his face. “And the cops let him get away with it?” He turned to the sergeant. “I mean, fuck! You even put out a bounty on the Harriken.”

  Sergeant Mack scoffed. “The police deal with what is reported to us. It’s not like the Harriken were calling us up and asking for police protection, and, yeah, eventually the city did get an organizational bounty. The Harriken should have kept their noses clean and gone legit. Maybe they’d still be around, then.”

  Leonard stared at the sergeant wide-eyed. “Shit. Brownstone could have come after me. What if I had pissed him off?”

  Trey and Mack laughed simultaneously.

  The bounty frowned. “What?”

  “Why do you think he has the Brownstone Agency?” Trey adjusted his tie. “I’m tough, but I get that I’m no James Brownstone. Your level-one bounty ain’t enough to get Brownstone out of bed unless you got some serious information for the 5-0.” He nodded at Sergeant Mack.

  Leonard let out a sigh of relief, apparently forgetting he was still in the process of being booked into jail.

  A thoughtful look crossed Sergeant Mack’s face. “I’ve known Brownstone for years. Even though he’s really upped his game lately because of the Harriken, it’s not like he’s not always taken down only high-level bounties. It’s just with all that Harriken crap, people are paying a lot more attention.”

  “Like what?” Leonard inquired. “What’s the weirdest thing you remember him taking on?”

  “We had some sort of weird Ori
ceran hippo-alligator monster in the sewers a few years back. He took that out.”

  “Shit, I remember that. They called it the ‘Terror Down Under.’”

  All three men shared a laugh.

  Sergeant Mack nodded. “Yep. Brownstone didn’t care. We waded through literal shit to find that thing and take it down. Saved ten city workers the day he got it. In Japan, he took down some Oriceran monster that was getting into people’s heads and making them commit suicide.”

  Trey grinned. “Not just a badass bounty hunter, but the world’s most badass pest-control guy.”

  “Damn,” Leonard whispered. “You think I could join the Brownstone Agency after I get out?”

  Trey laughed. “Bitch, you wish.”

  3

  James gave Shay as a kiss. “Let me know you’re alive every now and again.”

  The tomb raider opened the truck door and stepped into the LAX loading zone outside the desks for the international airlines. She opened the back door to grab her suitcases before she responded.

  “You get in more trouble than I do, you know.”

  James grunted. “Depends on how you define trouble.”

  Shay pulled her two large suitcases around behind her, then reached in and grabbed a long thin box with a strap and slung it over your shoulder.

  James eyed the long box. “You’re just gonna check a sword in?”

  “Yep. I’ve got enough gadgets on this to know if anyone tampers with it, and I’ve got all sorts of paperwork that shows it’s a legitimate historical artifact that shouldn’t be tampered with by TSA and that sort of shit.” She leaned in and winked. “Why smuggle when you don’t have to?”

  He grunted. She was smuggling tons of guns and knives already.

  “You think you’ll need it?”

  Shay shrugged. “Don’t know. Been running into a lot of magical assholes lately. It doesn’t hurt to have a few extra options. Try and not piss off any major criminal organizations while I’m gone.”

  “No promises.”

  “Then at least wait until I get back before you take them out.”

  “Okay, that I can do.”