Free Blood Money by Brian Springer Page A

study?”
    “Exactly.”
    Kelton walked back into the living room and
sat down. “So if I told you that same story, but in the end I
became a cop instead of a vigilante, you’d believe it then?”
    “Probably.”
    “Because being a cop is socially
acceptable,” Kelton said. It was not a question.
    Jessica grudgingly nodded.
    Kelton leaned back in his seat, put his
hands behind his head. “Then just take society out of the equation.
That’s all I did. What society deems acceptable or unacceptable
simply doesn’t enter my thought process.”
    “And why is that?” Jessica said. “Because
you consider yourself above society?”
    “Not above it, more like parallel to it.
Inhabiting the same space but not a part of it.”
    “Isn’t that a bit egotistical?”
    “Maybe,” Kelton said. “But so what if it is?
There’s nothing wrong with thinking of yourself as more enlightened
than the rest of society. This country was built by people who felt
there were better ways of doing things than what they were
currently subjected to, and they took steps to change things.”
    “So now you’re comparing yourself to The
Founding Fathers?”
    Kelton closed his eyes and gently shook his
head. Once again, he was reminded why he preferred to keep the
specifics of his beliefs to himself. It simply wasn’t worth the
energy to try and explain them to others.
    “I’m not comparing myself to anyone,” he
said. “I’m simply trying to explain my position, that’s all. But
obviously, it’s not working, so I’ll just shut my trap and we can
talk about something else.”
    Jessica opened her mouth but Kelton held his
hand up, cutting her off before she started.
    “No need to protest, Milady. Let’s just
relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. We’ve got less than an
hour before we’ll be meeting up with Walter, and then you’ll never
have to see me again. In the meantime, if you’d like some dessert,
I’ve got chocolate cake.”
    “That sounds great,” Jessica said, her tone
muted.
    Kelton stood up and headed for the kitchen.
He couldn’t say for sure, but from the look on Jessica’s face, it
appeared as though she had actually felt bad about the way the
conversation had ended.
    Not that it mattered.
    As long as everything went according to
plan, she’d be out of his life before he had a chance to think
about how much he liked having her around.

 
     
    CHAPTER NINE

    “Time to go,” Kelton said. “Are you
ready?”
    Jessica nodded and they headed towards the
garage.
    The second half of the evening had been much
less troublesome than the first; they had killed the last hour
before the meeting by talking about relatively benign subjects such
as music and literature.
    Kelton opened the door and they both got
into the car. Once in the driver’s seat, he fastened his seat belt,
then reached up and pressed the button on the garage-door opener
attached to the sun visor.
    He waited until the door was completely
open, then started to back out. Once clear of the garage, he
pressed the button again and the door started to close behind
them.
    They were three-quarters of the way out of
the driveway when a large, black, familiar-looking SUV pulled in
and skidded to a stop, blocking their exit.
    Kelton slammed on the brakes and kept his
eyes locked on the rearview.
    The driver’s side door opened. Out of the
SUV came an enormous, heavily-muscled man dressed in a suit with
the jacket still buttoned. A bodyguard. And Kelton had a pretty
good idea who he worked for.
    Kelton slammed the transmission into park.
“Stay in the car.”
    “What the hell is going on?” Jessica
said.
    “Just lock the doors and sit tight,” Kelton
said. “I’ll take care of this.” He opened the door and climbed out
before Jessica had a chance to say anything else.
    The bodyguard stopped near the rear bumper
of Kelton’s car, about ten feet away. He was at least four inches
taller and 60 pounds heavier than Kelton. His face and neck were
puffy