Free Off the Wagon (Users #2) by Stacy, Jennifer Buck Page A

included Walt, and his wrath, but he had to face him. He couldn’t let his own cowardice prevent him from finding Barber.

Prologue 3
     
    Carter opened the rickety door a crack and peaked into the meeting room at the Elk’s club, making sure that meeting was fully underway before he entered. The regular rogues gallery of Users was present and accounted for, Vince, Cody, Walt, Evan, and all the others; all except for Barber. Purposefully, he took a seat in the corner, far away from Walt. Carter didn’t want to talk to the General until he was sure it was the right time to open up about Barber. He was positive that would be Walt’s first question anyway.
    Carter wouldn’t so much as look in Walt’s direction. He stared at his worn out shoes for the remainder of the meeting. Between the drug ring, work, and Barber missing, Carter didn’t even have to time to buy a decent pair of shoes. Luckily the fire burnt away his hair on a regular basis, eliminating the need for a haircut.
    The meeting went off without a hitch and before Carter knew it, and before he would have liked it to be, the meeting was over. The room emptied, with everyone heading out to their cars or to mill about in front of the building, everyone except for Carter. He had to squeeze through the herd of Users headed outside to smoke like moth’s headed to the light. Walt waited in the back of the crowd eying Carter, and more importantly eying who was missing. Carter gulped past the lump in his throat as he reached Walt. He had strategically set this up to catch Walt at the meeting where the man wouldn’t be armed, at least Carter hoped he wouldn’t be.
    “We need to talk,” Carter said with as much confidence as he could muster.
    “Where’s Barber?” Walt asked.
    There was no putting something past Walt, he was to damn sharp, especially for a man of his age.
    “He’s…he’s missing,” Carter answered hesitantly.
    Walt’s cheeks turned red with rage.
    “What do you mean he’s missing?” Walt asked through gritted teeth.
    Walt’s hands clenched into fists and Carter expected and fully accepted the fact that Walt was well within his rights to clock him a good one.
    “I think he just ran away, but that’s why I came to you. I need you to sniff again.” Carter pulled one of Barber’s old shirts from his duffel bag. The shirt was wrinkled from having been balled up and shoved into the bag.
    “You know I don’t do that anymore,” Walt answered.
    “I know. I could easily get someone else, but no one knows Barber as well as you,” Carter pleaded. He held the shirt out at arms length waiting for Walt to take it. “Look, Barber and I had a fight, and I’m sure it’s nothing, but just in case. Please, sniff the shirt.”
    Walt let out a long sigh then snatched the shirt from Carter’s waiting grasp. The older man put the shirt up to his face and took a deep whiff.
    Walt’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he began to shake visibly.
    “What? What’s wrong?” Carter asked, but there was no one home and Carter knew that Walt was being transported to another time and place.
    After a few moments Walt broke the silence. “I see him. He’s locked in a room with his arms chained behind his back,” Walt said still in his trance-like state of sniffing. “He’s got blood on his face and arms and one of his eyes is swollen shut. He looks like he’s taken one hell of a beating. He looks…scared.”
    “Where is he?” Carter asked desperately.
    “It’s a…a warehouse. All white…it looks abandoned,” Walt said.
    “Oh god. I know where he is…,” Carter said. “And it’s not good.”

Chapter 10
     
    It rained like a bitch. Carter was soaked to the bone, but he didn’t care. His clothes clung to his muscular frame like soggy form fitted armor. He had his hood up and pulled down low over his forehead, but it did little to keep his bald head dry.
    He knelt next to a chimney on the roof of a four story building, and stared