BURDEN OF AN ANCIENT OATH by Joshua Brown (early reader books TXT) 📕

my hand, screaming out. He held as long as he could but eventually spoke through the screeching. “He said these were bad people, and we were doing good. We didn’t care because we wanted his money, okay? We weren’t ever gonna help him hurt nobody.”

“How can I believe that, knowing why you’re in my house?” My grip never left Granger’s leg. I heard the sound of approaching sirens out in the distance of the night. One of my neighbors probably called at the sound of the gunshot.

Granger couldn’t speak through the shouting.

“We’re running out of time, so let’s get the shot going, huh?” I said, lifting the gun back to Granger.

Knowing that the cops would be outside my door soon, I had to sort this out before they arrived. I pressed the barrel of the gun into his mouth, holding it there before speaking. He knew I wasn’t afraid to use it, with the man dead in my room, so I had to bank that he’d bite.

“You’re going to tell me right now, where do you meet with the Witchfinder General? You thought you’d get a couple of cheeky shots on me? Well, how the tables have turned.”

Granger started weeping, and the faint odor of urine struck my nose.

He was scared, and he knew this was his last chance.

“We met in a shitty little bar outside the city called the Salty Oyster. He’s there most nights, trying to find new people to join his cult,” Granger started weeping. Like a newborn baby, he was just about ready to beg for his mother.

But just like that, I had something. After weeks of absolute and unending torture, there was somewhere to go. And though it was only the beginning, at least it was the beginning of the end.

Chapter 25

Jack

“I heard about what happened to you last night,” Aaron said as I stepped into the office. “How are you holding up with everything that happened?”

“I don’t really remember it,” I replied.

That wasn’t a lie either, as I often told when I was asked questions like that. I never wanted to worry the crew about my state of mind or how I was holding up on a situation. As strong as they were, I knew that they weren’t always ready for the hard truths, and I didn’t want to be the reason any of them suffered.

“But now that it’s all over, we’ve got something,” I said, wanting to bring the spirits in the room up.

Aaron no doubt told Lauren how rough I took the previous night's events at Jane Dench’s home. Lauren was nothing but compassionate, and I could see it on her face. She was gracious and caring, a great empath, and seeing her friends suffer often broke her. I didn’t want to be another reason for her to hurt.

“What do you mean we’ve got something?” Aaron asked, turning to face me. He had a pen sticking out of his mouth, chewing on the end.

“The kid that came into my house, scared shitless, told me about a hideout for the man we’re looking for. There was no name, but there’s enough to go by. And if we act fast enough, and with just the right amount of luck, we might be able to get away with this before anyone gets hurt,” I replied. “Where’s Gwen, anyway?”

I got so accustomed to Gwen being around the office that I could’ve believed she somehow became a part of my team again. I had to admit, it was good having her around too. Another bright, smiling face, ready to stop at nothing to fight crime and kick ass.

But not seeing her there that day made me realize that this was just a one-case deal. That when it was all over, she was going to head out again, into the big, bad world. I hated the idea of that. Having her around was the cherry atop the ice cream sundae. I’d thought about the offer since the day she stepped into my office all those weeks ago, asking for help.

And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to be so. But would she want to join me and the Mercer Detective Agency? The choice, as always, was up to her.

“No idea, boss. She hasn’t come in yet,” Aaron said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Send her to my office as soon as she gets in, alright? We’ve all got a lot to talk about, getting ready for whatever might go down.”

With a nod, Aaron spun around, getting back to work. Throwing my coat and hat over the rack, I walked across to my office. Lauren followed close behind, shutting the door behind us. By the look in her eyes, I could tell she was about to say something I didn’t want to hear, but I’d let her do it.

She wanted peace of mind, just as badly as I wanted to end this thing.

“How are you feeling?” she walked over to a chair opposite me and took a seat.

“I’m feeling good,” I replied.

“Aaron told me what happened last night, Jack. How beaten up you were about what happened to that guy. It’s not like you to throw the hat in—”

“I never threw the hat in. Sometimes it feels like the world is ending around you, but when you take a step back and realize that everything’s going to be okay, things come out okay in the end.”

“But at what cost? You’re killing yourself over these cases, pouring every part of yourself into them, and for what? It’s going to be the death of you.”

There was no threat of tears, not like usual when we had these conversations. Lauren’s stern expression was somewhat unsettling. I knew how she was; I knew how she typically acted.

“What are you saying?” I inquired, cocking a brow.

“I don’t know,”