Read Online Duke City Hit by Max Austin - Free Book Online

he wasn’t working, he slipped into a form of hibernation.
    He spent most of this downtime alone, relaxing with spy novels and ball games on TV. Going out to eat once or twice a day to get out of the house. Munching popcorn alone at weekday matinees. He happily fell into this familiar routine, living like a retired guy, until the next job came along.
    It was a simple life. And there simply was no room in that life for a son.
    So how to handle Ryan? Break it to him gently? Tell him to take a hike? Put a bullet in his head?
    The smart move would be to disappear. Vic had enough money socked away. He could vanish anytime he wanted. But why leave behind Albuquerque, his friends, everything he’d ever known?
    Be easier to make Ryan go away.
    Maybe.
    The kid clearly had the killing instinct. Something in the blood, same as Vic. Throughout history, there have been men who survived by killing other men, often paid well for their skills. Soldiers, samurai, assassins, gunslingers, whatever society chose to call them. Men who were one step quicker because they didn’t suffer the moral dithering that caused hesitation.
    Hesitation will get you killed. First one to pull the trigger wins, nine times out of ten.
    Vic knew that. Did Ryan?

Chapter 16
    Penny had trouble concentrating the rest of the day. She’d made light of Vic’s sudden paternity, but it worried her. He didn’t need the distraction. Not now.
    Business had never been better. She got so many calls for Vic’s services, she was forced to turn work away.
    All her doing, of course. Yes, Vic was very good at his job, but it was Penny who built his reputation. She knew plenty of people in the underworld, thanks to her lifetime in the bail bond business, and they spread the word about her mythical hit man, the killer who never failed.
    Vic kept his distance from the business end. All he did was set up the shot and pull the trigger. Penny was the one who dealt with the clients and collected the money. She provided Vic with guns and plane tickets and anything else he needed. Sure, she took 50 percent, but she earned every dime.
    She needed that steady revenue stream to bolster her other businesses. She’d made some bad bets on bail bonds in the past few years—runners like that pervert John Francis—and it had cost big. She’d used income from Vic to fill the gaps, and she couldn’t afford for him to get distracted now.
    The secret to Vic’s success was his cool professionalism. Emotions never came into play. But what if he started thinking about his kid all the time? Worrying about the future. Getting overly careful. That’s when a man hesitates. That’s when it all can come tumbling down.
    Even a master like Vic Walters could make a mistake. And one mistake could ruin everything.

Chapter 17
    Vic found Ryan waiting at the curb when he stopped in front of the neon-drenched motel that evening. The kid was dressed as before, the urban armor of leather and denim, but he looked rested and his dark hair was still wet from the shower.
    Though he hadn’t slept much, Vic felt better himself. Some coffee, a shave, a shower, a fresh suit of clothes—he was a new man.
    Ryan opened the door and dropped into the passenger seat. “Look at you. Fresh as a daisy.”
    “I got some rest,” Vic said. “You?”
    “I’m great. I bounce back quickly.”
    “Enjoy that while you can. It gets tougher with every passing year.”
    Ryan held up a fat envelope. “I brought those pictures of Mom.”
    “Ah, good. I want to see those. She’s been on my mind a lot since you turned up. I was very fond of your mother. We had quite a passionate fling, but it ended abruptly. If I’d stopped to think about it at the time, I might’ve suspected she’d gone away pregnant.”
    “But you didn’t think about it.”
    “I figured she found some other guy who was a better catch. My line of work doesn’t lend itself to permanent entanglements. A wife, a girlfriend, they’re just ways for the law