Shadow of Death Read Online Free

“Naughty by Nature” etched on the other. It seemed like everyone in the place had tattoos. Troy, the oddball in that respect, continued to stare at Naughty to see if he would look his way again. He did and, when Troy caught him, Naughty did something on his cell phone and then went back to doing reps.
    The guy was a newbie to the gym. Troy had only seen him a few times over the last several months though the two had never spoken. It felt as if Naughty by Nature had been staring at him those times as well. If all was indeed true, Troy wondered if it was because the guy had finally been told that he was a cop. Will had told Troy once that he was bad for business after a few guys stopped coming when they learned that Troy worked for the Columbus PD.
    Troy didn’t take Will’s comments to heart. He knew his longtime acquaintance had a tendency to embellish. The two of them had attended the police academy together, but Will got kicked out for falsifying information on his application and for testing positive for marijuana. Troy was certain that Will still had a little bit of wannabe cop in him. He was constantly coming up with theories about unsolved crimes and sharing them with Troy, who indulged him merely for the entertainment of it all. The only reason that most people around the gym knew of Troy’s occupational status was because Will always referred to him as “Detective.” It was much better than the “Southie” nickname that Shay sometimes tried to put on him because she liked his accent, or “Country Bumpkin” that some of his colleagues were known to say behind his back. “Detective” was a term of endearment and, if Troy didn’t know any better, he’d think it gave Will a sense of security to have an officer on the premises, but Troy knew that Will wasn’t always walking a straight path. Will still got high and Troy also suspected that he might engage in the distribution of weed, though he had no concrete evidence to prove his hunch. It was a feeling he got sometimes by Will’s mannerisms, especially when people would ask if they could see the gym manager in private. Troy partly believed that the “Detective” nickname Will gave him was likely a warning to others that law enforcement was in their presence and they should straighten up and fly right.
    Nothing ever went down in Troy’s presence and he didn’t break his neck to look for activity. Overall, Troy thought Will was a decent guy. The extent of their interaction was at the gym, except for a few occasions when they would run into each other at special preschool events where both Nate and Will’s nephew attended. If Will was at the gym today, Troy would ask him about Naughty to get a better understanding since the dude rubbed him the wrong way. Why wait for Will? Troy would be able to figure out for himself by striking up a conversation with the guy and he’d intended to do just that. Unfortunately, by the time Troy finished his next set of reps, Naughty was gone.
    Maybe next time. Troy could ask Shay, but learning more about Naughty wasn’t so serious that he’d initiate a conversation with her. He still couldn’t fathom how Will and Shay had ever hooked up. The one thing he and Will had in common when they were at the academy is that they’d both vowed to never get married or have children. Will kept his promise. Troy thought he would as well, but… along came Natalie. He smiled and glanced at his watch. 5:53! He needed to get out of there so he’d have time to shower before Natalie left. He did one more set of reps before calling it a wrap and went to retrieve his things.
    Outside, Troy caught the tail glimpse of Will’s car leaving the parking lot. Strange. He hadn’t seen Will inside the gym. Will’s car was easy to identify because it was a black BMW 2 series coupe with a specialized license plate that read, WILL DO. Figuring that