Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
“You scan the area for—”
“I’m not working with much here,” Apollo cut in. “But I did what I could. No sign of the car.”
“This motherfucker,” I rumbled, turning to Leo, my pulse pounding so hard it felt like it was shaking my vision. “I’m not here for a meet and greet. I told him he gets nothing without her. And he didn’t even bring her? You think it’s a setup?”
Leo studied the screen. “He’s a junkie with five million dollars on the line. He’s not going to risk that.”
“Then where is she?”
“I don’t know yet.” He set the phone on the dash. “Apollo, keep looking. I want eyes on him every second.”
“Copy,” Apollo said. “Yo, Devon. Lofton sent the wire info. Read the account numbers out loud when he gives them to you. I’ll push the transfer so you don’t have the distraction of your phone. Five million never moved so fast.”
Five million.
Fucking hell.
My hand curled into a fist in my lap, nails biting into my palm hard enough to ground me.
I shook my head. The idea of paying him a single cent instead of putting him in the ground burned as if I’d been doused by acid.
But Zoey’s life wasn’t something I could risk with a fake transfer or diversion.
Not after that parking lot.
Not after hearing her scream my name while I sat there and did nothing.
I dragged in a breath that did nothing to cool the heat climbing up my spine.
First things first. I had to find her before money came into play. I looked back at the screen.
Jason was still pacing.
No car.
No Zoey.
Nothing.
“I’m gonna kill him. I’m going to fucking rip the spine from his back, fashion it into a noose, and hang him with it.”
My hands flexed on my thighs like they were already trying to close around his throat.
Leo huffed a breath. “As much as I’d like to see that, I need you walking in there with your head instead of your fists.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Devon.”
I gave him my blank attention.
“You did the right thing today. In that parking lot. You protected your principal under impossible conditions. She’s alive because of it.”
Something in my chest twisted hard enough to make me sick.
“I fucking knew you were going to say that.”
“Good. Then you also know I’m right.” He held my gaze. “It’s going to stick with you. A thing like that doesn’t wash off. But it wasn’t a failure.”
“It is,” I said, my voice dropping into something rough and dangerous, “if we don’t get her back.”
Leo didn’t flinch. “Don’t borrow tragedies that haven’t happened yet. You’re the most competent man I know. I wouldn’t be sitting in this car beside anyone else. Give Apollo a minute. He wants money. He’s not getting rid of his only leverage. She’s somewhere.”
He meant it to steady me.
But all it did was pour gasoline on the fire already roaring through me.
What if we were wrong about this too and she wasn’t leverage?
What if she was already gone?
The image hit like a freight train, stealing my breath.
What if I was too late?
“Where the fuck is she!” I roared, slamming my fist into the steering wheel.
Lofton
The cops had swarmed back in the moment Devon’s fifteen-minute head start ran out and Brooke told them about the call.
She’d done exactly what Devon had instructed. She gave them all the details on the call and Jason’s demands, but nothing about where he wanted to meet. Chaos exploded through the room, and suddenly we weren’t waiting any more. As if a child getting kidnapped hadn’t been enough for them to realize the urgency of the situation, a ransom call finally had been.
Nobody mentioned that Devon and Leo had left.
We intended to keep it that way.
The detectives had set up just outside, visible through the glass, coordinating with units already in the field. Close enough to be useful. Far enough that they weren’t hovering.
Brooke was sitting at the table with both hands pressed flat against the wood, watching the officers work around her with the hollow, glassy expression of someone whose body had finally caught up with everything her mind had been processing for the last hour.
“Hey.” I slid into the chair beside her and covered both her hands with mine. “Look at me.”
Her gaze traveled, but there was nothing but devastation behind her eyes.
“He’s going to get her,” I said. “Devon is going to get her back.”
Her voice barely existed. “What if he doesn’t.”
“Stop.” I moved closer. “I’ve trusted him with my life for months. He can handle this. And even if you don’t trust him…” I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me. “You trust me.”
“I’m trying,” she whispered. “I’m really trying.”
“I know.” I wrapped an arm around her. “Me too.”
She folded into me, and I held on like if I loosened my grip for even a second, she’d shatter in my hands.