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“Pfft. Like you’d ever fire them,” Ally returned.
Before Tex could reply, we heard, “Uh…Jessie?”
We all turned to see Lucia standing there holding a laptop.
“Your homeless friend came to the back door, knocked, and when I answered, he dropped this off,” Lucia told us.
We all went wired and Jessie asked, “Homer?”
Lucia nodded.
“Holy fuck,” Raye breathed.
That was when we all raced through the kitchen to and through the back door.
“You go that way!” Jessie yelled when we saw no one outside.
She was pointing right as she went left.
Raye and Luna followed her. As did Ally.
Roxie, Indy and Annette followed me.
“Who’s Homer?” Roxie panted as she sprinted beside me.
“He’s Jessie’s special friend she met during our last mission. He’s the one who got kidnapped,” I panted back.
“Gotcha,” Indy wheezed out.
We raced around the side, and everyone met at the front.
No Homer.
So we all turned around and raced back.
Jessie and Ally zoomed to the back alley, while the rest of us checked the parking lots of the businesses to the sides of The Surf Club.
Still no Homer.
We all returned to gather under the minimal shade of a paloverde tree.
All of us were breathing heavily (except Ally).
But Annette was leaning over, one hand pressed hard to her side, and huffing, along with grumbling, “You bitches nearly killed me.”
Jessie ignored her to snap, “How can he disappear into thin air?”
No one had an answer to that. Though we all felt her pain.
Homer had disappeared not long after he was rescued from the bad guys. Since then, Jessie had been worried sick, but she forbade the Hottie Squad to look for him. She didn’t want him to feel hunted.
But Luna had a question.
“What was he doing with a laptop? And why’s he giving it to you?”
We all stared at each other incredulously as light dawned, and then we all tore back to The Surf Club.
“Oh my God!” Annette yelled, even though our latest dash was maybe fifty feet. “You’re killing me!”