Page 64 of Every Broken Piece

Chapter sixty

Gabe

I try to keep a low profile in my private life. I’m not loud or flashy. I don’t announce my presence when I enter a building. I crave privacy.

But when it comes to finding Tess, I’ll pull out all the stops. I shamelessly call the police chief. We’ve met several times at fund raisers. Bonded over whiskey, our mutual dislike of said gatherings, and our love of the Broncos.

I tell him where I think Tess might be. He tells me to meet him at the PD.

I’d dismissed my driver hours ago and am driving the SUV. All I can think about is that little dot on my phone screen. I’m well aware of the odds that she might not be at that location. They could have tossed the backpack out of the van. They could have tossed her—

My phone rings. I press the button on the steering wheel.

“Hardwick, tell me what you know.”

“Carter’s not in Chicago anymore. I’m sorry, Gabe.”

Rage has me clenching the steering wheel so tight that the leather creaks. “You’ve been telling me for days that he’s holed up in Chicago and that you have eyes on him. What the hell happened?”

“Chicago PD has an undercover guy in O’Malley’s organization. He’s been keeping his eye on Carter, but obviously this wasn’t his priority. Carter left Chicago two days ago.” She pauses. “He’s rogue, Gabe.”

“Rogue? What the hell does that mean?”

“If Carter took her, it wasn’t sanctioned by the O’Malley’s. He’s doing this on his own.”

I pull into the Denver PD parking lot and cut the engine. Snowflakes still flirt with the stiff breeze. Is she cold? Is she hurt? Is she crying? I dig my fingers into my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

Is she alive?

“I’m going to call the lead detective in Denver and tell him what I know,” Hardwick is saying. “I’ll send over a picture of Carter. Gabe, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“I tracked her computer.” I know I’m not making much sense. I know I should acknowledge what she said, but my brain is running in a thousand different directions.

I picture Tess cold, shivering, crying. I close my eyes and all I see are those terrified tiger eyes begging me to find her. I can’t allow myself to go down that dark path, to think that she’s dead. I can’t.

“I have to go.” I stab at the dashboard to end the call. Exhaustion weighs my steps as I walk into the PD. Is she tired too? Does she want to give up?

Don’t give up on me, Tess. I’m coming.

A detective meets me at the door. I hand over my phone for them to study while I pace. Now that we have a direction I want to move quickly. I want action. I want my girl back in my arms because the alternative is not an option.

“Sir?”

A detective holds my phone out to me with an incoming call from an unknown number.

“It might be the kidnapper,” he says.

I hit the button, then immediately click the speaker icon.

“This is Gabriel Strong.”

“Mr. Strong. I have your girl.”

The detective motions the chief and another detective over.

“What do you want?” I ask, anger making my voice strong.

“She owes us money, Mr. Strong. I’m here to collect.”

This is my element. Negotiating is my strong suit. And now that we’re finally getting somewhere, calm takes over. I settle against a desk, holding the phone so everyone can hear.

“Tess owes you nothing. The debt is her mother’s,” I say.

“Her mother promised that Miss James would pay her debt and I’m holding her to it.”

“Let’s be truthful, Mr. Carter. You’re not here on orders from the O’Malley family. You’re not here to collect Sandra Jansen’s debt. So, tell me, what are you here for?”

By the length of the silence on the other end I can tell I’ve surprised him. I don’t want to push too hard, because I don’t know what he’ll do to Tess. But I do want to rattle him enough that he slips up.

“You’ve done your research,” he says.

“You took my girl, Carter. You’re fucking dead when I find you.”

He chuckles. “ If you find me, Mr. Strong.”

“I will.”

“I’ll tell you what. Meet me in twelve hours. I’ll have your girl. You bring one million dollars. I think that’s a fair trade.”

“You’re delusional if you think I can get my hands on a million dollars in twelve hours.”

“Not my problem, Gabe .”

I curl a hand around the edge of the desk to keep from punching something. “I need proof she’s okay.”

“You’ll just have to trust me on this.”

“Forgive me, Ryan , if my level of trust is low. Proof. I need it.”

“Show me the money, I show you the girl. Twelve hours. One million dollars. No cops. I see cops, she’s dead.”

“Either way, you’re dead, Carter. Remember that.”

“Threatening me, Gabriel? Not wise. I’ll text you the location a half hour before.”

He ends the call, and I’m left holding the phone, shattered and furious and terrified enough to start planning how I can liquidate one million dollars in twelve hours. Because, yeah, I’m contemplating giving him what he wants if that keeps Tess alive.

I push away from the desk and stalk toward the door. Davies grabs my arm. “Where the hell are you going?”

“To go get her.”

“You can’t just go marching in there.”

I lean into the chief’s face. “What would you do if it were Rita?” His wife who he dotes on. A lovely woman I’ve met a few times.

He drops my arm. “Not go off halfcocked. That’ll get us all killed.”

“You think I should pay him what he wants?”

“Hell, no.”

“I can’t leave her there.” My voice cracks.

“About that. We pinpointed the dot. She’s in a developing subdivision called Stonebridge Summit.

Or at least that’s where her laptop is. None of the homes are finished so no one’s living there yet.

Houses are in various stages of completion.

I’ve called the developer. He’s on his way with the plans.

We need to isolate which house she’s in before we go storming in. ”

“So once you find which house you’ll go storming in?”

He gives me a warning look. “We’ll see.”

“Bullshit. I want a plan, Rich.” What if they move her but leave the backpack? What if the backpack isn’t with her? What if they search the backpack and find her computer?

“And you’ll get a plan, just as soon as we form one.”

I cross my arms and glare at him, but he’s been a police officer for a long time, and I don’t intimidate him, so I pull out my phone and make a call. Despite the late hour, or early hour depending on how you view it, Emily Munson, my PR director, answers.

“This better be important,” she says on a yawn.

“I need you at the Denver PD headquarters pronto. We need to get a press release out right away.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Davies demands.

“On it,” Emily says not even questioning why I’m calling her hours before dawn or why I’m at the PD. I end the call, knowing she'll be here.

“He said no cops,” I say to Davies. “He didn’t say no press.”

“I hope like hell you know what you’re doing, Strong.”

I do too. I want to put as much pressure on Ryan Carter as I can. I want the O’Malley’s all the way in Chicago to hear about this. I want the crime family on Carter’s ass so fast he won’t know which way to turn.

I want Tess back.