Page 66 of Gator
The driver took a left into a strip of warehouses I hadn’t even known were there. They had names like Allied and West Texas Logistics. I assumed they were loading docks. They all had roll-up doors and high windows.
“Almost there,” Asshole said.
I looked at him and smiled, small and sharp. “Good,” I said, and for the first time since the phone rang, my voice sounded like mine. “I hate riding in the backseat.”
He frowned. “Don’t be a smart ass.”
We eased around the back of a long, low building with a dozen bay doors. The driver tapped his fingers on the wheel, a little dance step that said another car was coming or a gate needed to open. I couldn’t see it yet. My heartbeat was a drumline. I breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth, and said a prayer that went something likeHold on, Gator is coming.Hold on, Gator is coming.
Chapter twenty
Gator
I was in my office trying to catch up on paperwork when the phone buzzed on the desk.
“Gator,” Janna said, her voice cracking.
“I’m here.”
“I have someone named Migs on the phone. He says it’s about Julius and that it’s urgent.”
“Put him through.” I waited a beat for the line to connect before saying, “Migs, what’s wrong?”
His voice sounded like someone trying to keep calm but failing horribly. “You need to get to The Shag Shack. Now.”
“Slow down,” I said, already on my feet. The chair scraped back, and I forced myself to breathe. “What happened?”
Migs wouldn’t be calling me sounding panicked if Julius was alright, but I forced myself to focus and to listen. I couldn’t be what Julius needed if I didn’t stay in control.
He swallowed audibly. “Someone grabbed him out back. They took him. They were in a car. He left a note for Devon, and Devon gave it to me. It said to call you.”
Everything in me went cold, then hot, and then my vision blurred for a second. Someone had Julius. How had this happened? We had a man on him. He was supposed to be safe at the salon.
“Who grabbed him? Is he—where did they take him?”
“I don’t know,” Migs said. “He went out the back. Tori saw them. She said they were in a black car. Then they drove off. Julius put a message in the pen cup, and Devon found it.” He sounded on the edge of panic, and his story was a bit all over the place. I needed to know more, but first, I needed to get some help.
“Hold on for me for one second, Migs.” I paused, and he didn’t say anything. I forced myself to remain calm, but it was getting harder by the second. “Did you hear me? I need you to hold on. I need to get the guys on this, but I need more information.”
I heard him take a deep breath, and then he said, “Yeah, okay, I’ll wait.”
I didn’t want to risk accidentally cutting him off by switching lines, so I hurried to the office door and stuck my head out. I made eye contact with Caden. “I need Hawk and Wolfe in my office ASAP.”
He must have registered the fear in my voice because he nodded and got right up.
I took a deep breath to steady myself and then went back to the phone. I put it on speaker because I didn’t want to play relay with the guys. I’d rather they hear it all firsthand. And before I was even able to get back to Migs, Wolfe was there, concern on his face.
“They got Julius.” Then I went back to the phone. “Okay, Migs, let’s start with the note he left. What did the message say?”
“It said,They have Lainey, Call Gator, Back door.”
I closed my eyes and took a breath as an image of Lainey smiling at the football field just the night before flashed through my mind. These guys were smart. Telling him they had her was the one thing that could have gotten him to go with them.
I looked at Wolfe, but he was already on his phone. “I’m on it.”
“Okay, Migs. How long ago did he leave the note?”
“Just a minute or so ago. Like I said, Tori saw him go out and was worried. She checked on him and saw them, so she came straight to me and Devon. He realized it must have been because of the call, so he checked and found the note. They haven’t been gone long.”