I took a moment to turn his words over in my mind. “Why would they let Tobias and Brantley steal their cocaine?”
“They haven’t told me. There are theories, but I’m not sharing those.”
We turned right on University Avenue, and even though we were motoring away from campus, the traffic still moved at a crawl.
As I watched the crowds walking along the sidewalk, part of me thought about getting out of the car at the next traffic light. But I knew Nate wouldn’t let me get away like that.
“Since Ines is dead, do you really have to take me to them?”
As though he knew my thoughts, Nate said, “Don’t give me a hard time, Alexandra. If my cover gets blown, we both pay the price.”
My lips twisted to the side. “Do they think I know anything?”
He speared me with a hard look. “This isn’t the time to try lying your way out of things. They got word about Gainesville Police having a search warrant for your address.Itold them it didn’t turn out well. My guess, they think you or the bikers have their productandtheir money.”
Even though he was right, I asked, ‘Why would they think that?”
Nate used his thumb and forefinger to stroke down his mustache. “Someone called in an anonymous tip about your apartment.”
“Right.”
“The caller spoke to an officer the Sixers have on payroll. He was able to trace the phone number back to a punk named Parker. No, that’s wrong—”
“Porter?” I asked reflexively.
“Yes. How'd you guess that name?”
“It's my ex-boyfriend's name.”
Nate sighed. “He called into GPD and told them to search your place.”
I gave my head a quick shake. “Then why did you need to tell the gang how the search went?”
Nate glanced at me and back to the road. “Because that cop works the desk. It took time for the judge to sign off on the warrant. This officer wasn’t around for the aftermath.”
I sighed.
“I want to know why you have an ex who would set you up for a search warrant.”
Probably to set up Rafferty, but that seemed so far-fetched, I couldn’t believe it myself. I shrugged a shoulder. “Things didn’t end well.”
Nate shook his head. “Tell me something I don’t know. No man with any sense would let you get away. But sending cops to your door is extreme.”
Dad had taught me to keep my cards close to my chest, but seeing as Nate kept me from being picked up by some other member of the Sixers, I felt like I owed him something.
“My guess is that Porter wanted to set up Rafferty. The two of them got into it after Porter tried to attack me.”
The air grew heavy and Nate whipped the car onto a side street and parked.
He put his right hand on the headrest and his left hand on the center console near my knee. “Porter attacked you? And you didn’t report that shit?”
I gave him a dry look. “He’d have turned it around on me, Nate. Besides, I hit him with a rolling pin. Then Rafferty pulled Porter off me and taught him a lesson.”
“Taught him a lesson,” Nate muttered under his breath. Then he asked, “So, he witnessed it?”
I opened my mouth and closed it.
“You should have reported it, Alexandra.”
