No, it just wasn’t worth it.
Besides, I didn’t exactly know what kind of trouble Lany was in. He hadn’t been that specific. It could be something simple.
Really.
It could.
Yeah…I didn’t believe it either.
Clarke, Burke, and I piled into one of the SUVs and headed toward the art gallery. I was glad Clarke was driving. I was anxious to get there and probably would have broken more than one traffic law. I didn’t exactly know what was going on, but if my Lany was involved, it couldn’t be good.
God knew I adored the man, but Lany was a hot mess. If there was trouble to be found, it found him. The man had gotten taken hostage while having lunch just a couple of weeks previous, and now he was already in trouble again.
After three years, I understood Lancaster Harris II’s need to wrap Lany in bubble wrap.
“Lights and sirens or silent entry, Lieutenant?”
I wanted to go blaring in with a tank and a bazooka and my entire SWAT team, but that would only endanger Lany and the others.
“Pull around back. We’ll do a silent entry from there.”
Until I knew for sure what was going on, I didn’t want to spook anyone. I also didn’t want to assume it wasn’t a dangerous situation. Lany wasn’t the type to panic easily. Too much had happened to him for simple things to faze him.
When Clarke pulled the vehicle around the corner a block from the gallery, I noticed a car sitting halfway down the block. I probably wouldn’t have paid it any attention except for the three men standing in front of it.
They seemed dressed casually enough in jeans and jackets, but their posture was anything but casual. One of the men stood leaning up against the black Lincoln Continental. The other two stood at either end of vehicle. It was almost as if they were guarding the car, or maybe whoever was inside the car.
“Clarke, drive down the street. I want to see if there’s someone in that vehicle.”
“The black Lincoln?” Clarke asked.
“Yes.”
I was glad the man had spotted it, but not surprised. There was a reason Clarke was my second-in-command. Not only was he smart, but he was just as suspicious as I was. That might not seem like a good trait to have to most people, but it was pretty much normal to us.
“Don’t drive too fast, but don’t let them know we’re looking.”
“I got this, Lieutenant.”
“Sal, face the driver’s side,” Burke said. “Look like you’re turned to talk to me in the backseat. I’m going to play tourist and hopefully record these guys with my phone.”
In full support of that idea, I turned in my seat, leaning back against the door and facing Clarke. I could see Burke in the back, holding his cell phone up.
“How’s the angle?”
“It’s good,” Burke replied. “I should be able to get them easily enough.”
I hoped so. The knot in my stomach was tightening.
I glanced at the speedometer as we moved down the street. We were in a business district, but it was on the edge of a residential neighborhood so the speed was only twenty-five. We were doing just under twenty.
“Careful, Clarke,” I warned when our speed dropped a little more. “Don’t go too slow.”
Clarke glanced down for a brief moment, and then the speedometer slowly rose, hovering around twenty again.
I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until we drove two more blocks down the street. Clarke drove a few a little farther down the street before turning the corner and then backtracking to the alleyway behind the gallery.
“Did you get it?” asked as I glanced to Burke.
