Clarke patted my shoulder, the smile on his face at odds with the frown that had been there a mere moment before. “Good thinking, Lany.”
“You would have thought of it in time.”
I hope.
“Yeah, well.” The frown was back on Clarke’s face. “We don’t have time.”
I didn’t like hearing that.
I glanced back to the computer screen. I’m not sure what I was hoping to see, but the two blinking lights on a map of the city didn’t make me feel any better. “Has there been any other news?”
“No, and I don’t like it.”
“How soon can we go?”
Clarke glanced at me again, worry creasing the lines around his eyes. “Lany, is there anything I can do to convince you to stay home? This really isn’t a place for you.”
“No.”
“Please?”
I could see that the man was really trying, but it still wasn’t going to happen.
“I’ll listen to your directions, but I’m still going, Clarke.”
“Fine, then be ready to head out in two minutes, and don’t fall behind. We’re going to be hitting the ground running. You stay with Lyn and do whatever he tells you to do.”
“Okay.”
I could do that.
“And don’t get shot.”
I grinned.
I could do that, too.
* * * *
Salvador
I grunted as pain exploded in my jaw. Sticking out my tongue, I licked away the drop of blood at the corner of my mouth. I would have wiped it away, but my hands were attached to a hook hanging from the ceiling.
This guy had only been working me over for about five minutes, but each second felt like an eternity. His fists were the size of meat cleavers, which made sense since I felt like a side of beef being tenderized.
The second the limo had driven inside an open bay door into a deserted warehouse and I got a good look at the five armed men waiting for me and Vinnie, I was pretty sure we were in trouble. Getting dragged from the car kind of confirmed it.
I still didn’t know why.
After a few solid punches, Vinnie and I had been stripped of our jacket and shirts and then strung up from the metal hooks hanging down from the ceiling. Once we were dangling there, the real fun began.
I could take it.
I wasn’t so sure about Vinnie.
The guys giving us the beat-down seemed a little more interested in working Vinnie over than me. It was as if I was an afterthought.
I was almost insulted.
