He slumped in his seat. “Sorry, I guess so.”
He deserved to have me yell at him for another hour. I stopped because it wouldn’t help Peyton one bit, and I needed his help when Jordy gave us a location or direction on my woman.
It was quiet for several blocks before Jordy’s voice came over comms. “I think I got it. Jian Chen owns a restaurant—Ying Chen Garden. It’s within the radius.”
“Address?” Lucas demanded.
Jordy rattled off an address on Pico, and I repeated it to O’Connor.
O’Connor looked over. “What? Is that where the girl is?”
I shrugged. “We don’t know yet. That’s the work address of the guy’s phone she borrowed.”
Lucas sped up, and I followed. We were still a good ten minutes away.
Hold on Peyton, I’m coming.
“Hey, watch out,” O’Connor squealed as I quickly shifted lanes. Hehad a white-knuckle grip on the door, with his legs braced against the floor. “You gotta slow down. You’re gonna kill us.”
I ignored him and poured on the gas to keep up with Lucas.
“I found video,” Jordy said excitedly. “It’s ten minutes old, but a black BMW came to a stop near there and a woman bolted out. It looks like Peyton. She went into a Mexican restaurant two doors down from Chen’s place and was followed by two men from the car. She must have gone out the back door and entered the Chinese restaurant and borrowed the owner’s phone to call from there.”
“Is she still inside?” I demanded as I dodged right around the next car.
O’Connor was pale as a sheet.
“I don’t know yet. Hold on,” Jordy said.
Peyton
The angry older man grabbed thephone away from me and hung it up.
I didn’t understand a word of the Chinese he yelled at me.
A different yell came through the partially open alley window. “There she is.”
I swiveled.
Baldy locked eyes with me.
I ran right through the screaming Chinese man and back through the kitchen. Snaking my way around tables of startled guests, I raced for the front door onto the street.
Baldy bellowed from the kitchen behind me.
On the street, I turned and took off, legs pumping for all I was worth. I would have yelled for help, but the sidewalk was empty.
Glancing back as I turned the corner at the intersection, I saw that Baldy hadn’t gotten out of the restaurant yet. Maybe he’d go the wrong way.
I ran as fast as I could, hearing Zane’s voice in my head. “You can do it. Just a little faster, just a little faster.”
Just like on Pico, there was nobody on the sidewalk to help me, but on this side street there also weren’t any cars to flag down for help, no witnesses to the chase.
Heavy footsteps sounded behind me, but I didn’t look back. By half-way down the block, I really regretted not going running with Marci at lunch. My lungs burned, and my legs felt heavy.
I made it only to the end of the block before a hand grabbed my hair and yanked.
Ow, ow, ow. The pain was intense as he dragged me back onto the ground. The brute’s knee landed on top of me.
