“Because my daughter is in there with three armed men who have killed before,” he told her, covering his head with a boonie. The hat would both shade his eyes and keep his fair hair from reflecting the bright sun. “Because I know, absolutely, when Izzy and his guys show up, the five of us will get both Maddie and Dingo safely out of there—after which we’ll call the police.”
She drew in a deep, shaky breath. “I’m trusting you, too,” she told him as he put on his sunglasses and silenced his cellphone, securing it in the front right pocket of his pants.
He got out of the truck and patted his other pockets—he kept them loaded with bungie cords and duct tape, his Ka-Bar dive knife…He went into the back of the truck and got a length of blue rope from one of the side pockets of his truck bed—useful to have when climbing, especially for getting back to the ground. He kept it coiled to fit around his neck and one arm, slanting across his chest. He slipped it on and was good to go.
He leaned in to the cab and kissed Shay. “To quote my future son-in-law, Dingo,” he said. “Who is less of an idiot than I thought:You’re everything. And I’ve had a few more years of experience under my belt, so I know you’re not perfect, but you’re pretty damn perfect for me. Drive to the convenience store and stay there. Please.”
She caught his arm. “Be careful.”
He nodded. “I got this.”
This time she pulled him in for another kiss—sweet, hot, and over far too soon. But he had to move.
Pete quietly closed the door behind him—but stood there, waiting. Yes, that’s right, Shayla. Hewasgoing to watch her drive away. Stick to your skill set, thank you very much.
The taillights of his truck vanished around the corner, and Pete started across the dusty ground between the former gas station and the warehouse that neighbored it, staying close to the crumbling building as he moved toward the back of the garage where his daughter was being held.
“What thefuck?” Izzy said as they rounded a curve—and hit a wall of red taillights. He jammed on the brakes. “Isn’t your GPS app supposed to warn us about shit like this?”
“Major accident ahead,” Seagull reported as Izzy swiftly worked his way over to the far right through a chorus of bleating horns. He made it to the shoulder, where he braked to a stop. “Whoa, it’s a bad one. It must’vejusthappened.”
All three of their heads were down as they locked eyes with their phones, searching for an alternate route.
“Schlossman! I need your head up, looking out the back,” Izzy ordered as he put the car in reverse. “Eyes on the road! You know those assholes who back up all the way to the last exit? We are now co-presidents of that exclusive club, only we’re gonna do it as fast as we fucking can.” He stomped on the gas. “Seagull, find us another way there; ’Bomb, I need both hands on the wheel. Use my phone and dial Grunge and Shayla. I need to let them know we’re gonna be late, then grab the California map book from the pocket behind my seat, and find out where the fuck we are and how to get to where we want to go, the old-fashioned paper way. Because if our electronics fail us, I donotwant to be the one to have to tell Grunge that as we sit here with our dicks in our hands!”
“Be careful”?You had a chance to go big and you chose “Be careful”?
“Shut up, Harry. You’re not helping.” Shay didn’t even try not to say it out loud. With Peter out of the truck, she connected her cell to his truck’s Bluetooth, so that she’d be ready and waiting, hands free, when he called.
But as she was driving to the convenience store parking lot, it was Izzy’s cell number that suddenly popped onto the screen. She pushed the button and connected the call.
“Are you here?” she asked. “Please say you’re at the garage!”
“No, sorry,” Izzy shouted over the weirdest whining sound.
“What is that noise?”
“We hit traffic—a bad accident on the freeway. We’re rerouting. Best guess is we’ll be there in—” he paused “—Fuck. An hour.”
“Shit!” But okay, okay. “At least that means this Nelson guy’s gonna be slowed down, too.”
“Not if he’s coming from San Diego,” Izzy shouted. “It’s a different route.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah. Very very big and smelly shit. Is Grunge with you? His phone went right to voicemail.”
“No, he’s…sneaking and peeking.”
“Ohhhh.”
“What doesthatmean?” Shayla asked.
“Nothing,” Izzy said a little too fast. “Just,Oh.LikeOh, okay.”
It means Peter’s going to look in those windows and see his daughter tied up and possibly beaten and bloody,Harry said,and it’s going to be hard for him to not take action.
“Hurry,” Shay ordered Izzy.
