“So, where did they go? Has Trevor got enough to find her?”
“No. There’s nothing tracking the car, but the mother fucker was using CarPlay, so we have data from his phone. It’s for the driver; they’re surfing the cloud now to find a match. Should take a few hours, but we were able to get a ping from the driver’s app through the Wi-Fi on the restaurant’s security cameras. It pinged Scarlett and Mia’s phones as well as the driver and the two other passengers, but we lost their signals really quickly, then lost the driver about three minutes later, however, we have enough info on the driver’s phone to trace it.If we can find him, we can find who hired him and from there we’ll find out where he took her.” It is a pretty solid plan; thank God Griffin knows people.
As a lawyer, his job is to present evidence. His specialty is finding it. He often has to dig pretty deep to get what he needs in order to put someone in jail or get them out. Just as I am speaking with Griffin, Carl calls through.
“Fuck, they’re calling with terms,” I tell Griffin.
“Put him on speaker—I’ll have his call traced. Mother fucker might be with her.”
“He’s so dead, Grif.” I want to kill everyone at this moment.
“Carl Rueben is a Christopher Street icon. He’s doing what he does, stacking weapons. Fuck, CSS is so ammo’d up they could fight any country pretty decently in a war. You can’t kill the guy, he’s protected but you don’t have to make a bioweapon of mass destruction either. You just want to make sure they think you’ll try. You’re brilliant, my friend, but you can fuck up at times.” He sounds like he is shrugging his shoulders.
“I’m not going to be played,” I know what he is getting at.
The thing is, no one bends me over and lives. Carl is no exception but since Griffin is all about keeping his nose clean I agree for the sake of a possible hack into our phone call so if Idokill Carl, Griffin could say in all good consciousness he knew nothing about it.
“No, you aren’t going to let anyone play you. Get your wife back, Beck, she doesn’t deserve this.” No, she doesn’t.
After that, we hang up and I take Carl’s call.
“Where is she you fucking piece of shit?” I go for it when I should have kept myself calm, damn it.
It is my fault she is in this mess. I should have sat down with her and explained why I wanted her to stay in her room. I also should’ve made it possible for her to go places if she wanted to because Mia did have a point; I couldn't leave her cooped up forever. The problem was I didn't face Scarlett Cross. I hadn't addressed her. I fucked her and for me, that was the start of something but for the most part, I thoughtof her as a patient. A beautiful, funny, lovely soul who was mine because she bore me a child. I owned Scarlett Cross, but I didn't consider her as a partner or even a person. I was too fixated on her recovery and our child, and all the other factors that made her a thing and not a person deserving of my time and consideration.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Beckett. I’m calling to see if you’ve changed your mind about working with us?” He stays even keel.
He knows we have ears on him.
“No.” I won’t cave so easily.
I have enough on Carl to implicate him if anything happens to Scarlett and he knows it; she’ll be safe for now.
“No? Do you think that’s a good plan for the longevity of your work and livelihood?” Like a ticking time bomb, he stays his course.
“The best plan,” I tell him.
“Perhaps you should discuss it with your wife first.” Fuck him.
“Is she there with you, Carl? Can you put her on the phone?” I know we are being bugged, and they probably have a GPS on him. No way he’d give her up, but it is worth a shot.
“Oh Heavens, why would I have her?” He laughs a throaty mucus-filled laugh. “Has she run out on you already? She’s pretty and way too young.”
I have to keep myself calm, but I do that by imagining myself choking him out and his ugly eyes bulging out of his head.
“She’s also lighter than air and easy to carry… but no worries. We have plans.”
Just then a text comes through.
GriffinCab stopped in two places. 1588 Pascotch Lane, Upstate, and 540 McClintock. I think they have her at the first and are operating from the second. I’m getting verification now. Call Trevor for men. Don’t use your team. We need ghosts for this.G.
“Well, I hope your plans include pharmaceuticals." Another wet laugh. “And I don’t need to know about the kind of kink you’re into. I want to see some digital prototypes by morning. Gotta run.” He hangs up before I can say more.
BeckettI’m coming with.
Chapter Sixteen
Scarlett
