“Hawk!” Breathless, he staggered toward the desk. “You gotta help me!”
Jase rose from his chair, his gaze shooting toward the door.
Ryker also came to his feet. He moved to the window, careful not to stand in front of it to check outside. “I don’t see anyone out there.”
Jase focused on Dieter, who was breathing hard, his eyes darting back and forth between Jase and the door. “Take it easy, Tommy. Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s...it’s Harding. When he found out I was tipping you, he sent...sent two of his buddies after me. They followed me out of The Liberty—you know, that little bar downtown? Dragged me into the alley and started punching me in the face. I got lucky, saw this police car and started yelling. The cops came running and I—I managed to get away. I came straight here. You said...said you’d help me.”
Ryker headed for the back door. “I’ll check around, make sure he wasn’t followed.” Jax was a former navy SEAL, six feet tall, short dark hair, built like an armored tank. A good guy Jase could always count on.
He nodded as Ryker made his way toward the rear of the office and disappeared out the back door.
Tommy glanced wildly around. “I don’t think they followed me, but I don’t...don’t know for sure.”
Jase opened his desk drawer, opened the locked box inside and took out a money clip stuffed with bills. Keeping a butt-load of informants on the payroll was expensive, but in his line of work, it was worth it. Plus Tommy was basically a good kid. Jase didn’t want something bad happening to him.
He peeled off three hundred-dollar bills and handed them over. “So Harding’s back in Dallas?” he asked.
Tommy folded the money with shaking hands and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. “I’m not sure. These guys said Randy was a friend. Said they’d heard I was passing info on his whereabouts. They started beating me, said they’d show me what happens to a guy who interferes in other people’s business.”
Jase didn’t say what he was thinking, that the kid was lucky to be alive. From what he’d heard, Harding had some tough-ass friends. “You think he could still be in Waco?”
“I think there’s a chance he is. They mentioned Ray’s Auto Body in Houston. Said I shouldn’t have told anyone Harding was there. Harding probably thinks he’s still safe in Waco.”
That was good news. Jase set a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Come on, I’ll follow you out of town. Make sure no one gives you any trouble. You got family, someplace safe you can stay for a while?”
“My sister lives in San Antonio. I can stay with her.”
“Once I get Harding off the street, you should be able to come back.” But currently, he was working on Chrissy Gallagher’s murder case. With Tommy in danger, he might have to rearrange his priorities. Jase wasn’t looking forward to having that conversation with Kate.
Ryker walked back into the office. “All clear. Nobody out there.”
If Jax said it was clear, it was clear. “Thanks, bro.”
“Anytime,” Ryker said.
While Tommy went out front and climbed into his little red Toyota pickup, Jase went out back and loaded into his SUV. Tommy pulled into the street and Jase drove up behind him, checking his surroundings and keeping an eye on his rearview mirror as they rolled off down the road. Tommy made several evasive turns to make sure he wasn’t being followed, then finally drove onto I-35 and headed south out of town.
It was dark, the wind picking up, blowing papers along the gutters in the street when Jase turned back toward his town house. He had enough time to go home and grab a bite to eat before he picked up Kate, maybe lift a few weights, burn off some of the restless energy he felt just thinking about her.
He tried not to imagine what she might be wearing to their interview with a prostitute, but his mind shot back to that night at Mean Jack’s. A memory arose of the soft white cleavage bulging out of her indecently low-cut top, the short skirt that outlined her perfect ass, and he started getting hard.
Jase sighed as the Yukon rolled along. He needed to find Tina Galen’s killer. He needed to take Kate Gallagher to bed and put his obsession with her to rest.
He pondered the notion. Tommy should be safe for at least a couple of days.
Maybe changing his priorities could wait.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kate wore her denim skirt with a sleeveless pink top and a pair of sandals to their rendezvous at the Sunshine Motel. She didn’t want to look like a streetwalker tonight—or any night in the future.
Jase pulled the Yukon into the lot in front of the motel, which was only two stories, a total of twelve rooms. Room 8, where Lollie was supposed to be waiting, opened off the walkway upstairs.
Jase parked his SUV in front, and they both got out. Neither Eli nor Snoopy was around, which, if Lollie was actually there waiting for them, was a relief. As they walked toward the motel, the door to room 8 on the second floor swung open, and a slender blonde woman in a short, see-through lavender nightgown stepped out to the railing that overlooked the parking lot.
Kate and Jase headed for the stairs. The woman didn’t back away as they approached along the upstairs walkway.
