“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” he asked dryly.
“Carter, that’s the place where Razor hangs out.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Before he left, I suggested we try to find Razor and see if he knew the location of the shipment. He said he couldn’t think about it right then, but we’d talk about it after he came back.” My temper rose again, but this time the anger was wrapped in fear. “He went without me.”
“We don’t know that,” he said, but he didn’t sound convincing.
I walked over to my bags of clothes. “It’s as good a place as any to start looking.”
“You are not to leave that room,” he growled.
“Try and stop me.” I hung up and pulled out a pair of jeans, a black tank top with multiple strings crisscrossed across the back, and a black jacket. I quickly changed, ignoring the three times Carter called and his five texts telling me he was going to send security to keep me in the room.
I was pretty sure he was bluffing, but I wasn’t going to press my luck. I texted back that he was right, and I was going to wait. I doubted he believed me, but it might buy me some time.
I applied some dark eye makeup, which took longer than I would have liked since I didn’t have much experience. I stuffed my hair back in the wig cap, tugged on the blond wig, and applied red lipstick. When I looked up at my reflection, I barely recognized myself. This would work.
I strapped a gun to my ankle, then put another handgun and my shoulder holster in my backpack, along with an arsenal of bullets. If I found out Razor had done something to James, I would stop at nothing to find Knox and end him.
Chapter 31
Before I left the room, I put the tube of lipstick in my jacket pocket, then headed out the door. I exited through the back of the building, taking the car in the parking garage in case Knox had figured out we were staying here and was watching for our car. Based on the car keys James had left on the nightstand, I knew he’d taken the luxury car to the meeting.
Once I found the car, I drove toward the bar, ignoring the first two calls from Carter. As I neared the bar, I answered the third one.
“What the hell are you doing, Harper?” he demanded furiously.
“You know,” I said in irritation. “I love how you and James conveniently forget I was a cop. I’m not some simpleton playing amateur sleuth. I know what I’m doing.”
“And I sure as hell bet you had backup,” Carter shot back. “Right now you have none.”
“I can handle myself,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m in disguise. No one will know it’s me. If James is in there I doubt he’d even recognize me.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” he grumbled, then he snapped, “Fine. If you’re gonna insist on doing this, you need to check in and let me know what’s goin’ on.” He added, “So when you disappear and Skeeter gets back and needs to look for you, at least I’ll have a few clues for him to follow.”
“Very funny,” I scoffed.
“Actually, it’s not funny at all. I want to make it clear that I told you not to do this.”
“You’ve made that very clear.”
“I recorded that so I can prove it to Skeeter later when he threatens to fire me.”
“That’s not gonna happen, Carter,” I said, some of my frustration fading. “And I’ll check in with you.”
“Thank you.” He paused. “I guess it goes without saying: be careful.”
I released a dry laugh. “Got it.”
I hung up and pulled into a parking spot on the street, a half block between the bar and the last known location of James’s phone. I considered bringing the backpack in but decided it would look suspicious. The gun at my ankle would have to do.
I headed down the sidewalk, scanning the windows of the businesses as I made my way to the intersection. Most businesses were closed, but the few that were open were small, the interiors lit enough for me to see he wasn’t inside.
I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned when I spotted his car twenty feet ahead, parked against the curb. My heart began to race I approached it, scared I’d find him dead inside. I held my breath when I reached the passenger side window and peered inside, then closed my eyes as relief rushed through me. It was empty.
So where was he?
