There was nothing about this that Drew wanted any part of. Before, she had felt sorry for Dunlop. Now she just wanted to get as far away from him as possible, but she was in a quandary. If, scratch that,whenOctavio Rodriguez realized his cousin had been busted by the cops, he would kill Dunlop, no doubt. But not before he questioned him. And once that started, Dunlop would sing like a canary and mention her name. She did not want to be anywhere near Rodriguez or his business, but once her name was mentioned, he would check her out, and things could go downhill quickly if Rodriguez realized she knew about his wanting to kill…Cross.
Her gut rolled queasily. There had to be a way out of this mess. “Stay right there,” she said, pulling out her cell phone as well as her stun gun. She hit a number on her phone.
“Billy? Yeah, I need you to come pick up someone for me.”
The voice on the other end asked, “Where are you, and who am I picking up?”
That’s what she loved about Billy—he didn’t ask questions other than the absolute necessities. But this time, she was going to give him details, because it was a big ask.
She proceeded to tell him the whole story.
Billy grunted after she finished. “So, this guy—Dunlop?”
“He’s like a Muppet. We leave him to his own devices, and he’ll be dead within forty-eight hours, I’m sure. It only took me a few hours to track him down—he’s just not going to last. Not if Rodriguez is after him.”
“Understood. And now Dunlop knows your name, which Rodriguez will find out.”
“No flies on you.”
Billy grunted. “Where are you?”
She gave him the address of the gas station. “Come pick him up, take him to our safe house. Call Jorge, the lawyer from the other thing, and bring him around. Maybe he can help this guy. And then I want you to call Maddie.”
“Doctor Maddie?” Billy asked. “She wasn’t pleased last time she helped us out.”
“Yeah, I know. But I think I smoothed it over with her. I just want her to give this guy a once-over—he wasn’t looking so great earlier.”
“Okay. Will do. I’ll be there in about twenty.”
“Sounds good.” Drew clicked off the call. She hadn’t told Billy about Cross being the man Rodriguez was hunting. She could already hear his comments. Billy was one of her closest friends. He knew what she’d gone through when Cross had dumped her. He would tell her to let Rodriguez kill Cross. He deserved nothing less. She smiled grimly. Everyone should have a best friend in their corner the way Billy was in hers.
“So… you’re not going to turn me in?” Dunlop asked.
“I’m not gonna turn you in,” Drew agreed. “Yet. But you’re going to stay in the safe house, and someone is going to keep an eye on you. We’re bringing in a lawyer to help you sort this mess out. And we’re also going to get you checked out medically. And then we’re going to figure all this out.”
Dunlop cocked his head. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because someone’s pulling your strings, and you’re just dancing to their tune. You have a lot of bad people in your life. I know what that’s like.” She didn’t mention the rest. Avoiding Rodriguez was motivation enough for anyone, but telling Dunlop would just offer him leverage over her, not that she thought he would be smart enough to spot that, but sometimes it was better to be safe than sorry. She’d learned that the hard way more times than she wanted to admit.
Anxiety curled in Drew’s chest. She remembered what it was like to be frightened, feeling like she had nowhere to turn. She’d left her sister and brother behind and had done her own thing, which meant working odd jobs until she’d finally landed on bounty hunter, or rather a bail bondsperson. It was a good living and kept her far away from her sister’s world. The two criteria she’d had at the time.
Twenty minutes later, as good as his word, Billy showed up. Drew walked Dunlop out to the parking lot just as Billy came around the side of his pickup truck.
“Holy…” Dunlop said as he looked up.
It was the response most people gave when they met Billy for the first time. William Washington Drysdale stood six feet seven, a solid wall of muscle, skin the color of midnight. He was also one of the best-looking men Drew had ever met. It was only too bad that he was spoken for—and she really loved his partner, Wallace.
Billy eyed Dunlop up and down. “You’re not going to give me any trouble, right?”
Dunlop rapidly shook his head. “No, sir. Not a chance,” he said. “Not a chance.”
“All right then.” Billy opened the door, and Dunlop got into the pickup as quickly as possible. Billy slammed the door after him, then turned to Drew. He gestured with his head, and they moved to the back of the pickup truck.
“I thought you were done saving puppies.”
“Yeah, me too. But you’ve seen him.”
“Yeah, I know. I can’t believe he’s related to?—”
