Abby cursed under her breath. “You don’t think she’s following Monroe, do you?”
“I don’t know what the hell she’s doing or why she was interested in tracking Monroe,” he told her. “It doesn’t make any sense. She was just telling me to stay clear of them and not engage in any way. I just… My gut’s telling me she’s in trouble, Abby. I gotta find her.”
“I’ll ask Tom to sign off on a search warrant,” she assured him. “I can go ahead and contact her cell provider to save time. Do you know what cab company she used? We can call them and find out where the driver is now. He can at least tell you where he took her.”
“Mulaney’s has an arrangement with Standard Cabs,” he said, knowing their service well. “I’ll give them a call.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I get anything,” Abby assured him. “Keep me posted, Gabe. Please call me as soon as you know she’s safe.”
Gabe dialed the cab company next. “Hey, Frank. It’s Gabe Dawson.”
The guy on the other end chuckled. “Little early to call for a pickup isn’t it, Dawson?”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that kind of call,” Gabe told him. “Charlotte Mulaney’s niece, Elle McCoy, called for a ride earlier today but never reached her destination. Could you put me in touch with your driver so I can find out where he dropped her off?”
“Sure, buddy. No problem.” Gabe heard the clacking of typing on the other end of the line. “Huh. That’s weird. Looks like Bobby picked her up all right, but he never checked back in service.”
“What was his destination?” Gabe asked, a massive boulder of dread dropping into his stomach.
More typing on the other end. “Uh…looks like some rural address out in Venice. Want the address?”
Fuck.
“No thanks,” Gabe replied, his throat constricting. “I know where it is. Do you have the GPS coordinates on the cab now? Is it still there?”
There was a pause. Then, “No. It looks like it’s about five miles from there. No address is listed, but I can give you the location if you want to check it out. It’s not like Bobby to not check back in service. He’s the most dependable guy I’ve got.”
Gabe flipped on his lights and sirens and slammed down on the accelerator. Screw being on administrative leave. Right now, his only concern was getting to Elle. “Text me the information, Frank. I’m on my way.”
As soon as he hung up, his phone rang. “Yeah?”
“What the fuck is going on? Where are you?”
Gabe tried not to sigh. The last thing he was in the mood for at that moment was a lecture from Tom.
“On my way out to the Monroe farm,” Gabe informed him, his tone clipped. “I think Elle’s there.”
“What the hell is she doing there?”
Gabe slowed as he came to an intersection, checking to make sure the cross traffic was stopping before he blew through the red light. “I don’t know, Tom. But I swear to God, if Monroe has hurt her…”
“Joe and I are on our way,” Tom said, his voice sounding like he was already on the move. “Joey! Let’s go! Gabe, how close are you to Monroe’s?”
“I’m about fifteen minutes out,” he said, turning onto the rural route that led to Monroe’s farm. “There’s a cab about five miles from the farm that I’m going to check out on the way. The cabbie never checked back in. I need to make sure she’s not there first.”
There was a slight pause before Tom said, “We’ll be there as soon as we can. And Dad has alerted the local PD. Don’t take on Monroe by yourself, Gabe. Wait for backup.”
Gabe’s heart pounded in his ears, fear for Elle making his chest tight. “Can’t make any promises.”
“Gabe,” Tom said, his tone pleading, “I’m ordering you not to go in on your own.”
“I’m not letting you pull rank on me this time, Bro,” Gabe insisted. “I love her, Tommy. I’m not going to let that bastard hurt her. If I have to die protecting her, I will.”
“I understand that—”
Gabe hung up and tossed his phone into the passenger seat. It immediately started ringing again, but when he saw it was Tom calling back, he ignored it. He understood his brother’s concerns, especially in light of what Tom had confided in him about his fears of losing one of them in the line of duty. But Gabe wasn’t about to let Tom’s fear prevent him from protecting the woman he loved.
* * *
