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“Then you let me know that, and I’ll find them on the way.”

Zodiac seemed a little slow on the draw tonight. Marriage and fatherhood had made him overly cautious.

“York, going off half-cocked won’t help anyone.”

“You know what this is,” I growled, growing frustrated by his passivity. “You also know how you would handle the same shit. Don’t lecture me. Just feed me info while I’m on the road.”

Zodiac did as I asked. I was outside of Baton Rouge when he called to report they found Goldie’s phone near her crashed ride.

“Clint’s got an idea to track the assholes’ phones using the snitch. Keep moving, and I’ll find out where you need to go.”

Early on, Zodiac had guessed I was interested in a member of the Crimson Guard. I never confirmed he was right. I didn’t want people knowing my business. I had known Exile for a year in the Marines before I told him that I was from Baton Rouge.

Now, though, I didn’t care if anyone caught on to my interest. Shit, if Goldie got pissed about me outing our relationship, she could lash out all she wanted. Because that would mean she was safe.

I refused to imagine her dead. They wouldn’t have taken her if they planned on killing her. Zodiac said they drove three Crimson Guard foxes off the road. Jaslene and Dalisay Tooker were found safe. If the assholes took Goldie, they wanted to use her for something.

As I drove toward Arkansas, the roads got quiet and dark. My mind tried to wander to ugly possibilities. A growing panic ate at my stomach.

To keep my mind sharp, I thought back to last December when Goldie and I agreed to only exchange gifts if the choices were appropriate for fuck buddies.

Riding through the night, I smiled at how Goldie was usually naked when we were together. She had been wearing only camo-colored panties when she opened the holiday gift I bought her. Her raspy laugh always made me smile, and she laughed hysterically at the mint-flavored condoms.

“The perfect flavor to keep me from getting hungry and biting off a chunk,” Goldie murmured, smiling at me from where she had fallen on the bed.

Admiring her amused face, I fought the urge to make things official between us. No woman had ever interested me. I didn’t enjoy dating. I hadn’t wanted a wife. I planned for my bloodline to die with me.

Goldie had awakened something primal in me. I wanted to claim her, keep her with me, and even make a kid together.

But I hadn’t said anything that day. I always kept my mouth shut because Goldie might not want to be mine. If I took my shot and she said no, there’d be no more hookups. We’d be over, and I’d rather enjoy something than nothing.

Instead of fessing up to my feelings, I had opened my gift. Goldie and I got quite a bit of fun out of the “Tower of Pleasure” game. Goldie might not love me, but she sure enjoyed riding my dick.

“I’m very picky with my lovers,” she had taunted one time while kissing my chest. “You should feel special.”

As I faced an increasingly chilly night, I once again found myself questioning my silence during those bimonthly hookups with Goldie.

Two hours into the ride, I realized I had gotten too used to doing without. I rarely embraced moments of impulsive greediness. Sure, I bought Exile’s house and adopted a dog. I followed Goldie to The Oregon Inn. But normally, I hoarded my scraps and felt lucky not to starve.

I doubted Goldie suffered from many regrets. She once told me, “I’m right about everything, except the things I’m wrong about. I never let the times I’m wrong distract me from how often I’m right.”

Zodiac’s call broke through my mental haze and helped me focus. “Those assholes pulled off the highway,” he said in a tone that warned me not to expect to find Goldie alive. “You’re almost an hour out from their location.”

“Tell me where to go.”

After Zodiac gave me the coordinates, he said he’d update me if the fuckers moved from the location. That last stretch of highway was the most difficult. My mind raced with potential scenarios. I stopped thinking like a man in love and started strategizing like a soldier.

How many targets were in the mix? Zodiac figured I was facing no more than four. I imagined killing them with ease and saving Goldie. However, what if they used her as a shield?

As I neared the location, I allowed myself to picture more vile scenarios. Mostly, I worried they had already killed Goldie and hidden her body. If I ended the assholes’ lives too quickly, we might never find her.

A half mile from the location, I parked my motorcycle and hoofed the rest of the way. The area was mostly woodlands with scattered farms. The only light was from the obscured moon. I followed the road until I was nearly on top of the location.

Using the grassy landscape to silence my footsteps, I lifted my rifle and moved steadily. The SUV’s lights brightened the surroundings. I studied the area using my rifle scope. Nothing moved, but I heard whimpering.

Scanning with my scope, I moved crouched down toward the SUV. First, I found Greg dead in the back seat. Moving around the rear of the vehicle, I located Aaron dead on his back. His eyes were open. One had been slashed. Blood had pooled near his throat.

The whimpering sounded close. I inched around the back of the SUV. Near the back tire, Vinny sat holding his belly.