Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“That’s a great idea, bro. Thanks,” I tell him, every syllable dripping with as much sarcasm as I can manage.
“Enough,” Ace grunts. “We can’t sleep on getting this shit done. The Iron Reapers came through when we needed them to, and we need to do this for them before Song does something they can’t recover from.”
He looks at each of us, making sure there’s no fucking confusion about how important this particular task is for our MC.
“And now we need to talk about the other pain in our asses. The Latin Mafia and Bloodthirsty Devils.”
The room erupts in a mixture of groans, curses, and wishes for bodily harm to both organizations. “Them showing up at Morgan International wasn’t just the young fucks being reckless,” I say. “They rolled in deep to let us know they’re not backing down from this fight.”
Lucky nods. “I agree. They didn’t get out or start any shit. They just stared us down until Diesel pulled his piece out. We need to be on high alert, especially the women and kids.”
“Please don’t fucking tell me we’re going back on lockdown,” Coop whines. “Carmine is obsessed with being outside unless she’s sleeping, sometimes even then.”
“No need for lockdown yet,” Ace confirms. “But I have a feeling we’ll get to that point again.”
We all know it’s heading in that direction unless we strike first and take both groups off the board completely. “We need to deal with the Tig Heights mayor first,” Dix says over the moaning and bitching. “Then we’ll have all hands on deck to eliminate these assholes.”
“We’re multi-tasking this shit,” Ace replies calmly. “Tank and Stone will handle the mayor while the rest of us deal with…every goddamn thing else.” His gaze slides to Wild Man.
Wild Man clears his throat before his gaze swings to me. “The good news is that we found Cassidy’s big rig,” he offers with a sympathetic smile.
“And the bad news?”
His smile fades. “It’s on the side of the freeway right on this side of The Grapevine where they apparently found a gangbanger with a hole in his stomach. The police report doesn’t name any gang, but I’ll give you two guesses who I suspect.”
“Is the banger dead?” Lucky asks.
“Any trace of Cassidy?” I ask.
Wild Man shakes his head. “No on both counts. The banger is probably wishing he was dead now that he’s laid up in a hospital bed.”
That news makes Wild Man smile again. “There was no blood or any signs that she was hurt, but the report indicates they suspect someone was trying to rob her, and she shot to stop him.”
“Okay,” I say, my fingers twitching nervously as I think about what I’ve learned so far. Wild Man suspects Ghost or Olivera are behind Cassidy’s kidnapping, which means she’s in real danger. “Any way you can hack into the hospital to see the name of the dead banger?”
“He’s not dead,” Wild Man repeats with a frown.
“Not yet,” I growl. “Can you or not?”
“I can but give me a minute. This stuff takes time,” he replies defiantly. “The cops have probably admitted him as a John Doe, and there are hundreds of people staying in one hospital at any given time, which means it’ll take a while.”
Shit. We don’t have a while.
“But there’s one more thing,” he adds. “A few witness statements said a black Charger with police lights stopped behind the truck. No one saw who was behind the wheel. Sorry, man.”
“This is connected. Has to be,” I say to no one in particular. “She’s not from California and has no ties here, so why take her if it’s not to fuck with us?”
“Maybe she tried to sell the load, and her buyers double-crossed her?” Lucky offers with a shrug.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I turn to Wild Man. “Was the trailer empty?”
“Doesn’t say anything other than they plan to tow it once they get their semi-truck tow back. It’s on loan down at the southern border.”
Anxious and on edge now, I turn to Ace, determined to find Cassidy. “Let me go check out the truck and see if I can get in to talk to the asshole in the hospital who tried to rob her.”
Ace shoots me an annoyed look. “Didn’t you just hear Wild Man say it would take a while to get his name?”
“But we don’t have a while. Let me try another angle. I think I can get it.” I have an idea, and fuck, I’m going to get in to talk to that motherfucker, whoever he is.
“And if you can’t?” Lucky, again.
“Then at least I’ll get eyes on him to see who the fuck he is. If it’s Olivera or Ghost, don’t you want to know?” I taunt him. “If they took Cassidy, it means Aria and the rest of the women aren’t safe, either. Right?”