Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“I don’t know. I’m shaken up but I’m fine,” she said.
He lifted her hands. “You’re not. You’re trembling and I don’t blame you. But we will figure out where your sister is.”
She swallowed hard. She ought to tell him everything. After all, she’d come to Zach for help, and she knew him better than to think he’d let anything happen to Dani. Still, she hesitated, her thoughts all over the place but when it came down it, there was no way she could handle this alone.
She looked back into his eyes and her composure broke. “I’m not okay. Not only is Dani missing but I just got a call from someone who has her. He said to meet him by the impound lot where my car is.” She let the words out in a rush before she could change her mind.
“Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“There’s more. He said to come alone but I don’t know where the lot is. Or what they want. Or who they are. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do.”
His eyes narrowed. “Hadley, you aren’t alone anymore. We are going to figure out what to do.”
She blew out a relieved breath and nodded. “Right. Thank you. I guess between being ordered to come alone and me being used to handling things alone, I panicked.”
He nodded but she caught the hurt in his eyes. She should have rushed out to him right after getting the call. “Zach, I’m sorry.”
He gave her a curt nod. “Let’s go.” He turned and strode out of the bathroom, and she followed.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To the impound lot.” He had his phone in his hand and was tapping away.
“What are you doing?” she asked, rushing alongside him to the car in his parents’ driveway.
He was still focused on the screen. “Getting Remy working on who called you but I’m assuming it’s a burner and we’ll get nothing.”
Next thing she knew, they were back in the car and headed to Manhattan.
Chapter Sixteen
Zach exceeded the speed limit the entire trip to the city. He pulled into the impound lot, his fingers tight around the steering wheel, his knuckles white. With more questioning on the ride, Hadley told him she’d heard Dani’s voice and her sister had yelled out that the guy was her mother’s sleazy boyfriend.
He wasn’t sure if Patrice being involved was better for Dani, that her mother would protect her, or worse because it showed she didn’t care about her daughter, only herself. He assumed the latter. And that was why he wanted the kid back ASAP, he thought, as he put the car in park.
No sooner had he shut off the engine than Hadley reached for the handle, but he made sure the door lock button was engaged.
“Wait.”
She turned to him. “Are you kidding? The longer I do, the longer Dani’s in that crazy person’s hands.”
He slid a hand behind the back of her headrest. “That crazy person says you have something he wants in your car. That means you have the upper hand. Now take a deep breath and stay calm. We’ll get out of the car and if no one approaches you, we’ll go search your vehicle.”
“We?” her voice echoed throughout the car. “He said to come alone. Do you want to get Dani hurt? It’s bad enough you’re here with me.”
He stiffened at what felt like a rejection. Rationally, he understood. Emotionally, he felt turned upside down. He couldn’t deny her questioning whether or not to tell him about the phone call stung. He thought they were at the point where she automatically trusted him. He’d been wrong. With no choice, he put his issues with Hadley on the back burner until they got Dani home.
Focusing on the main issue, he cleared his throat. “Upper hand, remember? Let’s go find out what’s in the car,” he said and unlocked the doors. After climbing out, he strode around to her side of the car, not wanting Hadley unprotected for a second.
Before leaving for the city, he’d stopped home. He’d been wearing shorts and told Hadley he needed to run inside to change into jeans. He also wanted his gun, which he tucked into his waistband holster with a T-shirt and a long sleeve button-down over it.
No way was he going into a situation with two drug addicts unarmed. He’d also called Remy, who still had friends on the force, to arrange for back up if things went down on the street outside the lot. Remy’s family name and former status in the department held a lot of weight and he let Zach know via text he’d handled everything on his end.
In addition, Remy had information for Hadley. The feds had arrested the higher ups in her father’s case in a sting that had been going on at the same time Hadley was being informed about her father’s arrest. Something Zach told her on the trip into Manhattan. She deserved to have one less thing on her mind as they went to retrieve her sister. Neither Zach nor Hadley discussed the implications. She was free to return home. They were too focused on Dani.