“Where are you?” he clipped through the line.
His tone set my back straight. “Just grabbed some breakfast at the diner. Why? What’s going on?”
“The shit’s hit the goddamn fan, brother. I need you at the offices as fast as you can get here.”
He hung up without giving me a chance to reply, letting me know I needed to haul ass. Standing from the table, I pulled out some cash and dropped it down, then I jogged it to the Cherokee and booked it for Alpha Omega.
Xander was there the moment I pushed through the glass doors.
“Man, this is so fucked,” he muttered quietly as we started for Linc’s office.
“What is?” Before he could answer, Lincoln threw his door wide and stepped aside, waving us in. Hayes and Trick were in the office, along with three of the dancers from Pink Palace. The women’s faces were all ashen, their expressions full of fear. “What the hell is going on?”
Hayes, Trick and Lincoln all looked ready to breathe fire.
“The cops raided the club last night!” I recognized the woman who responded as one of the girls who’d been working with our team alongside McKenna for the past few weeks. Her name was Spencer. She was a sweet girl, the first in her family to ever attend college, but dancing was the only way she could afford it.
Spinning on the two detectives in the room, I barked, “Are you fucking kidding me? You guys raided without giving us a goddamn heads up?”
Hayes sighed and pressed his fingertips into his forehead. “We weren’t part of it. Captain pulled rank.”
My gaze bounced around to everyone in the room. “What exactly does that mean?”
The muscle in Trick’s jaw ticked violently as he answered, “It means he went over our heads to the DA with the evidence that we’d been gathering. They executed search warrants last night, and it wasn’t only Pink Palace that got raided. Two of the meth labs the girls had given intel on were taken last night.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I bit out. “We promised those girls we’d protect them,” he snapped, pointing to the women in the room.
“I know, Marco,” Hayes started. “Man, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go down, but you know Cap. He’s about politics first and policing second.”
“We didn’t even get the goddamn chance to keep our word to them,” I barked, pointing to the girls.
“Trick and Hayes didn’t even find out ’til this morning,” Linc grunted in their defense, clearly as pissed about how things went down as the rest of us.
“So where’s Black now?” I asked, looking to Hayes and Trick. “Has he been processed yet?”
Silence fell on the room for several long moments before Trick finally spoke. “He got away.”
“He got—” My vision suddenly turned hazy with red. “He got away?”
“No one can say how it happened,” he stated somberly. “All we know it that the whole goddamn thing was a shit show.”
“We figured we’d hear from one of you this morning,” another one of the women said. “But we didn’t, so we started calling Mac, but we couldn’t get through to her. We went by her house, but she’s not there.”
“Fuck,” Lincoln hissed. “Xander, see if you can get Bruce on the line,” he barked. “Now.”
“On it,” he turned and pulled out his phone.
“We’ll head back to the station,” Hayes said as he and Trick headed for the door. “Start looking for McKenna.”
“Take them with you,” Lincoln said, continuing to bark orders as he pointed at the three women in the room. Put them in the conference room or something. Get the rest of the girls and lock ’em all down until we can find Black.”
The room erupted into a flurry of motion, but it sounded like everything was happening in a vacuum. It was almost impossible to hear anything around me over the deafening pounding of my heart.
Grabbing my phone, I scrolled to Gypsy’s number and hit call. I hung up as soon as I got her voicemail and redialed over and over to the same outcome.
I was interrupted from my fifth attempt when I heard a voice say my name.
My head jerked around to where Rory was standing in the doorway, Gypsy’s purse clutched in her hands and a panicked look on her face. “Is Gypsy here?”
My stomach bottomed out and it felt like the ground shifted beneath my feet. “What?”
“She was... um, she came to The Tap Room earlier. We were hanging out, and she left to do a quick run to Muffin Top, but that was... well, that was a while ago. I tried calling, but I kept getting voicemail, so I was gonna see if she stopped here.” Rory lifted the bag in her hands, the broken strap dangling toward the ground. “I found this on the sidewalk outside of the bar.”
This couldn’t be happening.
This couldn’t fucking be happening.
Moving to Rory, I grabbed the purse and did my best to keep my voice calm even as my insides seized in fear. “How long ago did she leave, Rory?”
“I-I don’t know,” she answered, growing increasingly alarmed with each passing moment. “Um, maybe thirty minutes?” Tears welled in her eyes and began falling down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Marco. I should have checked on her sooner. I just thought... It’s a small town. I thought she ran into someone she knew! I shouldn’t have—”
“Stop,” I ordered gently. “Sweetheart, beating yourself up’ll do no good. I’ll find her.”
“But what if she’s hurt?”
“She’ll be fine,” I promised, because she had to be. There was no other option. I’d only just gotten her, and there was no goddamn way in hell I was going to lose her. Not now. Not ever.
Lincoln came up to Rory and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Why don’t you head back to the bar and wait, yeah? If she turns up, you call us.”
Rory looked from me to him and back again before giving us a hesitant nod. She wanted to help, but she trusted us to find her girl. And that was exactly what I intended to do.
The door closed behind her just as Xander spoke. “We got a problem,” he announced, turning back to me and Lincoln, his jaw like granite. “Can’t get ahold of Bruce.”
“Get with West and Cord,” Lincoln ordered. “Track. Him. Down. You hear me?”
“On it.”
Xander stormed out of the office while I stomped to the desk and upended Gypsy’s purse and began rifling frantically through the contents.
“Tell me where your head is,” Lincoln said, coming up to join me.
“The tracker’s not in here.” My hands shook as I continued shoving everything around. “It’s not here. She kept it in her purse. Never took it out. That means she’s got it on her.”
“I’ll get a team together. You pull it up,” he commanded. Whipping my phone from my pocket, I pulled up the app that would give me Gypsy’s location. “Five minutes, then we go get your girl.”
* * *
Gypsy
My whole body shook with terror as I stumbled over branches and uneven ground, falling to my hands and knees in the cold, damp dirt, driven forward by Malachi’s brutal shoving.
“Get up,” he barked, yanking at my arm so hard it felt like he was about to dislocate my shoulder.
I managed to get my footing and continued in the direction he was leading me. A couple yards later my feet thumped against a wooden plank. Three steps up and I was jerked to a halt. I jumped at the sound of a door creaking open, then the blindfold Malachi had tied over my eyes was ripped off.
The first thing I saw was McKenna laying in the corner of the room, curled into a ball on the dirty floor.
“Mac!” Running toward her, I dropped to my knees, brushing her matted hair back. “Oh god,” I sobbed, taking in her bruised and swollen face.
“Gypsy?” Her voice came out weak and raspy before she started crying. “No. No, no, no. I tried. I’m so sorry. I tried to keep him away from you.”
“Shh, It’s okay.” I rubbed a hand over her head in an attempt to soothe her while I tried to make sense of what she
was saying. “Don’t worry about me. It’s all right. I’m all right.” Whipping around to face Malachi, I shouted, “What did you do to her?”
“Bitch deserved worse,” he seethed, his top lip curling in an evil sneer. “Both of you do, and you’re gonna get it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I spit, the anger at my friend’s beaten state, and my need to protect her overriding the fear I’d been experiencing the whole way here. I didn’t have the luxury of being scared if I wanted to keep McKenna safe and get us the hell out of this. “What’s going on? Why did you bring me here?”
“Like you don’t fuckin’ know!” He bellowed, pulling the gun from his waistband and waving it around like a deranged maniac. I jolted back at the sight of it, scrambling closer to McKenna as he raged, “This is all your fault! Yours and that cunt’s!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I cried, holding my arms out to my sides as I moved in front of McKenna to block her. “I have no idea what’s going on. Just... just stop waving the gun around. Please. Someone’s going to get hurt.”
“I lost everything because of you,” he snarled. “It’s all gone because of you!”
“What... what’s gone?”
“Everything!” He boomed so loud I jumped. “Everything! My life. It’s all gone. All of it. Because of that stupid fucking slut right there!”
“G-Gypsy,” I spun around at the sound of McKenna’s voice to find that she’d managed to sit up. “H-he shot...” she started, her voice cracking as she sobbed, tears tailing down her bruised cheeks. “He sh-shot Bruce.”
My blood turned to ice and my lungs froze solid. Oh god. Poor Bruce.
I wanted to cry with her. For Bruce. I wanted to scream and wail, but I couldn’t. Not until McKenna and I were safe. Not until Marco got to us.
Desperation was clawing at my insides, but I did my best to keep my voice calm and steady. I had to try and talk him down. “Listen, Malachi. Just put the gun down, okay? You can still get out of this. All you have to do is let us go.”
He bent at the waist, letting out a maniacal laugh that sent a chill down my spine. “Let you go? Are you fuckin’ kidding?”
“Please, listen to me,” I pleaded on a whisper. “You don’t want to do this. You don’t—”
“Shut up!” he shouted, grabbing his hair with his free hand. “Just shut the fuck up and let me think! I just need to think.”
He had no plan, he was completely out of his mind, and he had a gun. A gun he’d already used on one person today. I wasn’t sure how long Marco would take to get to us, or if he even knew I was missing yet, but I was beginning to think we were running out of time. This man was strung dangerously tight, and he could snap at any moment.
He began pacing and mumbling distractedly, occasionally lifting the gun and banging against his temple as he ranted to himself.
I took in where we were for the first time since arriving. From what I could see, it was a small, abandoned hunting cabin. The windows were boarded up, the wood planks beneath me were soft with rot, and the furniture was all moth-eaten. The house wasn’t in ruins, but it was obvious the place hadn’t been used in quiet some time if the thick layers of dust and grime coating every surface was anything to go on. I had no clue where we were thanks to the blindfold, I had no idea how long I’d been with Malachi, but I would rather try my luck running through the woods than stay here and wait for help that might not arrive in time.
There was a broken chair laying on the floor, one of its legs just a couple feet away. If I could get to it and move fast enough, maybe I could give McKenna a chance to get out of the house.
“Mac,” I whispered under my breath. “Mac, honey, can you move?”
“Y-yes,” she said so quietly I had to strain to hear.
“Listen to me. I’m gonna try and distract him. When I do, I need you to make a run for it, okay? Don’t hesitate, don’t look back. Just run.”
“I’m not leaving you,” she said, panic coating her words.
“There’s no time to argue.” My heart was pounding against my breast like a sledgehammer. Adrenaline was coursing through my blood, making me feel like I could run an entire marathon at a full sprint. “You need to get out of here and get help.”
“Gypsy, no.”
“Just go.” I urged. Inching forward, I reached out for the table leg. My body shook with terror, but I pushed it down. “On the count of three, McKenna. One. Two. Three.”
I shot forward, grabbed the table leg and ran at Malachi with it raised over my head. He spun just in time to widen his eyes in shock. With a shriek, I brought it down on his arm as hard as I possibly could.
He let out a howl of pain as the old, rotten piece of wood splintered. “You fucking bitch!” I went to swing again but wasn’t fast enough. The hand holding the gun shot out, cracking me in the side of the head hard enough to take me to the floor and make stars burst in front of my eyes. “I’ll kill you!”
His foot reared back, ready to kick me in the ribs with that thick-soled motorcycle boot, but before it could make contact McKenna let out a scream and ran forward clawing and punching at his face.
I managed to get to my feet just as he backhanded McKenna and sent her slamming into the table. I ran as he aimed the gun at her, wrapping my fingers around his wrists and using all my strength to shove his arm to the side. The gun went off, firing high and wide several time as I dug my nails into his flesh.
Malachi’s free hand tangled in my hair and he used his grip to wrench my head back, but I refused to let go. “McKenna! Run!” I screamed as he and I struggled for control of the gun.
She ran, but not for the door like I told her. Bending at the waist, she threw herself at Malachi, driving her shoulder into his stomach so hard it took all of us down.
We grappled across the floor, all three of us punching and scratching and kicking. I bit down on the hand that was holding the gun so hard the acrid, metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and made me gag.
With a strangled bellow of pain, he dropped the gun. Unfortunately, that freed up both of his hands, and he didn’t hesitate to ball up his fist and punch me right in the cheek.
I fell to my back, and Malachi climbing over me to land one blow after another on my face as McKenna jumped on his back, ripping at his hair and raking her nails down his face. The instinct to survive kept me moving in spite of the pain, and I lifted my hands, digging my thumbs into his eyes as I yelled out my rage and fear at the top of my lungs.
We were in the fight of our lives, and we weren’t giving up no matter what. I’d fight tooth and nail, I’d push my body past all pain and exhaustion if it meant staying alive and getting back to my family.
Those were the only thoughts running through my mind when an arm wrapped around my waist, hauling me off Malachi. I struggled against the hold, screaming and thrashing, my hatred for this man and the adrenaline rushing through my blood fueling me on.
“Calm, girasol. I got you. It’s all over now.” I heard Marco’s voice, felt his strong arms, smelled his heavenly scent, and the fight instantly drained out of me. I was safe now. It was over. Marco was here just like I knew he would be.
And as I clung to the man I knew would always protect me, I broke down and sobbed in relief.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gypsy
“Baby.” I jerked at Marco’s touch, turning from the tiny window on the hospital room door. “We should really get you home. You need to rest, and the kids and Odette need to see you.”
Marco had called to let my family know I was safe as soon as he got me out of that god forsaken cabin, and Odette and the kids had already been waiting by the time we arrived at the hospital. At the sight of the bruises on my face, Sunny and Odette had burst into tears. Not understanding why they were crying, Holly quickly joined in. Marco held a confused Raleigh in his arms, and Rhodes stood off to the side, his fists clenched and his jaw ticking in anger. But it was Ray’s reaction that had shocked
me the most. He’d wrapped his arms around my waist and refused to let me go until he’d been forced to so the doctor could look me over.
They’d put up a fight when I told them all to go home. None of the kids wanting to leave my side, but Raleigh was getting restless, and they had school the next day. So with the coaxing of Rhodes and Marco, Odette got the kids loaded up and back to the house.
My friends weren’t so easy to convince.
Rory had pretty much broken down at the sight of me. Considering the circumstances, I was lucky to have come out of there with only some bruises and a mild concussion, but she didn’t see it that way. She blamed herself for not going to look for me sooner no matter how many times I told her is wasn’t her fault. Cord eventually showed up and strong armed her into letting him take her home. There were a few second before she finally relented where I worried he might actually throw her over his shoulder and carry her out against her will.
In fact, if it wasn’t for the men in their lives, I was pretty sure Eden, Nona, and Tempie would have packed a bag and temporarily moved into my house. As it was, they refused to go unless they had my promise that I’d call as soon as I woke up the next morning so they could come over. I never thought I’d say it, but thank god for bossy alpha-men.
Heaving a sigh, I turned back to the window while leaning into Marco, giving him my weight as I looked through the glass at McKenna. She sat beside Bruce’s hospital bed, hunched forward with his hand clasped in hers.
It was amazing how time could feel so off kilter during stressful events. The short time I’d been abducted by Malachi had felt like an eternity. However, the several hours after being rescued had gone by in the blink of an eye.
After spending more than an hour giving my statement to the police, I finally found out what Malachi had been talking about when he said he’d lost everything. Marco told me how McKenna and the girls were working with the police and a team from Alpha Omega to take Malachi down. He told me about the raids the night before, and how Black had escaped before he could be arrested.
Wrong Side of the Tracks: a Hope Valley novel Page 23