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“Let’s ride,” Hex says, eager to catch up to our prey and find his family. I’m right there with him. I’m just hoping that’s where Maxim is leading us.
With the trackers, we don’t have to follow too closely. Pirate gives us the directions so that we can stay out of sight, without the risk of losing the assholes. As expected, Maxim leads us toward the riverfront. When we turn onto Tchoupitoulas Street, we keep our eyes open for places where he could keep Delphine and the girls.
We’ve passed a few likely locations, most of them warehouses, before Pirate gives us a heads up that Maxim’s entourage has stopped moving. We pull over and dismount before silently approaching the location. He gives us the location, which turns out to be a former boat repair shop. A chain-link fence encircles the lot. Several out-of-use small boats that looked as if they hadn’t touched water in decades fill the open space.. The building has very few windows. The side nearest the door lacks any. This is our destination. We scan the building, but don’t see any hidden cameras or motion sensors. We use the boats to provide us cover as we move toward the building.
Just as we’re about to circle around the wall to the door, we hear the unmistakable sound of a speedboat engine coming to life. Zip moves toward the back to check it out. He comes back and shakes his head. “Couldn’t make out much. The sun was in my eyes. Pretty sure the boat came from this building.”
Fuck! Were we too late? “Did you see anybody in the boat besides the driver?”
He shakes his head. “I couldn’t make out any details, just forms. Sorry, man.”
“Pirate, are the trackers moving through the water?” Hex asks.
“Negative. Each one is within thirty feet of your location.”
“Let’s get in there. We’ll worry about the speedboat if we don’t find them inside,” Hex commands. We all nod and arm ourselves. Abra crouches and rushes around the corner to try the door. Finding it locked, he takes out his lock picking tools and gets to work. He only needs a few seconds before he opens the door and steps inside. We follow behind.
The first room we enter must have once been the reception area for the repair shop. A counter runs along the far wall with enough space for someone to stand behind it. Along the other walls are several uncomfortable plastic only a step above trash.
We move silently through the room to the door opposite. I can hear raised voices, but I don’t think the owners of those voices are aware of presence. When Abra carefully pushes the door open, the voices become intelligible.
“Where the fuck are they?” I hear Maxim growl out, followed by the sound of a slap. “I left you here to guard them. How the fuck did they escape?”
“It wasn’t my fault. That new guy. Levi. He knocked me out. I think he helped them escape. When I woke up, I found the door locked, but the women were gone. So is Levi. I think they took the speedboat.”
I glance at Hex, who smirks at me. Sounds like we’re no longer on a rescue mission. Although I won’t be happy until Delphine is back in my arms. I don’t know who the fuck this Levi character is, but he has my woman.
Hex steps into the room, his gun aimed directly at Maxim. The rest of us are close behind him.
“How the fuck did you find me?” Maxim growls at his son. “I ditched that tracker you put on me.”
“Wasn’t the only one we used,” Abra says as he relieves Maxim’s men of their weapons. He pulls the tracker he planted out of his target’s pocket. Hex and I point to the men we tagged while Zip points to the pant cuff of the other man. Maxim’s face turns a delightful shade of purple as he glares at his men.
“Fucking idiots,” he mutters.
“Where’s Delphine?” I ask.
He gives me a disgusted look. “How the fuck should I know? The bitches got away.”
“You don’t mind if I look for myself?” I ask, pushing past the men and searching the building. The first floor has only an empty storage room. I find the stairs leading to the second level and run up. Glancing into the first room, I find a mattress in the corner with a few blankets folded neatly on top. Stepping toward the door on the opposite wall, I step on something that cracks under my boot. Looking down, I spot three toothbrushes. Shaking my head, I cross the room to discover a bathroom. Turning, I spot something behind the door. It’s a scarf, one of Delphine’s. Picking it up, I hold it to my nose and breathe in her scent. Love and fear course through me. Delphine was here in this room. Where the fuck is she now?
I search the remaining rooms, but find nothing of interest. As I head back downstairs, an explosion rocks the building. Rushing the rest of the way down, I find Hex and my brothers struggling with Maxim and his men.
“Where did that come from?” I shout over the sounds of punches landing on their target.
“The speedboat blew up,” Maxim shouts. “Hope Delphine and the other two bitches were in it.”
Leaving Maxim and his men behind us, we rush down the stairs to an indoor dock. The place is empty except for a speedboat engulfed in flames. I race over, but don’t see anyone inside.
“Empty!” I shout over the noise of the flames.
“Let’s get out of here,” Hex calls out.
We follow Hex outside and rush back to our bikes when we hear sirens coming closer. They may or may not be heading our way, but we don’t wait around to find out. Angry at not finding the women, I slam my helmet on and jump on my bike. Giving it an extra rev to relieve some of the anxiety. Where are they?
I ride next to Hex, but my mind is on Delphine. We lost our only link to her. Maybe she escaped, like Maxim said. Maybe she was in the speedboat that left when we arrived. If so, where is she now? Is she free? Or does someone else have her now? If she’s free, why hasn’t she contacted us yet?
My mind circles through these questions as I try to come up with answers to each one. However, I come up blank. I don’t know where to look. Our only lead escaped in his Escalade. The trackers are no longer on them, but sit useless in Abra’s pocket. We failed Delphine and her daughters.
