Baldy stepped forward and clipped a leash onto Ginger’s collar with practiced ease. He gave me a smug smile as he lifted her into his arms. “We’ll take good care of her.”
His words didn’t match his tone. He didn’t even look at her or touch her gently. He didn’t say her name. He just turned and walked out the door carrying her with his minions in tow.
The policemen sighed. “Sorry for the trouble, ladies. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be a Good Samaritan.”
One of them closed the door behind them. I heard the cars pull away from the house and the lights on the police cruiser went out.
And just like that…Ginger was gone, swallowed by the night.
I just stared at the door while still sitting on the floor. Basia was crying softly and Gray stood rigid, fists clenched at her sides. I didn’t realize my entire body was shaking until Gray knelt next to me and touched my arm.
“We’re not done with this, Lexi,” she said quietly.
I nodded, swallowing hard. “You’re damn right we’re not. We’re going to figure out exactly what that lab is doing. And then we’re going to get Ginger back—or, at the very least, make sure she’s safe.”
Basia wiped a tear from her cheek. “We owe her that.”
A sound came from the hallway and Gwen stepped into the room, rubbing her eyes. She looked at us and then frowned. “I got up to go to the bathroom. What’s going on? Why is everyone up?”
Basia gave her a quick update while I stood and looked out the window into the darkness.
“I slept through all that?” Gwen said. “How’s that possible?”
“If only I could sleep that deeply,” Basia said, sighing. “It’s okay, Gwen. There’s nothing you could have done.”
I turned, my gaze steady. “They think this is over. But they have no idea who they’re dealing with.”
“They abso-freaking-lutely do not,” Gray said, starting to pace, her fists still clenched. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her so mad.
“We need to get back to the hotel right away for better Wi-Fi and my laptop,” I said. “I guess the bet with Slash is off.”
“Yes, it is,” Basia agreed, a glint in her eye. “We aren’t about fun at this point. We’re all about justice.”
“I agree, and I’m totally in, but can I go to the bathroom first?” Gwen asked and then hustled along when Basia silently pointed her finger at the bathroom door.
That moment, standing in the living room of that little beach house, our heartbreak turned into something sharper. They may have taken Ginger back, but that didn’t mean this fight was over.
Not by a long shot.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lexi
It was nearly five thirty when we got back to the hotel. The casino was still going strong, fueled by a toxic mixture of alcohol, adrenaline, and money.
The elevator ride to the penthouse felt longer than the drive from the beach house. None of us talked. No jokes, no frantic theorizing. Just the weight of Ginger’s absence sitting like a stone in our stomachs.
When the penthouse door closed behind us, the silence became a physical presence. I went straight for my laptop and set it up on the dining room table. I needed data, facts, something measurable to shove between myself and the image of the bald man carrying Ginger away.
Gray made sure the dead bolt was on the door and pulled out her tablet. Gwen closed the curtains and started a pot of coffee. Basia sat near me at the dining table, rubbing her temples and looking exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with pregnancy.
“Why do I have a feeling that we don’t have a lot of time?” Basia asked me.
“The conversation I overheard in the casino from Mr. Whiny makes me feel like some kind of action regarding Ginger is imminent,” Gray said.
“Plus, they told the police that she had an important appointment coming up,” I added. “They were super anxious to get her tonight and couldn’t even wait until the morning. Something big is happening, and soon. I doubt it’ll be good for Ginger.”
I connected the cables, booted up my laptop, and connected to the Wi-Fi. I pulled an enhancer from my backpack, along with a few other tools I always carried with me. We needed speed, so while I didn’t have the best equipment at hand, I would maximize what I had.
