Page 23 of Protecting Gina

Cookie lifted his chin. “That’s good.”

Wave grunted. “If we find her, we might know what Pete wants, and then we can get him to stop coming after Gina.”

They headed inside and found Caroline, Fiona, and Cass in the kitchen laughing at something Fiona said. It was good that the women were keeping Cass occupied. He didn’t want her to think about the danger he would be in once they left to rescue Gina.

“Hey, we’re making food,” Caroline called out.

Fiona stepped into the living room where Wave had his computer set up. “When you’re hungry, you can grab a plate.”

Cookie moved to Fiona and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you.”

Wave moved to Cass and gave her a hug, then met Caroline's and Fiona’s gaze. “Thank you for helping out. I really appreciate it.”

“Any time. And Cass told us she’s moving back with you. We exchanged numbers so we can get together when she is in California.”

“That’s great. Thank you.”

They needed to get to work, so they stepped into the living room and started looking for information. They were in a group chat with Tex and Thario, going through the key points when Foster sent a text, saying that the guys thought they’d found her. The guys on his team had found traffic footage of the delivery truck and had a good idea where she was being held.

“We should go,” Wolf said.

Wave knew he was right. Leaving Cass, though she wasn’t the target, felt wrong. Wolf stepped closer to him, holding his gaze.

“Caroline and Fiona will keep Cass safe.”

He hated being pulled in different directions. On a mission, he had one objective. Here, he needed to keep Cass safe, and he had to rescue Gina. The objectives pulled him in separate ways. But he had to believe that Cass would be safe with Caroline and Fiona.

“Okay, let’s head out. We need to get her back.”

Luckily, Wolf and Cookie had weapons. They were headed into the unknown, and maybe they should call the police, but he didn’t want the rescue to be delayed. If something happened, they would figure out how to mitigate the circumstances.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gina had no clue how long she’d been locked in the room when a key sounded in the door, and it swung open. She didn’t know what to expect. But when Pete walked in, she realized she had expected him.

“You’re going to tell us where the thumb drive is.”

She had a few old thumb drives from her college days, but that wouldn’t be anything he was interested in. He’d assumed that the woman, who she didn’t know at all, had passed something to her. She hadn’t. The main issue was that no matter how much she denied having the information, he didn’t believe her.

“I’ve told you before, I don’t have it.”

“Liar!” Hot anger rolled off Pete in waves.

The anger he showed scared her, but she needed to be brave. He may hurt her, may try to break her, but she couldn’t succumb to the fear. Maybe she could talk her way out of all of this. Would Pete let her go if she really didn’t have the stuff he wanted?

“That woman didn’t give me anything.”

“You were in the taxi with her.” Pete’s words were said through clenched teeth, his anger making the vein on the side of his head pulse. Maybe he would have a heart attack and drop dead.

“Only for a short block. She made the driver stop, and I got out.”

He closed the distance between them and grabbed her shirt, pulling her close. “Stop lying.”

His stale breath was hot on her face as he held her tightly. She tried to move away, but the wall prevented her from stepping back. The man was unhinged, and she feared there wasn’t anything she could say to get out of this.

“I know you’re lying. You have the thumb drive.”

She shook her head, desperation spilling out. “I don’t.”