Page 85 of New Blood

“Then we’d better catch Violet before she can hurt her.”

Austin’s phone rang, and he picked it up and put it on speaker mode.

“It’s Grant. I’m following you guys with Parker, in case you need backup.”

“Thanks, Grant,” Jude said. “Appreciate it.”

“We’re about half a mile behind you, catching up quickly.”

“Thanks, bro,” Austin replied. “I’m keeping the line open.”

He set his phone in a cradle on the dashboard.

“Jude, take the next left.”

“You sure?” The next left was a side street that didn’t look like it went anywhere.

“Trust me, it’s a shortcut.”

Turning the steering wheel hard to the left, Jude took the turn, barely slowing down the car.

“How far?” he asked, getting more and more impatient, his fear for Danielle ratcheting higher with every heartbeat.

“The car stopped.”

“Where?”

“About three miles ahead of us.”

Jude kicked the gas pedal down, speeding along the narrow street. Every second Violet’s car wasn’t moving was an opportunity for her to kill Danielle. He had to get to her before Violet could act.

“Watch out!” Austin cried out. “Pedestrian on the right.”

Jude swerved just in time to avoid the woman. Sweat was beading on his brow and nape now.

“Almost there,” Austin assured him. “There. Into the parking lot.”

From what Jude could see at first glance, the parking lot, which consisted of two rows of diagonally parked cars, was located at the back entrances of several businesses.

“Where?”

Austin pointed to the left. “There! That’s the Land Rover. Plates match.”

Jude saw the car now, too, and pulled up behind it, blocking it so Violet wouldn’t be able to leave.

He killed the engine and jumped out. He barreled toward the driver’s side door and saw from the corner of his eye that Austin ran toward the passenger door.

Without even looking first, Jude pulled on the door handle, trying to open it, but it was locked. He looked inside. The car was empty.

He looked up, staring at Austin. “What’s the GPS say?”

“It’s right here.” He pointed to the car.

Again, Jude looked through the window, this time more closely. He spotted a cell phone plugged into an outlet on the car’s console.

“Fuck! She left the cell inside.”

Frantically, he looked around. Where the hell had she taken Danielle?