AllFreeNovel
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Before I reach the van, two FBI agents apprehend me. “She’s not in there…neither is your UNSUB. Sadie’s out there—”
“Sir, you have to calm down,” one of them says. He tilts his chin toward his shoulder. “Sir, we have a situation here.”
The van door opens, and out comes Agent Proctor, the head honcho who took over my club. “Colton Reed. I figured we’d have a problem with you.”
The agents drag me into the van. Proctor grabs me by the neck. “I told them not to let a civilian in on this op,” he says. “Cuff him. Reed, you’re being arrested for obstruction.”
“I don’t give a damn. You’re wasting your time trying to find him inside the club. He’s not there.”
Proctor squints his pale eyes at me. “What are you talking about?”
“Sir.” An agent sitting before a row of monitors turns our way. “We have another situation.”
“Son of a bitch.” Proctor scrubs a hand down his face. “What is it?”
“Agent Bonds, sir. She’s missing.”
Proctor turns and points to one of the monitors, to where the UC agent is still sitting at Sadie’s table. “Then who the hell is that?”
“I don’t know, sir. But she’s not Agent Bonds. We ran facial recognition for Agent Bonds, also…to try to locate the perp, assuming he would be near her. We were trying to narrow the search parameters—”
“Jesus Christ, spit it out!” Proctor shouts.
“The program confirmed Agent Bonds isn’t inside the club, sir.”
Proctor says into his radio, “Detective Carson, bring that decoy agent here. I’m going to have everyone’s badges before the end of the night.” Then he narrows his gaze on me. “Where is she? Where’s Bonds?”
My throat burns dry. “I don’t know, but Quinn does. Locate him. Do whatever you do to track him. He’s out there with her.”
I know I’m breaking my promise to Sadie…but as soon as I heard Quinn changed the game plan, I could feel it in my bones—sense the tables turning. Sadie’s in danger.
And as soon as my words register with Proctor, I see it in his eyes, too.
Proctor brings his radio up. “Pull everyone out!” He turns to the front of the van. “Get the coordinates up on Quinn’s last known location. I want eyes on this perp now.”
15
You
Sadie
“That little fucker!” Quinn slurs.
I brace my hand underneath his head, bringing him into my lap. “Don’t move. Where’s your radio?” My hands shake with adrenaline, my head pounds with the rapid beat of my pulse.
I rip a section of my dress and tear it free, then wipe the blood from Quinn’s lips. “Jesus, Quinn. What are you doing here? What happened?”
He tries to sit up and falls backward, grabs the back of his head. “I was tailing you,” he admits. “Don’t look at me like that.” He turns his head away and spits out the blood filling his mouth.
“You botched it,” I say, my jaw tight. I push him aside and get to my feet, bending over to grab Quinn’s radio. He intercepts it first. “Avery’s life depended on this, Quinn.” Then it hits me.“ He knew. He knew that I wouldn’t be alone. Whatever plan you had going, he knew beforehand.” I think about the necklace—coated in blood—and anger fuels my limbs so swiftly I have to grip my hair to keep from screaming.
Sitting forward, he says, “I know. I fucked up. But dammit, Bonds…I wasn’t going to lose you.” He stares up at me, and I see the pain he’s in. Mentally and physically. My anger dissipates. But only a fraction.
“What happened?” I demand.
He opens his mouth and touches his jaw, rocks it back and forth. “My tooth is gone.”
Bile coats my throat. “…What?”
