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“Who was it?”
“Commander Lancaster’s daughter,” Lynch said, straight faced.
“Oh shit. He sent in Crosby and Lance to find her? She’s caught up in this prostitution thing?” he asked.
“Sure as shit seems that way. But they never got to the location of where she was being held, or if she was in fact at the location. Seems like a clusterfuck of an o
peration to me,” Lynch told Tazer.
Tazer ran his fingers through his hair.
“Who else is investigating this?” Tazer asked.
Burker leaned back. “It’s on the down low. The Commander is obviously embarrassed by this situation. But now that two retired Special Ops guys show up dead, it isn’t a secret. We got a call from Mick Flours. He’s been assigned as lead agent by the Feds. He’s ready to work with us,” Burker explained.
“Flours? Shit, that guy is such an anal asshole. Who the fuck put him in charge?” Tazer asked.
“Seems the Commander had some pull. He knows Mick Flours somehow and requested his help. He called him personally,” Parker told him.
“Wonderful, so who requested we assist? You would think the Feds, especially Flours, would want to come in, find her and take all the credit.”
“Crosby and Lance recruited a few friends of theirs to help out. They have all the current information and aren’t too keen on giving control over to Flours. They need us to kind of ease the way and also, to pursue a lead right in Tennessee. The others are all in Texas right now,” Parker said to him.
“Who the hell are the recruits?” Tazer asked.
“No one we know or have heard of. Parker and Burker are looking up all they can on them and I’m working on that location in Virginia that needs looking into too. We can leave in an hour if you say yes to the Commander and Flours’ request,” Lynch told him.
“The Commander accepted our fee?”
Lynch nodded. “I added in a little stipulation if this turns to shit fast.”
“Good. Send me what you have. I’ll call Commander Lancaster and then Flours.”
Chapter 2
Eliza Grace was a bit nervous as she rubbed her sweaty palms along the slim fitting dress she wore. A few months back, when Shelby was abducted and Eliza suffered a concussion, singing on stage and continuing her modeling seemed like a distant dream. The headaches she suffered from were few and far between now, but the fear she lived with remained full force, and especially at night. Missy Ann had been a good friend and it was her influence that had Eliza Grace taking this step tonight and achieving a goal she never thought she would ever have the nerve to achieve. One glance at the rowdy crowd and she knew this wasn’t like the little café she once auditioned for but never made it to the event because of the abduction. She swallowed hard. When she went for something she went all out. She was really reaching with this first on-stage performance. She must be losing her mind.
She gulped down the lump of emotion. She had bad luck, that was pretty damn obvious. Stemming from the first assault in college, that she never really recovered from, and then the assault on her at the apartment as men abducted Shelby. She shivered from the memories and also from the fact she couldn’t recall all the details. The doctor said it was her mind’s way of coping with the trauma she suffered and of course the attempted gang rape on her in college.
She took a deep breath and peeked through the side of the stage to see the rowdy crowd. It was jam packed. Summer vacation just began and Luther’s was the hottest place in Charlesburgh. Luther, the owner, had been so impressed with her audition. She came in on a whim while the band was practicing and then asked for an audition. At first he tried to be a little patronizing and even flirted with her but then she stood her ground and told him it was on her bucket list and that she really needed to take this chance. He asked the leader of the band and they of course looked her over and then gave a wink and said sure thing, honey. She had a feeling they didn’t think she could sing and their flirty comments nearly sent her running for the door. But once she started singing and belting it out, they were impressed. They apologized for not taking her seriously and then looked to Luther to offer her a chance to sing in front of the crowd on the busiest night. It was their way of seeing if the crowd liked her voice or hated it. She still couldn’t believe she was here right now, and making a dream a reality.
She felt a bit guilty about it too. Her cousins didn’t even know she was here, nor her friends, like Shelby Ann, Caroline and Missy Ann. Missy gave her such a hard time for duffing out on their plans tonight. But Eliza Grace needed to do this. It would build up that self-confidence, and help her to feel happy. She just didn’t feel happy about anything anymore.
Her eyes widened as she heard the song end, the crowd cheer so loudly even the leader of the band was shocked.
“What a crowd we have tonight. I love the energy, and I want you all to give a nice big Luther welcome to one sexy little lady who is making her debut here tonight at Luther’s. Let’s give a big round of applause for Eliza Grace,” he said and the crowd cheered so loudly as she made her way on stage, guitar in hand. The whistles, hoots and hollers started and Hank, the band leader and announcer, placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a squeeze as he smiled.
“Knock their socks off, honey. You have the voice of an angel.” He winked and she smiled as she took her place in the front of the stage and the microphone.
She heard the comments about how sexy she looked and she ignored the comments from some of the rowdier men as the music began to play and she shivered with a bit of fear and nervousness that she might screw this up and maybe she wasn’t ready after all. But then once she started singing, and got lost in the lyrics and playing her guitar, the place grew quiet, and seemed to be listening to her every word. By the time she sang the last chord, the place erupted and she couldn’t help but to feel the tears in her eyes and a bit of tension release as she achieved one of her biggest goals. To sing on stage and for the audience to love her.
“Eliza Grace, that was incredible. They asked for three encores. Three,” Luther said to her as he gave her another hug and smiled wide.
She chuckled at his excitement.
“I appreciate the opportunity, Luther. Thank you for allowing me the chance to get up there.”
“Are you kidding me, doll? You were incredible and I knew they would love you. That’s why I gave you the opportunity,” he said and reached out and clasped her chin between thumb and forefinger.
