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The tires squealed as he was forced to brake at a stoplight. He turned his head to glare at me. “Nothing that’s any justification for her going off like this, trying to get herself killed.”
Normally I wouldn’t have challenged my best friend. I trusted him, I had his back, and I knew that loyalty went both ways. But it seemed to me that part of having his back was standing up to him when he was being a prick over a woman who didn’t deserve it. I could do that for Maddie even if she wasn’t here to see me defend her.
I didn’t want to make him more furious, though, not when we needed him thinking at least somewhat clearly to confront the assholes who had Maddie cornered. So I just gazed steadily back at him and said in an even tone, “Maybe after we get her out of that hellhole, you should think a little harder about that. Because I haven’t seen her do anything so far that wasn’t justified.”
Logan jerked his eyes back to the road with the change of the light and hit the gas. He drove on in stormy silence that I decided it was better not to break. I tried to picture how we’d arrange to get Maddie safely out of the bar, but it was hard to come up with a plan when we hadn’t scoped the place out yet—and planning wasn’t exactly my specialty anyway.
We tore around another bend, and then Logan slowed. I recognized Maddie’s car a block up ahead by the side of the road. “She was smart enough not to park right out front,” I remarked.
Logan just snorted. He pulled in behind it, moving in brusque jerks.
“If her car’s still here, then she’s still inside,” Dexter remarked as we got out, and then shook his head at himself with a rustle of his messy curls. “Of course, if she’d gotten out I’m sure she’d have texted us to let us know.”
“Let’s get going then,” I said, bouncing on my feet.
Logan took a deep breath as if to steady himself. His jaw was still clenched, his hands in fists, but he still knew how to be a leader.
“We’ll take a quick look around to see what we’re dealing with,” he said. “We could screw things up more if we go barging in unprepared. Keep your eyes peeled, and movefast.”
We had no idea how much trouble Maddie was already in. My stomach twisted as we hustled down the street together. I picked out the bar up ahead with the glinting lettering on its otherwise black sign. Then, as we drew closer, my gaze snagged on something that made my spirits sink even farther.
I pointed to the black shape spray-painted on the dark brick at the corner of the wall. “There’s a gang sign. Looks like it’s been there for a while and repainted. Isn’t that the sign for those assholes we tangled with last year when we were helping that kid whose mom was being shaken down.”
“Shit,” Logan said through clenched teeth. By now, we all knew how to tell when a gang had claimed a particular property as their own, which meant they had at least some say in the operations. If Maddie had seen armed men inside, this was probably one of their business fronts. And these lowlifes seemed to be one of the bigger gangs in town, definitely one of the most vicious. I had a scar on my bicep from when one of the assholes had come at me with a knife, even though all we’d been doing was asking a few questions.
I’d hoped we’d get to steer clear of them after that. No such luck. Their criminal affiliations made it even more likely that they were involved in the car theft and whatever had gone down with Maddie’s father’s box… and even more likely that she’d be in deep shit if they caught her having snuck into their hangout.
Neither of the other guys showed any indication that they were second-guessing our rescue attempt. Logan’s eyes had narrowed in concentration. “We’ll go in, but we need to keep it looking casual. Play it off like we’re trying to help somehow, not a threat. Maybe we can stop any shots from being fired. All she needs is a distraction so she can make a run for the exit.”
All she needs. As if it were that simple. I squared my shoulders and marched with the other guys the rest of the way to the bar, pasting a smile on my face but inwardly preparing to do battle.
Whatever she needed, whatever lengths we had to go to, we were getting her out of this mess.
