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“There’s a problem,”he told Gemma, trying to keep his voice calm. Rafe wanted her aware of the situation but not alarmed—not as worried as he was.
Her look told him she was onto that game. That was the problem with dealing with a smart kid—she could see through you. “What’s happened, Rafe?”
“Brad happened. He’s at the bar making trouble.”
“What sort?”
Max scowled. “Waving a gun around. I think he went over the top.”
Gemma’s eyes welled with tears. “He’s pissed at Simone. He might hurt her.”
Rafe nodded slowly. “He might. I was hoping he’d come for us next, since he probably knows Max and I are the ones stopping his ploys.”
“Is he going to kill her?” She paled.
“Not if we can stop him.” Max put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
“What do I do while you get your asses down there?” the girl asked.
Rafe looked in her eyes and saw there was no doubt in her mind that Rafe and Max would come up with a plan to save Simone. He wished he had her confidence. He’d do everything he could to live up to her high expectations for him, but they were clearly dealing with a man who had gone over the edge. He had to know that pulling a gun on her in public was going to bring the authorities down on him. “We need to move fast. He’s moved to a place there’s no turning back from, and he’ll know that. A room full of people have seen him commit a major felony. That makes him far more dangerous than he’s been before. He’ll be desperate.”
“Should I call the cops?”
Max frowned. “Simone wouldn’t forgive us if we strung this out while the cops played at hostage negotiations. Do you have Slash’s number?”
She beamed. “I have half the club on speed dial, Max.”
Rafe nodded his approval as Max said, “While we hustle down there, call him. Tell him to grab a gun and meet us in back of Sam’s. And tell him to send Choirboy over here to stay with you.”
She smiled. “So there’s no chance of me going along and watching a different kind of ass-kicking?”
Max’s frown grew more severe. “Not a chance in hell.”
Rafe tried to soften his friend’s harsh rejection. “We can’t be sure his friends have all retreated into their rat holes. Besides, we need you coordinating things here.”
She nodded and went for her computer. “I should go online and see if there is any nuanced chatter about this. If he has friends involved, they’ll be coordinating their actions.”
“Stay invisible. Promise you won’t engage. You’ll act as command central.”
She sighed. “Behind the lines. Okay, for now.” As she picked up her phone, she looked at them. “Now don’t you have somewhere to go? People to save?”
“You’re getting to be a real smart-ass, Gemma.” Rafe couldn’t hide the note of pride. She hadn’t fallen apart yet. “Make the call and get online.”
She grinned. “You say the nicest things, Rafe.” She looked at Max. “You do sometimes as well, when you aren’t pretending to be mute.”
Max grunted at her as they headed out the door, making for their bikes at a run. He liked Gemma. Sooner rather than later, they’d need to get her involved in something productive, on a path she wanted to follow. With her intelligence and impatience, without focus, she might get herself into some trouble. She liked challenges far too much for her own good. She was a lot like him—the way he’d been when he was young. That was both good and bad. If Simone kept them around, if she wanted them as part of her life, then they needed to talk about some ways to channel that creative energy. Ways that would appeal to the girl.
All that assumed they managed to rescue Simone, and that was the immediate problem. Rafe had been calm in telling Gemma because he didn’t want her upset, but inside his own guts were twisted. He could tell from Max’s body language his friend was feeling the same way. Under the best of circumstances, Brad was unpredictable and vindictive. There was no telling what he’d do now that he’d come unhinged.
He didn’t even know at this point if Sam had called the cops. Having the cops descend on his place wasn’t the kind of publicity he wanted to see. Even if he had, the response would be slow. Rafe’s experience was that the cops didn’t hesitate to go into bad neighborhoods—they just went into them with a lot more force than they did elsewhere, and that meant putting together a force. That kept the cops safer, which he understood, but this situation wasn’t a normal hostage situation. The cops couldn’t negotiate with Brad—everything he wanted had to do with Simone. The cops couldn’t offer him a thing.
Rafe put his speculations and fears aside. They had to get moving—he had to channel his emotions into a force he could use to come up with ways to deal effectively with this maniac. The enraged whacko with a gun who was keeping Simone hostage was quite likely intent on doing her serious harm. He’d gotten angry enough that rape and murder weren’t off the table, if they gave Brad the chance.
Simone and Gemma expected Rafe and Max to prevent him from getting that chance, and Rafe didn’t intend to disappoint either of them. He was certain Max had no intention of doing so either.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to do this alone.
Chapter 12
