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“What?”
I called Eze, my main guy I’d left on Molly. “What’s going on?”
“Molly and Jess left the house earlier today.”
“What?” I put him on speaker. “You’ve got me and Trace.”
“I followed. Your orders were to stay back if Montell was in the house with her. Well, they went to Easter Lanes—”
“Where are they now?”
“The police station.”
Trace jackknifed forward. “What?”
They kept talking, but I went scrolling through the rest of my phone. My sources from all departments were alerting me. I clicked on the last one.
34: Homicide had them, but OC is pulling rank. I can’t get any more information.
I swore long and low under my breath.
“What is it?” Trace asked.
I spoke into the phone. “You’re outside the station?”
“Yeah.”
“Get out of there.”
“Why?”
“They’re not there. They’ll be moved to a second location. Move back three blocks and wait for my call.”
“On it.”
I ended that call and hit dial on another number. While it was ringing, I told Trace the latest information.
“What the hell did they do?”
Jake Worthing picked up. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Detective.”
“I’m not doing shit for you. Not after the last time we talked. I’m hanging up—”
“Three of your cousin’s men followed me last night.”
He was quiet on his end. “What?”
“They followed me into a gas station.”
“Why are you—”
“Molly was there.”
He was quiet, again, which I’d been banking on and which was making my stomach grind. When he spoke, his tone was low, raspy. “I got no call about this. What are you talking about?”
“We need to meet up.”
“We’re in a war!”
“Your cousin is fully aware of what happened last night, but you aren’t, and I’m having a hard time believing that, considering their orders came from your phone.”
“Bullshit. You’re full of shit.”
“Your phone says otherwise. Meet me.”
His growl was savage. “Jesus Christ. I want nothing to do with any of this. Do you hear me? I want to find Justin’s killer, and then I’m out. With you, with my cousin, with everything. I don’t even want to be a cop anymore. Get off my back, Ashton.”
“Meet me. Trust me, Jake. You need to hear what I have to say.”
He was quiet again. I was gambling here. Those texts were from his phone, but it never felt like a Jake Worthing move to make. We had two cards that he seemed to care about: his brother and whatever he felt for Molly. If his unit had her, I needed to see him in person.
“Fine. I’ll text you the location and time.”
“Now.”
“What? No. I just got called in—”
“It has to be now.”
“Goddamn you, Walden. Goddamn you!”
I waited, still gambling. Always fucking gambling in this life.
“Fine. Now. Jesus.”
He ended the call, and a second later, his text came in with the location. I relayed the location to Pajn, and he immediately hit the turn signal, getting us in the right direction.
“What are you doing with this guy?”
“He used to work for me. I have a feeling about him.”
“Fuck your feeling. He hates Jess.”
“He doesn’t hate me, and I don’t think he hates Molly.”
Trace started shaking his head, curses spilling from his mouth. “Does he know about you two?”
“I told him we were fucking.”
“You did?”
I shrugged. “I was saying it to mess with his head at the time, but he seems to react to her. I don’t think he knows his unit swept her up, her and Jess. He didn’t want to meet me, said he was getting a call to go in. If that’s true, I want to get to him first.”
“What the fuck are you doing, Ashton? This is my woman. She’s not exactly Miss Popularity with her old colleagues.”
I scowled right back at him. “Molly’s not a game to me.”
He snorted, sitting back. “Since when?”
I would’ve retorted, but he was right. She had been. She wasn’t anymore.
Detective Jake Worthing was waiting for us at the end of the tunnel walkway, and as soon as he saw Trace, he began shaking his head. “Nope! No way, Walden. You’re loco, thinking I’m going to talk with this motherfucker around.”
Trace was glaring just as hard back. He snapped, “You think I’m happy about this? You threatened my woman.”
“Because she made my brother disappear.”
“Jess didn’t do shit to your brother. If anything, he condemned Kelly. If he hadn’t been with her—”
“What?!” Jake went at him.
Trace met him, within inches. “Then she’d still be alive, and Jess wouldn’t be in half the pain she’s in. That’s what.”
Jake’s eyes went feral. The air charged, but I rolled my eyes upward. “Molly and Jess were picked up tonight.”
Trace was still in the fight, but Jake’s head jerked to me. “What?”
“That’s the call you got, having you come in tonight. I don’t know the details, but I know Homicide had them, and now Organized Crime is taking them.”
He stepped back, keeping a wary eye on Trace. “They’ll move them to a different location.”
