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The beat of my heart shreds inside my chest as venom bubbles through me. We are seated in my office, daylight picking out the tiredness in George’s eyes, the gray pallor to his skin.
I know I must look the same, but there’s no time for rest even if I wanted to.
Calfus’s deadline is deliberate—enough time to put together a new package for him or look for Ginger. Not both. What bothers me is how much effort he must have put into this, how much planning he did before we even met. He knows exactly how long it takes to put a new identity together and he’s used that against me.
The three monitors on my desk, each full of some element of intel on the piece of shit that took my baby from me, are my only lifeline right now. Two are filled with documentation about his life. The third shows a single photo we took from the security footage here at the house. He was good, managed to avoid most of the cameras, but the camera at the end of the drive caught a three-quarter view of an old red Toyota as it pulled in.
“Okay, so that’s the situation. What’s the plan?”
I bite into my bottom lip, shaking on a breath because I’m not sure yet the best course of action. Which is not my usual. Ginger’s scent is with me even now, the music of her laughter, the connection I feel with her aches inside of me.
“I’ve got no fucking idea.” I admit, closing my eyes and drawing a deep breath. “He’s got no home base. I’ve sent the photo of his car to Sarah, but I’m not hopeful any of our contacts will know anything. His last hitch he had an affair with a mother and daughter. Both married to Vegas mob bosses and they are not known for their forgiveness. Got the daughter pregnant, then the they found out he was stinging them both. Took them for a good million and a half in less than a month before it all came out and the bosses clearly decided his heart didn’t need to beat anymore.
“He’s smart but he’s human. He’s got a weakness somewhere. Something else he wants…”
“What the fuck did he want?” George’s query is topped with irritation, as though I should have anticipated this. “I mean, apart from the impossible setup for his new life.”
He’s right. Maybe I should have anticipated something like this. My game is off, it’s true. Ginger made me vulnerable and I’ve put us all in danger because of it.
“It’s not about the new identity. Not really. I know people like him and there’s only one thing he wants. He wants to win.”
“Win what?”
“He needs to feel powerful. Needs to feel he’s on top. He refused my package because he felt it was beneath him. Fuck though, none of that helps me find her. None of it helps me know where she is.”
I’ve always used my intellect. My strategic skills to manage situations.
For the first time, all I see is red. All I want is blood.
I lean back in my chair, arms straight, gripping the edge of the desktop and shaking my head, when my cell phone starts to buzz.
Sarah.
In an instant, I’ve got it pressed to my ear. “Talk to me. What have you got?”
“Not much.” Sarah’s voice is strained.
She hasn’t met Ginger, not yet, but I’ve talked about her. I know Sarah well, she’s smart and tough but she’s also compassionate and she cares about me like a big sister. I guess she was starting to think of Ginger as a daughter-to-be, and this shit has shaken her as much as any of us.
“I’ll keep the details out of it, but I pulled in some favors on freeway cams and put a few of Reynolds’ other guys watching the videos about the time the car would have been headed out of the city. They pulled major freeway footage at the on ramps closest to the house. They got lucky and the car has been spotted heading west out of Binghamton.”
That’s the biggest city close to Windsor, NY, where my house is and where most of the major interstates intersect.
Sarah continues, “The camera video was marked about two hours ago. He’s got a good head start. The cams got a decent shot and driver basically fits Calfus’s description. There was another woman in the passenger seat, gray hair, so unless he had a wig on Ginger…couldn’t get a good shot so not sure about her. They kept watching the cams but nothing else hit so we’ve lost their exact route.” Her voice trails off and nothing more needs to be said right now.
My heart starts thrumming in my chest. Hearing Sarah talk is making the threat to my babygirl all the more real and I’m almost in full panic mode. I try to maintain my cool. I’ll need it to see this through. “Okay. Thanks.”
