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***
“I think thatwas the street camera,” Lach said, his voice solemn as he pointed at a lens near the light they’d just passed.
Toth swallowed down a mouthful of shame. Pulling the car to the side of the road, he slammed his fist into the steering wheel. “Fuck!” he bellowed.
They’d failed. From here, there was nothing but a road that stretched for miles—right out of state. A road with numerous turns. A road surrounded by woods.
All hope was lost. He sucked in a shaky breath through his nose. Jesus Christ. He’d always protected those he cared about: the men in his unit in the Marines, Rami, his clients. Some people had been friends, others had paid him. Sav was different.
He couldn’t protect her. She was gone, alone and terrified, if she was even still breathing. His only job had been to keep her alive and he hadn’t.
The air in his lungs grew stale. He needed to scream, or better yet, wrap his hands around the fucker’s neck—
“Sav’s a fighter.” Lach’s words broke through the fangs of torment chewing through Toth’s mind. “She won’t go down without a fight.” He thumped his fist to his heart. “She’s alive. I can fucking feel it.”
Toth forced rancid saliva down his throat. He nodded. “You’re right. She’ll raise hell.” He summoned a wave of calm. It was forced, but it helped a little.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Dare.
His brother answered on the second ring.
“I need you to find something else. Anything, for Christ’s sake.” He didn’t want to acknowledge how broken his plea sounded. If he let the feelings of desperation enter, he’d never put one foot in front of the other.
“Man, if I had anything I’d call you,” he said, pained. “Did you talk to Danny?”
“He’s in surgery.”
“Shit. I’ve been working the street cameras and I’ve got nothing. I suspect they’re now in an area where there’s little to no surveillance. Maybe when they get to a bigger city something will come up.”
“You know that’s not going to happen. He’s not taking her shopping, dummy.”
Dare exhaled through his nose. “Look—”
The line beeped.
“Hang on, I’ve got a call.” He clicked off, and Toth fought the urge to bash the steering wheel again. Dare clicked back on the line. “It’s Sophia. I’m gonna connect us. You’ll wanna hear this.”
Hope surged him forward. He swatted Lach’s arm. The guy was staring at him, riveted. Toth hit the speaker button and held the phone between them.
“Sophia, I’ve got Toth on the line. He’s out near Coal Creek. Figured he’d want in.”
“Hey,” Toth said, not wanting to waste another stupid second on formality.
“Oh, good,” Sophia said. She sounded as if she’d gotten a swell of energy despite the late hour. “I heard back from my contact at the department. Turns out Danny made a trade.” Tension hung in the air. “Danny didn’t kill Jace, Toth. He’s alive.”
Pressure built against his temple. “What?”
Lach mumbled a curse from the passenger seat.
“Jace was charged with possession of an illegal substance. It appears the tip came from Danny, which tells me he offered him up.”
“That sonofabitch,” Toth wheezed. “He told Sav he killed him.”
“He told me that, too,” Lach spat.
Disbelief spiraled through him. The ever-powerful Sinners Cartel leader had lied to his own daughter. The only thing that pissed him off more than the fact that he’d deceived Savannah was the fact that the motherfucker had let Jace live.
“Jace has her,” Toth said. His certainty came with a load of fear. Because if Jace had gone to jail for three years, the bastard would be pissed—and he’d take that out on Sav.
