A Captive Situation (Kings of New York)

She left me. Sawyer left me.

Fuck her.

I gritted my teeth. Grabbing a car. They’d taken the keys. Smart move on their part if they’d been my keys and not Laila’s. My phone was ringing when I got inside my truck. I tossed it on the passenger seat, and Ashton’s voice answered through my dashboard. “What is it?”

I shook my head at his hardened voice. He knew shit was going to go down. He helped set all this up, and he was going to come on the phone like that?

“They bolted.”

A second. “What?”

I was trying to catch them, but Green—who was at the wheel, how did that happen?—kept turning. I was going to lose them in the traffic. I told him, “You said West would have Sawyer’s family. Where are they?”

“Why?”

“Fucking—just do what I say for one goddamn time, Walden! They bolted. Both of them. Why the fuck do you think I’m asking? I need Green for the handoff and I’m running out of time to make that happen. They’ll be going for Sawyer’s family. Where are they?”

“Green’s free?”

“Yes! Catch the fuck up. Aren’t you watching this all happen somewhere through your fucking hacking laptop? They’re gone. Lane’s expecting me to hand over his woman and I don’t have her. She took my woman with her.”

A snicker sounded. “They’re running together?”

I was going to kill him. The second I saw him, I was putting a bullet in his forehead. “Catch up. Where is West keeping Sawyer’s family?”

“Who cares. Green’s going to ditch her the second she can. You need Green, not your woman.”

“She should, yes, but she’s not. They took off together. Green was at the wheel. Not Sawyer. Again, she took Sawyer with her. You’re not comprehending this.”

“Why would she do that?”

“I don’t fucking know! But if I can’t catch Green, I need to get Sawyer and get the fuck out of the city. She’s not safe on her own. Lane will kill her. He’ll do it just to spite me.”

There was a beep on his end, and he cursed. “Uh, you’re not going to like this.”

“What?” My jaw clenched. What next?

“We were keeping her family at Jess’s mom’s house with her and the brother. It’s normal. Civilians. Jess argued they shouldn’t feel they were being imprisoned, but, uh . . . they’re gone.”

“Why the fuck does West’s woman have any input on my woman’s family?”

This could not be happening.

Wait. “What did you say? They’re gone?”

“Trace just got an alert. They left three minutes ago.”

“Where were their guards?”

He swore under his breath. “They were never told they were being held captive so the guards stayed at a distance. Jess argued hard for that. You know Trace’s woman. Still a PO in her heart, trying to do good. Trace just got a call. That was the notice I got. His men are down. All of them.”

“I killed three people in her cousin’s house. What the fuck did they think was happening?”

“Jess didn’t want to terrify them. She gave them a version of the truth, told them a cop had already taken care of it.”

“What? Who?”

“You, dumbass.”

“I’m not a cop.”

“Jess was a PO. I’m sure she flashed badges or showed them pictures. I don’t know. She’s the one who told them you were an undercover detective and everything was being handled. She thought it was the best way to keep them contained. Trace agreed. I was overruled. Your woman’s family were told that Sawyer was needed to testify against the bad guys. You took her into protective custody.”

I’d had enough with people being in danger because they didn’t know they were in danger.

I needed to count down from ten because I wasn’t hearing this bullshit. Because if I was, if anything happened to Sawyer, I would return to the skills I learned from my childhood.

I’d only stick around to count the bodies to see if I’d missed anyone.

“Where the fuck are they?”

Another beep on his end.

“Good news, we know what vehicle they took.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is that Jess’s mom gave them her minivan. Handed over the keys. Helped them put their suitcases in the back.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Jess’s mom probably became friends with the aunts, sent them off with a hug and baked goods.”

I wasn’t going to ask any more questions. The more I did, the more my grasp on my control slipped. I was becoming like Sawyer, except she went into show-tunes-land and I went into the land where I needed to spill blood.

“Tell me you have a tracker on that minivan. Tell me you’re able to hack into traffic cameras and can find them. Tell me that, Ashton, because if you don’t, you did not hold up your end of our bargain. You were supposed to handle the aunts. You didn’t.”

His tone hardened. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Worthing.”

My jaw clenched. “Honestly? I think it’s time you learn who you’re talking to.”noveldrama

“What the fuck does that mean?”

I didn’t respond and he didn’t push it.

I could hear tapping on his end.

“There’s no tracker on her minivan. I think it’d be a better move for me to track Green.”

“No.” I hated this. My knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. “Green’s in the wind. Sawyer’s with her. Green wasn’t expecting to be taken, but she knows now. She’s gone. It’ll take longer to find her than the aunts. The aunts are the weak link.”

“Hold on.”

I heard a beep in the background.

He said, “I just got a notice from a traffic cam. Found the minivan that you want so badly, but you’re going to be too late.”

My blood chilled. “Where are they?”

He told me, and I looked at the time. He was right. I couldn’t get to them, get Sawyer, and take Green to Lane. There was only enough time to grab Sawyer and run.

“Get your girl and get the fuck out of my city.”

“Gladly.”