She had been lucky in life because the men in her life had all three. She would have all three, too.
Chapter Ten
Chase burst out the rear-stage door.
At first, he saw nothing, no one. Then he heard a groan, and he hurried over to the dumpster.
He found another man down and recognized him as Victor Suarez, again, a man he knew to be a good agent.
His eyes were closed; he didn’t appear to be moving. But he’d made a sound, and that meant that he had to be alive. Chase called Wellington as he hunkered down, telling him they needed med techs outside as soon as possible. He checked for the man’s pulse; his heart was still beating.
His eyes fluttered.
“Black...black SUV,” he muttered. “Plates...”
“Hey, help is coming,” Chase told him, searching for the injury that had caused the large stain on his lower right gut. He ripped a piece of his shirt, pressing the wound, knowing that the blood flow had to be stopped. “Can you hold this?” he asked. “Victor, the bleeding...”
Suarez nodded and placed his hand on the pressure dressing Chase had created. He pressed down himself.
“Got...it.”
“Can you tell me... You said ‘plates.’ What about the plates?” Chase asked.
“O-obscured,” the man said. “Muddied. On purpose, I’d bet. He has her...she’s...”
“Hurt? Is she hurt?”
The man on the ground moved his mouth. No sound came, but he formed the word no.
Then he winced and managed to open his eyes, looking up at Chase. “Go! You’ve—you’ve got help coming. I think... I was a damned idiot, warning him...should have shot him flat out. No, right, we are the law, we don’t just commit murder, but...”
Black SUV, plates obscured.
The man’s eyes opened again. “Mic and buds...take my mic. Easier...”
“Thanks, thank you!”
Brilliant idea. He reached gently for the little button on the man’s collar and even more lightly for the buds in his ears.
“Wellington, have you—”
“Got you loud and clear. And help is there. EMTs are headed out the door right now.”
“Thanks. I see them, and I’m heading out after Sky. She may have her phone in her pocket, and he may not have thought of it if she didn’t pull it out. Can you—”
“You bet. I’ll get a trace on the location.”
“Thanks. I’m heading out.”
“Listen, I can get a trace on her phone going, but it will take me a few minutes. You can hold position—”
“No. I’ve got something else I have to do quickly,” Chase said suddenly. “Get back to me, please, as soon as possible.”
The med techs had arrived, and Chase stood, nodded to them and took off. His car was just a few feet away.
There was only one exit from the passenger lot, but he needed to think.
Where the hell would the man be going?
But first things first: he was going to take a lightning-quick side trip. Sky’s place was close.
If it came to a point where he might need help...
There might be no better help than some he had quickly available to him.
He was out and moving in seconds. At Sky’s house, he was grateful he knew the code as well as he knew his own.
He was in and out in seconds with Larry at his heels.
“Now, boy, where did he take her? He should be calling, asking for money, demanding clearance to get away...something. Unless...”
The unless was just grim. She might be a human shield for him, insurance, a hostage for bargaining.
Where? Esposito was still somewhere—he hadn’t gone to the homes where he had sent his assassins to take care of the families of the men who had failed him.
Would he welcome Kenneth Malcolm, anyway?
As he anxiously asked himself questions, he heard Wellington’s voice. “You’re right, Chase, she’s got her phone on her. He’s heading west, out of the city. There’s a small airport there... He’s no good to his cartel king anymore, but he’s got a major payoff on him, and there’s a small airport—”
