I start pacing, wracking my brain with all the possibilities. Then it hits me. It’s a long shot, but it’s a chance I’m gonna have to take if I want any chance of seeing Elle alive again.
Grabbing my phone from my jeans pocket, I pull it out and stare at it.
“What B? What is it?” Shay asks. I look over at him and see the concern on his face. He’s never seen me like this; so helpless, so unprepared.
“Evans,” is all I spit out before I bring up the last known number I have for my birth father and push the call button. I don’t care what this call is going to cost me. Whatever he wants, whatever he demands. If he can lead me back to Elle, I’ll do whatever it takes.
“Brax,” he answers, his voice low and controlled.
I take a deep breath, bracing myself for what I’m about to do. “Elle has been kidnapped by Gibbons. You know anything about it?”
“Gibbons?” he sounds shocked.
“Yeah, security footage shows him grabbing her and carrying her towards a car waiting at the back of the restaurant we are at,” I say quickly, wiping the sweat off my forehead. I’m actually nervous now, especially seeing as Evans is my last hope.
“He rang me two days ago. Offered me money to find him a place to hide out for a few days.”
“What? And you didn’t think I needed to know this? Where the f**k is he, Evans? For the love of God, you better hope he hasn’t hurt her!” I yell.
I hear him cuss under his breath. “He’s at one of my safe houses about fifty miles out of town. I’ll text you the address. But no police, Brax. Just you.”
I’m already walking back through the restaurant now. “Shay and Devon will be going with me, but no police. I’ll try throwing them off, but you better not be f**king with me.”
“Okay, Shay and Devon, but that’s it, Brax. I’m deadly serious. I’m in the city, but I can be there in about an hour,” he explains.
“I’m not promising a thing. You know that, right?”
“I’m not asking for anything, Brax. Not this time. Your girl needs you. Move your ass and go get her.”
I hang up, wondering why the hell Evans would suddenly be so interested in my girl’s safety. He’s far from the perfect father figure; I wonder why he’s suddenly all about his family? First, he was telling me to give Sylvia a chance and how he’s been keeping track of her all these years, and now this. I shake my head and walk inside to find Shay and Devon waiting at the bar.
“We off?” Shay asks.
“Yup. Need to lose the cops, though. He’s at Evans’ safe house just outta town. He’s gonna send me the address and meet us there. I’m going now. You guys can either stay or come with me, but you better make your minds up now because I’m walking out the door and going to get my car.”
They both nod and follow me out of the restaurant, leaving the police behind. Our sole focus is on getting Elle back and dealing with Gibbons, once and for f**king all.
20
We run the three blocks back to the apartment building. I race upstairs and grab my gun, jacket, and car keys, then take the stairs two at a time until I’m in the basement parking lot where Devon and Shay are waiting for me by my car.
“You okay, bro?” Shay asks, his voice laced with concern.
“No, but I will be when I get her back. Let’s do this.” I unlock the car, and we all jump in.
I check my phone for the address Evans texted me and turn the key; the V8 engine roars to life. I put the address into my GPS and pull out of the parking space, steering the car up the ramp and out on the road. I’m resisting the urge to gun it and speed off. We don’t want to attract any attention until we get Elle back and know she’s safe.
Once we’re on the freeway, I put my foot down and floor it. My mustang jumps to life, and the speedometer jumps up to one hundred miles an hour in no time. The GPS says we’re forty minutes out. I think these are going to be the longest forty minutes of my life.
I’m sitting in the passenger seat beside Brax as we speed towards some abandoned house in the middle of nowhere.
“You gonna be okay, Brax? Dealing with this? Because D and I can go in and handle this. We’ll neutralize him and bring her out to you.” My voice is full of concern. I’ve seen Brax lose his shit before, and it’s never pretty.
“I’ll be fine, Shay,” he replies through gritted teeth. I see his grip tighten on the steering wheel while he glances at the GPS again. We must only be a few miles out now.
“Okay, I’m gonna call Victor and let him know what’s going on.”
“You do that,” he replies deadpan. He’s not himself right now, and I completely understand why. I’ve been where he is. I know how he feels. Maybe that’s half the problem.
“Boss, its Shay,” I say when he answers.
“What’s the situation?” his gruff voice reverberates through me.
“Gibbons is hiding out at one of Evans’ safe houses. We’re headed there now, probably only five minutes out.”
“And how the f**k did that prick Evans get involved?”
“From what I understand, Gibbons rang him a few days ago asking for help.”
“Fucking hell. Okay, I can’t do much from down here, but you call me if you need anything,” he states firmly. “And Shay, keep Brax in check. You know as well as I do that he’s likely to lose it when you get there.”
“I know. I’m on it. Devon’s here too. Will update you when I know more, okay?” I say.
He murmurs in agreement. “Sounds good, Shay. And for god’s sake, be f**king careful.”
I end the call and put my phone back in my pocket. I need to have it close in case shit hits the fan.
“It’s just over that rise,” Brax says, pointing ahead of us. He pulls the car off to the side and turns it off.
“What’s the plan?” he asks, turning towards both of us.
“You’re asking us?” Devon replies as he leans forward from the back seat. “B, this is your call. The whole takedown is up to you. The way we play it, and the way it ends, bro.”
Devon’s words mimic the thoughts racing through my brain. This is not just another job. It’s not like any other take down we’ve been involved in. Hell, Devon’s probably used to situations like this more than Brax and I put together.
“We need to leave the car here and go the rest of the way by foot. He’ll hear the car if we go any closer. One of you can run back and grab it if we need to get Elle out of there quickly. Devon, you take the front, and Shay, you and I will check out the side and back. Have your guns ready, but don’t you dare f**king shoot anywhere near Elle. We don’t know if he’s alone, so we have to presume that anyone we come across could be working with him. Understood?” Brax looks at both of us for confirmation.