Warrick Read online

  Warrick studied Tanner. “Did the cops send anybody to escort her?”

  Tanner shook his head. “She didn’t tell anyone but hospital staff. One of them called Tesla. Nina said she wouldn’t be home longer than five minutes, and then she’d be on her way to the airport. Which, of course, we know won’t work at all.”

  Warrick looked up, caught the waitress’s eye, and within seconds they were paying the bill and rushing out of the restaurant.

  “Why would she do that?” Penny asked. “She knows he’s still out there.”

  “She also knows he’s not trying to kill her. He wants the money.”

  “Sure, but what’ll he do to get it?” she asked bleakly.

  With her tucked into the car, Warrick pulled out of the parking lot and following her directions toward Nina’s house. He already knew it would be bad before they got there. He didn’t know how long it had been since Nina had been released, but it was too damn long, and he was pretty damn sure George was already after her, if he didn’t already have her.

  Chapter 10

  Penny watched the houses race by. She pulled out her phone and sent Nina a text. Where are you? Why didn’t you stay at the hospital? There was no response. She hit the Call button. “Pick up, damn you, pick up.”

  She caught Warrick’s glance and shook her head as the ringing went on and on. Penny was going to be sick with that heavy breakfast sitting in her stomach as she worried over Nina’s state.

  “Surely he wouldn’t have hurt her already,” she said.

  “Depends if he snatched her or not.”

  She hung up the phone when Warrick’s phone rang. He looked at the screen. “Answer that, please. It’s Tanner.”

  “Tanner, this is Penny. What’s up?”

  “I just talked to the police. They didn’t know Nina had left the hospital. She was afraid somebody from the hospital or somebody from the police station would let the cat out of the bag, and somehow George would find out.”

  “I’ve been calling her and already sent several texts,” she said, “but there’s been absolutely no response.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Tanner said. “We’re on the way. Just stay positive.”

  She hung up, placed the phone back on the dash between them and relayed the gist of the conversation to Warrick.

  “I can see her doing that more than I can see her saying, I don’t want security,” he admitted. “She’d have to slip out, grab a cab, get home, grab a few things, and then maybe stay with the same cab and go right to the airport.”

  “I guess. She can always come back later and clean up the house, sell her car or drive the car to wherever she is going.”

  “Exactly.”

  He pulled up outside Nina’s house. The drive had taken longer than she had expected. Just enough Saturday morning traffic slowed them down.

  She checked her watch. She’d canceled her first yoga session today. There wasn’t enough time now for that. She raced to the front door and pounded on it, hitting the doorbell several times. But there was an empty, desolate look to the house.

  Warrick was behind her, walking up and down the veranda, looking in the windows. “Do you know how to get into her place?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Reach up to the top of that doorframe, will you?”

  He dragged his fingers along the top and nodded when he pulled down a key. “How many people know about that?”

  She shrugged. “I did, and probably George did. She was forever losing her keys.”

  He shook his head but unlocked the door. He stepped in front of her. “You wait here.”

  She reached out and grabbed his arm. “You wait for Tanner.”

  He looked down at her in surprise.

  She shook her head. “I’m serious. Remember? George’s already killed two cops.”

  “She’s got a point,” Tanner said from behind them. Of course he had a cheeky grin on his face. He looked at Warrick. “You go high. I’ll go low.”

  The men jumped through the front door. She stayed pinned in place outside, hating that she couldn’t see what was going on inside.

  Just when she was ready to peer in, Warrick’s head popped out the door, scaring her. She gave a shriek, clasping her hand to her chest. “Oh, my God. You scared me.”

  He grabbed her hand and tugged her into the house. “Nobody seems to be here. I want your help in determining if she’s taken anything, if she’s managed to get home and is gone already.”

  She wandered through the lower floor. “It all looks normal here.” In the kitchen a couple cups were on the side counter with a dish in the sink. She opened the fridge and found nothing fresh or new. Or was there? She stopped, took a look at the side door and frowned. “There’s milk here.”

  Warrick looked at her in surprise. “And?”

  “Nina can’t drink milk. She has a dairy intolerance.”

  He closed the fridge, put a finger to his lips, snagged Tanner, who was going through the cupboards and told him about the milk. In a low voice Warrick asked, “Is there a basement?”

  She frowned. “Yes, I think so. This home is one of the older houses. I don’t even know that it’s earthquake proof.” She leaned forward. “Did you guys look upstairs?”

  They nodded. “Checked the closets and under the bed too,” Tanner confirmed. He looked at the back window. “What kind of car does Nina have?”

  It took her a moment. “A Volkswagen Beetle, last year’s model I think.”

  Tanner nodded. “It’s parked in the back toward the alley gate.”

  She walked over and peeked out the back kitchen window. “Well, that’s it. But she never parks there. She always parks on the street.”

  “That’s if she’s driving,” Tanner whispered. “But what if somebody else was? Somebody who’s trying to keep a low profile?”

  Warrick had his phone out, already sending a text.

  She leaned over to see he was letting the police know. She glanced at the two men and swallowed hard. “Are we seriously thinking he’s still in the house?”

  “I don’t know,” Tanner said, “but we need to make a big show of leaving so he feels secure.”

  Warrick nodded. “We also need to get Penny somewhere safe.”

  “What difference does it make where I am?” She frowned at them. “Because I’ll be with you guys.”

  Both men just looked at her with those straight bland faces she was coming to hate.

  “You mean, I’m not coming with you?”

  “We’ll come back into the house and wait for him to come out of his hiding spot,” Warrick said quietly. “He’s got weapons. We don’t. We need to catch him by surprise.”

  They motioned her to walk toward the front door.

  They made lots of noise and called out, “Nobody is here.”

  “Okay, good enough.”

  On the front step Warrick whispered to her, “Now go straight to the car and lock yourself in.”

  He handed her the keys and waited until she got down the stairs and to the vehicle. The car was just around the corner, two houses down.

  She slid into the passenger side, locked the door, slumped down on the seat and groaned. Damn men. She knew they were doing what they felt they needed to do, but she was really tired of them always putting themselves in danger. She crossed her arms and tried to still her panicky breath and waited.

  *

  At Tanner’s nod, the two of them crept back inside. They spread out on opposite sides of the living room, keeping to the wall where the main view would be better. They didn’t know how long it would take but figured they’d need at least ten or fifteen minutes before anybody would exit whatever hidey-hole they had found. Hidden around the corners, out of sight as much as they could be, they waited.

  Warrick had a good view of the upstairs staircase and the basement door going downstairs across from him. On the other side, hidden behind a massive armchair, was Tanner. They could see each other and send text messages or even hand signals as t
hey waited.

  It only took eight minutes before the basement door slowly opened.

  Warrick held up his finger to Tanner. When a disheveled man slipped around the corner, Warrick realized the man living in Nina’s house was George. That was the good news. What they really needed to know was where the hell Nina was.

  George walked quietly forward, carrying two pistols in his hands. He walked up to the front of the house and peered out the living room window. Warrick hoped to God that Penny had slouched down in the vehicle so she couldn’t be seen.

  As George stared out the living room window, his face twisted into an ugly dark sadistic mask. “Bitch.” And he headed for the front door.

  He must have seen some sign of Penny in the car. And they were out of time. As soon as he put one of his weapons into his belt at the back in order to reach for the front door, Warrick jumped him. He took him down, slamming his head against the doorjamb, the gun going off aimlessly into the flooring. As soon as George was down, Warrick pulled his hands behind his back and disarmed him. “Call the cops.”

  Tanner picked up both weapons and made the call.

  George was only stunned, however. And he started swearing and resisting. But, with Warrick’s knee in the center of his back and his hands twisted behind him, George couldn’t do a whole lot.

  With the call over, Tanner raced into the kitchen and came back. “She has zip ties.” He looped several together until they were wide enough to get around George’s ankles and wrists.

  When Warrick rolled him over, George spat at him. Warrick grinned down. “That’s all you can do now.” He shook his head. “Wow, aren’t you a badass?”

  And that set off George. With Tanner and Warrick standing guard, George lost it, screaming and yelling obscenities and threats until he finally ran down and lay gasping on the floor. “Let my arms go. They hurt,” he whined.

  “No. No way I’m letting you loose again,” Warrick said. “If for nothing else, for Tabitha’s sake and the two cops you killed.”

  George glared at him, but he was still heaving, his breathing rough and agonized.

  “Where the hell is Nina?” Warrick asked.

  George’s gaze lit up with a maniacal light. “No fucking idea,” he roared.

  But Warrick wasn’t so sure he believed him. He looked at Tanner. “You good here?”

  Tanner nodded. He rolled George over and sat down on his back. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  George shouted obscenities again, but Warrick headed for the basement door. Turning on the lights, he raced down the stairs, and, sure enough, there was Nina, blood pooling underneath her body. But it wasn’t a ton. She did appear to be conscious. He dropped to his knees beside her. She moaned.

  “Nina,” he whispered. “Easy girl, we’ve got you. You’re safe now.”

  Nina opened her eyes and groaned. “George caught me at home. I think he was living here,” she said, her voice full of fear.

  “We caught George,” he said. “Tanner has him tied up in the living room, and the cops are on the way.”

  She sagged back onto the floor. “Oh, thank God. He’s lost it. He’s completely psycho.”

  Warrick checked her over and found she had a head wound, and she’d ripped open her stitches on the side of her neck. “Back to the hospital with you.”

  She sobbed quietly. “I just wanted to get away. I felt like I would get caught any minute at the hospital. Every time the door opened or there was a voice outside my room, I was petrified it was him coming after me again.”

  Warrick understood. “But now you’ve got to heal from this latest attack, and, as long as he’s in jail, you should be okay.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “But those loan sharks … He was worried about them before. He said they were coming after him and would take me hostage to get the money if they couldn’t get him.”

  Warrick winced. “Let’s just be grateful you’re okay.”

  She sat up slowly, holding her head. “I don’t feel so good,” she said.

  He laid her back down again. “You just wait here. We’ll get an ambulance for you.”

  He had his phone out and called the detective on the case. “We’ve got George tied up at Nina’s house, and I found Nina in her basement. She’s injured, and we need an ambulance for her.”

  “Just talked to Tanner,” the detective said. “Officers are on the way. I didn’t know about the ambulance though.”

  “Nina’s got a head wound. Some of her previous stitches are ripped open. I’m not exactly sure what else.” He swore as he checked her over further. “She’s got a bullet graze on her shoulder. Still looking.” He moved his hands over her body, doing a quick search. “I think that’s it.”

  “We’re all on our way. Just hold down the fort until we get there.”

  He stayed at Nina’s side until he heard the cops pull up. He asked her, “Are you okay if I go greet them? I need to direct them here to you.”

  She smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

  He raced up the stairs, pushed open the door and called for two cops to come down to the basement. The others were handcuffing George, who was still lying on the floor. Warrick called out to Tanner, “I found Nina. Though injured, she’s alive.”

  “Awesome,” Tanner said. He stepped back, and an officer led George outside. They weren’t being terribly gentle, but then why should they? He had killed two of their own.

  Warrick raced back downstairs to help Nina. “I’ve called for an ambulance,” he said to the cops already downstairs. “I don’t really want to move her. Every time she moves, it hurts.”

  The men nodded and asked him questions about what had happened. He gave as much information as he could, but, when he heard the ambulance, he bolted back upstairs. When he saw an EMT pull a gurney inside, the other racing ahead with a medical bag, he called them down to Nina’s side. Then he was asked to step out of the way. Seeing she was in good hands, he worked his way through the crowd, back up the stairs where he found Tanner. The detective had him pinned in the corner, getting as much information as he could from him.

  The detective looked up and said, “Warrick, I need to talk to you.”

  Warrick nodded. “Give me a minute. I’m getting Penny from the car.”

  He ran outside to the car, feeling freer and happier than he had in a long time. This was exactly what Penny needed. And now that Nina didn’t have to worry about George anymore, everything was good. He pulled open the passenger door and froze. She wasn’t here. He crouched down and looked inside the front seat and then into the back. The car was empty.

  He spun around. “Penny,” he called, but there was no answer. “Penny,” he called again. No answer. He picked up his phone and texted her. To his horror he heard the responding ping from inside the car. He found her phone sitting on the floor just under the passenger seat. But there was absolutely no sign of Penny.

  He ran back to the detective only to have cops holding up George’s phone. “This is ringing.”

  Warrick snatched it from the detective’s hand and answered it. “What do you want?” he snarled. He clicked Speaker, and the voice on the phone filled the air. “If you want your bitch back, you’ll make sure you get the money we need.”

  “What bitch?”

  “We’re not stupid. We know perfectly well George is in the cop car, and you’re the one talking to us. We can see you.”

  Everyone turned and saw a vehicle drive off in the distance.

  “We’ve got your lovely Penny, as she calls herself. But we need a hundred Gs. We need it now.”

  “Where?” he said urgently. “Where do you want to do the drop?”

  “We’ll call you back in an hour. Make sure you’re the one who answers the call.”

  Just then Nina was brought up the stairs into the living room. Warrick turned to her. “The loan sharks have taken Penny.”

  She cried out, “On, my God. George’s damage is never done, is it?”

  “We have to get Penny
back.”

  She nodded. “I don’t know how I can help though.”

  “They want the money that’s owed to them.”

  She winced and looked at the detective. “I have money, but it’s not something I can access easily. I don’t know how much George has. Can you take his money?”

  “We have money,” the detective said. “But it’ll have to go with GPS trackers. And I have to get a hell of a lot of authorization to make this happen.”

  “Well, you got fifty-five minutes,” Warrick said in a hard voice. “Or I’m contacting my navy buddies, and we’ll do a private mission. It might look like money passes hands, but it’ll be a hell of a lot uglier as soon as we arrive.”

  The detective stared him down. “This is a police issue.”

  “It’s my girlfriend’s issue,” he said. “And I’ll be damned if I’m letting these assholes keep her. Not now that I found her. Penny’s coming home safe and sound. No other ending is allowed.”

  Chapter 11

  Penny woke slowly, lying facedown on a floor. The pain in her head pounded at the back of her eyeballs, as if someone was screaming to get out. She moaned softly, her hand going to her temple. When her fingers came away sticky, she stared in disbelief. Her brain was fuzzy, struggling to comprehend what had happened. She’d been sitting in the car, waiting for Warrick and Tanner. She’d slunk down low, hoping not to be seen by anybody passing by.

  Then cops had arrived, and she’d opened the window to get some fresh air, believing it was all okay now.

  As she lay here in the darkness, she cast her mind back to remember what had happened. She vaguely remembered a shadow approaching, and the door opening. And then pain exploding on the side of her head. She shuddered as ripples of agony shifted up and down her head. She let her hand drop to hit the floor, the movement itself jarring her body and sending yet more waves of pain through her head. A greasy sick feeling wafted up her throat. She struggled to hold back the bile. She breathed deep through her nose, desperate to control the vomit from spewing.

  As she quietly lay on her stomach, trying not to move, she listened for sounds of anything to determine where she was. Was she alone? Was she guarded? Had somebody else been taken hostage with her? Nina?