Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
It’s not what I want to hear, and I’m not nearly as convinced as he is that Gavin is innocent of wrongdoing. Dash might be a former FBI agent, but I’ve known Gavin for years, and as of late, seen how he’s pushed me to act in his self-interest. I jerk my arm from his and start walking. Gavin is in my sights. He’s all we have right now, and I’m not ready to write him off.
Dash curses and falls into step with me, right as Gavin turns the corner. I’m pumped up and ready to take him down when the doors chime as he enters the bakery side of the store. I’m actually disappointed. I want to hit someone, and he is as good as anyone right now. I follow him inside. Adrianna, one of the owners, is behind the counter and waves in my direction.
Gavin pauses and glances back at us as Dash halts by my side and motions to his favorite corner table. “I’m going to find out if they’ve seen Bella,” I say, not bothering to wait for an answer. I stride to the counter, only to be greeted by Adrianna. She’s a pretty woman, with warm mahogany skin and a beautiful smile she offers me now.
“How are you, Tyler?”
“Have you seen Bella today?”
“No. Why? Is she—I mean, why are you even asking that question?”
“Just call me if she shows up. It’s important.”
Her brows furrow. “Everything okay?”
“No. Everything is not okay. Tell the staff, too.”
“Yes. Yes, okay. Do you need anything at your table?”
“Nothing.” I pull out my money clip and stick a hundred-dollar bill in the tip jar. “For taking up your space.” I give her a nod and turn back to the seating area, to where Dash and Gavin are sitting face-to-face, and glance at my watch.
It’s been almost two hours since that text message. What if two hours and ten minutes is when her captor kills her?
Chapter Sixteen
Tyler
I walk back to the table and watch as Dash takes a call, which of course, is about Bella. My pace quickens, urgency driving my steps. Whatever he knows, I need to know. When I arrive at the table, I slide into the seat that places me in the middle of Dash and Gavin. Dash ends the call and flicks me a look. “No word on Bella. Nothing on the cameras my guys can find that Dierk’s did not, but they’ve connected now and they’re sharing resources.” He then glances, oh so casually at Gavin, and asks, “Do you own a burner phone, Gavin?”
Dash is intelligent, a man who writes bestselling novels, but it’s easy to read his past on the pages of his books. He stood toe-to-toe with the most lethal of killers every day of his life until he left the FBI. He’s smooth and knows how to take people off guard, and based on his question directed at Gavin, I want to know what was said on that phone call with his people more than ever.
I angle toward Gavin. “Yes, Gavin,” I say, “do you own a burner phone?”
Gavin bristles. “I don’t own a burner phone because my work is legit, and I’m not involved in any of this.” He shifts toward me as if he’s inviting me to read him. “The Allen family is trouble. I never liked the idea of you digging around in their history and this—what is happening now—is why. They have a reputation for making people pay for crossing them.”
“And yet you went to the courthouse to get that file,” I point out.
“You weren’t letting it go. And the more I thought about the Allen family, it made no sense to me that we couldn’t find the file that pertains to this case your father is threatening you with. I asked a favor from a friend to help us compare what we have to what is on record.”
“And?” I ask.
“If any case file exists, it’s been wiped from the archives.”
I sit back and breathe out. “Damn it.”
Dash glances between us. “What does that mean to both of you?”
I look skyward and then eye Dash. “It means most likely there were some underhanded actions on the case and my father, who believed in leverage, expected the Allen family would make the files disappear.”
Dash turns his attention to Gavin. “Did they?”
“I’d bet Hawk Senior beat them to it. Then he held them captive if they ever tried to cross him.”
“He was smoother than that,” I argue. “He would have stolen the file, handed it to them, and kept a copy. He’d have sworn he did not, but they’d suspect he did.”
“And when you started nosing around,” Gavin follows, “they weren’t having it. I’m telling you, they did this. They have Bella. Has there been any communication? Have they asked for the file?”