Page 24 of Rugged Fox

Two hours of sleep was going to have to cut it. I was hoping for more like five; I'd functioned on much less, but after staying awake all night, my mind had other plans, it would seem.

I couldn't stop thinking about Kati, and what Lyla had said. I had been so close yesterday morning to asking Kati if she wanted to go out one night, but then she went and choked on her coffee. I took it as a sign that it wasn't the right time to ask, so I made it seem like I wasn't interested.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. If it had been one of my friends pulling that kind of nonsense, I would’ve smacked them upside the head.

My physical reaction to her was borderline obsessive at this point. When I wasn't near her, I wanted to be and she was all I thought about. Life was about to become very awkward if she didn't return even a tenth of the emotions I was feeling. I wasn't sure how long I could use the excuse of protecting her as a reason to be near her.

And if I wasn't near her, then I needed to know she was alright.

"I thought you were supposed to be sleeping?" Hendrix answered the phone, in lieu of hello.

"I was too wired to sleep. How's Kati?" I didn't bother to hide the desperation to get information. If there was any of my friends who understood me, it was Hendrix. On a good day, he was just shy of crazy anyway.

"Pissed when I informed her I would be following her to the grocery store and any other errands she had to run this morning."

That sounded par for the course. Kati wasn't thrilled about her situation and I couldn't blame her. No one wanted to have their life turned upside down.

"My fridge and cabinets are pretty bare. I should probably do my own grocery shopping. Got any good recommendations?"

Hendrix's evil laugh was exactly what I expected when I asked the question. But it didn't stop him from giving me the name of the store Kati was headed to.

"Thanks, man."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and give Nolen a call. He has some information he wants to go over with you."

I didn't have any missed calls or texts from my co-worker, so whatever the information was couldn't be that important.

"I'll call him on the way to the store. Anything else I need to know?"

"You left barely three hours ago. What exactly do you think could've happened in that short period of time?"

Anything really. I had thought Kati would be safe at work but I was proven wrong yesterday. Whoever was tormenting her was upping their game and that was dangerous. The fact that local authorities didn't know of anyone from Los Cangris operating in the area, or recruiting, only further worried me. These guys weren't known for keeping a low profile. A change of M.O. was concerning.

"Fuck off. I'll see you soon."

I grabbed my keys and wallet off the kitchen counter. The apartment I rented was nothing more than a small studio. I didn't care about space; I had only one stipulation when I was searching for a place. The lease needed to be on a month-to-month basis. I wanted time to find the right house to purchase without being locked into a long lease that would prevent me from moving when I found something. Small towns weren't known for having a lot of apartments available, but I got lucky. One of the residents had a studio above their garage. They needed the extra cash to pay for their daughter to go to college, and I got a nice place to crash for the time being.

I jumped into my SUV and called Nolen as soon as I started the vehicle. I was impatient to see Kati again, despite it only being a few hours. Calling my co-worker was simply a way to pass the time and keep my mind occupied. At least, it started out that way until I heard what he had to say.

"Come again?"

I knew I was running on very little sleep, but it would have to be a good two or three days of barely any sleep at all before my mind started playing tricks on me.

"Alejandro Diaz was stabbed in prison early this morning. He's currently in critical condition."

Holy shit.

"A man like that usually has protection inside. Before he went to prison, Alejandro had a reputation for being ruthless. I didn't think anyone messed with him. How the fuck did someone manage to stab him bad enough that he landed in critical condition?"

Ruthless was even too tame of a word for the man. Reputations had a way of being exaggerated in some instances but the things people said about Alejandro made the devil sound like an angel.

"The guards thought the same. Fourteen years and no one ever messed with him. Until today."

"Did they say what happened? Was it a solitary attack or during a riot?"

A million questions raced through my head at once. Did this have to do with his gang trying to recruit Lucien?

"It happened during a riot. The guards aren't sure if he was caught in the attack or if the riot was used to cover up the attack. No one else was seriously hurt, so my first guess is Alejandro was the target."

---