Page 43 of Draven

Louise nods glumly, and her shoulders droop when she walks away from the busy reception area. As soon as she’s out of sight, I call Rick, who answers immediately, the sound of a car engine in the background meaning he’s definitely on the move.

“Where are you?” I ask.

“On route to the warehouse. The feds should be there by now. You’d better catch me up because if I’ve got dead bodies, I need to have an explanation at the ready.”

I start at the beginning while Rick listens quietly.

When I finish, he whistles through his teeth. “Sister gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know. The gunshot to her leg didn’t look bad, but she was pretty out of it. All the women were. Heroin, I’d guess. Or meth, maybe.”

“How’s Louise holding up?”

“Not great. She’s on the phone to her parents now.”

“Fuck. Not a conversation I’d want to have.”

“No.”

“You should have called it in.”

I rake a hand through my hair. “Based on what? Until I found the warehouse and saw that the women were being kept in the basement, I only had a hunch to go on. You think the feds would move on a hunch?”

“We’ll never know now, will we?”

I rub the back of my neck. “Screw you, Rick. Whatever happens, I’m comfortable with what I did.”

“Jeez, that hit a nerve.”

“And on that note, I’m going. Call me when you know what’s happening.”

I hang up. Rick is a good friend, but he can also be irritating as fuck, and right now, I’m not in the mood to be spoken to like a goddamn child.

“Any news?”

I lift my head from where I’m glaring at my phone’s blank screen to find Louise standing in front of me. She’s pale as alabaster, and there are dried tears on her face.

I shake my head, indicating for her to take a seat. “How’re your parents?”

“Devastated. They’re on their way.” She gestures to my arm. “You should get that checked out.”

“Nah. Bullet barely kissed me. I’ll patch it up later.”

She bends forward, allowing her head to fall into her waiting hands, and her shoulders shake. I rub her back in comforting circles. I’d normally run a mile from weeping women, but Louise’s quiet distress brings out the protectionist in me. I’d give anything to take away her pain, except I can’t.

Without warning, she sits up straight and stiffens her spine. Dabbing the pads of her fingers to her damp cheeks, she dries her tears, then links her fingers together, laying them calmly in her lap. “I need to pull myself together. My parents will be here soon.”

“Hopefully by then, we’ll have good news.”

She nods somberly, falling into silence, with her gaze fixed on the wall on the far side of the reception area.

“I called Rick.”

She twists her head in my direction. “And?”

“Feds will be crawling all over the place by now. He’s going to call me as soon as he has news.”

“That’s good.” She nibbles on her bottom lip. “That’s good.”

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