Page 33 of Reckless

“Hired goons,” Xavier said. “Or, as slimy as these two are, maybe they saw her and decided to take her.”

“No,” Eve said, “that doesn’t match up with the shot taken at you.”

“I agree,” Ash said. “Serena, find out whom they’ve worked for in the past—any other known associates. Dig into their bank accounts and anything else you can find about them.”

Her brow wrinkled in concentration, Serena was already clicking away as she said, “On it.”

Grabbing the phone on the table in front of him, Ash punched in a number, and Kate answered immediately.

“Hey, Ash, good to hear from you. Are you back home with Jules and Josh yet?”

“No. We’ve had a development.”

“Okay.” In an instant, her voice went from easygoing to serious. “What’s wrong?”

“Jazz has been abducted. We don’t know who or?—”

Before he could say anything else, Kate snapped, “Call you back.” The line went dead.

Everyone stared at the phone in Ash’s hand as if it would give them answers.

“What the hell?” Eve asked. “Did Kate just hang up on you?”

His face morphing from confusion into a severe thundercloud, he growled, “So it would seem.”

Distracting them from their confusion at Kate’s unexpected reaction to the news about Jazz, another alert sounded on Serena’s phone. When her face paled, Xavier felt his heart plummet.

“What?” he barked.

“A dark blue van was found in the parking lot of an industrial landfill. Two men with bullets in their heads were found in the front seat. They’ve been identified as Alton Nix and Joey Holms.”

So the two leads they’d had were already gone, leaving them with nothing other than the knowledge that Jazz had been taken by someone who didn’t mind killing to cover up the crime.

Where the hell was she?

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Chicago

She had been here for five days, and she wanted out. Now!

The first night she had barely slept, dozing only intermittently. Every odd sound woke her. She wasn’t usually afraid of the dark, but she had discovered that there was darkness, and then there was the total absence of light. An overcast sky had obscured even the moon that night, and she’d had only the sounds of crickets and the distant howls of coyotes to keep her company.

At about noon the next day, someone had shown up. She hadn’t had water or food in over twenty-four hours and had felt like a ravenous beast. When he’d shoved a paper bag filled with a cold hamburger, fries, and a melted milkshake at her, she had grabbed it and devoured the food like a starving animal. She hadn’t cared if he reported back to the asshole that she’d appeared desperate. Keeping up her strength was her only way to get out of here, and she would do what she had to do to make that happen.

The smug bastard had left without a word, and she’d been alone again. That day might have been the longest, because she had no idea when he would be coming back.

The meal had given her a needed boost, but she had been desperate for more. The asshole had made sure he’d furnished her with a toothbrush and toothpaste, but brushing her teeth without water was almost impossible. Especially when her mouth had felt like a desert.

In the middle of the night, an unexpected rainstorm had arrived. Using the cup that had held the shake, she captured enough to fill it twice, finally satisfying her desperate thirst for water and giving her the opportunity to use the toothpaste and brush the creep had so thoughtfully provided.

And since she was feeling decidedly grubby from sweating in the summer heat, she had removed her clothes and taken a shower in the rain. It wasn’t the first time she’d had a rain bath. When she’d lived on the streets, it had sometimes been all the cleanliness she’d had for weeks at a time. Occasionally, she could sneak into the bathrooms at the Y and grab a quick shower before anyone noticed her. Even though there were several homeless shelters in Chicago, she had avoided them. If any responsible adult saw a kid alone, without parental supervision, they would have had to call child services. Getting into the system was the last thing she had wanted.

The rain bath had perked up her spirits, and she had slept much better once the rain had stopped.

The next day, no one had shown up. She had saved a cup of water from the rain and had sipped on it when her stomach grumbled. In those minutes, she had actually found herself laughing. These people had no idea who they were dealing with. She had lived on the streets of Chicago for two years. She had known hunger, thirst, and a filth so deep, she’d doubted even the occasional shower she’d managed to sneak in had done more than clean the surface dirt. It had been hellish, brutal, and often humiliating, but she had learned lessons that would last her a lifetime.

These bastards could not and would not defeat Jasmine McAlister.

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