Page 50 of Cooper

“Anything happens to her, man…” I trail off, letting him fill in the blank.

“Jenkins is an expert at this, Cooper. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Just relax.”

“Easy for you to say. That’s not the woman that you love being kidnapped in that minivan.” I seethe. I want to add in that she’s also carrying my baby, but I don’t want to spoil London’s fun.

“I get it, Cooper. Colton would never have had Jenkins on the case if he didn’t think he could handle this shit. We do this kind of stuff a lot. You’d be surprised how many dirtbags are out there, and all of them are after money.” Dalton hangs back, letting the minivan pull out of the parking lot, while another car, I’m assuming is Jenkins, stays at the ready.

We’re five cars behind throughout the whole trip, while Jenkins is only two cars from the minivan. “They hurt her in any way and I’ll kill them all.” I tell him.

“We’re all trained for this shit, Cooper.”

All the Ford boys served in the military. They’re all trained in combat. They know what they’re doing. But all that being said, my stomach is still in knots, knowing that London is in danger. “You’re sure that Bean is safe?”

He nods. “Colton’s got her on a horse with him right as we speak. I just spoke with him not two minutes ago.”

“Good. At least she’s safe. But if we deliver her mother to her in a body bag, I’ll never fucking forgive myself.”

“That’s not going to happen. They won’t hurt her. She’s too valuable to them, especially with James locked up.”

They keep going straight, as though not knowing that they’re being followed. We’re taking side streets, and they’re staying at the posted speed limit. Dalton is careful to stay well behind, while Jenkins is at the ready. “So, what’s the plan? Just keep following them?”

“Yes.” He frowns. “Chances are, they’re taking her to a set place, where they have a computer and a wifi connection. They’re not just going to take her to some random warehouse and call for ransom. There’s nobody to call for that. They know that you haven’t got any money, and they’re not smart enough to follow the trail to us, according to Jenkins. He’s had his eye on all this the whole time. He’s got his ducks in a row.”

“So we just follow them and take them down? What if they’ve got an army of bandits at their location?”

“We’ve got officers ready. Jenkins took care of that. Chances are it’s just a handful of them. And none of them likely have any training beyond hitting a tin can with a beebee gun in their grandmother’s backyard as a kid.”

“What if they don’t?” I ask flatly. “What if they’ve got ex-military, too?”

“Then we’ll be ready, Cooper. This is not our first rodeo, man. And it sure as hell won’t be our last, either.”

I swallow as the minivan veers off, making an abrupt turn right. Dalton speaks into the radio. “Looks like they finally caught on.”

“Stay close, Dalton. If they know, they know. I’ll try to head them off before they reach the highway. The suits are in pursuit on the other side of this block.”

“Copy.” Dalton looks at me. “They’re not swerving around, so it looks pretty clean.”

“Yeah, unless they’ve already offed her.”

“Dude, you’ve got to be more positive. If they get on the highway the cops have it covered. They’re cordoning that area off. There’s no escape. We’re on their tail and the cops have them cornered. It’s just a matter of time.”

I’m not convinced. They’re armed bandits that have the love of my life trapped in a van with them. Nothing Dalton can say will convince me that this is going to end well until I see her with my own two eyes.

Jenkins speaks over the radio. “These guys are not local. They’re heading to Abby Lane. We can box them in there.”

Abby Lane is a cul de sac at the end of a road. There are two ways out but I’m guessing that Jenkins is suggesting we head in one side while he heads in the other side. We see them speed in, but a car in front of us decides to stop, so somebody can get out, and it’s a one-way street. “Fuck!” Dalton shouts, pounding on the horn. The dude exiting the vehicle flips him the bird, but otherwise hurries his ass up, and the car he’s exiting seems just as eager to ditch him, as he speeds off. “Fuck, let a cop be on the other side, man!” He mutters to himself. My fingers are around the barrel of the gun I have tucked in the back of my suit pants pocket.

As we slip inside Abby Lane, Jenkins is tailing them, as they speed through. “Fuck!” Dalton shouts with me, as the minivan nears the end of the cul de sac. “Goddammit!” I curse, and that’s when I see it. A cargo van, painted from one end to the other, with a huge Santa Claus, and some local mission’s logo. He drives in sideways, heading for one of the driveways, forcing the minivan to slam on the brakes.

“You carry?” Dalton speaks quickly.

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” I say, pulling my gun out.

“I hope you’re as quick with that pistol as you are with your tongue.”

“That makes two of us.”

London

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