“Move. Over,” Joker demands, pushing me from behind the steering wheel.
I numbly move over the console and into the passenger seat, staring at the phone. Willing it to show the figure leaving. But it doesn’t happen.
“Ranger,” Joker says my name, but I can’t respond. “Cross,” he tries again. “Fucking Jonathan!”
I finally look at him. He tosses his phone at me as he starts up the truck and peels out of the spot, leaving his bike behind.
“Call Daniel. Call him now. Tell him what just happened.”
I follow his orders, bringing up Daniel’s contact information and hitting call.
“This is Allen, what’s up fucker?”
“Is that how you talk to all your employees?” Joker asks, but the seriousness in his voice alerts Daniel.
“What’s wrong.”
“Elle,” I croak out at the same time Joker says, “Ginny.”
“Need your help. Please,” I beg the man on the other end of the line. “Please help us. A person followed them through the studio door and I can’t see what’s going on, but I don’t think it’s good. Please, Daniel. Help me.”
He huffs out a humorless laugh. “I’ve been waiting six years for you to call me, motherfucker. And it’s to beg? You don’t have to beg, man. Of course I’m going to help. But I also expect a real phone call when whatever is going on is over.”
“You got it. I’m sorry.”
“No need for all that shit. Where are you versus where they are?”
“We’re forty-five minutes out,” I tell him.
“Thirty!” Joker yells. “I’m pushing a hundred.”
“Don’t get yourself killed on the way, idiot!”
“Ginny’s afraid of the dark. If she was already panicking and that’s why they ran to the studio, she’s not okay. And I think it’s about to storm,” Joker replies.
“I hear you. I’m on my way. I’ll meet you there. Be safe.”
He disconnects the call, and I take a deep breath. “We have to save them. They have to be alright.”
“They will be. Between Scrappy and Pixie Scrappy, no man stands a chance. None of us are smart enough to win against them solo. Imagine what two of them will do together,” Joker tells me.
“Just get us there,” I repeat before trying to call Davis and Tiny. Both calls go to voicemail, and I wonder what kind of storm we’re running into as the first drops of water hit the windows. “Rain? It wasn’t supposed to rain tonight,” I mumble to myself.
“Guess mother nature changed her mind. Fickle bitch.”
Chapter 31
Elle
I race with Ginnyto the studio in the night. Part of it is to help her get over her panic. The other is because no matter what I see, I feel like we’re being followed. Like there are eyes watching us. And then the rain starts to fall.
“It wasn’t supposed to rain,” Ginny yells from five feet in front of me. Girl can run.
“I know!” I yell back, trying like hell to catch up with her.
We race up the stairs and I open the door with my thumb like Joker showed me and we push inside together, giggling our relief at being inside and having lights.
“We made it,” Ginny exhales. She’s barely out of breath.