Page 53 of Saving Bonnie

Like I expected, the inside is all beat up. The place even smells old. The first room has a copy machine and a long table in the corner. They probably had people coming through this thing for years.

“We can wait in here.” He points to some raggedy chairs with the covers coming off the corners of dirty cushions. “Rick should be back in a few.”

No way I’m sitting on those.

Sergio’s phone rings. “It’s my girl.” He takes a couple of steps toward the next room then turns on a heel. “Let me grab this.” He leaves, hitting the steps with a loud clang.

Iz grabs a chair, but I shove my hands in my pockets and shoot out a breath. I walk over, checking the door to the other half of the building. The door isn’t completely closed, so I push it open with two fingers.

“What are you doing?” Iz says, shooting up from his chair.

“Shh.” I wave at him to be quiet as I put my head through the opening. The room is empty, with a desk, computer, and a couple of chairs in better shape than the ones by the copier.

I stroll over, all cool, to check the computer. He left it open to some spreadsheet with a bunch of orders for people. “Yes.” After a fist pump, I roll up to the computer.

Mom’s got me on this fucking old piece-of-shit phone with no Internet. I haven’t been able to log on for days. Grabbing the chair, I pull myself closer and settle in behind the desk.Click. I’m online.Click. I’m entering my user ID.Tab.I type in my password, my heart racing in anticipation.

Now for some quality time with my cam girls.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Tino

“Oh my God. Oh my God. I have good news and bad news. I’ll start with the good news,” Kassy rambles as I’m coming down the stairs from the plane. “You were right. Conrado was in Mexico.”

“We got him?” I tighten my grip on the cell as I continue toward the parking lot.

“Well, we got them on camera,” she says, slowing.

Frustration tears through me as he slips through my fingers again.

“The facial-recognition picked up our guys at the bridge a little while ago. I sent Cord after them.”

Fucking marshal. Of course he had something to do with this. “Okay.”

“But…”

And I knew there’d be a “but.”

“He got caught behind an accident around the corner from the café.”

Shit. The streets around us are all one ways with parking along the street and narrow sidewalks. If you’re blocked in, you’re not going nowhere.

“Why wasn’t he the first car parked on the street?” At seven, downtown is basically closed unless you’re going across the border. So parking isn’t much of an issue.

“He was, but someone parked ahead of him, in the red zone. A bunch of girls dropping off decorations to the party room in the corner building.

“Meanwhile, I followed the car, but the cameras don’t go more than a few blocks past the courthouse,” she whines.

“He could have cut across and grabbed IH35 or headed south side.” With any luck, she can catch him on a camera.

“They didn’t go south,” she says with certainty. “I tapped the cameras at every intersection before the ramp to the highway.”

“So they didn’t get on 35 at all.”

“I never saw the car. But Frank’s sitting on the apartment, just in case.”

Of all the times for me to have been away. My shoulders stiffen as frustration rips into me.

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