Page 120 of Frisco

“He okay?”

Corvette nodded quickly, his eyes skimming over Kali, who wasn’t reacting. “Boss. Shot one of the guys, but he said there was a guy in the van that looked burned. Machete was hit, but they don’t think it’s serious. Bullet went right through him. They’re taking him to the hospital now.”

“Okay. Tell Stripes. I want six of our guys with him at the hospital. Once he’s cleared, he’s going to be hightailing it after Claudia. We need to figure out the situation before he gets there.”

Corvette nodded, relaying my orders to Crow.

Kali spoke up. “It’s the guys who took me and Aly. We got away, but they can’t go back without hostages. So they’re rounding up who they can. I mean, I don’t know, but it’s a hunch. Makes sense. How many times are people kidnapped? Can’t be a coincidence.”

Tracey. Now Claudia. Two females for two females.

I shared a hard look with Boise, who was coming back. “You hear all that?”

“Most of it. Team still has eyes on Estrada. He is sitting tight in Texas, in the Valley.”

I nodded, but dammit I did not like that. “He’s protected more down there than anywhere else.”

“What’s your call, Acting President?”

At the term, Roadie, who’d come over, and Corvette looked at me a little different. They grew more serious, more alert, less panicked. I looked at Kali and she was watching me back, still steady, the same look she had at the hospital and in the truck. She was waiting.

She wanted vengeance.

First things first, though. “We need to alert all the clubs between here and Texas. Estrada’s guys got those hostages for a reason, to take back to Estrada. I want them stopped. Hostages rounded up, safely, and I want all of his men still alive. Send the word out.”

Boise, Corvette, and Roadie all got to work, sending out the texts.

“Boss,” Roadie was texting as he spoke up. “Computer guys hacked into the transportation system. They’re checking street cams, but picked up a speeding van ten miles from Frisco. Makes sense if those are the guys who hit Machete.”

Relief flooded me, but something else too. Something darker. Something harder. Something that I didn’t like was inside of me. “I want the exact coordinates. We’re going to converge on that van and we’re going to do it the same damn style we’ve done in the past. Organized and smart.” Which meant, we just found our first battle.

I turned for Kali, and it’s like she knew. She started backing up, shaking her head. “Don’t cut me out. Not now. They have my family. And my sister.”

I shared a look with Granddad, sending him an unspoken question.

He got it, raising his hand, and he gave me a nod.

“Kali.”

“No, Shane!”

“Kali.” I lowered my head, drawing closer to her. “You got a concussion. I don’t care if it’s a slight one or not, it’s still a concussion. I made myself a promise when I discovered you missing. I told myself that I’d never put you in harm’s way again, not intentional or unintentional. Now, some of that I can’t hold to, but I gotta try for my own heart. You hearing me?”

“No,” she cried out, a single tear slipping and falling down her cheek. “I can handle it. I’m a nurse. I know my own head.”

My girl. She never once brushed the tear aside. Didn’t think she even knew it was there.

“They have Harper. Justin.” There were deep sobs in her voice, but she was holding them back. “Claudia will probably rip them apart, but Harper. Not Harper.”

“I know.” I moved in, my hands closing around her arms. I just needed to touch her, but I made a point not to make her feel like I was closing her in. I was learning or it was cementing she had an issue with that. “But I gotta go do what you’ve been getting all those warnings about me, with what we do. I need you safe, and baby, how your head is, you would not be safe with me.”

She let out a growl. “Goddammit, Shane.”

“I know.” I motioned to Granddad. “He’s going to stay with you while we go.” To him, I said, “I’d be worried about the both of you here. We got guys in Frisco. I’d feel better if the both of you were there.”

Granddad tightened his mouth, taking in his place, the big ring of smoke rising up from his place. “Yeah. There ain’t much more I can do right now. Fire and police will probably be heading here, and to tell you the truth, I’ve got no interest in being here when they are. I feel a certain way about police.”

It was decided. “Granddad, pack a bag. You got five minutes. I’ll have you drive the truck, you and Kali.”

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