Page 62 of Call Back

“What the hell are you talking about?” Colt asked.

“I saw someone else under there when I pulled up, and I know you two are working together.”

For the first time since I’d known him, Colt didn’t have a smart-ass answer.

“Not to worry,” the man shouted. “It’s in my best interest to leave her alone for now. Remember—Saturday night. I’ll let you know the time later. And don’t tell anyone about this, or I’ll kill her anyway. Now turn around and place your hands on the truck and stay that way until I leave.”

Colt didn’t answer, but I heard a slight banging sound on the metal to my side. Seconds later, the car began backing up, then got to the end of the alley and took off.

I turned off the camera, which most likely captured nothing more useful than a bunch of images of the bottom of the trailer, and waited what seemed like forever. It was most likely about ten seconds, but Colt finally said, “It’s safe to come out.”

I peered around the side and then glanced up at Colt, who now stood several feet away from the truck, scrubbing his hands over his head.

“Was it Owen?” I asked as I crawled out, still holding the knife. I cringed when the rain started pelleting me again.

“I don’t know.” He sounded frustrated. “But I don’t think so. The headlights made it impossible to get a good look. But it really didn’t sound like him.”

I debated asking whether he’d had enough previous contact with Owen to recognize his voice—and if so, why—but decided to let it go. Priorities. “What are you going to do? We don’t have the gold.”

He paced a couple of steps. “I don’t have the answer for that either.” Then he turned and reached for me. “I think he’s gone, but we need to get the hell out of here.”

A new wave of fear hit me, anchoring my feet to the concrete. There was no way for Colt to comply with the guy’s demand. “What are we going to do?”

“I’m going to find the gold. Now come on.” He marched over, took the knife from me and closed it in a single, fluid movement, and then grabbed my upper arm.

I came to my senses and shuffled my feet to keep up as he dragged me through the door and into the dark space beyond it.

“I know you didn’t put the gold bar in the package,” I said, “but do you still have it?”

“Yeah. I have it,” he said. “Obviously handing it over wasn’t in our best interest, but I had to give him something. And I had a feeling he might come back after the note I left.” A thin beam of light clicked on, and I realized it was from Colt’s phone. It lit up the space enough for me to see it was a small office area, but Colt was already opening another door and pulling me with him.

The flashlight beam didn’t cast much light, but I could tell we were in a small warehouse space and Colt’s truck was in front of us.

“What did it say?”

He chuckled. “Let’s just say I insulted him in almost every way a person could, from his masculinity to his intelligence.”

I glanced around the room. “How did you get in here?” I asked.

“A friend of a friend.” Still gripping my arm, he pulled me around the back of the truck and to the passenger door. After he shoved me inside, he shut the door and disappeared, but a garage door was already opening into the alley on the opposite side.

Now I knew where Colt had disappeared to after the sedan pulled up. He must have run around the building and come into this space, but I still wasn’t sure how he could have watched the guy pull up and check behind the barrel.

He got into the truck as the garage door continued to open.

“What was your big plan?” I asked. “Were you going to confront him?”

“Does it look like I intended to?” he asked in a short tone.

“Then how were you going to find out who it was?”

He turned to me with anger-filled eyes. “I had a plan, Magnolia, and you just fucked it up.”

My stomach tightened as he started the truck, maneuvered it into the alley, and then parked and got out, leaving his door hanging open. He punched a code into the key pad on the side of the building, and the door began to close.

He got back and shifted into drive. “Where’s your car?”

“In the apartment parking lot, next to this property.”

Colt drove down the alley, then turned toward the back of the industrial park instead of the entrance.

“Why are we going back this way?” I asked. Did he plan to go back and look for evidence by the barrel?

“I’m trying to save your life.” He shot me an exasperated glare. “Do you trust me, Maggie? From here on out, I need you to trust me. Because you’re either all in or you’re not. What do you pick?”

I had several reasons not to trust Colt—I was sure he had his own agenda—but I was also sure he’d keep trying to protect me. He’d proved that several times. I made my decision—stupid or not, only time would tell.

“I’m in.”

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