Page 18 of Dangerous Lies

She’d explained how importantitwas for her to always have her body cam.

Each step, Ginger’s heart rate ticked up. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like he was about to step in to combat. He stopped outside the door and knocked.

Nothing. Not a single sound from the other side.

“Seems she doesn't want you here,” the fucker next to him said. “Now leave before I arrest your ass.”

Ginger didn't listen as he pulled out the small lockpick kit he kept in his wallet. The detective huffed as Ginger popped the lock.

The door clicked open, and he stepped inside. “Rose?”

She didn't answer as he prowled through the small one-bedroom apartment. Her kit was to the side. A box on the floor lay open and inside looked to be a bug, but the box had her name written across it.

“She's not here.”

On the floor next to her bag was the can of mace he’d made her take. He grabbeditand turneditover toseeshe'd taken off the safety. “Someone attacked her.”

“The GPS of the camera has her in the building, but from the viewitlooks like cement with a layer of black dust. I can'tseemuch. It'slike she’s laying on the floor, fuck a huge spider just crawled over the camera.”

“She was attacked.” He turned toward the detective and held up the mace. “Whoever did this to her took her somewhere in the building wherethere'scement.”

The detective’s eyes flashed to the can in his hand.Ittook Ginger a second to realize who she had used the can on.

He was across the room and had the detective pinned against the wall. “Where is she?”

He shook his head. “Dude, I don'tknow.”

Ginger tightened his grip around the detective’s neck. Lucas was in his ear, but he didn't pay attention to the voice.

“She...was...fine...when....I...left,” the detective squeaked out between breaths.

Ginger dropped his hand from the man's throat. The man leaned over and heaved.

“You can't kill the only person who can help you,” Lucas said. “After you find her, I'll help you hide the body, but until then you need togetyour head on straight.”

Ginger’s fingers itched to wrap around the fucker’s throat one more time, but Lucas had a point. “Where in the building are the floor cement?”

“The bitch probably led another man on and is getting what she deserved.”

Ginger held the phone to his ear with his shoulder and slugged the detective in the stomach. The impact was less than he’d hoped butitgot the picture across.

“I won't ask again.”

“Fuck, man, she's just a piece of—”

“So help me if you finish that sentence, nobody will find your body,” he said.

“Boiler room in the basement.”

He slugged the guy one more time and smiled at the sound of his nose cracking before he left the apartment. The man was a piece of shit. Not the worst he’d dealt with over the years but close enough that he would have his teammate Cy take him down.

The elevator door swung open as he reached it.

“I'm pulling up the schematics of the basement,” Lucas said. “This building is old as shit, so I don'tknowhow much help I'll be. They don't have cameras downthere,so I won't have eyes.”

With each floor the elevator dropped Ginger’s panic set in. Would she even be downthereor had someone ditched her camera in the boiler room and taken her? The elevator came to a stop on the first floor.

“Hey,itdidn’t go all the way down.”

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