Page 146 of Hot for Hostage

I agreed.

“Here.” The officer Peterson had sent off returned with a sleek tablet in hand. “I’ve synced it to Murdock’s vehicle.”

Peterson took the tablet and studied the screen. His lips formed a thin line. “Good work, Patel. They’re moving northeast. Reed, I’ll send three units with you?—”

“No.” I cut him off and held out my hand for the tablet. “I’m not putting her at risk because you’ve sent some of Murdock’s friends to help him. I’ll call you after we take care of it.”

Peterson froze, the tablet hovering an inch above my palm.

“Jake needs to be alive when we get there,” he warned gruffly. “He’s one of us, Reed. If he’s not breathing, I can’t help you.”

I took the tablet without another word and turned away.

“Not so fast,” Gladys snapped, catching my arm in a surprisingly strong grip. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I glanced down at her boney fingers wrapped around my sleeve. “To get Sadie.”

“If you think I’m letting you run off with that tracking thing and leave us behind, you’re crazy. We stick together.” She plucked the tablet from my hand and jabbed a finger at the Dog-Mobile. “Get in.”

Sadie hadn’t warned me her friend had lost her marbles. “You’re kidding.”

But Gladys didn’t waste any time explaining. She smacked the tablet against Ryan’s stomach, making him fumble to catch it. “You navigate, Ryan. I’ll drive. Reed, you’re in the back with Bear.”

Forget the marbles. She’d lost her damned mind if she wanted us to take that hunk of metal to chase down a cop car. “My SUVs are faster. You can ride with us?—”

“They’re all blocked in, and the Dog-Mobile will do just fine,” she snapped over her shoulder. “Your friend did something to the engine when he fixed it for us. We won’t stall out at forty anymore.”

… Anymore?

I shook my head, not wanting to waste more time arguing. “Fine. All right. Let’s go.”

We rushed over to the Dog-Mobile with Bear hot on our heels, and I slid the side door open.

Bear jumped through first, while I gritted my teeth before climbing in after him. The other two hopped into the front, and I shot a text to Malcolm and Vince with instructions to track my location and follow us.

Gladys and Ryan both strapped in—of course there weren’t any seat belts in the back—and Gladys started the engine. “Now, let’s go get our girl back.”

That jerked my attention away from my phone, and I looked to the front. “Ourgirl?”

Her gaze met mine in the rearview mirror, and she raised a challenging brow. “Sadie was ours long before she ever met you, Davian Reed. You better get used to that if you plan to stick around.”

She held my gaze while peeling down the street, and I studied her reflection—realizing with a start that instead of feeling anger, part of me found her challengeendearing.

Ridiculous, but endearing.

No wonder she was friends with Sadie.

“Understood.” I focused on Ryan. “How far away are they?”

He tapped at the screen. “A couple miles. Take a right up here, Gladys.”

She followed his instructions to a tee, and Ryan navigated us out of the neighborhood and down the nearest back road. Gladys’s quick reflexes and calm under pressure would make her a good getaway driver.

Meanwhile, I was stuck sitting on my ass in the back, with an overgrown beast panting beside me.

All in all, we made an unlikely rescue team compared to the smooth operation I’d just run with the guys. But what bothered me was we were heading northeast, in the opposite direction of the city.

Where the hell was Murdock taking her?

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