Page 40 of Flick

“Yeah, let me put the address in. Yep, head west, turn at the next light, then it should be about four miles out of town,” Winnie said.

“You got it. Lead the way, and does somebody want to let the guys know where we’re going and what we’re doing?” Beth said, giggling.

There was no way she was the one calling Flick. She waited until Winnie pulled out, then pulled in behind her.

Beth kept an eye on her passenger while following Winnie and checking out the truck. He had what looked like a paper logbook on the floor. Probably needed to look legitimate, but maybe it would have some clues. She hoped this didn’t have an electronic tracker, but she’d be surprised if the criminals let someone else track them.

She pulled into the salvage yard behind Winnie and the girls. Before the gate could close behind them, the cars with the guys pulled in behind her. She drove around the building to where the office and garage were.

She turned off the truck. Before she could open her door, it was yanked open, and Flick was lifting her out.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Flick yelled, holding her by her arms.

Wow. His face was red, but the fear in his eyes let her know he might be yelling, but he was doing it because he was scared for her.

“I was thinking this was a fantastic chance to check out what was in the back of the truck and, oh wow, maybe my job,” she smarted off.

He breathed deeply and pulled her close, wrapping her in a hug.

“So many things went through my head. I’m going to have to work on getting used to this, or I’ll have a heart attack next time,” he said, kissing her hair.

Beth wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.

“I’m good, but let’s look inside the truck.”

Flick shook his head, agreeing, and followed her around the truck.

Rose and Bear were working to open the lock.

“Just cut it,” Beth said.

Bear picked up some large bolt cutters and cut the lock. He tossed it down and then pushed the doors open. Flick lifted Beth up into the truck, then followed her up. Winnie and Bear got in the back too.

There was a walkway down the middle of the truck with one row of freezers on each side. Each freezer had its own wooden crate around it. Each side of the crate was open except for a piece of wood stabilizing the crate halfway up the sides. Beth followed Flick toward the back, looking at the items.

“We need to open one of these. How about the one closest to the door so we can see better?” Beth asked.

Bear nodded. He and Flick quickly removed the boards on the front of the crate to allow them to open the freezer. Bootstrap had jumped up and was videoing the freezer.

“Seriously, you’re videoing us doing something illegal,” Della asked.

“No, I’m videoing what it looks like when we open it, so if it contains meth, marijuana, or cocaine, we can prove we didn’t take any for my friend,” Bootstrap replied.

Beth stood close to Bootstrap so she could see in the freezer when the guys opened it up. Flick pulled along with Bear to open the door.

“Fuck me,” whispered Cowboy when he saw inside.

Beth cataloged that the two girls in the freezer looked like they’d been drugged because sleeping in that position wouldn’t be comfortable. They were held against opposite walls of the freezer by a metal piece that wrapped under their arms and strapped their chests against the side walls. The girl on the left was shorter, so her feet didn’t touch the bottom of the freezer. There were two oxygen tanks held against the back wall with a tube from each attached to a mask that was strapped to the girls. An elastic piece was attached near the girls’ heads and was stretched around their foreheads to keep their heads stable during transport. Bootstrap jumped down out of the truck and made a phone call.

“Yeah. We’ve got a problem,” was all Beth heard before he walked farther away.

“Should we take them out?” Bear asked.

“I don’t think so. They’re out. I think we leave them until the authorities get here. We might need to give the driver another shot or tie him up since we’ll be here longer,” Beth said.

Bootstrap walked back over. “My friend and a team he trusts are showing up. He asked us not to move anything until he got here. He’s about fifteen minutes away.”

“Bootstrap, the driver might wake up before that,” Beth mentioned.