Page 8 of Meaner Than Evil

He laughs. "It was difficult at first. But Hardcore shared his philosophy about Siri, and I adopted it because Piper loves to dance."

"What is it?"

"I don't mind as long as there is no touching, and she comes home to me."

I shake my head. "Y'all are better dudes than I am."

He laughs. "The security there is top-notch, and anyone who steps out of the rules of engagement is promptly thrown out and banned. Plus, the ladies that work for tips patrol the audience and make sure anyone needing more attention promptly gets it."

"But still. Everyone in there has a boner for your babe."

He grins, "That's just a fact of life, man. She's hot as fuck."

I laugh. "True that. She is beautiful."

My phone, in the side pocket of my cargo pants, vibrates against my thigh. I reach in, pull it out, swipe it open, and see that I have several missed calls, plus an unread text message.

I read the text first. It's from Zane.

Hammer,

Call me as soon

as you read this.

I frown, wondering why.

I swipe my missed calls and see that the most recent is from an unknown number, then one from Crockett, one from Nina, and the first one from Zane. All left voicemail messages, but I can't hear them in the helo, and it's impossible to speak to Zane, so I respond to his text message.

Insane. I’m in the helo flying to Vegas.

I key the mic and ask Dirk, “How far out are we?”

He answers, “Fifteen.”

ETA 15. I’ll call you ASAP.

copy. Call me first.

I study that response, frowning, knowing he knows the others have called me. I wrack my brain wondering what it could be about, but I'm clueless. My parents have passed, and I'm an only child, so, no emergency there.

I open Google search and enter the phone number. The results make me sit straight up in the seat. The area code is from New York City. The only people I know in New York City are Logan and her parents. The pit of my gut tightens, and I key the mic again. "Pin the ears back on this bitch, Dirk. I need to land ASAP."

He cuts his eyes at me as a bead of sweat breakouts on my upper lip. I press them together and taste the salt. He looks down to his right through the bubble on the floor and picks a spot in the desert to set us down.

We drop like a rock, and he flares the landing at the last second and eases the nose over, setting the mass softly on the ground. As soon as the wheels make contact, I unbuckle, shed the straps, and bailout of the cockpit. I run away from the noise until I'm sure I can hear before I make the call to Zane.

He answers, "Am I your first call?"

"Affirmative."

"Good. Take a deep breath. It's only been three minutes into your fifteen, and I hear the helo, so I know, Dirk set it down for you."

"Yeah, what's up? Is it Logan?"

"Yes. It is. She's missing.”

Five

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