Page 26 of Bradford

"Ugh!" I grind my teeth together in frustration. "So now they went for it. What's the plan to get Bradford back unharmed?" I shoot daggers at Dodge's back. He knew what I was doing because he glanced back at me through the rearview mirror. I cross my arms in front of me, and stare out the window while the tears fall.

A gentle hand touches my arm, and Ellison says, "He is being tracked, Florence. There are always eyes on him. I promise."

I take a deep breath and nod, even though I have a very bad feeling about all of this.

Goosebumps cover my arms,and I feel chilled by being kept out of their plans. Why didn't Bradford trust me with the truth? Even though I wouldn't have liked it, I wouldn't have stopped. After all, I went ahead with the meeting on the beach with Ellison pretending to be Bradford. So why wouldn't he tell me his plans? I'm sick and dispirited about the whole thing.

We head toward the city, then turn south onto the Harry S. Truman Parkway and west on the 204. I have no idea where we are. If it weren't for the road signs, I'd be even more clueless because I've never been to Savannah before. "Are we following Bradford?"

"Yeah," Dodge says. "I have no idea where they're going because there are a lot of woods and forestry areas out here."

“Does MacFarlane own any property out this way?” I ask.

"Not that anyone has been able to find," Ellison replies.

"Oh, hell," Dodge mutters. "I think they're heading toward the Ogeechee River. There could be a boat waiting for them out there."

Ellison curses and makes a call about launching a drone.

I press a hand to my stomach, feeling unsettled. "This seems like a lot of trouble for a warehouse."

Beside me, Ellison sighs. “The previous owners rented the warehouse to MacFarlane, and he used it as a sorting depot.” He winces.

"I'm not sure I want to know what you're talking about." I shiver as I think of really bad things.

“The warehouse is the key. It’s empty so we haven’t been able to figure out why it’s so important to Reyes.”

He pauses, then continues, "We're not going to let anything happen to you or Bradford.”

I wrap my arms around my body and say, "I don't think you have any control over that, at least where Bradford is concerned."

18

BRADFORD

The jerkin the passenger seat used to date Florence. I don't know what she saw in him. He presents himself as successful. I was expecting him to be wearing gang clothes, whatever those are. Instead, he's wearing an expensive suit, his hair is neatly groomed, and he looks like a successful businessman. I've been angry since he and his two friends pulled guns on me while I waited for Ellison and Florence.

Realistically, I was waiting for Dillon to show up. I wince at the thought of how angry Florence will be for being kept in the dark about this part of the plan. I didn't want to keep her out of the loop, but Ellison insisted it was necessary to keep her safe. Of course, I agreed. I would have agreed to anything to keep her safe.

Dillon hates me for being with Florence. When he speaks of her, he refers to her as his girl. The asshole knows nothing. He had one of his men check me for a tracker, but he didn't find anything. Little do they know that I have the tiniest tracker stuck to the sole of my foot, about the size of a dot. It feels like a crumb got stuck in my shoe.

"Do you realize that there's nothing my dad can do about the warehouse now? Law enforcement knows about it. Taking meisn't going to get either him or Reyes what they want. Surely you should know that by now. You don't come across as an idiot."

Anger radiates off Dillon as he turns to face me, processing my words. His eyes narrow, and his jaw clenches. "You think you're so clever, don't you?" he sneers. "But we'll see just how smart you really are once we get where we're going." He snickers. "Just so you know, I have men waiting for Florence to return to the hotel. She's a pretty little thing. I was stupid to mess up with her." He grins. "I'll make it up to her."

He's baiting you. Ignore him.

I feel like jumping forward and punching him in the face. Instead, I take a deep breath, knowing Florence will be safe. Ellison has enough manpower with him, including law enforcement. She's the safest person in the state right now.

"What's really going on?" I ask, watching Dillon closely. "This isn't over a warehouse. There are more for sale in the area. There always are. What's so special about that one?" My eyes stay focused on the man as I realize I’m right. But what the hell is so special about that place? It doesn't have dock access. It's out of the way in a rough forestry area, so it's secluded. Trucks can't get down the track, but SUVs and small vans can. That's not useful if they're being used for human trafficking.

"The reason why is none of your business. Once we have unobserved, twenty-four-hour access to the warehouse, you get to go home to daddy."

"My dad said the warehouse was empty. What was left behind?"

Dillon clamps his mouth shut and narrows his eyes before facing the front.

I haven't seen the warehouse, but according to my dad, it's empty. There are offices without furniture. Large open spaces with nothing left behind. He said he'd sent men in to haul the trash out. What the hell is so important?

---