Page 15 of Deadly Threat
“You’re sure it’s the same group?”
She nodded.
“The FBI will expect a ransom demand. They’ll want you under their watch to take the call when it comes.”
“No one has my number except Amber and our parents. I’ve been…hiding for a while. It’s more likely the bastards will call Mom and Dad if they want money, but…” She didn’t think that was the odds-on probability. “This isn’t a normal kidnapping. This is revenge.”
They drew up in front of the clinic, a smattering of lights on inside and no other cars out front. Malachi shifted into park. “Why do you think that?”
One of the two light fixtures over the entrance was burned out. That’s how she felt—like part of a pair, but her other half now missing. “Any kind of interaction, like receiving a ransom payment, creates a trail, makes them vulnerable.” During her own situation, she’d overheard Damon discussing it with another man. “Since Amber is mayor, the FBI—along with every law enforcement group in the area—will go all out to hunt them down and prosecute. They’ll have to be extremely careful, and one of them was already sloppy and nearly had his mask yanked off by my sister. They want her for something besides money, and I’m afraid her time is running out.”
Malachi exited and came around to help her and Ladybug down. “If they’d wanted to kill her, they would have done it publicly in the street. She’s alive, you can bet on it, and that means we’ve got a chance.”
“I want to believe that,” she admitted, following him to the entrance. “I really do.”
He pinned her with a look before he opened the glass door. “Your sister never gave up hope when you were kidnapped. You have to be the one to hold onto that hope this time.”
How did he know? Mia sighed and nodded.I’ll try.
Six
The plastic chair made his butt hurt, so Malachi stood and paced the waiting room. Old flyers, faded and worn, hung on a bulletin board advertising dog-sitting services, a free spay clinic, and a few missing pets.
Mia and Ladybug had been in the back with the on-call veterinarian for nearly an hour. There was only one technician on duty, who was also in the room down the hall, and nobody at the desk. The phone rang every few minutes, but each call seemed to go to voicemail after two rings. The place wasn’t totally rundown, but it had certainly seen its share of drudgery, and it smelled of wet dog.
He texted Caleb, instructing him to round up the troops and meet him at the office. Within minutes, he received several threatening responses until he explained it had to do with the kidnapped mayor and her younger sister.
A small box TV from another century played in the corner. The news was on every channel about the abduction. A woman in the crowd had caught parts of the scene on her smartphone and it was now on all social media outlets as well. Growling under his breath, he watched himself step in front of Mia and the dog, willing to take a bullet for them. He fired off a message to Harris, informing him that it was possible Jamarion King was behind it.
He was pacing for the twentieth time when his cell rang, Harris on the other end. “What the actual fuck happened tonight, and why were you with Mia Livingston?”
“I’ll explain later. Right now, Amber is in deep shit, and Dupé better put everyone he’s got on her trail.”
“If he gets word that I told you about King, Marcher, and Lopez, and the deal the Feds have on the table, he will skin us both alive.”
Malachi rubbed his tired eyes. “I won’t throw you under the bus, but here’s the thing—if King or Newt Marcher have resurrected the gang, this looks like pure revenge. They have nothing to gain by kidnapping the mayor.”
“You’re confident the culprits tonight are part of the old QG?”
He wasn’t. Mia was. For now, that was good enough for him. “I couldn’t ID any of them in a lineup, if that’s what you’re asking, but what are the odds it’s anyone else?”
Harris sighed. “I gotta go. Dupé’s calling. Keep in touch, and stay the fuck away from Mia Livingston.”
Malachi bit his tongue as the line went dead. That was the last thing he planned to do.
A flyer with a dog’s sad face caught his eye. A rescue looking for a home, it had been found as a stray and was in foster care. The pit mix had scars around his face and those sad eyes seemed to have given up on the world. The description confirmed the dog had most likely experienced a hard life up to this point and Malachi felt a bond with the animal. The foster had named him Ollie, but Malachi thought he looked more like a Boomer, or maybe a Ranger.
The door to the back opened and Mia came out with Ladybug in her arms. The dog’s leg was wrapped in so many bandages, it stuck straight out. “All done,” she said. “Can you grab my bag so I can pay?”
His phone, still in hand, rang. The screen showed Victor Dupé. For a second, he considered answering, then sent it to voicemail. He had better things to do then get his ass chewed by someone who wasn’t his boss.
“Is she going to be okay?” The bag was heavy and it surprised him somewhat.
She accepted it and allowed him to carefully relieve her of the dog while the vet tech went behind the desk and tapped keys on the computer. “The leg is badly bruised, and there’s a tiny hairline fracture near her shoulder, but nothing is truly broken. I’ve got some pain meds for her, and the swelling should go down in a few days.”
The poor canine stared at Malachi as though she’d been tortured. He scratched behind a floppy ear and smiled into her scruffy face. “You were very brave back there.”
His phone rang again, and he didn’t bother to look. One guess who it was.
