Page 108 of Roots of the Wicked

Chapter Forty-Six

Chase

The detectives weren’t motivated enough for me in their quest to find Jax. With no confidence in them, I was prepared to call a man I disliked. If anyone could find Jax, I believed he would do it swiftly and without question.

“J?” TK answered with his nickname for Jax since I was using her phone.

“It’s Chase,” I told him. “Jax is missing. She skirted security, left the house, and I believe someone has taken her from this community with security and cameras watching. Her purse and phone were discarded right out of the view of the community guard station. The detectives, the local authorities have working the case, are not motivated enough to find her. Will you help me?” I hated begging, but for Jax, I would bend both knees.

TK didn’t reply. A paused moment followed, but I could hear him typing, so I waited.

“I’ve already tapped into your cameras,” TK answered.

“How? You don’t even know my address.” Should I trust this guy? Jax trusted him, so maybe I should as well, I thought. My instincts had led me to calling him, so I decided to stick with my gut.

“I tracked where her phone was pinging. You should really consider updating your home security system,” he suggested.

He amazed me with how quickly he was able to find that much so fast. Is it really that easy to find people these days?

“Thank you,” came my late response. As far as the security system, Jax had given me the same advice.

“TK, she’s pregnant,” I blurted. Dead silence had me checking the phone to ensure he hadn’t hung up. The seconds on the phone continued to count down, alerting me that he remained on the line. Although he wasn’t talking, I heard his fingers striking the keyboard.

“She climbed into the back of a Blue BMW. I’m using CCTV to track the vehicle’s location,” TK relayed to me.

Maybe he was as smart as Jax insisted. It had hardly been ten minutes and he was providing updates that two trained detectives hadn’t discovered yet. As far as I knew the detectives were at the guard station scanning surveillance my security team had already checked.

“I have an address,” came TK’s voice.

No fucking way!

“You do? How? I’m on her phone, so there isn’t anything on her person for you to track her. How could you possibly have a location?”

“Closed-circuit television and even traffic cams are powerful tools if you know how to use them. I tracked the license plate of the Blue BMW that picked her up, tapped into various other devices and followed the plate.”

“This all seems too simple and fast. Is there a possibility we’re being led into a trap?” I was concerned TK was tricked, and possibly left breadcrumbs leading him to the wrong location.

“I don’t know, but I’ll meet you there to be on the safe side,” TK added.

“Okay,” I agreed. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait on two detectives who appeared unbothered by Jax’s disappearance. I would rather chase a false lead with a man I didn’t like.

“200 Circle Hill Road,” was the address TK recited. “Can you repeat that address for me?” He repeated it, and I prayed I had heard it wrong the first time.

“I’ll meet you there. Don’t approach, let me go ahead of you and check it out first,” TK suggested. He hung up before I had a chance to reply. My words had stalled because the address he had quoted had left me in such a state of shock, I was unable to untie my vocal cords to speak.

***

TK was on my heels like a stalker. The bumper of his silver Tahoe, flirted with the bumper of my black Bentley Continental GT. Although he had vehemently protested, I insisted on leading him to the address since I had no choice but to disclose to him that I had been there before.

His glaring eyes met mine in my rearview mirror, as I entered the neighborhood with ease. My body was fixed, coiled so tight, I was one stiff mass of exposed nerves.

TK glared at me through his windshield like he wanted to punch me in the face, especially when I entered the code for the security gate. He followed me onto the property and parkedbehind the blue BMW. I had never seen the car before today.

Why would Jax be here?

“Where the fuck are we, Chase? How the fuck did you know the security code to the gate, not to mention the guards who opened the front gates to this well-protected community and let us in like they knew you.” Deep aggravation tightened his brows, as a storm brewed in his eyes.

I didn’t answer him. All I wanted was confirmation that his clue had led us to Jax.

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