Page 97 of The Other Side

Jess darted up beside him as he reached the truck. “Where are you going?”

“To find Thea. Call Jameson and tell him to go help Hadley.”

Brett turned to Linc. “I need you with me.”

Without hesitation, Linc started around the truck.

Jess grabbed for Linc’s arm, but he slid away from her.

“Wait. Stop. You can’t go. It’s a trap,” she said quickly as she reached for Brett.

He pulled back. Jess had every reason to worry, but this wasn’t the time to hesitate. Thea needed him. “Well, they’re gonna get me, but I’ll make sure they regret it.”

“Brett, don’t do this,” Jess said. There were real tears in her eyes–something he’d never seen before. “How many bullets are you going to take for her?”

He reached for the door and opened it. “Every last one.”

“Even the ones coming from her smoking gun?” she asked, high-pitched and strained.

He slid into the truck and gave his sister one last chance. “Get beside me, or get behind me, sis.”

Her attention darted to Linc in the passenger seat, as reality set in.

“Call Jameson,” Brett said as he closed the door and started the truck.

“Where are we going?” Linc asked, steady and controlled like Walker, Texas Ranger just before landing a roundhouse kick.

“Bruce’s garage.” Brett slammed the side of his fist on the steering wheel. “I shouldn’t have trusted him.”

“I’ll take care of him. You get her outta there.”

Brett pulled his phone from his pocket and tried to control the panic rising in his gut. “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem.” Linc looked in the back seat. “You have something for me?”

Brett found Asa’s contact and made the call. “Pistol, shotgun, or switchblade. Take your pick.”

Asa answered on the second ring. “Hey.”

“Hadley and Thea were in a wreck on Pickens Road just past Kennedy Road. Hadley is probably injured, but someone took Thea. Hadley is reporting the accident now, but I’m hoping you can get some backup sent to Bruce Howard’s garage.”

“You know it was Bruce who took her?” Asa asked.

“Bruce and Cain.”

“What were they driving? I’ll put out a bolo.”

“No idea. Hadley said a truck ran them off the road. I’m assuming that was them, but she didn’t say what it looked like.”

“Hold on.”

Brett could hear the call for dispatch in the background, but it took everything in his power to listen.

“They said it was an old red Chevy. I’ll get some roadblocks set up. We’ll find her.”

“She’s at Bruce’s garage. I know it,” Brett said.

“How do you know?”