Page 45 of Tactically Acquired

Yeah, this was the part where he was going to kill me. “Audrey Leigh.”

“Audrey—” He was quiet for a minute and then he chuckled. “Craig, are you telling me that Audrey Leigh—the actress, the same fucking woman who went missing this morning—is the same woman who was in the vehicle with you?”

“That would be correct.”

“And she was your…friend?”

“Hey, I was on leave and…it was a rough night,” I said defensively. The only thing I had going for me right now was humor. It was the distraction I needed from the splitting headache and the way everything kept spinning around me. Were there supposed to be lights swirling in the sky?

He snorted in amusement.

“What’s so funny? You don’t think I could get a woman like Audrey?”

“No, I think it’s going to be hilarious when Reese meets her.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because she’s gonna kick her ass. And probably yours.”

Alec shifted in his seat and I climbed into the wreckage, hoping like hell he was okay. “Boss, I gotta go. Alec’s waking up.”

“Get yourself to the hospital.”

“Sure.”

“Craig—”

I hung up before he could razz me any further about it. “Alec, you okay, man?”

He pried his eyes open and winced. “Fuck, you look like shit.”

“You should see yourself.”

He pushed himself up, pressing the button for the seatbelt release. “Fucking hell, that hurts.”

“Which part?”

“All of it. You know, the next time you want to run off to help an old girlfriend, remind me of this moment, and then tell me to fuck off.”

“She’s not an old girlfriend.”

“Where is she?”

“Gone. They took her.”

I gripped his hand and helped pull him up just as the ambulance pulled up beside us. Lights swirled all around the scene, making it fucking difficult to walk in a straight line.

“This is gonna be a clusterfuck,” Alec muttered.

“You’re lucky. I had to talk to Cap.”

He sighed, clapping me on the shoulder, using me for support at the same time. “I hate to tell you this, but you’re gonna have to be the one to tell Florrie, too.”

“What? No, I can’t?—”

“Sorry, man. Your op, your responsibility.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s just mean.”

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