Page 74 of Havoc

“She’s safe for now, but her life now depends upon how well you follow my orders this morning.” His voice was smooth, confident, and slimy as hell. I was growing to hate the sound of his voice, and the thought of him holding Maritza hostage to get to me pissed me off like few things had in my life.

“If you lay one hand on her, I swear to God, I will make you pay.”

“I wish you’d stop assuming the worst about me,” his slimy voice sounded wounded. “I’m not a monster, and you jumping to conclusions is not good for our relationship.”

“We don’t have a relationship. We never did and never will. I’m sick and tired of being stalked by you.”

“I was trying to protect you. From those dirty bikers, Riley. But you’re always so obstinate.”

“What do you mean? All the ones I’ve met were nice and respectful.”

“You are incredibly gullible, Riley. You need someone familiar with the way the world operates to protect you.”

“Someone like you, no doubt,” I flung back with no interest in making it easy for this man to exploit me.”

“I can’t think of a more trustworthy man than me.”

I forced myself to calm down because I couldn’t afford to let my guard down around him. “What exactly do you want?”

Slater paused the conversation before announcing, “I want to have just a conversation. One hour in a public place. Just you and me. No one else. You say your piece, I say mine. After you hear me out, if the answer is still no, I’ll show myself to the door.”

“After what went down in the parking lot at my apartment complex, I can’t believe you expect me to buy that load of hogwash.”

“I don’t expect you to believe me. But I know you’ll meet with me because you’re worried about your friend, and meeting in a public place carries no risk for yourself. It would be foolish to refuse.”

A short silence spun out between us as I thought over his offer. “Let me talk to Maritza,” I said.

There was a short pause. Then her voice came over the line.

“Hey, Riley.” Her voice was shaky, and she sounded like she was scared but trying to put up a brave front.

Panic ripped through my brain. “Ritz? Where are you? What’s happening?”

“I’m scared. This nutjob is violent. It took a lot for him to make me contact you and I can’t take it anymore. He says he just wants to talk to you.” Her voice turned muffled, and she whispered, “Please just meet with him. He’s scary when he’s mad.”

Before I could respond, Slater was back on the line.

“Tick-tock, time to decide, Riley. Are you meeting with me or not? I don’t have all day to wait for you. I’m an important man with things to do.”

Feeling defeated, I agreed. “Where and when?”

“The Seafood by the Sea restaurant. It’s two blocks due west. The time is right now. Better get moving, Riley. The clock’s ticking, and after hunting you for days, I’m running out of patience for you. Come alone or you’ll never see your friend again.”

Chapter 23

Havoc

We rolled up on a precast utility shelter with the name of an electrical company on the side of the building. It was securely locked in any event. This standard-issue concrete box was typical of the kind utility companies used. It had utility stickers and a faded hazard sign warning of possible electrical shock, stuck to the metal door. It was the kind of building most people would drive by a thousand times and never blink, much less suspect it was being used by criminals for nefarious purposes.

I glanced over at Storm. “You sure this is the right place, Prez?”

He frowned at me and gestured for Celt to pick the lock. When he answered me, his voice was low and harsh. “Of course, I’m fucking sure. Hacker traced the location of those servers, and this is the location he gave me.”

Celt spoke around one of the lock picks in his mouth, “Use yer brain, sonny-boy. This likely ain’t a feckin’ utility shelter.”

Storm jerked his chin in agreement. “Celt’s right. Exactly the kind of place someone hides something important. I can practically guarantee this building is either set up to look like a utility building or an old one that is no longer used.”

It only took Celt a few minutes to get the lock open. We heard a soft click, and he stepped back from the door. Giving us a quick nod, he closed up his little leather zip-up kit of lock-picking tools and slid it into his jacket pocket.

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