Page 52 of She's Mine

I was starting to contemplate if maybe Ishouldget in touch with Jeffrey. This was too big a mission to go alone. But before I got a chance to call my boss, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled the phone out to see a message from an unknown number. My heart raced -- might this be someone from the Bloodline, contacting me with their demands for Alyssa’s release?

D,

I miss the brook. I wish we were there now.

79JJ+RR

I miss you.

A xx

The initials and the mention of the brook made me certain this was a message from Alyssa, but what did the other part mean? This was the time I probablyshouldhave contacted Jeffrey. At the very least, he and the team might have been able to trace the number Alyssa had messaged me from.

But instead, I wracked my brain as to what ‘79JJ+RR’could mean.

I tried entering it as coordinates, and a bunch of other codes that could be used to track a location, but none of them turned up any results that were anywhere near California.

It wasn’t until I tried entering the numbers as a plus code on Google maps that it gave me a possible location -- Lytle Creek, California, USA.

It was another woodland area, near Mount Baldy Notch, and about an hour and a half’s drive from Crestline. It was home to the aptly named Devil’s Backbone Trail.

It made sense that the Bloodline would be hiding out in the wilderness, and I started the engine, then left Crestline as fast as possible.

As I approached the Devil's Backbone Trail, IknewI was in the right place. For a remote mountain hiking trail, there was an unusual amount of activity, even by California’s standards. I watched as groups of men, all armed, and wearing nondescript clothing came and went from a large cabin complex not dissimilar from my own.

They all looked shady as hell. I quickly used my phone to pull up a list of Bloodline members known to the police and J&J Security, who hadn’t been arrested yet. And sure enough, one of the guys I saw entering the cabin was on that list.

Mateo Perez was a long-standing member of the Bloodline, who was known for his violent crimes against women and children, and had thus-far, avoided capture by the police.

I watched as he chatted to someone guarding the main entrance, and then was permitted into the building. Perez was inside the cabin for about thirty minutes, before he reappeared, looking smug and pleased with himself.

Perez got into his Mercedes-Benz S-Class and sped away from the Devil's Backbone Trail towards Mount Baldy Notch. Wondering if I could perhaps use Perez somehow to get me into the building, I followed after him.

After a short drive, Perez stopped at a bar near Mount Baldy Notch, and I continued to follow him as he entered the building. He settled at a table near the back, sipping on a bottle of Corona. Seeing this as my chance, I brought myself a drink and another for Perez, and approached him.

“Hey, I’m after a speedball special,” I said, using one of the street words for cocaine. “Do you know anyone who can hook me up?” I placed the extra bottle of beer on the table next to him, and then sat down opposite.

“I might. How much are you after?”

“Actually, I was hoping to get in on the ground. I need to get some sharks off my back.”

Perez smirked. “I get ya. I can help you out. I have anassociatewho is looking for new blood.”

Perfect.

“Sounds like exactly what I’m after. When can you hook me up? Time is of the essence. These sharks are after my blood.”

“I can’t make any guarantees, but I can get you in the door,” Perez replied.

“That’s fine. I appreciate anything you can do for me. Here, take this for your troubles.” I slid a handful of bills, totaling about $500, across the table to him.

Perez counted the money, grinned, and slipped it in his pocket. “We can go now, if you’re game?”

“I’m game,” I replied, knowing this might be my only chance to get into the Bloodline’s hideout.

After that, I’d need to find Alyssa and then we could figure out a way to escape.

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