Page 105 of Hendrix

A sharp ache clenched through my belly, and bile rose in my throat as an arm encircled my neck, holding me firm. Something covered my face, and my eyes rounded as I realized it was a cloth, right before something sweet filled my mouth and nostrils.

I opened my mouth to scream, struggling to get free, but my limbs felt like I was underwater. More of the sweet scent filled my nose, and I felt my eyes droop. Unable to hold myself upright anymore, my body went slack, and I slumped downward, feeling myself being caught and lifted before I hit the ground.

Then, I heard myself moan as everything went black.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

HENDRIX

Blade, Colt, and Iceman were waiting outside the hotel when we sped into the parking lot. The instant the GMC screeched to a halt, I swung my door open, jumped out, and stalked toward them.

Colt had confirmed Anna had gone somewhere with Tweety around forty minutes before, but that was all we knew. I’d tried calling her, but all I got was her voicemail, which in itself rang alarm bells. My woman was in the late stages of pregnancy and always made sure her phone was charged and ready for action. I called her to check in hourly whenever we weren’t together or if I was on a job. She knew better than to turn her cell off.

“Status report,” I barked.

“We found Anna’s cell phone on the floor of the garage,” Blade relayed. “Anna told Carrie she was going for a walk to clear her head, and Tweety offered to go with her. Carina raised the alarm after she tried calling her when Addie and Rockabye rolled up, but the call kept goin’ to voicemail. Colt looked back at the CCTV footage, and she definitely went somewhere with the prospect. They headed toward town, but the car disappeared somewhere along the way. The tracking device has been disabled, so we don’t know where the fuck they are. We’ve got Rockabye operating Hawk now, trying to pick up where he went.”

I felt my blood pressure spike.

What the fuck is happening?

“Is Tweety in on it?” I demanded.

“We dunno for sure yet,” Colt replied. “Anna seemed to go with him of her own free will, but the cameras didn’t pick up on their convo, so we dunno what was said. Carina didn’t get any bad vibes from him. In fact, she reckoned, if anything, he seemed eager to please. Anna’s body language looked a little off to me, but she’s pregnant and carries herself more carefully, so that doesn’t prove shit.”

“He must be part of it,” Diablo said from behind me. “If the tracker on the car’s disabled, he must’ve done it.”

“Agreed,” Blade muttered.

“The tracker could’ve broken,” Colt suggested.

“Weird how they’ve never fucked up before, and the one time it does, it’s when my ol’ lady disappears,” I offered. “Ace lured us out for a reason. It was never about Addie; it was about me and Anna. Tweety’s gotta be in on it.”

The men all looked at each other, their mouths hardening.

“I can’t fuckin’ believe this is happening” I croaked. “My woman’s weeks away from having our baby. How the fuck did we get so complacent?”

“We weren’t complacent,” Ice argued. “We did everythin’ right. All we can do is play the cards we’re dealt. We’ve got a fucking drone in the air looking for Anna and Tweet. He can’t stay holed up forever. Sooner or later, he’ll have to come out, and when he does, we’ll pounce.”

I scraped a hand down my face. “Tweety must’ve been recruited by Ace. There’s no other explanation.”

“Do they even know each other?” Gambit interjected. “Tweet didn’t join until after the club split.”

Diablo let out a low growl. “Ace must’ve sent him in to infiltrate. He knew our systems and personnel checks, seeing as he dealt with our tech back then. The fucker could’ve easily played us.”

Muttered curses went up.

“Colt, I want everythin’ you can get on Tweet,” I ordered. “Background, military career, parents, relatives. Everything.”

“Got most of it when you were driving back,” he told me. “Nothing leads back to Ace or ASP. I’ve gone through all Tweety’s relatives, and eventheirin-laws. No names flag up.”

“There’s gotta be a connection somewhere,” I insisted. “Ace targeted Addie to lure me out on a wild-goose chase. He wanted to get to Anna ‘cause it’s the one thing that will get to me. He needed inside help to do that, so it stands to reason it’s Tweety if he’s the one who snatched her.”

Colt turned for the hotel. “I’ll go through it again.”

I fell into step beside him, the others bringing up the rear. “Go back as far as you can. Check high school friends, too. Cross-reference Tweety with Ace’s nieces and nephews. Find the connection. It’s there, brother, it’s just hidden. But if anyone can get to the bottom of it, you can.”

We burst into the hotel and headed straight for Church.

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