Page 16 of Jacqueline's Quest

“Terco,” she sighed. “All of this isn’t on you.”

He glanced over his shoulder. "I am when my partner wants to run headlong into danger."

Ouch. “I heard you the first time.”

He turned then. “Did you? Because I think you’re still under the impression that this is the wild west and you’re going to be kicking down doors and taking names.”

“I thought the saying was; kicking asses and taking names?” The corner of her mouth kicked upward.

“In this situation, it’ll be kicking down doors,” Murray replied.

“Right.” She squinted as she glanced up at him.

“Fuck,” Murray muttered. “I can’t even argue with you. You’re like a fucking tick.”

“Are you serious?” She crossed her arms, offended by the term.

"You're under my skin and you're driving me insane," he snarled. "Grab your fucking camera. We're going on a mini-mission."

The switch in his attitude caused her to have whiplash. “My what?”

He stomped past her. “Your camera. Get it and meet me at my Jeep. We’re going on a mission.”

Right. Her camera. “O-kay.” She followed after her. “Mind telling me where we’re going?”

“Not especially. Don’t need you causing a scene.” He grabbed his go-pack off her kitchen table then strode through the living room to the front door. “Are you coming or am I doing this on my own too?”

“Cabrón,” she grumbled, grabbing her camera bag off the shelf where she kept it. “Of course, I am coming with you. Why wouldn’t I?”

Jaqueline would bethe death of Murray, he knew it. She was so pigheaded and fucking on edge. Every clue meant she had to run toward danger without thinking about what it might cause for everyone who was around her. As much as she thought about her brother and if he believed her, his sister, she threw all her care away when it came to breadcrumb clues. What did she expect them to do? What could they do without some kind of backing, when according to her, no one in Juarez wanted to do a damn thing to shut the club down?

He slid into his Jeep and started it up. When Jaqueline clicked her belt into place, he took off. While he stood outside staring off in the direction of Juarez, he thought about what she said and about the satellite stills from almost four hours ago. It was a longshot going to the club to do a little recon, but with people being outside of the building, it might give them a chance to get a little closer than what the drone could.

“Can I ask where we’re going?”

“You could,” he said. “We’re doing a little recon.”

“You said as much, but why’d you change your mind?”

"I haven't. You're a loose cannon," Murray said. "You have zero discipline when it comes to your brother. In the long run, it can get both of us killed. However, something about the photos didn't sit right with me. If what you said is true and the upper floors were private quarters and playrooms, why isn't there more activity?"

"There normally isn't," Jaqueline said. "It'd been pure luck I got a good picture of my brother and caught a glimpse of a girl who didn't look like she belonged when I sent the info to Tex."

Murray would kick his ass later for asking the next question. "Was the wheelchair the same one you saw when you saw Hannah?"

"I can't be 100% sure, but yes, it appears to be the same." She glanced at him. "Can I tell you everything without you ripping my head off?"

He snorted. “Sure.”

“Most of the wheelchairs, unless a family has money, are shit here,” she said. “To order a chair like Hannah’s would cost more than some people make in five years. Despite what you believe about Raul, he wouldn’t spend a hundred dollars let alone ten thousand dollars on a custom chair for anyone in the club. It’s what caught my attention in the picture the satellite caught. It’s Hannah’s chair. It’s not a gut feeling or me being hopeful for you. It’s the truth.”

He frowned. Hannah's chair would have to be too small for her now. She was a woman, not a child. When she'd been kidnapped, Murray had been ready to upgrade her chair to something more streamlined for his sister, since no one knew if she'd ever been able to walk again. Yet, what Jaqueline said had a ring of truth to it too. No one could afford Hannah's chair. It'd been something he'd been fortunate to obtain due to the military doctors and hospital where she stayed for longer than he'd been anticipating. Thankfully, it was also where some of the leading doctors in the field of AMF were located too.

“Let’s say it is her,” Murray stated. “How do you think we could get in there and out without being seen by someone?”

“We can’t,” she admitted.

“Exactly, we can’t. Not to mention we’d never get Hannah or Christian out. We’d be doing them more harm than good.”

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