Page 54 of Lake's Legacy

Hex steps out of the front door. With a clenched jaw, he glowers at the men in suits. “You two fucked up,” he snarls at them before glancing at Zip and me. “Dump those bodies in the river, then come inside. Better prepare yourself.”

Zip and I silently lug the bodies to the rear of the building and dump them into the river. They’ll either float downstream and get found or become alligator food. I realize this is close to where they fished out the body of Olivia’s friend.

“Not sure I want to see what’s inside,” Zip says as we return to the restaurant. Neither of us are prepared for what we find inside.

CHAPTER THIRTY: OLIVIA

We make the drive mostly in silence, except for the occasional heart-breaking whimper from the broken woman lying on the floor of the SUV. Jack pulls up to the Emergency entrance of Tulane Hospital. I rush inside to get help.

“We need a gurney and two wheelchairs,” I order the nurse covering the desk. “We have three victims. One is a possible rape victim. The other two are kidnap victims, and both are pregnant.”

The next few minutes are chaotic as nurses and orderlies rush outside to help the victims.

“I’m going to offer my help. The women may feel more comfortable with me there,” Annette says before following the two pregnant women.

“We need to call the police,” the head nurse tells me.

Rey steps in. “The police will be here shortly.”

The nurse nods and rushes off.

“Have you called your brother then?” I ask, knowing that Hex and the others don’t have much time if he's on his way.

“Not yet. I promised your friends time. I’ll give it to them. But first, I want to know what you know.”

I explain how I worked with Dr. Marcia Carver and Talia Bonaparte at Omega Hospital before they transferred to Tulaneand disappeared. Rather than explain how the Demon Dawgs determined the tampering of the cars connected to their disappearances, I fast-forward to my attempted kidnapping. I describe how someone stole my phone and tampered with my car.

“The patient I had told me a story of how her car broke down before two men in a white van tried to grab her. A stranger stepped in and stopped them. When my car broke down, I remembered her story. Getting out of the car, I hid. That was the right move since those guys who grabbed you showed up shortly after. I watched them search for me.”

“Talia Bonaparte? Isn’t that the girl whose body they just found?”

“Yes. I heard they found their cars abandoned on the side of the road. Like mine had been.”

“And mine. I just had my car into service a few days ago. I shouldn’t have had any trouble. You think they tampered with my car?”

“I do. Hex and the others think that’s how they were able to kidnap the women. They found themselves stranded and easy prey to two men dressed like doctors on the way home from the hospital. The scrubs and the masks hid them, but not in a way that made the women consider the men were hiding their identities. Talia and Marcia likely thought someone from work saw them and stopped to help.”

Rey nods. “That’s what I thought. I’d just been at the hospital to get a tour of the facility. A nice nurse showed me around and answered all my questions. I saw several of the staff wearing similar scrubs. Some wore masks. When I saw both men exit the van, I wasn’t concerned. I didn’t realize my mistake until it was too late.”

“I know.”

You saw them kidnap me?” Rey asks.

“We did. I’m sorry we didn’t step in sooner. We followed the van and didn’t realize the men targeted you until it was too late.”

“Why were you following them?”

“Annette and I saw one here, and we recognized him. We told Levi and Jack, who followed them.”

“Considering what we found, I’m glad you didn’t interfere. Those women would be in worse shape if you’d stopped them instead of following them. The person in charge, Hex? He stressed that he didn’t trust the cops. Is that just because he’s a biker?”

I shake my head. “No. Those men weren’t just kidnapping women. They were extorting money from businesses. One victim owns a restaurant, Francois. He told us what happened to a woman who refused to pay their fee and reported them to the police. The assholes burned down her bakery. Francois saw them do it, and he saw them kidnap the owner. I think she might be the one we found in the office.” I don’t know if this is true, but unfortunately, it feels right. “When Francois reported what he saw to the cops, the assholes showed up at his restaurant and beat him before raising their fee. They told him to mind his own business.”

“Shit. I hate dirty cops. Okay, I’ll call my brother and tell him what’s going on.” She checks her watch. “It’s been forty-five minutes. Do you think that’s long enough?”

I shrug. “I think so. Doubt it will take Hex and others long to get the information they need.”

Rey takes out her phone and makes the call. “Max. It’s Rey. I need your help.” Rey gives him a quick summary of the evening’s events. I smirked as the voice on the other end rose in volume as she spoke. “I’m at the Tulane Hospital with the victims and four of the people who rescued us. You’ll find the men who kidnapped me tied up inside an abandoned garage. Look, there is a strong possibility that these guys own a few cops. You needto make sure you trust whoever you send.” Rey gives him the address before ending the call.

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