Page 82 of Coff

“Fine,” Ozzie says, surprising me. “You can come, but you have to wait in the car.”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Dad.”

Ozzie laughs.

Well, if he thinks it’s okay, then I’ll go with it. But if I don’t want her with Axel, I need to analyze that. Actually, I don’t. I know what’s going on. The idea of her with anyone feels wrong. But she is with someone, Nelson. Although, since he’s trying to kill her, I think we can assume the marriage is over.

“Where do you think Duke went?” Ozzie asks.

She stares out the window. “His first stop is probably the house. When Nelson was on the phone, it sounded like he was in my dad’s office drinking his scotch. I’m sure Duke picked up on that, too.”

Huh, she was paying more attention to detail than I realized. “Okay, that’s a good start, but that’s in California. How do you think he’s going to get there with no money?”

That’s right, no money. I hid his bag of cash, thinking it would persuade him not to leave.

She turns in her seat and stares at me. “No money? He has his credit cards. If he is on his way to find Nelson, he won’t care who tracks him.”

Shit. She’s right. And that is what could get him killed. I pull out my phone and call Trip.

“Trip, hey, I need a favor.” I explain that we need to find Duke, and he likely booked a commercial flight.

“Okay, I’ll call you back once I have something,” he says, then ends the call.

“Who’s Trip?” Delaney asks.

“He’s the guy you call when you need to find out where someone is or anything about them,” I say.

Ozzie chuckles. “He’s a mysterious one, for sure. But he’s helped us out of many jams.”

A few minutes later, Trip calls back and confirms Duke booked a commercial flight to San Diego that lands in about six hours.

“That doesn’t give us much time,” Ozzie says.

Delaney shakes her head. “We’ll never make it in time. Dammit, Duke.”

I call Brian and explain everything going on. “If you want us to stop this, then we’ll need a private plane.”

Delaney’s brows shoot up as she watches me on the phone.

“I need to make a few phone calls, but I think I can make that happen,” Brian says. “I’ll call you back.”

I stare at my phone, imagining how this could go, and in every scenario, Delaney is in danger. “Delaney, I think you should consider staying here. We are likely walking into a shooting match,” I say.

She sighs. “I’ll wait in the car. But like I said, I can defend myself.”

“Did you use any of the moves you learned on Nelson when he hurt you?” It’s a low question but one I have to ask.

She flinches. “No. I was too shocked by what he’d done.”

I nod. “And if someone comes at you with a gun, you will likely be too shocked again. You aren’t trained for this, Delaney. We are.”

Without even looking at me, she smiles and says evenly, “I’m going with you. End of story.”

I glance at Ozzie in the rearview mirror, and the asshole is trying not to laugh. While I will admit I need her to show us where her brother could be, I’m not comfortable with her going into any building with us. I did say she had to stay in the car. I’ll make sure she knows that’s her only option. But as I replay her words in my head, I bite back my smile. It’s the Delaney I knew. The one who wouldn’t take shit from anyone. I’m happy to see her reemerging.

Ten minutes later, Reed calls. A plane is set up for us at an airport outside the city.

“That was really fast,” I say.

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