Tipsy (26 page)

“
That’s disgusting,” I said
as I climbed into the back seat. The interior of the Hummer was
warm, and I sank into the black leather seat. “Remind me to never
come to your house when zombie’s take over America.”

“
That was me being
hospitable-like. Beans are vegetarian.”

I smiled as Craig pulled away from the
curb and out onto the empty street. Dee peaked around her seat at
me. “What the hell happened?”

I groaned. “It’s a long story. I’m too
tired to explain it.”

“
You think you can call me
in the middle of the night to pick your ass up from the slammer and
then not tell me why you got arrested in the first place?” she
asked incredulously. She made a sound in the back of her throat. “I
don’t think so.”

“
Basically it was all a huge
misunderstanding. They dropped the charges.”

“
What were the charges?”
Craig asked.

“
I can’t really say. It’s an
ongoing investigation.” Oh, that was good.
Good job, Julie,
I told myself for
coming up with such an official response.

“
Does this have anything to
do with Blue?” Dee asked. She was like a dog with a bone. She
wasn’t going to give up.

“
No.” I lied.

I didn’t really want to lie, but I had
to. The less Dee knew the better. I didn’t want her getting dragged
into this. Not to mention, I really was told not to discuss this
with anyone. I wasn’t about to open my mouth and mess something up
for someone. Blue was out there right now and the thought of him
getting hurt literally made me feel like someone was ramming nails
into my eyes.

Yeah, that was a gruesome image… I’d
had a long night.

“
I don’t believe you,” Dee
said.

“
You really should become a
private investigator,” I muttered.

“
I knew it!” she burst.
“You’re such a lousy liar.”

“
I have no idea what you’re
talking about.” I lied again, this time around a yawn.

“
Uh-huh,” she intoned. “You
can tell me now or you can tell me in the morning when I show up at
your front door.”

I was saved from telling more lies she
would never believe when Craig changed the subject as he gazed off
to the side of the road. “Not a good time of night to be out on the
road by herself,” he muttered.

I looked around the seat and out the
windshield at a car parked on the side of the road with the hood up
and smoke rolling out from beneath. Leaning against the car was a
woman wearing a pair of jeans and a too-large hoodie. She had long
dark hair and a small build.

Craig slowed the Hummer and pulled
several yards behind her car. “I’m just going to make sure she has
a phone to call for help.”

The woman looked at the Hummer warily,
no doubt scared of who might be inside. If I were her, I wouldn’t
even have gotten out of my car. I would have locked the doors and
called for help. But maybe Craig was right; maybe she didn’t have a
phone. Leaving her out here at this time of night wasn’t
right.

“
I’ll go with you,” Dee
offered. “Maybe seeing a woman will quell her thinking you’re some
kind of sicko who preys on women.”

“
I do not look like a
sicko,” Craig defended, and I laughed.

“
That’s the point,” Dee
said. “Most sickos look like normal guys.”

“
I’m not your
average-looking guy,” he grumbled as they opened their doors. “I’m
extremely good-looking.”

Dee snorted as she peeked at me in the
backseat.

“
I’ll wait here,” I said,
not even having to feign exhaustion. The minute I got home, I was
collapsing on the couch. I wasn’t even going upstairs. I found that
since my night with Blue, I preferred sitting in the living room.
It made me feel closer to him.

“
We’ll be right back,” she
said and shut the door, joining Craig in front of the
Hummer.

I leaned my head back against the seat
and let out an exhale. I wondered what Blue was doing and hoped he
was safe. I knew he was going to go after those drugs. He wouldn’t
tell me what he planned, but I knew he was planning something. It
made me nervous. I always knew that dating a cop would be
worrisome, but I never quite realized how much.

Dating?
Why had my brain automatically gone there? We’d never so much
as discussed our relationship, or lack thereof.

Lights shining through the back window
had me lifting my head and looking to see who was there. Another
car, some kind of truck, had pulled up behind us. Unease was like
an icy finger against my skin, and I told myself to calm down. It
was likely just another concerned driver stopping to see if any of
us needed help.

I looked toward Craig and Dee. Craig
was handing the woman his cell phone and the three were standing
close together, talking.

I heard the slam of a door from behind
and I waited for someone to pass by the Hummer on the way to talk
to the small group of people standing outside.

But no one passed by and I swear it
seemed like the headlights shining through the back window grew
brighter… like they were getting closer.

I pivoted in the seat to look, and sure
enough, the truck had driven up so that it was mere inches behind
the Hummer.

“
What the hell?” I muttered
as the door next to me was yanked open forcefully.

I jerked as adrenaline flooded my body
and a man with a dark hat and clothing reached into the vehicle to
grab me. I slapped his arm away, sliding across the seat so he
couldn’t reach me. The man grabbed at my ankle and pulled me back,
and I let out a scream, kicking at his face.

My boot connected with his jaw and he
let out a deep grunt.

From outside, I heard Dee
call my name and then a sharp cry.
Dee!
The man grabbed me by the arm and
dragged me out of the car, and I let him, trying to see what was
happening to my friends.

I fell out of the car and onto the
ground, my knees taking the brunt of the fall. The man who was
trying to attack me laughed and shoved me a little harder so I
practically face-planted onto the pavement. “You deserve that,
bitch,” he said.

I pushed up, looking toward Craig and
Dee. They were both standing with their hands in the air while the
unassuming woman and a man were holding them at
gunpoint.

Oh my God, were we being
robbed?

Really? Like this day hadn’t been
shitty enough.

I sprang up and swung around to face
the man who pulled me out of the car. I swung my fist at him and he
dodged the hit. So I kicked him in the shin. When in doubt, just
kick people.

“
Shit,” he swore when my
boot connected with his leg.

I took off running, not really sure
which way to go, but knowing I couldn’t stay here. I was the only
one that didn’t have a gun pointed at my head so that meant I was
the only one that could try to get help.

The sound of a gun discharging was like
a deafening roar in my head. The bullet hit the pavement right next
to me and little bits of gravel and earth flew up and hit my
legs.

I screamed and automatically threw my
hands up to protect my face, trying to come up with a plan. I
should get in the Hummer and run them all down.

They could shoot at me all they wanted,
but it was a big car and it would be moving.

“
She’s supposed to be
alive,” someone yelled, and awful awareness crashed over me. We
weren’t being robbed.

This was a kidnapping. Dom sent people
after me. I put my friends in grave danger and I hadn’t even meant
to.

I rushed toward the driver’s side,
praying the keys were still in the ignition. I heard a bit of a
scuffle and Dee cry out, and I knew that Craig was likely trying to
fight his way out of the situation.

If one of them got hurt because of me,
I would never forgive myself.

My hand closed over the door handle and
I yanked, opening the door. Before I could catapult myself inside,
someone grabbed me from behind. His arms were like metal vises,
closing around me and locking me in place. I struggled and
screamed; I even tried to bite him.

The man brought up a white cloth and
stuffed it over my mouth and nose, causing panic to explode through
my body like the finale of a Fourth of July firework
show.

I couldn’t breathe. I was choking. I
was going to die.

Automatically, my body searched for
oxygen and I sucked in a lungful of air. It was extremely sweet and
I noticed the cloth being forced against my face was damp with a
dense liquid.

Chloroform.

I began to fight and struggle again,
but my movements became sluggish and slow. I felt consciousness
loosen as my thoughts began to scatter. I was losing control of my
body… I was losing control of this situation.

I blinked, trying to stay awake, trying
to focus.

My eyes zeroed in on the keys hanging
from the ignition of the Hummer. I had been close. So
close.

I went limp in my kidnapper’s arms and
darkness closed around me.

I hadn’t been close enough.

28

Blue

I shook off the men still flanking my
sides and took a menacing step toward Dom. “Where is she?” I
demanded.

“
You’re in no position to be
making demands.”

My fist ached with the need to plow it
into his smug face. I no longer cared about bringing this bastard
to justice. The only justice for someone like him was the kind he
would receive in hell.

“
If you hurt her, I will
kill you.” I vowed.

“
Let me tell you how this is
going to go,” Dom replied, like my promise wasn’t something he
should even worry about.

I glanced behind him at Slater,
wondering when he was going to do something to help.

“
He can’t help you. No one
here can. You just have to do what you’re told,” Dom said, noting
where my gaze had gone.

“
What do you want?” I
spat.

“
I want my drugs. All of
them. The entire shipment. Once I have what is mine, I will release
the girl.”

I snorted. “Like hell. I’m not giving
you shit until I see she isn’t hurt. I’ll give you the drugs when
you give me my girl.”

Dom stared at me for long moments.
“Take me to the drugs and then I’ll take you to your
girl.”

“
You think I’m stupid?” I
spat. “The minute you see those drugs, you’ll kill me and then have
her killed. Like I said, you’re not even going to lay eyes on that
shit ‘til I lay eyes on her.”

“
Fine. We’ll trade. You have
thirty minutes. Get my stuff and bring it back here.”

“
Is she here?” I asked,
looking past him at the door leading into the house.

“
No. But she will
be.”

I was inclined to believe him because
there was no way Slater would just be standing there if Julie was
in that house.

“
Thirty minutes.” I agreed
and started walking to my car.

“
Slater,” Dom ordered behind
me. “Go with him. If he tries anything, anything at all, kill
him.”

“
You got it,” Slater replied
as he followed me down the driveway.

I slammed into the Mustang and revved
the engine. The sound of squealing tires and the scent of burning
rubber filled the air as I sped away.

As soon as Dom’s house was out of
sight, I slammed my fist into the dashboard. “What the
fuck!”

“
You took his shipment?”
Slater asked.

“
You fucking cold-cocked me
in the face.” I looked at him.

“
If I didn’t, it would have
looked suspicious.”

“
Whose side are you on?” I
demanded, in no mood for shit.

“
The good side.”

I wasn’t even sure what the good side
was anymore. From where I sat, every angle of this case was a
freaking clusterfuck.

“
Did you know they were
going to take Julie?”

“
No. What the hell
happened?”

“
She found his shit,” I
spat.

“
And she’s connected to
you.” Slater whistled through his teeth.

“
If he hurts her…” My words
trailed away because I couldn’t bring myself to finish the
sentence.

“
I’m sure she’s fine. For
now,” Slater said, subdued.

I felt sick. Physically sick inside. I
found the phone I used to call the department and punched the
button for Watson. He answered on the first ring.

“
We have a hostage
situation. I have the drugs in my possession. Dom agreed to make a
trade for the goods. We’re meeting in less than thirty minutes at
his house. I need a team of men ready for a raid.”

“
Who’s the hostage?” Watson
said and then started barking orders to the people around
him.