Chapter Twenty-Two
Unease prickled at the base of Caleb’s skull as he sat next to Zach on the drive to the clinic. Bony fingers tapped out a message he couldn’t decode.
Potholes forced Zach to move at a crawl, careful not to jostle the injured teens more than necessary.
Gia suddenly gripped his shoulder from the back seat. “Keogh’s mother said there was another car involved. An SUV.”
Zach muttered a low curse.
Caleb twisted, catching the eye of the girl cradling her fractured wrist. “What happened?”
The girl, Mckayla, hesitated, glancing at Zach. “We were out just having fun, ya know? Keough was on his way to pick up Zoey, his girlfriend, when this silver SUV flew up behind us.”
“Silver, you’re sure?” Caleb questioned. “Did you catch the model?”
The girl shrugged.
“GMC.” The boy with the broken leg piped up. “It was on the grille.”
Caleb’s pulse ticked up. Silver GMC.
“Did you see the driver?” he pressed.
“Not really. It happened so fast. There was someone in the passenger seat.” Mckayla looked at her friends for confirmation .
They nodded.
Zach called it in. “Dispatch, Unit One, we have a ten-fifty-seven, hit-and-run. Vehicle involved is a silver GMC SUV. Driver fled the scene.”
He shot Caleb a grim look. “Be advised—it may be the same SUV from yesterday’s drive-by.”
Gia gasped. “Jennie.”
They reached the paved road. Zach gunned the motor and tore off, sirens blaring, for the clinic.
“If they didn’t circle back while we were there, they’re long gone.” Caleb didn’t believe it, not really, but he said it anyway. “Any other units close?”
“No. We’re spread thin,” Zach said. He glanced at Gia in the rearview mirror. “Text Jennie. We don’t want to alarm her, but tell her if a silver GMC shows up, lock her doors and call me.”
Gia whipped out her cell, her thumbs moving rapidly over the screen.
The clinic came into view up ahead.
Caleb was out of the vehicle as soon as it stopped. He opened Gia’s door. “She’ll be okay.” The words rang hollow.
“I sent the text.” Her brows furrowed. “But I’m not sure it went through. Maybe now that we’re on Wi-Fi.”
Inside the clinic, frantic parents swarmed them. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as nurses converged on the chaos.
Caleb stepped aside while Zach handled the parents and Gia briefed the medical staff on duty.
Mid-brief, she glanced down at her phone, and her body visibly relaxed.
So did Caleb’s—she must have heard from Jennie .
Once she’d finished her brief and let the medical staff take over, she returned to his side.
“Jennie texted back.” Relief softened her face. “No silver SUV.” Her phone dinged. She laughed and held it up.
Guess who just pulled up. Remember the hottie delivery driver? ?????? Tell Zach to call me before he heads back. I may not be here…
“Feel better now?” Caleb didn’t. The back of his neck still tingled.
“About Jennie? Yes.” Her smile faded. “That these kids may have been run off the road by Vincente’s men, no.”
She shook her head. “It’s got to be someone else, someone who lives on the rez. Why would his men be this far from the populated areas?”
Because they’re hunting.
Time to set the trap.
Caleb shot off a text to Nathan.
Situation here escalating. Need a favor. Lopez has to believe his deal with the Aztec Kings is unraveling enough to force a personal visit. Manufacture some chatter between the Kings and Los Coyotes. Make sure it leaks.
Quiet whispers that would grow louder. Too loud to ignore. Too layered to dismiss with a single phone call.
And if Gia was the final nudge to get Lopez here?
Hell No.
That option was off the table. He’d give Lopez a reason—but it wouldn’t be her.
His heart kicked hard. Sweat broke across his brow.
Now he got it.
Why Ryder broke protocol for Nathalie. Why Nathan and Lachlan had risked everything for their women.
“What’s the matter.” Gia was watching him too closely.
His phone vibrated. A reply from Nathan.
I’m on it.
Zach walked up to them. Tension carved lines into the corners of his eyes. “I can’t get ahold of Jennie. I called Richie Benally, the tow truck driver. He hasn’t reached the accident site yet.”
“She texted me,” Gia assured him. “The guy who delivered our medical supplies yesterday morning showed up. I think she’s hitching a ride with him.”
“Who is this guy?”
Caleb noted the way Zach stiffened. His sharp tone. Maybe his cousin wasn’t as indifferent to Jennie as he’d assumed.
Gia’s eyes widened. Her gaze shot to Caleb, suddenly wary. “I don’t know. I’d never seen him before. Jennie said he was new. He seemed friendly, flirted with all the nurses.”
Zach scowled. “She still needs to answer her damn phone.”
“Let’s go back to the site.” Caleb needed to see for himself. Judging by the tic in Zach’s jaw, so did he. “We’ll double check she’s not there, talk to the tow operator, then you can take us back to the safe house.”
He and Gia were too exposed. They needed to lie low, out of sight, while he set his plan in motion.
By the time they returned to the accident scene, two tow trucks were there, the operators working to stabilize the overturned pickup so they could right it and get it loaded. Jennie’s truck was parked in the same spot as when they left.
No sign of Jennie.
Caleb stayed in the Tahoe with Gia while Zach questioned the two men.
Frustration simmered on Zach’s face when he came back. “Richie and Tristin, the other tow operator, said Jennie was gone by the time they arrived. Her truck’s locked and she didn’t leave the key—They looked everywhere for it.”
Warning sirens blared in Caleb’s head. “Take us back to the house.”
“Why didn’t she leave the key?” Zach held his phone to his ear, his lips thinning in a grim line. “She’s still not answering her phone.”
Caleb glanced back at Gia. “You try calling her.”
After a moment, Gia’s worried gaze met his in the rearview mirror. “She’s not answering me, either. Maybe her phone died?”
She was reaching, grasping at straws. Caleb didn’t blame her.
Maybe Jennie had her phone on silent and was too busy flirting with the delivery guy to notice. Maybe her battery had died. Maybe she was in a cell phone dead spot—God knows there were plenty on the rez.
There were too many reasonable explanations to get through before they considered foul play.
As they drove toward Gallup, Caleb scanned every vehicle on the road. When they arrived at the safe house, he and his cousin cleared the perimeter first, then moved inside while Gia waited in the Tahoe.
Once they were sure it was secure, Caleb ushered Gia indoors, then trailed Zach out to his cruiser.
“I’m heading to Jennie’s,” Zach said, his jaw set. “I’ll let you know when I find her—if I don’t strangle her first.”
Caleb rested his forearms on the Tahoe’s open window and met his cousin’s stare. “I can get a trace on her cellphone faster than you can get a warrant to access the data.”
“Thanks. I hope I don’t need it.”
“Call me when you hear anything. Gia’s worried.”
Back inside, Caleb followed the sharp clang of pans and rattle of cabinet doors into the kitchen.
“Lunch—you hungry?” Gia flew around the small kitchen, tossing bread, sliced turkey, cheese, and condiments carelessly on the counter. “We didn’t get lunch—look at the time.”
He stepped into her path and bent until they were eye level. “Gia, look at me.” His voice was steady. “Let’s not assume the worst, okay?”
Fear darkened her sapphire eyes to midnight. “Jennie always answers her phone. Her texts.”
He had no response to give that would reassure her.
They ate in strained silence. Sat on the couch after. Waited.
Finally, Caleb’s phone rang. Zach.
“Richie went back for Jennie’s truck,” Zach said. “He jimmied the lock. Her cell phone was on the floor, passenger side.”
Hell. “And her home?” Caleb asked.
“I’m here now. No sign of her. I checked with the neighbors. No one’s seen her come or go since this morning.”
Gia’s phone rang beside him. She’d barely let it out of her hands since they got back, checking it again and again.
She glanced at the screen—and a strangled sound escaped her throat.
The phone slipped from her hand.
“Hold on, Zach.” Dread slithered between Caleb’s ribs. “Gia, what is it, baby?”
“This is my fault.” She shot to her feet. “All my fault.” Her arms wrapped her waist. Her stare focused on something he couldn’t see.
Caleb picked up her phone.
Insurance, querida, that you will return to me.
Attached to the text was a photo of Jennie Tsosie, one eye swollen shut, the other wide with terror.
Caleb held his own phone to his ear, grim. He steeled himself for what he had to tell his cousin.
“Lopez has Jennie.”