Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Gator
I was in my office trying to catch up on paperwork when the phone buzzed on the desk.
“Gator,” Janna said, her voice cracking.
“I’m here.”
“I have someone named Migs on the phone. He says it’s about Julius and that it’s urgent.”
“Put him through.” I waited a beat for the line to connect before saying, “Migs, what’s wrong?”
His voice sounded like someone trying to keep calm but failing horribly. “You need to get to The Shag Shack. Now.”
“Slow down,” I said, already on my feet. The chair scraped back, and I forced myself to breathe. “What happened?”
Migs wouldn’t be calling me sounding panicked if Julius was alright, but I forced myself to focus and to listen. I couldn’t be what Julius needed if I didn’t stay in control.
He swallowed audibly. “Someone grabbed him out back. They took him. They were in a car. He left a note for Devon, and Devon gave it to me. It said to call you.”
Everything in me went cold, then hot, and then my vision blurred for a second. Someone had Julius. How had this happened? We had a man on him. He was supposed to be safe at the salon.
“Who grabbed him? Is he—where did they take him?”
“I don’t know,” Migs said. “He went out the back. Tori saw them. She said they were in a black car. Then they drove off. Julius put a message in the pen cup, and Devon found it.” He sounded on the edge of panic, and his story was a bit all over the place.
I needed to know more, but first, I needed to get some help.
“Hold on for me for one second, Migs.” I paused, and he didn’t say anything. I forced myself to remain calm, but it was getting harder by the second. “Did you hear me? I need you to hold on. I need to get the guys on this, but I need more information.”
I heard him take a deep breath, and then he said, “Yeah, okay, I’ll wait.”
I didn’t want to risk accidentally cutting him off by switching lines, so I hurried to the office door and stuck my head out. I made eye contact with Caden. “I need Hawk and Wolfe in my office ASAP.”
He must have registered the fear in my voice because he nodded and got right up.
I took a deep breath to steady myself and then went back to the phone. I put it on speaker because I didn’t want to play relay with the guys. I’d rather they hear it all firsthand. And before I was even able to get back to Migs, Wolfe was there, concern on his face.
“They got Julius.” Then I went back to the phone. “Okay, Migs, let’s start with the note he left. What did the message say?”
“It said, They have Lainey, Call Gator, Back door.”
I closed my eyes and took a breath as an image of Lainey smiling at the football field just the night before flashed through my mind. These guys were smart. Telling him they had her was the one thing that could have gotten him to go with them.
I looked at Wolfe, but he was already on his phone. “I’m on it.”
“Okay, Migs. How long ago did he leave the note?”
“Just a minute or so ago. Like I said, Tori saw him go out and was worried. She checked on him and saw them, so she came straight to me and Devon. He realized it must have been because of the call, so he checked and found the note. They haven’t been gone long.”
“Who’s on Julius?” Hawk asked, joining us in the office.
“Axel,” I said.
“Okay.” Hawk picked up his phone, and I knew he was calling Axel.
I turned my attention back to Migs. “What call was Devon talking about?”
“Someone called and asked for Jules. He took the call and then just walked right out the back door.”
“Okay, we’ll send Axel inside, and he’ll ask you guys some questions. I’m on my way.” I hung up the phone and looked at Wolfe and Hawk.
“I have to go after him.” I snatched up my keys from the desk and headed for the door.
I moved to push my way through the two men and out the door. But Hawk reached out and stopped me. His voice was low and calm. “Harlan.”
“Hawk. They took Julius. He’s—”
“I know.” He cut me off.
I shoved a hand through my hair. “I need to go now.”
“No,” Hawk insisted. “You’re not going in blind.”
“He could be dead by the time we make a plan.”
“And he could get killed because we didn’t.
Besides, you don’t even know where you’re going.
” Hawk’s voice didn’t rise; it didn’t have to.
I knew he was right. No matter how badly I wanted to go after Julius, I didn’t even know where to look.
I would just be wasting time by heading to the salon.
“Kat’s pinging both his trackers. The ones on the phone and the earring, and she’s on the cameras.
Axel’s heading inside to make sure we have all the information. We will get him back.”
I took another breath. I’d always been proud of how well we all worked as a team, but seeing them jump into action now when Julius’s life was on the line… damn, I was glad these men had my back.
Wolfe clasped a hand on my shoulder. “I called Julius’s sister. His niece is there with her. She’s safe. I sent Bobby over to keep an eye on their place just as a precaution.”
That was a relief. They didn’t have Lainey. That would make getting Julius out so much easier, but we needed to hurry the fuck up.
“What’s the plan?” I asked, through my teeth. I had always been one to act, not the one to make a plan. That was Wolfe’s job, and I knew he would come up with one that would get Julius back. I didn’t like it, but I also knew they were right. Jumping the gun could get Julius killed.
“Come on,” Wolfe said. “Let’s go check in with Kat and see what we know. Then we’ll make a plan.”
Hawk and Wolfe left the office and went out into the ops center. I followed them to Kat’s station. She was typing away at her keyboard while staring intently at her monitor, but somehow she knew when we walked up.
“I have him. They’re on the move near that strip of warehouses off County three-seventy-six. I’m sweeping traffic cams between the salon and those warehouses. If they left on surface streets, I might get a plate. Give me five minutes.”
“You got three.” Hawk nodded. “Did you contact Chance?”
“I did,” she said. “This could be the break he’s been waiting on, so he’s getting geared up and ready to meet you once we have a location.”
“Just so he doesn’t try to take over when he arrives. This may be a break in a case for him, but Julius is everything to me,” I growled. “I’m going to get him back, and I’m not wading through red tape first. I don’t give a shit about warrants. If I have my way, no one will be left to prosecute.”
Hawk ignored that comment, but I knew he understood. He’d been through something similar with Mika not all that long ago. “Harlan, get loaded up so we can go get your boy.”
I appreciated his giving me something to actually do.
He knew I wasn’t good at waiting, and standing around while they put together a plan was going to drive me insane.
I was barely holding it together as it was, and knowing that my brothers were here and were doing what they did best was the only thing keeping me from losing it.
I went to our armory, skipping the elevator and making quick work of the stairs. I slammed a range of gear into my bag—guns, spare mags, radios, zip ties. Everything I could think of that we might need. When that was done, I went back up the stairs to the ops center.
Kat handed me my earpiece, and I shoved it in my ear. Then I looked at Wolfe and Hawk. “Okay, do we have a plan?”
“We do.” Wolfe put his own earpiece in. “We’re headed to the area of the last ping. You and Hawk will be in the tactical vehicle. Maddox and I will be right behind you. Axel is done at the salon, so we’ll be pulling him in as well. Don’t go rogue,” he said. “Promise me.”
I wouldn’t lie to him and promise not to go in after Julius. But I could at least give him something. “I promise I won’t be stupid.”
He let that sit there for a second and finally nodded. “Good enough. Let’s move. I’ll be in constant communication with Kat, and I’ll update you as soon as we have a set location.”
My adrenaline was pumping, and my heart was thumping.
The most important thing was to get Julius back, but now that we had a plan, my fury was building.
It burned in my gut and had begun to replace the fear I felt for my boy with the need to hurt whoever had dared to take him.
They had better pray they hadn’t hurt a single hair on his head because if they had, they wouldn’t be walking out of there alive.
I had one thought running on repeat in my head. Find Julius. Make them pay.