Chapter 31 #3
“So I’ve heard,” I said. “But talk is cheap and I have no idea how to find him. Maybe you should take me to someone who does know.”
“And tell ’em what?” he demanded. “That you want his address?”
“This really shouldn’t be this hard,” I said, irritation slipping into my voice. “If you can’t help me, then I might as well kill you and find someone who will.”
He gritted his teeth while his one-handed grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“When and where is the shipment coming in?” I asked again.
“The industrial park,” he grunted. “Four a.m.”
“And Knox?”
“He’s gonna be there,” he said, starting to pant. “Just show up at the industrial park and introduce yourself.”
“Maybe I will,” I said. “But where will he be before then?”
“The fuck I know.”
“Try again.”
“He’s not my boss!” he shouted, leaning over the steering wheel. “I don’t know!”
“Who would know?” I asked. “Who tells you what you need to know?”
He was silent for several seconds, and he looked like he was struggling to make a decision before he said, “Nixon.”
“And where would Nixon be right now?”
“Gettin’ ready for the shipment.” He was starting to breathe heavier.
“Pull over in that parking lot over there,” I said, motioning to an empty gravel lot ahead. “Then shut off the engine.”
He gave me a cautious look. I expected him to keep driving, but he turned in once we reached it. He pulled into the middle of the lot, put the truck in park, and turned it off.
“What now?” he sneered. “You gonna kill me?”
“No, you’re gonna call Nixon.”
“The hell I will.”
“Then I guess I will kill you.”
“All right!” he shouted, then reached for his pocket.
“If you pull out anything resembling a weapon, you’ll have a hole in your chest next,” I said coldly.
He slowly pulled out his phone.
“Good, now grab your car keys too.”
He set his phone on the seat and pulled a key fob out of his pocket. I grabbed it and stuffed it into my jacket pocket.
“Now get your phone and hold it so I can see who you’re calling,” I said.
He typed in his passcode to open the phone, and I made note of the numbers. He pulled up his contacts, and the name Nixon appeared on the screen.
“Okay,” I said, “Now call him and put it on speaker. You’re gonna find out two things. Where Knox is right now. And if someone found me, what Knox wants them to do with me.”
He shook his head, his jaw clenched tight. “He’s never gonna tell me the first part.”
“You better hope you’re wrong,” I said flatly. “And if you tell him I’m with you, I will kill you.” I narrowed my eyes. “Now call.”
Razor looked like he wanted to strangle me, but he was also starting to fade.
If he didn’t make this call soon, I wasn’t sure he’d be able to.
I also couldn’t help wondering what to do with him.
Drop him off at a hospital? If I did that, I doubted he’d tell them I’d shot him, and the gun couldn’t be traced to me.
The phone rang and a man answered in a rough tone. “This better be important, Razor. I’m dealing with a mountain of shit.”
Razor’s dark gaze lifted to me. “Just checkin’ if I need to be there sooner than two.”
“Why would you need to be here sooner than two?” he demanded.
“I don’t know, man,” Razor said, lifting his right hand to scrub over his face. “I know Knox is on edge.”
“Of course he’s on edge. We think Malcolm got one of our handlers and the girl he had with him.”
Razor’s jaw clenched and he swallowed hard. “So I heard. What about the woman Knox is after?”
“What about her?” Nixon barked.
“Is she helpin’ Malcolm?”
“Probably. She wiped out an entire team last week.”
Apprehension washed over Razor’s face. “If someone found her, what would he want done with her?”
There was a moment of silence. “Did someone find her?”
Razor lifted his gaze to me, and I nodded once.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice starting to fade. “She walked into The Brick House.”
“No shit? Keep her there and I’ll send someone to get her.”
“Fuck that,” Razor growled. “I’m not lettin’ you get the credit. If I turn her in, maybe Knox’ll take me seriously. Where do you want me to bring her?”
“You’re presumin’ she’ll go with you.”
“I’ve already got her in my truck.”
There were another few seconds of silence. “Bring her to the warehouse.”
I shook my head.
“No way. I’m bringing her directly to Knox.”
“That’s not happenin’,” Nixon said with a short laugh.
“Then I guess he won’t be gettin’ her.”
“Knox isn’t gonna be happy if you show up on his doorstep.”
“Then I guess he doesn’t want her very bad.”
I hoped Nixon gave him something quick because Razor was starting to slump in his seat.
“Fine,” Nixon said. “He’s probably at his house, 351 Overton Road, but if you tell him you got it from me, I’ll kill you myself. Now I’ve got to go.”
Nixon hung up and Razor tried to glare at me, but he was too weak to make it look effective.
“Where’s your gun?” I asked.
“Don’t have one,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I call bullshit,” I said, my gaze flicking to his waistband. “I can shove you out of the truck and pat you down, or you can just tell me and save us both the trouble.”
His jaw worked, and I thought he was going to pick the hard way, then he said. “Behind my back.”
“Both hands on the steering wheel,” I said.
“I’m gonna bleed to death if I let go of my leg.”
“Then the sooner you lean forward so I can take your gun, the less chance you have of bleeding to death.”
Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the steering wheel and leaned forward.
I reached over and hiked up his T-shirt, exposing the butt of a gun sticking out of the back of his jeans.
I quickly snatched the gun and sat back against the passenger door.
After I stuffed it into my jacket pocket, I snatched his phone off the seat.
“Okay,” I said. “You can put pressure back on your leg.”
He released the steering wheel and pressed both hands to his leg. “I hope Knox gives you a slow and painful death.”
“He’ll have to stand in line,” I said as I checked his phone screen. It hadn’t locked yet, so I called 911 and told the operator a man had been shot in the leg and needed medical assistance. After I gave her a rough address, I hung up.
“Help is on the way,” I said, opening the door.
“What am I supposed to tell them?” he asked in dismay.
“An interesting guy like you’ll think of something.” I got out and shut the door. After I threw the key fob into a patch of weeds behind a dumpster, I hurried down the street back toward my car.
It was time to pay Gerald Knox a visit. But first, I had to check in with Carter.
“I have an address for Knox,” I said when Carter answered. “351 Overton Road.”
“Do I want to know how you got that?” he asked in a weary tone.
“I shot Razor in the leg to get him to talk.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to know,” he groused.
“We both know you did,” I said as I continued to walk the six blocks. “Have you heard from James?”
“No,” he said, turning serious. “Did you find out anything?”
“No. Razor said he hadn’t been in, and I believe him. If he had, I don’t think Razor would have been there shooting the shit with a guy at the bar.” Then I added. “Do you know who the man in the photo is?”
“The blurry photo of you putting on lipstick?” he asked wryly.
“The photo of Razor and a guy in a booth. The other was an excuse to get the photo. I take it you don’t know?” I could hear sirens in the distance, so I picked up my pace.
“No, but I can do some digging. Is he important?”
“I don’t know. I guess that’s not important right now. The shipment’s going down at four in the morning in the industrial park. Some of the hired help is showing up at two.”
“Okay,” he said, sounding like he was preparing to negotiate a hostage takeover. “You got two great pieces of information. Now you need to go back to the hotel and wait for Skeeter.”
“No, I’m going to confront Knox.”
“Are you out of your mind?” he shouted in my ear. “You can’t face him alone, and there’s little chance Knox has Skeeter. Knox wants him dead.”
I wanted to argue with him. But I believed Razor hadn’t seen him, which meant James hadn’t gone to the bar. And deep down, I know Carter was right. Knox didn’t have James. Confronting Knox alone would be foolish.
So where was James? Had he been surveilling the bar? Had he left his car parked two blocks away and gone to another location? Or had he met someone in one of the buildings around the intersection?
But one thing was clear—James likely hadn’t been taken by Knox’s men, which meant my best course of action was to go back to the hotel and wait.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m heading there now. I’ll let you know when I’m back in the room.”
I hung up and continued walking, trying to put more distance between me and the scene behind me.
I was almost to my car when a figure darted out from behind a car parked on the street. They tackled me to the pavement, face first, and lay on top of me to pin me in place.
Caught by surprise, it took a second to realize what happened and react. I tried to rise up and shove them off me, but I felt a sharp sting in my neck. Then everything faded to black.