Chapter Eleven
“We’ve got nothin’, boss,” Jimmy informed Cummings as they stood in his office.
The older man pretended to be calm, his face stoic and his body relaxed as he undid his suit jacket. “Well, you ain’t trying hard enough.” Before either John or Jimmy knew it, Cummings pulled the trigger, shooting Jimmy right between the eyes. The deafening shot sent John jumping backward.
Three of Cummings’s men rushed into the room with their guns out, assessing the situation.
“Clean this mess up, or you’ll be next,” he told his men. With a pointed glare, he bared his teeth and warned John, “Find her or you’ll be with your friend, here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Helping the men dispose of his less-than-a-human buddy, John remembered Cummings’s words. He had no idea where to find her and would soon end up just like Jimmy.
John stood up and left the dump site with Jimmy’s SUV. After parking it on the estate, he hopped into his Cadillac and fled the estate before Cummings summoned him. He had somewhere to start looking for her.
***
Just as they finished up their meal, Gage received a message from Alex.
We’ve found an insider.
Gage dropped his fork onto his tray involuntarily. He typed the message without even looking up to see the curious expression on Hope’s face.
What do you mean? That was fast as fuck.
He just showed up.
Gage typed furiously into his phone, wondering why someone would cave so easily. Had they been listening to my conversation with Alex? It was possible that we’d been wiretapped without knowing it. Shit.
He replied: I don’t trust it.
He’s got valuable information on him.
Be safe and don’t let him get you alone. Let me know when and what you need from me.
Hope looked on as Gage typed away on his phone without looking up or speaking. She sat quietly and ate, biding her time. Once he set down his phone, he blurted out, “Alex says that someone is talking.”
Her eyes darted open widely. The thought of someone snitching on her father seemed unfathomable. They knew that he had ways of getting to people and how ruthless he could be. “So soon? Didn’t we just ask on the ride in?” she questioned.
Gage flailed his hands and shook his head lightly. “I know. It’s nuts. He claims the guy just walked into his office.”
Taking a deep breath and trying to be positive, she said, “Fine. We can’t look a gift horse in the mouth, right?”
“I don’t know. Things just don’t fall into your lap unless…” The wheel in Gage’s head spun as Hope looked on, waiting for him to continue.
“Unless…what?” she questioned.
“Unless Cummings did something to send the guy over the edge.”
“Over the edge? Not one of them cared about what happened to me.” She remembered quite vividly how no one offered to let her run away. Not a single one lifted a finger to help her. She frankly hated every last one of them.
“Sometimes a guilty conscience takes over, or the informant doesn’t trust Cummings.”
She scoffed. No one trusted her father, and feeling guilty wasn’t their forte. “It wouldn’t be Jimmy. He’s the leader of the idiots. He wouldn’t rat out my father even if he killed his mother.”
“Then who?”
“I don’t know.” The mood shifted—gone was the frivolity of time alone without any thoughts of Cummings or Navarro. Hope lost her appetite as soon as Gage told her about the messages.
Seeing the change in her demeanor, Gage said, “Let’s get out of here. You get everything you need, baby?”
“I grabbed plenty.” Gage took her hand and carried the bags with the other. Hope carried two small bags from Victoria’s Secret in her free hand. She pressed her head against Gage’s chest and released a sigh briefly before pulling back.
Gage took that as a sign that she trusted him like he’d hoped.
Once they reached the vehicle, he let her in first before loading the bags into the back to keep her away from prying eyes, although Gage’s motives could be questioned.
Did he just want to protect her from those out to get her, or because other men noticed her beauty in the mall?
In his heart, he knew it was the latter.
The ride back stayed awkwardly silent until Gage asked, “So how did you get along with your mother? Were you two close before her death?”
“I was fourteen when she died. She was my only friend. My body had started changing, and the boys noticed. The few friends I was allowed to have resented me for it. I lost every one of them before she died. Her death was ruled a homicide, but they never found the shooter. They searched with us, questioned Baxter and me, but they ended up with nothing.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I wanted to learn a little more about who you are.”
“I’m not upset. I’m glad you asked. She made me smile so often, but he took away hers.
I remember how she’d went from playing with me in my room to doing my hair, only to be scolded for turning me into a whore.
It’s funny, actually, because he didn’t want me to like boys because he planned to whore me out himself. ”
“He’s a prick and will pay for the things he’s done. I’m sure of it. He’s got to have some enemies.”
“Oh, he has plenty. Navarro isn’t his friend. He’s a bastard looking for another way to screw my father.”
“Do you feel anything for your father?”
“Nothing but contempt. He’s a piece of filth that I wouldn’t even scrape off my shoe. I’d toss it right into a burn pit.”
“Wow. I’m surprised you call him father sometimes.”
“I know he doesn’t deserve the word, but he never wanted me to call him that. Now, it’s like a spiteful, revenge kind of thing. It’s stupid and petty, but it’s the little things in life.”
“No, you do what you need to get by. He ruined all the fun years that we all experience. I know you missed out on a lot, but I promise that I’ll find a way of making it up to you when this is all over.”
“We’ll see when it’s all said and done.”
“You’ll see, all right.” They passed the cameras on the ranch, and he received another notification. His phone pinged with the images when it happened throughout the day, but the only ones were his workers twice and the mailman.