Chapter 38
Thario zeroed in on Calla's body language, and he didn't like what he saw. Something was very wrong.
He moved to her, and so did Frog. "What's wrong?"
She looked up. Confusion swam in her eyes. "He's there. He's at Abigail's house, and he's threatening to kill her. He sent an address and said I had to show up in twenty-four hours."
“Shit. Let me call my friends.”
"He said if we called the police, he would kill her. She can't die. I haven't seen her in years, and I need her."
He pulled her close and called Sharp. His friend picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, Thario, what’s up?”
“We found him. He’s holding Calla’s sister hostage and wants Calla to come to meet him.”
“Well, that ain’t gonna happen. I’ll get a team together. Get me the address and we’ll go in and take him down.”
“Okay. I’ll send you the address.”
“I need to be there when she is freed,” Calla said.
“Honey, we—“
Calla shook her head. “I can’t stay away. I have to be there with her.”
“Tell her we’ll set up a command center a few blocks away from where he’s holding her sister,” Sharp said.
“Okay. I’ll tell her.”
"I'll text you the details." Sharp ended the call, and Thario turned to Calla.
“He’s going to get a team together. He’s sending details for the command center they will set up. We’ll meet them close to the address.” He looked at the address and then punched it into the maps application. “It’s in Los Angeles. I’m going to see if Elowen will watch Hope, and we’ll head out.”
“Are you good to drive?”
Thario nodded. “Yes. I’m fine.”
She nodded. “Good, because I still don’t know how to drive.”
“We’ll get there in time and save her. But I’m not letting him get close to you again.”
She clung to him for a moment, and he let her. They needed to get moving, but not before he took a moment to console her. She needed strength, and he wanted to give it to her.
Calla felt incredibly desperate. They were headed to Los Angeles, but it would take them hours to get there.
She was glad Thario had friends like Sharp. They were lucky that Elowen and Griz didn’t mind watching Hope. There was no way they could do this trip with a rambunctious puppy.
Calla had drifted off to sleep at some point. When she sat up, Thario said they were almost to the place they were set to meet Sharp and his friends.
When they pulled into the parking lot, she glanced around, finally seeing a man who looked familiar.
“Who is that?” Calla asked.
“It’s Sharp. The guy behind him is Jay, and Shine. Then Squat, Zip, and that’s Bud who just stepped out from that door.”
“That’s a lot of guys.”
“I’ve helped them all. Not that I help them to gain favors, but I have a lot of guys in my corner.”
“I’m glad. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have you.”
He reached over and took her hand, squeezing before he let go and turned into the lot. Once he parked, he turned to face her.
“They aren’t going to let you anywhere near the place he’s holding your sister. They will take him down and save her.”
She wasn't sure exactly what he meant, but she was here for it. She wanted Brent stopped, even if that meant he died. She could live knowing he would no longer be around to cause problems.
She stepped from the vehicle, and Sharp was there beside her, giving her a piece of paper with detailed drawings.
"We know where he is. One of our contacts got us the drawings of the building. One of our guys got close and used a through-wall camera to look in. We know which room they are in. She's safe for now."
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she wanted to hug Sharp, but instead she hugged herself. Thario and Frog came up beside her, and she reached for Thario's hand, holding on to him.
"Do you think you can rescue her?" Her voice cracked with emotion as she spoke, but she didn't try to hide those emotions.
“We’re working up a plan.”
“We’ll stay back here. Just keep us updated.”
“Sure. We’re meeting in just a few minutes to go over what we’re going to do. I think you should both be there.”
"Thank you." Calla was thankful they were including her in the planning stage. She had been very lucky to be rescued by Thario's friends. They didn't know they were rescuing her, but they'd saved her.
If she’d gotten free another way, if something else had happened, she wouldn’t have any idea how to deal with this situation now. She wouldn’t have had to call the police or put herself at risk.
The guys were assembling inside, and she followed Sharp in just as her phone rang. She froze, fear pinging through her as she grabbed the device from her pocket and saw it was her sister's number.
“It’s him.”
“Answer it, and we’ll be quiet.”
She answered, her hands shaking as she put it on speaker. “Hello.”
“You only have twelve hours. You’d best show up.”
“I-I’m trying.”
“Try harder. You’d better show up.”
“Let me talk to her.”
Brent laughed. “You’re in no place to bargain. You can talk to her when you show up.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. She hadn't seen her sister in years, and she needed to make sure she was fine. The men surrounding her were silent, and she knew they were going to help her, but still, the emotions overrode her confidence in them, and she let out a strangled cry.
“Please.” The word came out as a whisper.
“Get yourself together and get here,” Brent commanded before the line went dead.
She made sure the call had ended before she spoke. “Phone is off.”
“I checked the camera feed, she’s still okay,” one of the guys said.
Calla nodded. “Please save her.”
Thario pulled her closer, and she leaned against him. She had to trust these guys. They'd saved her, or some of them had. Some of the men she'd never seen before, but she trusted Thario, so she trusted the men.
They were deep in conversation about how they were going to make their attack. It sounded good, but what did she know? She had to let go and let them do their job or everything could end up going horribly wrong.