“Guy’s name is Eddie Fontaine,” Hawk said. “He’s one of DeMarco’s enforcers. I made a couple of calls on my way over, asked a friend in law enforcement for the names of the guys in Sawyer DeMarco’s inner circle. He gave me names and texted me photos. Eddie’s picture was among them. According to my source, he usually works with a guy named Nolan Webb.”
Reese grabbed the front of Eddie’s shirt, jerked him up on his toes, and slammed him back against the wall. “I asked you a question. Where’s the boy?”
Eddie wiped blood off his mouth. “Go fuck yourself.”
Reese fought down a fresh rush of fury. He drew back and punched Eddie square in the face. Blood flew and Eddie slammed backward into the wall. Reese grabbed him again, dragged him over to a chair, and heaved him into the seat.
“You’re going to tell me where he is.” He flexed his hand, ignored the scraped knuckles, and clenched his fist. “It’s just a matter of time.”
“And if he gets tired of hitting you,” Hawk added, “I’m happy to take his place.”
“Where’s the boy?” Reese pressed, his expression leaving no doubt what would happen if Eddie failed to answer again. He glanced at Kenzie, who was staring at him as if he were a man she had never seen before.
Reese ignored her. “You really want to do this, Eddie? Because every time I hit you, I’m going to think about the beating you gave Kenzie and feel really good.”
Eddie’s jaw jutted out. His gaze went from Reese’s furious expression to Hawk’s hard-edged, determined one.
He let out a defeated sigh. “God’s truth, I don’t know where the kid is. Nolan and a couple of the boys came and got him early this morning. No idea where they were taking him. Wasn’t my problem anymore.”
Reese punched him hard enough to knock the chair over backward, spilling Eddie onto the floor, his head hitting with a melon-like thump.
“That one was for Griff.” He and Hawk righted the chair and Eddie slumped back in the seat, blood trickling from his nose and mouth.
“So you don’t know where they took the boy,” Reese drawled, a hint of Texas slipping out.
“No.”
“Make a guess,” Hawk commanded.
Eddie managed to shrug, but Reese could see the fear in his small black eyes. “On my mother’s grave, I don’t know. DeMarco owns property all over the state. Could be anywhere.”
Reese dug into the front pocket of Eddie’s jeans and pulled out his cell phone. Looking into the contacts, he spotted Nolan’s name.
“I’m going to call Nolan and you’re going to ask him where he took the boy. Say anything else and I shoot you dead. Understand?”
Eddie nodded.
Reese hit the dial button and put the call on speaker. He pulled out his .45, racked the slide, and pressed it against Eddie’s temple.
The phone went straight to voice mail. Reese hit the button again, same thing.
“Phone must be turned off,” Hawk said.
Reese tossed the phone to Kenzie, who caught it and tucked it into her purse. While Hawk used zip ties to bind Eddie’s hands and feet, Reese went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth, returned, and stuffed it into Eddie’s mouth. Two zip ties around his head held the gag in place.
Reese and Hawk dragged Eddie into the bedroom closet, dumped him on the floor, and closed the door.
“They won’t find him for a while,” Hawk said darkly. “With any luck, not until tomorrow.”
“Let’s hope it’s long enough for us to find Griff.”
Time was running out. Reese was surprised a call hadn’t already come in from DeMarco or one of his henchmen to check on the progress Reese was making with the rig. Knowing he couldn’t hold off much longer, this morning Reese had phoned Derek Stiles.
“The lawyers are almost finished with the documents,” Reese had said. “Get hold of Sea Titan and give them the bad news. Tell them we want the deal canceled ASAP.”
“Are you sure you want to do this now? The troubles with the Poseidon have really been smoothing out. I think we’re back on track to get everything done and close the purchase.”
“Another problem’s come up. Canceling is the only way to solve it. Get everything ready, but don’t pull the plug yet, not before closing time on Thursday night. Got it?”
“You’re the boss. Whatever you say.”
Clearly Derek wasn’t happy. But a little boy’s life was at stake. Even backing out of the purchase might not bring Griff home.
He thought of what could happen to the boy, and worry churned through him. He forced himself to concentrate. Now was not the time.
Reese stripped off his waiter’s jacket, leaving him in his black T-shirt and borrowed black slacks, set a hand at Kenzie’s waist, and urged her toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
No one spoke as they left the suite. Not as the three of them rode the elevator down to the bottom floor and crossed the casino on their way to the parking lot.
They stepped out into the afternoon heat but as Hawk set off for his black Yukon, Kenzie stopped Reese with a hand on his chest. “I’ve seen you fight. I watched you with that big mechanic. But what happened up in that room...that was different.”
Reese made no comment.
“There was something in your eyes. I think you could have killed that man.”
He didn’t deny it. When he was younger, there’d been a time he’d been close to committing murder more than once. That time was over. The man he was then was dead and buried.
Except that he wasn’t. Not completely. Kenzie had no idea the lengths he would go to in order to protect the people he cared about, a group that now included Kenzie and her family.
“He hurt you,” Reese said. “He won’t do it again.”
Kenzie fell silent. They crossed to the pickup and Reese helped her inside, then slid behind the wheel and fired the engine, setting the air conditioner in motion.
“I need Eddie’s cell phone,” he said as they idled in the parking lot.
Kenzie handed over the phone and Reese pulled up Recents and scanned the list. A call had come in at eight o’clock that morning, caller ID Nolan.
As the truck continued to run, cooling the interior, Reese phoned Tabby. “I got one of the kidnapper’s cell phones, Tab. There’s a number on it I need you to ping. Belongs to a guy named Nolan Webb.” He explained that they’d found Griff’s location, but by the time they’d arrived, the boy had already been moved.