He’s up to something and it’s time I do something about it, before someone seriously gets hurt. I’d rather it be me than either of them. I grab my pistol from my glove box and check the barrel, before slipping it into the waistband of my pants.
I’d hate to have to use it, but I’ve learned all too well that these fuckers don’t play nicely. If I have to protect myself, I can, and I will.
Jogging across the dirt road, I keep my body pressed up against the side of the warehouse, as I walk along the side of the large building. Leaning my back up against the wall, I listen quietly for any sounds on the other side, before I peek into the window of the door.
It’s dark inside and difficult to make out anything. The window almost appears to be tinted, like they don’t want anyone to be able to look through. The door is locked, but by the looks of the door frame, it’s evident I’m not the first to try and break in. Checking around me again, I use every ounce of force in me to shove the door open.
Grabbing the gun from my waistband, I release the safety and prepare to shoot in the event someone heard me as I quietly close the door behind me. I don’t trust any of these fuckers as far as I can throw them. Looking around the room, it’s piled high from floor to ceiling with boxes upon boxes.
I don’t know what I thought I’d find in here, but unless I plan on going through these, I’m afraid I’m shit out of luck. I open the top of one of the boxes and shuffle through them. It turns up a dead end, only a few kids’ clothes. There’s another next to it containing some toys and books.
Not wasting my time, I close them as I pull out my flashlight and hold it up looking around the back wall. There’s an old rustic workbench that looks like it hasn’t been used in years by the layers of saw dust left piled on it.
Stepping over more boxes, I continue to walk toward the other side of the building, noticing several boxes stacked high. Despite that, I spot the metal shining back at me reflecting off the flashlight. I recognize those wheels, they look awfully like the ones Krate has on his old GTO he’s driving now.
“What the hell?” I mutter to myself, as I push the boxes to the side and slip between them. The boxes seem to be stacked strategically around the car, so if you were standing at the front of the building you would never see it parked back here.
Sliding the gun back into the waistband of my pants, I hold the flashlight in my mouth as I work to slide the cloth cover off the top of the car.
How the hell would he get the car in and out of here in such a short amount of time? It doesn’t make sense.
Dropping the cloth on the dirty cement floor, I hold the flashlight up again as I walk around the back of the black GTO. I flash it into the window, as I round the side toward the front. As the light flashes against the hood of the car, images flash in front of my eyes again.
This time I’m not sitting in the car with Halle, reassuring her and urging her to drive faster. I’m in the moment with Gage, with my phone pressed against my cheek as he yells at me about someone riding his ass.
He looks frantically in his rearview mirror, watching the lights swerve behind him as someone drives erratically. I can feel his heart pumping as the car swerves in the lane next to him, the realization of who it is when he sees the dark GTO keeping the pace just before crashing into him, sending him fishtailing into the ditch.
Shuffling along the side of the car, something tells me to look at the front of the car. Flashing a light over the front fender, my throat goes dry at what I find.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Maverick’s name flashes across the screen. I want to let it go to voice mail, but after what I found I decide against it.
“Mav,” I answer.
“Man, where are you at?”
His voice on the other end sounds panicked, setting off alarm bells in my head.
“I’m over at the Krate compound.”
“Graham, you need to get out of there. Right now.”
“What’s going on?”
“Krate found the GPS. The last ping was over an hour ago before it went dark. It took me a minute to figure out where he was at. Graham, did you take Halle home last night after the races?”
“No, she came home with me.”
“Well, the last ping came from her apartment. I drove by her place; both her and Kinsley’s cars are gone. I believe Kinsley stayed with Wes after the races last night.”
“I dropped Halle off at work this morning, her car is still at my place but he’s nowhere to be found. I’m leaving here now. I’ll call Halle. Do me a favor and get a hold of Kinsley. Tell her to stay with Wes. Do whatever you gotta do to get her to stay away from the salon. After that, I need you to go by my mom’s and check on her. This isn’t sitting well with me right now.”
“On it. What’d you find over at Krate’s?” he asks, referring to my comment earlier.
“It’s him, man. He was the one that caused Gage’s accident. We have him. Motherfucker, we have him. Now we just need to make sure they’re safe.”
We disconnect the call and my body is shaking with adrenaline. Snapping pictures of the front fender of the wrecked GTO along with a video, showing around the front along with the license plate. I want an insurance policy in case anything were to happen before making a mad dash out of the warehouse toward my pickup.
Once the file saves, I fumble with my phone trying to call Halle. The call repeatedly rings and goes to voice mail, leaving a ball of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. Trying for a fifth time, the phone immediately goes to voice mail and I know something isn’t right.
Turning the key in the ignition, I flip a U-turn and speed off down the dirt road back toward the highway. I’m still about five to seven minutes away, which feels like an eternity.
My phone vibrates again in my hand. My eyes dart to the screen, hoping on a prayer that it’s Halle calling me back. I see a text message flash on my screen from Maverick that Kinsley is already off work today, followed by another saying he’s headed over to my mom’s to check on her and he’ll meet me at the salon.
I thank God we live in a small town, where on any day it takes no time to get to where you need to be.
Flying down main street near the salon, I pull into the alley and park in the back. I breathe a sigh of relief for a moment, until I see the black GTO parked alongside the building, and my blood turns to ice in my veins.
I tell myself repeatedly everything’s okay. My mind races through a series of thoughts, wondering if maybe Halle forgot to charge her phone last night and that’s why she didn’t answer, to what I will do if he is here.
For a moment, I consider how I’d handle it if something were to happen to Halle before I quickly push that thought out of my mind. I won’t let myself go there, not with her, because if something were to happen to Halle, I don’t think I’d live through it.
Reaching the back door of the building, I opt to enter through the employee entrance. It goes into the side door leading into the supply room the girls use.
Slipping inside, I see Halle’s purse and apron hanging on the hook near the doorway. Seeing her purse is here, I know she hasn’t left, and I breathe a small sigh of relief knowing she’s here.
The silence rings loud in my head, until I hear Halle’s scared voice say something I never would want to hear.