we still don't fucking know why! This man hates women, but it's been handled virtually until now. He gets peons to take the risks while he keeps his hands clean."
"Like Chance said," Bradley told him, pausing to climb into the driver's seat, "this guy is a dork, and one who thinks highly of himself. He probably isn't physically strong enough to do it on his own, possibly disabled, potentially well-known. Something about him would make showing his face a bad idea."
"I don't think so," Jason countered, getting Crysis into the back seat before claiming the passenger seat for himself. "A dork, sure. Socially awkward, probably. Weak is possible, but I don't believe he's that famous or visible or we would have noticed him in the convention hall."
"Unless he's at the high table?" Bradley countered.
"PBJ?" Jason asked. "Kinda young to be involved with Dez's rape and assault. The rest are fucking clean!"
"So - " Bradley paused when Jason's phone went off.
As fast as he could, Jason pulled it out to find a text waiting. It was from Adam, and had a link. Jason tapped the button for the location, which pulled up Google Maps. From there, he activated the directions and then dropped his phone onto the dash.
"There," he said. "Go fucking there. And then we'll hope they're not still moving."
"Or killing," Bradley reminded him. "Jason, you know this could end badly, right? He has Zara..."
Yeah, he knew that. He couldn't stop thinking about it. This asshole had the only woman Jason had ever loved. Then there was his child. Hopefully, she wouldn't say anything about that, because if Soul_Reaper knew, he'd use that against all of them. Not to mention Riley, Dez, Kate, and Rhaven. Not exactly the most stable group.
"Please do what they say?" Jason breathed, hoping that somehow Zara could hear him. "Don't fight back. Don't try to be the hero. Be obedient. Be calm. Make them feel like they have all the time in the world, and let them relax. If they're relaxed, they're less likely to shoot you."
"Those women know what they're doing," Bradley promised.
"I don't!" Jason roared. Crysis immediately pushed his head between the seat to lick the back of Jason's arm. "I know, bud," he told his dog. "Sorry, man. I'll get you a big fucking steak for this, ok? I'm sorry, Crysis. I'm breathing, little man."
"Hey, you want me to drive by this place?" Bradley asked.
"Sure, because I don't know what else to do," Jason admitted. "If her watch is still sending out her location, it could be a place where they stopped, or it could be them traveling through. I'm just hoping that when we get closer, we'll..." He paused. "There."
Because "there" was a casino in the process of being renovated. Scaffolding and plastic stretched up the sides, but there were almost no windows. The signs had been pulled down. The doors were open, but a fence closed the place off from the street, or should have. That was what had caught Jason's attention, a broken piece of chain-link at the back. A section big enough to force five women through. Maybe it was the homeless seeking shelter, but if he was a man looking for a place to hide, that would definitely seem appealing.
"GPS is pointing me to a spot right beside it," Bradley said, slowing down to turn onto a side street. He didn't speed back up. In fact, as they approached a white Cadillac SUV, Bradley slowed even more.
"You have reached your destination," the phone announced.
Bradley immediately pulled into the first parking spot beside them and grabbed his phone. "Alex? We have the location. Yeah. Send SWAT. We're going to need to block this whole place off and give them something to think about. I have a feeling we have a hostage situation. Yep. Will let you know."
"But where are they?" Jason demanded, grabbing his phone to send a text off to Knock.
Jason: Have Jeri call me.
Then he held his phone in his hands and waited. It didn't take long before it rang. "Yeah?" he answered.
"Cyn?" the girl asked. "I was summoned?"
"I am at a casino in Las Vegas. I need to figure out some way to find where our people are in this building, and I need to do it fast." Then he listed off the address from the alert notification.
The phone was muffled for a second and Jason heard Jericho snapping orders at everyone else in the room - including Kitty. The whole time, a clock was