My gut told me you were involved, so I had Nate access the traffic cam footage from the street in front of the station, and ta da! Guess what I saw?”
“I was going to call you.”
“Before or after you let some asshole take her?”
“Fuck you,” Adrian spouted back. “You don’t even know for sure that’s what happened.”
With his hands on his hips, Gabe’s fury sprung to life. “I know your ass was loaded into the ambulance after being gunned down in front of a goddamn police station. I know Jenna and Campillo drove off in his car, and I know a few minutes later, they disappeared into thin fucking air! So unless you’ve got a better explanation…” He trailed off, his broad chest heaving as he pulled in several calming breaths. “I’ve used every contact I have, including Ryker and his team. But so far, we’ve keep come up empty.”
“What about traffic cams? Surely one of those—”
“How the hell do you think we know she left with Campillo? Nate accessed every camera in the area. Campillo’s car can be seen turning into a residential neighborhood about five blocks from the precinct. And before you ask, there aren’t any cameras on those streets.”
“Residential?” Adrian frowned. “Why would they have gone there?”
“No clue. All we do know is the car entered the neighborhood but didn’t come out. At least not where there were any cameras.”
Fear trickled down his spin. “A car with two people inside doesn’t just disappear, Dawson.”
“And this isn’t my first rodeo,” Gabe seethed. “The police are canvassing the area now. If Campillo and Jenna are there, they’ll find them.”
“Canvassing the…” Adrian’s fingers dug into the edge of the mattress. “They should be going door to fucking door searching every goddamn house!”
“They have been going door-to-door, but the neighborhood’s huge. That shit takes time, Walker. Hell, my team’s been questioning the neighbors right along with them. So far, no one in that area remembers seeing Chief Campillo or Jenna. As much as I’d love to, we can’t just waltz in and start searching people’s homes without a warrant.”
He shot Gabe an incredulous look. “The fuck we can’t. And since when does Bravo play by the rules?”
“This isn’t just about my team, Adrian,” Gabe reminded him. “You think I don’t want to be out there, busting through every goddamn door until I find Jenna? The cops are involved because one of their own is involved.” Gabe hesitated a beat before adding, “Maybe in ways you don’t want to consider.”
Adrian blinked. “You think Ben’s dirty? No.” He shook his head. “No fucking way.”
“This is Jenna we’re talking about. So, like it or not, we have to consider every angle. Including the possibility that your guy was in on it.”
Though he’d never admit it, Adrian knew Gabe was right. Someone had taken the woman he loved. And that person—whoever he may be—was a dead man.
“You said your team’s searching the area.” He looked back up at Gabe. “Then what?”
“Nate’s at the hotel running every report he can think of. He started with Campillo’s financials. They came back clean, which is promising. But you and I both know there are ways around that.”
“Yeah, I do. But that still doesn’t mean Ben’s involved.”
“Nate also hacked the security footage from the club you and Jenna went to the night all that other shit went down. Ran facial rec on those he could, but it was dark and, according to Nate, the system’s quality sucks ass. While that runs, he’s been digging into the people Jenna worked with at the hospital.”
Jesus. A lot sure happened while I was under the knife.
A thought struck, smacking Adrian upside the head like a prize fighter’s fist.
Dread gnawed at his insides as he forced himself to ask, “How long?”
The look in Gabe’s brown eyes made Adrian’s stomach turn.
“Two days. My team and I got in town early this morning.”
His heart stuttered. “Two days?”
Jenna’s been missing for two fucking days?
Bile rushed into the base of his throat. He gagged but managed to swallow it down at the last minute.
With his eyes squeezed shut, Adrian hung his head between his shoulders and sucked in air. For the next several seconds, he forced himself to draw in slow, even breaths to avoid puking all over his paper-thin gown. When he could formulate a sentence again, he lifted his eyes to back to Gabe’s.
“How the hell did this happen?”
“I don’t know.” The stoic man’s jaw twitched. “But you can bet your ass I’m going to