Mercedes was out of place in the rundown neighborhood, but no one would say a word, he was sure of that. He owned this part of town. Half the residents were working for him and the other half needed the drugs he supplied.
Putting thoughts of Gillian Romano out of his head, Salazar settled onto the leather seat of his car and nodded at his driver. This little meeting might’ve been an amusing break from his normal routine, but it was also annoying, because now it meant he had to deal with the reason it had come about in the first place.
“Fucking bitches and their drama,” he murmured for the second time that afternoon, before picking up one of his many untraceable cell phones and dialing another one of his lieutenants. Time to get back to work making money and selling drugs.
Chapter Seventeen
Five hours.
That’s how long it had been since Trigger figured Gillian had gone missing.
He and his team had gone straight to the parking garage where her phone was pinging and, after driving through it, had found her car on the top level. Her purse, with her phone and pepper spray inside, was also there, kicked underneath a car near the elevators.
The app had said the phone had been there since eleven thirty-three and it was now four-thirty. He felt sick and at the moment had no idea what to do next to try to find her. They’d called the police as soon as they’d found her purse and realized she was missing, but searching for someone took time. Time Gillian might not have.
He’d told the cops as much as he could about Gillian being a hostage a couple months ago and how the seventh hijacker hadn’t been identified, but knew none of that was any help. Lucky had called the DEA agent who’d interviewed Gillian, and he’d been in contact with the FBI, but again, nothing happened fast with those bureaucracies, and the thought of Gillian being in the hands of the drug cartel who’d had no problem killing innocent civilians on the plane ate away at his soul.
“We’re gonna find her,” Grover said quietly as he stood next to Trigger on the top level of the garage. Trigger hadn’t wanted to leave since it was the last place Gillian had been. The surveillance cameras were on a timer, and at the exact moment his woman had been taken, the fucking things had been pointed at the other end of the garage. By the time they’d swung back around, Gillian was gone.
He’d promised to keep her safe, but how the hell could he do that when he had no idea who to keep her safe from?
“Trigger? Did you hear me?” Grover asked.
He nodded. The words were merely platitudes. They both knew there was no way Grover could promise that they’d find her. Thousands of people disappeared off the face of the earth every day. Killed by strangers, or even by people they knew and loved, their bodies buried or dismembered and thrown away like trash.
The thought of his Gillian being discarded like that hurt like hell.
“Holy shit, Trigger!” Lefty exclaimed, running toward him and Grover at a dead sprint from the other end of the garage, where he’d been looking for clues.
Trigger’s heart stopped.
“A woman’s been found on the other side of the city,” Lefty told him excitedly. “She was lying unconscious in a parking lot between two cars. They think it’s Gillian!”
“Is she alive?” Trigger forced himself to ask.
“Yes. She’s being transferred to St. David’s, north of here.”
Trigger was on the move before Lefty had finished talking.
Gillian was alive. That was the only thing that mattered to him at the moment.
Brain got behind the wheel of Trigger’s Blazer and drove like a bat out of hell to St. David’s. He didn’t bother to park, but pulled up outside the emergency room entrance to let everyone out.
Trigger made a mental note to thank him later, but for now, all his attention was focused on getting to Gillian.
He strode up to the desk and noticed that the woman’s eyes widened in alarm at his approach, but he didn’t slow down.
“Gillian Romano,” he barked. “She should’ve just been brought in. She was found unconscious in a parking lot. Where is she?”
The woman cleared her throat and said, “I’m sorry, sir, if you’ll just take a seat, I’ll see what I can find out about her. Are you family?”
“Yes.” The lie came out without hesitation. “I’m her fiancé.”
She looked skeptical, but didn’t