There was, but Mrs. Napier hadn’t done a good job of it. The partial outlines of some of the numbers were visible. Cody thought they could decipher the tag at K2 with the resources at their disposal. He was counting on it.
The women got in the car, Mrs. Napier driving and Riley in the passenger seat. They drove past the security company’s car that Kincaid had hired, the man sitting in it giving them a wave. Cody wanted to scream at the man to open his eyes, but he’d been hired to guard the building, not the people in it. That had been his job, and he’d screwed up. Again.
A rabbit hole opened up, welcoming him with open arms, and he almost let it take him. He’d let both Asra and Riley down, and how was he supposed to live with that?
A strong hand clamped onto his shoulder. “We’re going to find her,” Mike said.
He took deep breaths, the way Tom had taught him. “Whatever it takes.”
Since an IP camera—an Internet protocol camera—had been installed at his request, he said to Baker, “Send everything to Maria and tell her I’ll call her. You stay here and keep an eye on things. Send Brooke and Michelle home. There’s a kid who comes in around six, I think. He spends the night. Stay with him and guard this place with your life. I won’t have Riley losing this, too.”
“I won’t let you or her down,” Baker said.
Cody nodded. “Good man.” He headed for the door, Mike on his heels. If the cop thought he was coming, the man needed to think again. When they reached the waiting room, Cody said, “We’ll need that cat carrier so we can dust it for fingerprints. Why don’t you go grab it while I call Maria at K2 and tell her we’re on the way in?” Mike wasn’t going to be happy about being ditched, but tough. The last thing he needed was a cop telling him what he could and couldn’t do.
“Be right back,” Mike said.
The front door opened, and the detective that Cody recognized from before walked in.
“I need a status report,” the man whose name he couldn’t remember said.
Cody walked past him. “Your officer’s down the hall. He’ll bring you up to speed.”
“Hey. Where you going? I need a statement from you.”
“Just getting something out of my truck. Be right back.” Cody got in his truck and turned left out of the parking lot, the same direction Mrs. Napier had taken. He instructed his Bluetooth to call Maria.
“It’s Cody,” he said when she answered. “Riley’s been taken—”
“What?”
“Someone has kidnapped Riley. All I know is that it’s a woman named Mrs. Napier. We just sent over the video with the woman’s car in it. There’s mud smeared on the tag, but can you see if Kent can do his magic and laser trace the numbers or whatever it is he does?”
“Where are you?”
He hated lying to her, but if Kincaid knew one of his men was going rogue, he wouldn’t be pleased. “At the clinic. Call me as soon as you have a number for that tag or any other information you come up with.”
“Okay, but you need to come in. Logan will want to start planning a rescue.”
And that was the problem. The boss operated on the theory that there couldn’t be enough planning for an operation. What if Riley didn’t have that much time? “We got some things to finish up here, then I’ll be there.”
“I’ll see you soon. I’m sorry, Cody.”
“Yeah, me, too. Call me when you come up with something.” He clicked off before she could say more. When he came to a traffic light, he pulled over. Which way?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Riley shook her head. “I’m not taking that.”
Mrs. Decker had pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse after leaving the clinic, and now held the gun in one hand and a pill in the other. She pointed the gun at Riley’s feet and pulled the trigger.
Riley screamed, and expecting to feel pain, she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Next time, it will be your knee. Take the damn pill, Riley.”
Nothing hurt, and Riley opened her eyes and peered down, shuddering when she saw the hole in the floor not two inches from the toe of her shoe. Given a choice between a bullet and a pill, she’d opt for the latter. “Pills make me gag. I have to have water to take them.” That was true; she’d never be able to swallow it without something to wash it down.
“You always were a pain in the ass.” Mrs. Decker pointed the gun at Riley’s knee. “You have until the count of three to swallow the damn thing.”
Riley held out her hand, and Mrs. Decker dropped a white capsule into it. “What is it?”