Second Chance SEAL(19)

I called her number back. She picked up on the first ring.

“Gates,” she said. She sounded like she’d been running.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” she said. “I mean, I think I am.”

“Where are you?”

Short pause. “Brooklyn.”

“I’m coming to get you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Stay where you are. If you have to move, call me. Text me the address.”

Short pause. “Thank you so much, Gates.”

“Okay. Just stay there.”

I hung up and walked quickly into my room. I grabbed my Sig Sauer pistol, checked the clip, and slipped it until my jeans. I grabbed my jacket, slipped it on, and headed outside.

My car roared to life as I tore down the streets. This was what it was meant for as I headed toward her location. She was in a decent part of Brooklyn, so I didn’t think it was a robbery issue. I doubted it was something too dire, or else she’d go to the police.

It had to do with her boyfriend. There was no other reason she’d call me instead of him. Unless he was working, but still, she could call any number of her other friends.

I was the only one unaffiliated. We both knew Greg and Lauren, but that was it. I was on the edge of her friend group.

That idea scared me, and I pushed the pedal down further.

It took me ten minutes to get to the address she sent me. Ten agonizing minutes, but finally I arrived.

And she was nowhere in sight.

I double-parked, threw on my flashers, and jumped out of my car. I wanted to draw my weapon so fucking badly, but I knew that would be a very bad idea. I was in a pretty populous neighborhood in Brooklyn, and there were people walking their fucking dogs. Some guy with a gun would just start a panic.

But I couldn’t find her. I swept the area, assessing every corner for threats, but there was nothing.

“Gates.”

I turned and felt a tension drain from my chest. Piper waved as she hurried toward me.

“I told you to to move,” I said to her.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on?”

“I can’t say.” She looked around like she was expecting someone to appear at any second. “I had to, uh, get some more money out.”

“Money?”

“Yeah. Can we go?”

I cocked my head at her. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“You won’t believe me. Can I tell you in the car?”

“Fine. Come on.”

We got into my car and I pulled out into traffic. She was safe, and so I didn’t drive like a maniac. I could sense the fear and anxiety rolling off of her in waves, and I wanted to pull over and try to calm her down.

I sensed that was the wrong move, though. I could tell that she wanted to be moving, almost like she was running from someone. She mentioned getting money out, which confused me.

“Okay, Pipes,” I said. “Tell me.”

“I saw Tony do something . . . horrible,” she said slowly.

“What did he do?”

“You won’t believe me.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“No,” she said quickly. “No. But I’m afraid he will.”

“Tell me what happened, Pipes.”

“After you dropped me off, I made him some dinner. I wanted to surprise him, give him something to eat. I don’t know, I wanted to see him. So I went to his club and Thomas told me that he was upstairs.”

I nodded, listening carefully. She was telling her story in a single rush, just like any other trauma victim. She was clearly still afraid. I could fell myself analyzing the moment from a distance, even though this was Piper beside me, the girl I’d been thinking about for two years. I couldn’t stop that part of my brain, the part of me that had been trained so intensely.

“I went upstairs, but his office door was open,” she continued. “They were talking about drugs, I think. Tony was trying to sell them. I didn’t know who they were. But then they argued about the price, I think. That was when it happened.”

“What happened?” I pressed gently.

“Gunshots. Lots of them. And a man with blood all over him.” She was crying and I wanted to comfort her, but I had to hear the rest of the story. I had to know what I was up against.

“And then?” I asked.

“The man fell down the stairs. He was dead, or at least I think he was. I looked back and saw Tony and two other men holding guns. That was when Tony spoke to me, said he didn’t expect me. But it was his tone of voice, you know? Like it was empty and flat, as if there weren’t dead bodies all around him.”

“How many bodies?”

“Two more, I think. I don’t know. I can’t remember.”