Sweet Surrender(60)
He hurried through the apartment, searching each room, but came up empty. Panic surged in his stomach, leaving him with a nauseated feeling. Where the fuck was she? Had Samuels already gotten to her?
He raced back out to his truck and pulled out his cell phone. He called Mick on his way back to the office. Hopefully Pop or Connor could provide a perfectly sane reason why Faith’s car was at her apartment and she was not.
When Mick picked up, Gray quickly outlined the letter he’d intercepted. Mick’s breathing hitched up several notches.
“He’s there. I knew the son of a bitch wouldn’t be able to resist hitting the daughter up for money. This is a perfect opportunity, Gray. We can use her as bait, draw Samuels out and nail his ass to the wall.”
“Whoa, wait just a damn minute, Mick. We aren’t using Faith as bait. Use your head. She’s an innocent victim here. No way I’d place her in that kind of danger.”
“You use your damn head,” Mick growled. “She’s our best chance at nailing this bastard. You shouldn’t even think twice. You know it’s a good idea.”
Gray had to swallow the angry retort. He sucked in a breath and tried to remain calm. “Mick, you’re worked up. You need to calm down and think rationally about this. No way catching Samuels is worth putting an innocent woman in harm’s way.”
“You’re thinking with your goddamn dick,” Mick said furiously.
“I will not involve Faith in this,” Gray ground out. “I think it’s best that I go to Pop and tell him everything. Get his help. He has a daughter to protect, and we have a killer to catch. We can bring in the local authorities and do this by the book.”
A string of curses erupted over the line.
Gray gritted his teeth and counted to ten. “I’m right, and you know it, Mick. I can’t believe you’d even consider using Faith like that. You’ve lost all perspective. I think you should step away and let me handle this.”
Silence fell over the line. “No, no, you’re right of course. Do what you need to do. I’m coming down there. I can be there in five hours. I’ll call you when I get in.”
Gray started to say that it wasn’t necessary, and actually preferable if Mick stayed in Dallas, but Mick had already hung up.
Gray bit out a curse and tossed the phone onto his seat.
He’d screwed everything up. Mick was way over the line, and Gray should have seen it before. He never should have let Mick talk him into this crazy-ass scheme.
But a small voice inside his head reminded him that if Mick hadn’t asked him to come down, Faith would still be in danger. A danger that no one would know about if Gray wasn’t here. If he could just find her before Samuels did, if he hadn’t already, then he could make things right. And make damn sure she stayed safe.
When he arrived back at the office, he barreled down the hallway to Pop’s doorway. He threw open the door and met with the irritated stares of Pop, Connor and Nathan.
“Where’s Faith?” Gray demanded as he strode in.
Pop quickly pushed the speakerphone button and picked up the receiver. Then he covered the mouthpiece with his hand and glared at Gray.
“This is an important call,” Pop bit out.
Gray put his hands on Pop’s desk, ignoring Nathan and Connor, and leaned toward Pop. “Faith could be in a lot of danger. Do you know where she is?”
“I’ll have to get back to you,” Pop said right before he hung up the phone.
Connor and Nathan surged to their feet about the time Pop’s feet hit the floor.
“What are you talking about, son?” Pop demanded. “I just talked to Faith a while ago. She seemed well enough.”
Gray nearly wilted in relief. He sagged into a nearby chair and blew out his breath in a deep sigh.
“I need to know where she is.”
Connor folded his arms over his chest and stared menacingly at Gray. “I don’t see that it’s any of your business where she is, but I’d sure like to know why you think it is.”
“I want to get back to the part where you think she’s in danger,” Pop interjected.
In response, Gray pulled out the letter he’d opened and flipped it onto the table. “Careful,” he said when Pop reached for it. “That’s evidence.”
Pop scowled but carefully slid the paper out of the envelope and gingerly opened it. His frown deepened as he read, and Nathan and Connor crowded over his shoulder so they could see as well.
“What the fuck?” Nathan said.
Pop’s hand shook as he set the letter back down. “What do you know about this, and where did you get it?” he asked Gray.