Tipsy (Take It Off #5)(48)
Author: Cambria Hebert

The keys to the truck were right where I left them, and I fired up the engine and sped toward Dom’s house. I had just under fifteen minutes to get there, and I hoped this old truck could take the speed I was going to push it.

Slater followed close behind me the entire way. When I turned onto the street of Dom’s house, I noticed a new vehicle—black Dodge pickup truck parked in the center of the driveway. My pulse began to hammer and my eyelid began to twitch. I searched the lawn for signs of Julie, and when I didn’t see her, I looked at the truck, hoping to see some kind of movement within.

But everything outside was still.

That meant Julie was in that house. In there with a bunch of drug dealers and murderers. I parked the old Ford so close to the black truck that it rocked on its tires when my front fender bumped into it.

As Slater pulled in behind me, I walked toward the garage, which I noticed no longer had a car parked inside.

“Dom!” I yelled, not bothering to be quiet.

The door to the house opened and Dome came out, a few of his crew scattering out behind him like a bunch of ants. “You’re late,” he said.

“Where is she?” I asked, not bothering to take his bait. I was on time and he damn well knew it.

“Where’s the shipment?”

“Outside.”

“Pull it into the garage.”

“Not until I see Julie.”

Slater walked into the garage and stood off to the side, watching.

“Bring her out!” Dom called.

The door to the house opened and two men escorted Julie out. Her wrists were bound together and she had tape over her mouth. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and I couldn’t help but note the panicked fear I saw in them.

I tried to keep a lid on my anger. I tried not to let her see how angry and how upset I was that she was dragged into this. All I wanted her to see was my calm exterior so she would know she was safe.

I took a step toward her and two of Dom’s guys stepped in my path.

“Move,” I growled.

“We have a deal,” Dom said.

I tossed the keys at him. They landed at his feet. “Here, get it yourself.”

Dom glanced at the man to his right. “Go make sure it’s there. Pull it in.”

The guy scooped up the keys and went off to do Dom’s bidding. I took another step toward Julie. One of the men in my path threw out his fist and connected with my jaw.

Julie’s muffled cry snapped something inside me.

I went on autopilot and started fighting. I punched and kicked the two men that dared to block my path. When one tried to hold me, I kicked out and sent the other to his feet.

The sound of a gun cocking is what brought all our heads around. Dom had his gun trained on Julie.

Tentacles of terror wrapped around my body and squeezed. I looked between Julie and the gun, measuring the distance, trying to calculate if I could beat a bullet.

“You’d never make it,” Dom said.

The old Ford backed into the garage and everyone looked. Everyone but me and Dom. I kept my eyes on him, while he kept his eyes and gun on Julie.

“Check it,” he yelled at Slater.

Slater climbed in the back of the truck and started going through the boxes. “It’s here,” he called, holding up a bag of cocaine.

I wondered where in the hell my backup was. They should be here by now.

Dom looked at me and I knew he was going to kill us. I didn’t have time to wait for the cops to get here. I had to do this on my own.

I pulled out the gun Slater gave me and cocked it, steadily pointing it at Dom. “You so much as sneeze and I will blow your brains out.” I vowed.

Every man in the place pulled out a gun, which they trained on me.

I could feel Julie’s terror, but I didn’t look at her. I kept my eyes on Dom. “You’re under arrest for kidnapping, possession, and murder,” I said.

Dom’s eyes widened.

“He’s a narc!” one of the guys yelled, and all hell broke loose.

29

Julie

I don’t know how long I was unconscious, but when I woke, my muscles were stiff from being in a heap on the floorboard of the truck they shoved me in.

I also had a thick layer of duct tape binding my wrists and over my mouth. I fought against the panic that squeezed my lungs, reminding myself that I could breathe; I just had to do it through my nose.

I tested and my skin tugged and screamed under the constrictive tape wound tightly around me.

Framed, arrested, and kidnapped all in one day. It had to be some kind of world record.

I lifted my head to take in my surroundings, and I was met with an icy stare. “Don’t even try anything,” the man said, holding up a gun that was lying in his lap.

I couldn’t even ask them where we were going or what was happening because my mouth was sealed closed.

I rested my forehead against the carpet and concentrated on breathing and kept my ears open so I could listen to everything the men said and hopefully learn some answers.

I also thought about Blue. I prayed that he was all right, that he wasn’t somehow being hurt too. As much as I hoped he knew what happened to me, I also hoped he didn’t. I was afraid of what might happen to him if he tried to save me.

A phone up front rang and someone answered. He barely said two words and then disconnected the call. “We’re to meet him,” someone said to the driver.

My hip dug into something lying beneath me on the floor as the driver cut a U-turn, the tires squealing on the road. The idiots in the car laughed like they were taking a joy ride on Space Mountain.

A few minutes later, we were pulling up somewhere and stopping.

I was carried into a house, one that stunk like weed and beer, and shoved in an empty closet. It actually was a relief to be left alone, even if it were inside a closet. At least in here I wasn’t in a room full of men who were leering at me.

I busied myself trying to loosen the tape that surrounded my wrists, stretching and trying to come up with ways to get it off.

Duct tape was no joke. After fighting with it for a while, I was sweating and my wrists felt raw. I understood why they chose to use this rather than rope. It was better and you could buy it anywhere.

I stiffened when the closet door flung open and I squinted against the sudden bright light. Two men led me through the house and out into the garage.

My eyes went directly to Blue, and relief crashed through me so heavily that I would have moaned if I could. But then I noticed his appearance. He was bloody and bruised. Parts of his face were swollen and one of his hands was scraped up and raw.