Hot as Hale (Hale Series Book 3)

by Marie James

  I lock the front door behind me and get back in my car. Heading to the county jail and interrogating Blake Evans is the only thing on my mind. Well, that and praying for the strength not kill him in front of the jailers and security cameras.

  ***

  Randall Holt has the same idea as me. I find him at the weapons lockers, unloading his gear before going to the jail. He shakes his head at me as I walk up.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he says flatly.

  “He’s the only person who may have an idea what happened to Josie.” I unclip my gun and place it in a small box on the wall and extract the key from the small door after it’s closed.

  “How about I let you go in, but I do all the talking?” As much as I would love to slam him against the wall and declare my love for Josie and insist that I be the one to talk to Blake, he’s my commanding officer and I know deep down that I’d get nowhere. The first lie out Evans' mouth would send me over the deep end.

  I nod and hold my badge up to the camera as I press the button alerting the jailer of our presence. There is a loud buzzing noise, and I hear the lock flip in the four-inch steel door. As we walk towards the second door into the facility, it clicks unlocked again. A jailer is holding the third and final door open for us as we make our way around the bend in the stark hallway.

  “That was fast,” the jailer says as we make our way through the doorway.

  Just as I’m about to ask what he’s talking about we step into chaos. People are yelling, jailers are running all over the place, corralling detainees into cells.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Holt demands.

  “Inmate on inmate murder in the latrine,” the jailer who opened the door says glumly.

  “Who’s the deceased?” Before the jailer could even answer, I knew in my gut what the answer was going to be.

  “Blake Evans,” we say at the same time.

  “For fuck’s sake! How did that shit happen? He was supposed to be segregated!” Holt shoves inmates and jailers alike as he plows his way through to the book-in desk.

  “Who made the call for Evans to be in gen-pop?!?” He yells at no one in particular.

  “The sergeant on duty.” One jailer says and points across the way to a skinny non-descript male who looked to be in his mid-thirties.

  “Sergeant Hernandez,” he says in identification of the jailer.

  “Hernandez!” Holt screams across the vast room.

  The second he hears his name Hernandez whips his head up. I watch as the color drains from his face. He hands off some paperwork to another jailer and makes his way over to us.

  “Why was Evans mixed in gen-pop?” Holt is seething. He’s well aware of the opportunity we’ve lost even though Evans was a scumbag.

  “It’s an election year, Lieutenant. We’re horribly short staffed.” Hernandez seems very nervous, so that tells me that he knows he’s fucked up and could lose his job over this slip-up, and it’s a well-known fact that people start jumping ship when there’s a possibility that a new sheriff will come in.

  Holt nods his head, still pissed but fully aware of how skeleton the crews can get every four years. “Coroner show up yet?”

  “Yes, sir.” Hernandez answers.

  “I’ll leave you to it. I want his personal effects on my desk before the end of the shift.” I watch as Hernandez scuttles away. Surely, he knows this isn’t the end of it. There will be an investigation into the incident, and those are never pretty; usually a group of people who have big educations and no real experience in law enforcement or corrections.

  We quickly clear the three doors we had to pass to get into the jail on our way out. Silently I put the key into the lock on the small locker holding my gun and pull it out.

  “What are your plans now, Perez?” Holt asks as she positions his own gun into his side holster.

  I shrug. How do I tell him I plan to go track down every meth head around and beat them to a pulp until I get the answers I need? I have to get her back no matter what. The thought of what could be happening or may have already happened to her causes a full body shudder.

  “All I know is I have to move. My head goes to dark fucking places when I stand still.” I explain.

  “I don’t have to tell you about the conflict of interest line you’re skating. I need you to stay above board on this.” He clasps his hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look into his eyes and gauge his seriousness. I nod again.

  We go our separate ways in the parking lot. I force myself to drive around and look for her in the shadows, knowing damn well that the effort is futile. After hours of creeping around in the most dangerous neighborhoods in Denver, I head to Ian’s. I have the urge to be around others that love her.

  I hate the hopeful look on Ian’s face when he opens the door, but when it falls once he realizes it’s just me I’m nearly gutted. No one has spoken to Josie since school got out. Chatter from the radio informed me that no one at the school had any unusual activities to report, and Ian can tell by my face that I have nothing else to offer him by way of good news.

  When I see Alexa and Lorali huddled up together on the couch, I nearly turn around and walk back out, unsure if I’m going to be able to handle their pain in conjunction with mine.

  Ian and Garrett are pacing behind the sitting area, rattling off different plans and scenarios, shooting ideas off of each other.

  I catch the tail end of something Garrett says. “What was that, Garrett?”

  He stops in his tracks. “Fuck man I’m sorry.” He runs his big hand through his unruly hair.

  “No seriously what did you say. I only caught part of it.” I’m insistent.

  “I was saying that we need people better than the local police looking for her. No offense.” He adds at the end.

  “Fuck!” I stand and reach into my pocket. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?

  “I said I was sorry man!” Garrett has his hands held palms out like he’s certain I’m fixing to attack.

  I may lose my badge for what I’m about to do, but getting Josie back is my number one priority. I could spend the rest of my life in prison so long as she’s safe and back where she belongs.

  I walk out the front door as I’m putting the phone to my ear.

  “Hello?” A gruff voice answers.

  “Hey, Kincaid. It’s Kaleb. I need a favor.”

  Chapter 33

  Kaleb

  By the time I get off the phone making plans and explaining the situation, it’s after midnight. Ian offered to let me stay in the guest bedroom I shared with Josie last night, and I almost turn him down until I realize that the sheets hadn’t been changed yet.

  I close the door softly behind me and strip my boots off. It’s as comfortable as I’ll allow myself since I could get a call at any second. I cocoon myself in the blankets she wrapped around us last night and lay my head on the pillow that is covered in the scent of her shampoo and sob quietly until I pass out.

  ***

  At the first hint of sunlight, I’m holstered back up and out of the bedroom door. Low conversation from the kitchen grabs my attention.

  Walking through the entryway, I find Lorali and Ian at the small table tucked in the corner of the sizable kitchen. She has her head on his shoulder, his arms are wrapped around her. I feel like an interloper as I walk further into the kitchen, but it would be rude to leave without a word to them.

  They are completely unaware that I’ve joined them and don’t acknowledge me until I clear my throat.

  Lorali raises her eyes in my direction, her face puffy and swollen, her eyes red with dark circles around them, the aftereffects of a long night of worry and no sleep. I’m certain I look the same, but I was unable to look myself in the mirror this morning. How can I face myself when I let Josie down?

  “Morning,” I grunt out and have to remind myself that these people love her as much as I do and don’t deserve to have my attitude taken out on them.

  Ian narrows his eyes at me at th
e gruffness I just aimed at them. “Made plenty of coffee.” He angles his head toward the coffee maker on the counter by the sink.

  “Thanks,” I say my voice a little lighter this time and make my way over to the coffee.

  I pour a large cup of the dark, steaming liquid and sit in a vacant chair at the table with them.

  “Alexa and Garret go home?” I ask.

  “No. They just haven’t made it out of the room yet.” Ian explains. “We all stayed in the den pretty late last night with the tech team, hoping we’d get a ransom call.”

  I nod my head before glancing over my shoulder making sure no one from the Department is within hearing range. Still not sure that someone isn’t lurking around the corner I lean in to speak with them.

  “I’ve set some things in motion that I need to tell you guys about. It sits on the fringe of legalities, but I’ll do anything in my power to get her back,” I whisper to them, and I’m shocked when Lorali reaches her hand out and clasps mine.

  I have to cough to keep from losing my shit right there at the table in front of them.

  “I only want to have to explain this once,” I continue. “So, we’ll need a secure place to discuss it when Alexa and Garrett are available.”

  Ian stands immediately from his chair, kisses Lorali on the temple and turns towards the hallway to the guest bedrooms. “Well, then. Let me go get them.” I know he’s just like me. Sitting idle and waiting is not handled very well, and he’ll use anything as a distraction, grasping onto anything that has forward momentum.

  Within minutes, an equally distraught Alexa and bedraggled Garrett come into the kitchen.

  “Library,” Ian says and walks toward the large double oak doors off of the den.

  We file in behind him, which grabs the attention of the police department tech guys that are holding vigil over the monitoring equipment. They’re forced to pretty much just sit there until a call comes in.

  “Hey, Perez. Got something?” One of the guys asks.

  “Family business,” Ian says in a tone that leaves no room for question.

  Once we’re all in the opulent room, Ian slides the doors closed. He motions with his hands to various seating places around the large rectangle table in the middle of the room. He inclines his head to me giving me the floor.

  I clear my throat before beginning. I look over at Garrett before I begin.

  “You gave me an idea last night. You said something about needing someone better than the police to look for Josie, and I agree with you.” I tell him.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it,” he apologizes again.

  “I know. We have an excellent department, but funding and politics keep us from being able to work to our fullest capacity.” He nods at me.

  “I have a cousin. A former Marine who runs an organization out of New Mexico that specializes in recovery and extraction.”

  “An organization?” Lorali whispers.

  “He’s the President of the Cerberus MC,” I state waiting for the high-brow group to put an end to things right then, but instead, they’re all staying silent waiting for me to finish explaining.

  “I called Kincaid last night and explained the situation. He and his crew are supposed to be here by noon today. They’ve agreed to work the case and help us find her.”

  “They plan to give the police a hand?” Lorali asks.

  I shake my head. “They don’t work with any other form of organization. Just themselves. He usually works a job with four or five guys. Every one of them former military and special ops. They’re the best.”

  “Better than the police,” Garrett says, acknowledging that I got just what he said we needed.

  “Better than the police,” I repeat.

  “I can’t bring them here, but I plan to set up a headquarters at my house,” I explain further.

  “What do you need from us?” Ian says. “Resources? Money?”

  I wish I had a list of things he could provide; feeling useful always helps people in these types of situations.

  “Nothing,” I tell him. “They work alone and any information they’ll need I’m going to filter to them. My CO is already cautious that I won’t be able to keep my actions above board, but I don’t think he would ever expect that I’d bring in an MC to look for her. It’s going to be good to have fresh eyes and untainted ears out looking for her.”

  “We’ll help any way we can,” Lorali says with more enthusiasm than she was able to show earlier. I just pray I haven’t given her false hope.

  “I’ll spend the rest of my life looking for her if that’s what it takes,” I say as I stand.

  “You really care for her,” Alexa says it as a statement, not as a question.

  “I love her,” I say without inflection. “I plan to marry her if she’ll have me once we get her home.” I pull my cell from my pocket and check it for missed phone calls or texts even though I know it is set on the loudest setting and I haven’t missed a damn thing.

  I look between Garrett and Ian. “I’ll call you once the guys get in and we have more of a plan.”

  ***

  Shortly after eleven, I hear Kincaid and his crew minutes before they actually pull into my driveway. Mia is going hysterical at the noise of the bikes, but she settles once they kill the engines. I command her to heel, and she keeps off to the side of the entryway as I pull the door open.

  I make my way down the front steps just as my cousin and four other equally as large men swing legs over and off of their bikes. I take long strides and hug my cousin in the manliest way possible with a tug and a slap on the back for good measure.

  “Hey man,” Kincaid says as we turn to walk through the house. “Give us the low down. We’ve come prepared to hit the ground running.”

  We set up a makeshift battle station on my dining room table. The only thing I have to offer them right now is the knowledge I have about Blake Evans prior to Josie’s abduction. I lay it all out, the death threats, the raid on the farmhouse, Evans death, and the scant details we have about her actual disappearance.

  “You’ve got a snitch,” Kincaid says after my full explanation. I wait patiently for him to explain the correlations to the rest of the group and me. “They were tipped off at the farmhouse, and the only guy who could give you any information just happens to be shanked within an hour of her being taken. It lines up too straight to be a coincidence.”

  The other bikers around the table nod their ascent.

  “It’s a good thing you called us, Kaleb. It’s obvious you can’t trust the cops.” He says.

  “It’s going to be difficult getting the intel you guys need to find her if I can’t confide in anyone at the department,” I explain frustrated.

  “Better than talking to the wrong person and putting her at further risk,” one of the big guys down at the end says as he looks at his watch.

  Pissed I stand abruptly from the table so fast my chair skitters across the floor. I pound my hands down on the table top. “That’s my fucking girl out there!”

  I feel Kincaid’s hand on my shoulder, and I turn to face him, my anger still simmering just below the boiling point. “And if it were my girl, I’d just have to accept the facts. We’ll find her, Kaleb. I swear it.”

  “Please, Diego,” I plead with him. I hope the use of his given name reminds him of our connection as a family.

  Chapter 34

  Kaleb

  Finding Josie has proven to be more difficult than we could’ve ever imagined. I managed to make things worse for the Cerberus MC when I had a rather violent outburst on day three at the police department. The sight of uniformed officers standing outside of the station laughing and smoking hit me the wrong way. They were supposed to be out looking for Josie. I informed them in a way my commanding officer didn’t appreciate and ended up suspended for two weeks. If it weren’t for the reputation my deceased father still has with the Chief, I would’ve lost my badge. Thankfully both officers were persuaded to not press charges.
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  With my link to the police department severed, so was my ability to log on and get information from the system. I was able to pull most names, address and such before I blew up, but any new information that comes in I’m not privy to. I’d be lying if I said the thought of sticking my service revolver in my mouth didn’t come to mind. I’m also well aware of the possibility if we recover a body rather than a rescue.

  Kincaid and his guys are working day and night, but it’s almost like they’ve disappeared off of the face of the Earth. There is no chatter, no new leads. No one coming forward for a pay off with information which is practically unheard of in the dope community. Usually, they are so hard up for a fix that they’re willing to sell out their mothers for a bump.

  No one wants to say it, but there is a real possibility that she’s either been taken out of state or she was killed immediately, dumped, and the assailants have fled.

  The MC has canvassed practically every neighborhood, spoken with the school, roughed up every dope head in a twenty-mile radius. Nothing. No one had information until one of the guys in the crew gets a phone call from one of the teachers’ aides at the school Josie works at.

  ***

  The Hail Mary comes on day sixteen post-abduction. Shadow was the guy in charge of speaking with staff at Little Elm Elementary. He gave his cell phone number to a staff member there, hoping to get a piece of ass while he was in town.

  We’re all sitting down at the dining table at my house, the guys actually entertaining the idea that the trail is completely cold and they’re considering heading back to New Mexico. I’m beyond pissed. The Denver Police Department had to shift their priorities back to the city “for the greater good” the Chief told me five days after the investigation started.

  Other than Holt, this group of five, me, Ian, and Garrett were the only ones who were actively still looking for Josie.

  I look across the table when I hear a phone ring. I watch with no interest as Shadow pulls his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans.

  “Hello?” he says in a deep voice. “Hey, baby.”

  Really? These guys are thinking of giving up, and this motherfucker is talking to his girl on the phone?