I wrap my arms around her and hug her tightly. “I love you, sis.”
She nods against my chest. “I know you do. I love you too, big brother.”
I release her and start walking back toward the diner where my truck is parked. “Stay off your feet, Jenna.”
“I will. Stay safe.”
I nod and turn to jog down the sidewalk. I need to go talk to my boss Walker about taking some time off, and then I probably need to pack.
I make it back to the warehouse and go straight to Walker’s office. “I need a few days off,” I tell him. Walker’s a great boss, and I never take any time off. If there’s any way possible, I know Walker will be all right with it.
“Is everything okay with Jenna?” he asks me.
Fuck, I know this is the absolute worst possible time to leave, but there’s no way around it. “She’s fine.”
Walker looks at me skeptically. “Are you going to tell me why you need time off?”
I don’t know what to tell him, especially since I have no idea where Madison is going or exactly why. When I hesitate, he asks, “Are you in trouble? Do you need help?”
I shake my head. “I’m not in any kind of trouble. I have a friend. Well, my sister has a friend. She needs help.”
He nods. “Fine. Take as long as you need.”
I thank him, and before I can get out the door, he stops me. “But... I need you to check in.”
I turn back at him, surprised. “Check in on my time off?”
He gets up from his desk and walks over to me. “Something’s up.” He shrugs his shoulders. “You don’t have to tell me, but I’m also not going to let anything happen to you. Check in every day. You need anything, I mean anything at all, you let me know.”
I nod and swallow. I’m so thankful to be a part of Walker’s team. When I left the military, I was a little lost at first, but when Nash and Walker invited me to be a part of this team, I knew it was the right move. The only blood family I have is my sister Jenna. But if anyone were to ask me, I’d proudly call the rest of these guys my family too. Walker claps me on the shoulder, and I walk out of his office and go straight to Dylan’s. I barely get in the door and he’s handing me a packet. “What’s this?”
He just smirks. “Really? Your sister called, and I figured you’d be stopping in. As far as I can tell, Madison is flying to Florida tomorrow morning on the ten a.m. flight out of Jasper.”
I take the file and open it. “Great. I’ll book one—"
But before I can finish, Dylan interrupts me. “Already done. I booked you a seat. I was able to get you in the seat next to hers. I also booked a hotel.”
“Thanks. Do you know anything on the brother?”
Dylan sits back down at his computer and opens a window before pointing at it. “This is what Ethan looks like now. It’s really different when I compared it to his yearbook picture, so I’m assuming that he’s into some hard drugs. Which explains why Madison is going to Florida.”
I look at the man on the screen. His eyes are vacant, his skin is covered in lesions... he looks nothing like his vibrant, beautiful sister. Dylan interrupts my thoughts. “It’s not good.”
I pull my eyes from the screen and look at him. I can already feel my stomach drop. “What is it?”
“Her brother owes the Colombian Cartel. And I mean the Colombian Cartel, not one of their cronies or anything like that. He owes Baron.”
I clench the folder in my hands when he says the name. I’ve heard of him before. We deal with a lot of unsavory people, and I’m pretty sure that Baron would be at the top of the list of people not to fuck with. “And what? Does Madison think she can just meet up with him and give him the money and it’s done? The debt will be paid?”
He nods. “That’s exactly what she thinks. I had to do some heavy digging and reach out to old contacts, but she’s meeting with Baron the day after tomorrow.”
“Fuck!” I grunt. I wave the folder in my hand at him. “Thanks, Dylan. Take care of my sister while I’m gone.”
He comes around the desk and walks with me. “You know you need backup, right?”
I shrug. “I think I can handle it.”
Dylan starts cussing, and I can’t help but laugh. “I’m pretty sure Jenna said you had to cut that out once the baby comes. I can see my niece’s first words being a curse word and my sister having your head.”
He just shrugs his shoulders. “I’ll just blame it on you.”