Wicked and True (Wicked & Devoted 4)

“Thank fuck.” Walker pressed the phone to his ear again. “I’m going to give you to another guy. He’s one of us, so he’ll help keep you safe.” He slid the device into the new guy’s palm.

“Find out where she is,” Zy murmured.

Kane raised the phone with a nod. “Bueno?”

Zy held his breath as the former small-town sheriff exchanged rapid-fire Spanish with the woman. He glanced across the room to see Tessa organizing her desk with a gusto that told him she needed something to do or she would go crazy. If she was this upset about her friend’s abduction, he couldn’t imagine what all the Edgington men were going through, not to mention the rest of her family.

That gave Zy an idea—one he’d put into motion as soon as Kane finished talking to Laila.

He and the other operators watched, waiting impatiently until the new guy finally ended the call.

“Well?” Zy prompted.

“Laila escaped—with one of her assailants’ phones. She’s got Valeria’s son with her. They ran to a women’s shelter. She didn’t know where else to go.”

The move had been pretty resourceful on her part. The shelter’s management wouldn’t ask too many questions, and if cartel thugs showed up, the police would be called. “She needs to dump the phone.”

“She turned off location services, but yeah, the longer she holds on to it the more of a liability it becomes. She’s concerned that she’ll be without any way to contact her sister once she trashes the device.”

“Where did you two leave things? Did she tell you where to find her?”

“No. She wanted to know about Valeria. Laila was panicked because she’s been calling her sister, who hasn’t picked up.”

That explained the unknown calls to Valeria’s number.

“I assured her Valeria is fine and suggested she try calling her sister again. I also told her it wasn’t a good idea for them to hook back up until we roll into town. I hope she listens.” Kane shrugged. “By the end of the call, she seemed calmer…but still not thinking clearly enough to devise a plan, so she said she’d leave that to us. Let’s put our heads together, gentlemen.”

“Get started,” Zy said. “I need to give Tessa something to do before she goes crazy. Back in two.”

The others started a low-voiced discussion that Zy tuned out as he approached Tessa, who’d wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to cry. He’d tell her to go home, but sending her there to stew alone would be worse.

“Why don’t you pick up some things to feed Kimber’s family and take them to her house? Otherwise, Deke will be trying to feed the kids when he’s really distraught and should be out looking for his wife…”

She frowned. “Don’t you need me to make arrangements for Trees and Kane to travel wherever they’re going?”

“They’re big boys who know how to work a website. What they can’t do is comfort Kimber’s family in any way that’s remotely compassionate or helpful. You can.”

“What about you and One-Mile? If you need anything—”

“We’ll handle it. Just take care of her family. You know, make sure they have enough food for dinner, give them comfort or a shoulder…”

“Of course. I can do that.”

“Call me if you run into any issues.”

She grabbed her purse and her car keys. “I will. Let me know if you need anything, and I’ll come back.”

He should let her go now. He shouldn’t get any closer to her or let himself fall any deeper. But he couldn’t stand her leaving without touching her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m rattled. I guess I always thought that friends, family, and employees were too far removed from the danger you guys deal with all the time.”

Zy shook his head. “Why do you think Cutter and Josiah were both so quick to get out once they realized they were getting married?”

“It just never occurred to me.” She shook her head. “That probably sounds stupid, but…”

“No.” Naive, maybe. But Zy couldn’t blame Tessa. She’d never put herself in the path of danger for an objective designed to keep others safe. She answered phones. She coordinated supplies. She kept the office running smoothly. Despite the bosses’ suspicions, there was no reason she would know about this shit. “You shouldn’t have to think about this, especially given everything else you’ve been dealing with.”

Like her father’s recent passing and her ex-boyfriend’s threats.

She sighed. “I’ll be back.”

As she turned to leave, he wrapped his fingers around her arm. It was the kind of incidental contact he often had with people. But no one else made him burn and shudder with desire the way he did every time he touched her. It was fucking inconvenient to want Tessa so much right now, but this just proved that nothing—not time, conflict, barriers, or tragedy—could put a dent in his need for her.