“Look, can we focus on what is important? Tara is missing.”
“We don’t know that,” Sloan said slowly, like he was talking to a stupid person. “She could be staying with a friend. Can you call them?”
“As far as I know her only friends are from the club. I suppose she could have gone to Ava’s or Jacey’s.”
Was she hiding from him?
Suddenly his cell buzzed and he saw her name on the screen. Thank God.
“Tara!” he barked into his phone.
Sloan shook his head at him, but he couldn’t help his harsh tone. She’d scared him half to death.
“Where the hell are you? Why did you leave without telling me? Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
“Alex, I’m sorry I left like that. Did you get the message I left?”
“Message? You call that a message? Why the hell didn’t you come find me if you wanted to leave?”
“Because I’m a coward. Look, I don’t have time to talk right now.”
“Where are you?” There was a lot of background noise.
“I’m on a bus on my way downtown. I have to drop something off at my old work.”
She was speaking slow and calm, as though talking to someone on the edge. Alex vaguely acknowledged that he was close to blowing. His hands were clenched, his breathing labored.
“What? Why are you going there? Never mind, I’m coming to get you. Take the next stop where there are people around, go into a bar or somewhere that’s open and I will come to you.” He was moving out of the apartment as he spoke, Sloan on his heels, quiet for once.
“Look, I don’t have time to really explain what is going on. I’m dropping my laptop and pen drive off.”
“At ten o’clock on a Friday night? What the hell for?”
“When I got home from the club I checked my answer phone and there was a message from Tim asking me to drop them off at his office.”
“So do it on Monday. Tim can wait. What have I said about taking public transportation at night?” He climbed into Sloan’s truck and gave him the address.
She sighed. “That’s not your concern anymore, is it?”
“We’ll talk about that later,” he promised her. “Until I get a proper explanation from you, you are still my sub. Now sit your butt down and wait for me.”
“I can’t.”
“Oh, you are in so much trouble.”
“Listen I’m nearly at my stop. Tim thinks that someone is selling information to the competition. He wants my pen drive and laptop in order to set a trap.”
“What? Why am I only hearing about this now?”
“I tried to tell you,” she said dryly. “You were busy. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Tara, don’t you dare….hang up,” he said into a dial tone. He swore, smashing his fist against the glove box.
“Hey! This may not be as flashy as your Porsche or whatever it is you drive, but it doesn’t need a fist imprint in it.”
Alex looked over at Sloan. “Sorry.”
Sloan whistled. “You got to calm down, man. Ain’t no good getting all riled up.”