45. June 23rd

JUNE 23RD

TB

"What have we got?"Waters asked as he rounded up the troops.

Nemo was looking at the tabletop where Flame's purse contents were strewn about because he'd turned it upside down, dumped everything out, and was pawing through them. His expression looked pained.

TB asked him, "What are you looking for?"

"This is Flame's purse, right? The one she was carrying the other day when you two flew out of here?"

"Yes, but nothing in there's going to help us find her."

"Where's her phone?"

"She doesn't carry it in her purse. She carries it on her at all times. Woman actually has a pocket sewn into each one of her outfits…" His voice trailed off.

Nemo looked at him.

"I'm a fucking moron. Midas!" TB bellowed. "Trace her fucking phone. She has it on her."

"What? How do you know?"

"I just do. Trace it!"

TB heard keys clicking over the speaker. "Got a signal. You gotta be shitting me. No one ever still has their phone on them when they get kidnapped," he murmured.

"I'm heading for the armory. Patch into my watch. Where is she?"

Midas' voice came across the watch's speakers. "You're not going to believe this. She's at The Library."

Waters ran to TB's side, Nemo following closely behind them. "That's not possible," Waters replied.

"Well, her phone is if she's not. But the signal's goofy."

Waters looked at TB. "What's under the club?"

"Under it? Nothing. I mean, there's a basement, but it's just storage of liquor and foodstuffs. Air conditioner and furnace. That kind of stuff. I've only been in it once or twice, but it's pretty much an empty room."

"Is there anything under that?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of."

Midas called over the line, "Well, according to the GPS, her phone is literally in the middle of the dance floor."

"It's definitely not there. We didn't step foot out onto that floor tonight. We were in the bar only, and then she went into the lounge, which is where she was taken from."

They were in the armory and loading up their personal weapons. "Hate to ask this, man, but what if Gendry's working with someone from the club?"

"Impossible. I questioned everyone. They all read clear."

Waters looked at him pointedly. "Everyone?"

"Every bartender, every monitor, even the new door guardian." He stopped. "No. Not everyone." He turned his gaze to Waters. "It never once occurred to me to question one person."

The vehicle wassilent as TB, Nemo, and Demon checked their weapons. Waters was behind the wheel. Steel had checked in moments ago, letting them know they were in the back alley behind The Library where the abandoned Escalade now sat.

Gendry, the fucker had tried to throw them off with taking her jewelry off and dumping it near the freeway entrance, then circled back with them to the club. But because he didn't know about the phone in Flame's secret pocket, he was clueless that TB and friends were about to rain down destruction on him.

"Midas has looped the security cameras, so we're clear here and inside," Nemo informed them after receiving a text from his brother.

"Feckin' unbelievable," Demon commented with a shake of his head. "No wonder it was so easy for any of the girls to disappear from here. They never left the feckin' building in the first place."

"Makes you wonder," Waters chimed in. "How many others might have gone missing without us having a hint. Think about it. A nightclub is the perfect front for trafficking. People get overly intoxicated, solicitous staff ‘help' them home, then poof. Nowhere to be found, and who knows how long before people notice or how long before connections get made. Most people don't tell others when they're going to a kink club, I'm guessing."

"Those in the lifestyle don't hide it, but they don't broadcast it. And people who are new to it, they're usually overly cautious," TB agreed.

There was silence in the car.

"I don't even begin to know how to do this."

Waters shifted the conversation. He lowered his voice to try and give the moment a semblance of being more private, but both knew that the guys in the back would be able to hear them.

"Do what?" Waters asked.

"Love her."

A smack came to the back of his head. "Dude, you just do it. There's no technique to it."

TB turned around on Nemo. "All those women in your life, and that's your answer?"

Nemo scoffed. "That's just sex. That requires technique. Choices made. Skills learned. I'm talking about loving her. There's no one way to do it. It's an instinct. A drive." He shrugged and looked out the passenger window. "You can't stop it even if you try."

TB looked at Waters. The blond in the driver seat mouthed, "Meow," then went back to focusing on negotiating the sharp turn into the narrow alley.

Hmm. Apparently, that little cat burglar was still living rent-free in Nemo's headspace after their run-in four years ago.

Looking out the window, TB saw that Steel, Loki, and Gilgamesh were parked with them nose-to-nose on either end of the Escalade. No one would be getting out this way.

When the vehicle came to a halt, everyone checked their weapons one last time. TB could feel anger burning inside of him. Anger that was so hot it was cold fire licking at every one of his veins. He knew he needed to harness that anger, but he honestly wasn't sure how to do it. Never in his life had he felt a strong emotion during a project—not even when he'd rescued his team leader from captivity.

"Waters," TB started. He inhaled, then exhaled. "Nemo needs to lead. I can't?—"

"Not a problem. I anticipated that. When we get inside, focus on getting to Flame. That's your whole job. We've got everything else."

"But—"

"But nothing, Total Beanstalk," Nemo cut in. "I've got you. I've got you both. Just get your girl and be done with it."

TB swallowed hard. He needed to have a conversation with Nemo when this was all over. He was an absolute asshole to this guy on a regular basis, and Nemo could totally leave him stranded over this, but he wasn't going to. Hadn't once the entire time he'd been watching over the two of them.

"Nemo—"

Another smack to the back of the head was paired with, "Don't." TB looked over his shoulder. Bright blue eyes stared back at him. "Dude. I know."

There was a double clap down on his shoulder from the back seat and then Nemo was out the door and ready to breach the back entrance on Waters' signal.

TB remained frozen in his seat a few moments longer, watching Waters talk with Steel, Loki, and Gilgamesh, when another voice came from the back seat.

"Nemo's not nearly as shallow as everyone thinks he is."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that."

"Good," Demon grunted. "The persona he projects is not who he is. Because that man would die to protect any one of us or, by extension, someone we love. Especially you. Don't take that for granted." With that, the medic exited the truck.

TB inhaled deeply, then exhaled, finally exiting the truck himself.

I'm coming, little Flame. Just hold on.