28. Sinclair

Matt drove like a madman, which I appreciated. Spider insisted on standing on my lap, his two front feet on the dashboard. His tail swished back and forth, a sign of his anxiousness, maybe. I was right there with him. Anxious, worried, and on the edge of doing serious destruction to something.

Every couple of seconds, his head would turn and he'd look at me as if to ask why we weren't there yet. I kept telling him, "Soon," but I didn't really know that. I'd already told him no talking in the car. Not with Tony in the backseat.

He looked at me again and meowed.

"I don't know," I replied. "How much longer?" I asked Matt.

He slowed the car. "We're about there. I'm just looking for the number…"

"Hard to see in the dark."

"Yes." Matt applied the brakes. "There it is."

"That's a big warehouse." It was easily twice the size of Matt's property and two stories. There were several loading docks on one side. "I don't see her car."

"If she's smart, she'll have parked around the back."

"Or she might not be at this warehouse."

"She might not be, but this is the closest one." He'd yet to pull in. "I'm going to park out here. I'm sure there are cameras. She could be watching."

I nodded. "Any advantage is a good one."

Tony rustled around in the backseat. "You're going to leave me here? Parked on the side of the road? What if another car sideswipes this one?"

"You're lucky you're not in jail already," Matt growled. He pulled the car as far over on the shoulder as he could while still allowing himself room to get out.

I held Spider close as I exited the vehicle. Matt slipped out on his side. He tipped his chin at me. "What's the plan? I've never done anything like this before."

"We need to figure out if Isla is actually here. If she is, we'll work together to subdue and restrain her while Spider goes to look for Jayne."

Matt frowned. "You really think your cat is going to find Jayne?"

Spider stretched his neck out like he was trying to get free. "Spider loves Mama. Spider find Mama."

"I know you will, buddy," I said softly, giving him some reassuring pets.

Matt's brows lifted slightly. "We're going to have a big conversation about that animal later, right?"

"We will, I swear."

"Can Slim talk? I really need to know that."

"No."

"Oh." Matt looked oddly disappointed.

We made our way toward the gate only to realize that it required a keycode to enter.

"I got this," Matt said. He ran back to the car, got something out of the glovebox, and returned. He had a black box in his hand about the size of a pack of cards. He held it in front of the keypad and pressed a button.

The red light on the locking mechanism turned green, and the gate rolled back.

"How did you do that? In layman's terms."

"It's a combination of signal jamming and signal cloning. It's not technically legal."

"Good to know." I looked at the building. "There are definitely cameras."

"I can handle that, too." Matt held up the black box and pressed the button again. "That should disrupt the camera for two or three minutes, but then the system will reset, and they'll be back on."

"Let's make those two minutes count then."

We hustled toward the building, Spider safely in my arms. "Stay quiet now," I told him.

He just purred and kneaded his paws on my biceps. I had no clue what he was so happy about.

We stopped at the main entrance. It had another keypad, smaller than the one at the front gate. Matt tried the door anyway. "Locked. Let me look around the side and see if her car is even here. We could be wasting our time."

"Okay."

Staying close to the building, he went down to the far corner, disappearing for a few seconds. He returned frowning, giving me a nod as he jogged back. "Her car is parked there. We're in the right place."

Dark, angry energy sluiced through me. "We need to get inside. Now."

He nodded. "I know." The black box came out again. He held it to the lock and pressed the button.

I had the door open a split second after the green light came on. Matt followed behind me and eased the door shut behind him.

I whispered into Spider's ear. "Go find Mama, then come right back and tell me where she is."

"Spider go now." He jumped out of my arms and took off like he knew where he was going. Maybe he did. Maybe he'd picked up a scent trail. I prayed that was so.

The warehouse interior was dark. Only the security lights were on. Our eyes began to adjust, but I wasn't going to stand there and wait for that to happen.

I could see a soft halo of light in the opposite direction from where Spider had gone. "This way."

Matt followed without question. We snaked through row after row of boxed chemicals, the faint odor of something astringent in the air.

As we moved deeper into the warehouse, the light grew brighter. Matt grabbed my arm and pointed up. A set of metal steps led to a second-floor office area. Blue light shone through one of the office windows, the kind of light a small television would give off. Or a smartphone screen.

"Isla," I said.

"Has to be," Matt said. "I can't see any movement though."

I watched the window. "We have to get up there, but we need to be careful of those stairs. They're metal, and metal is loud. Not to mention, if she's in there and looks through that window, there's no hiding."

Matt nodded. "It's a chance we have to take." He looked at my feet. "At least we have sneakers on."

We went toward the steps. I let Matt go ahead of me. I figured Isla would be happier to see him than she would me. That small moment of confusion, her wondering why Matt was here, might buy me enough time to take her down.

Which I would. No problem.

I was three steps up when a streak of darkness came running toward me. Spider jumped into my arms before I could react. I quickly held onto him. "What is it?" I whispered.

His eyes were big, pupils round. "Spider found Mama. Mama sleeping bad. Not moving. Mama needs help."

"Go," Matt whispered back. "Isla's not getting away from me."

"Thanks." I put Spider down. "Show me."

He took off. I went after him as quickly and as quietly as I could. He stopped once to wait for me, since he had the advantage of going over obstacles I had to go around. He finally stopped again in front of a pair of swinging double doors, heavy and obviously industrial. There was no way he'd gone through them before.

"How do you know she's in there?"

He looked up. I followed his line of sight and realized there was an open transom above the doors. A stack of boxes nearby would have given him access. "Good boy, Spider."

I eased one door open so I could see in. Not as dark as the rest of the warehouse, thanks to one bank of lights being on, but I couldn't see anything but more boxes, stacked about six feet high.

Spider slipped through. "Mama." His little cry was plaintive as he disappeared into the stacks.

I went after him.

I found Jayne slumped halfway to the floor, partially leaning against a metal support pole. Her eyes were closed, body unmoving. I wasn't sure she was breathing. I fell to my knees beside her, feeling for a pulse, listening close for any sounds of breath or life. I found a weak pulse, thankful it was there. "Sweetheart, I'm here. Me and Spider are here."

"Mama, wake up." Spider pushed his head against her shoulder.

Her hands were tied behind her back with thick nylon rope. I got the knots loose, then pulled her into my arms. She still hadn't responded.

I pulled her into my lap, her head on my shoulder. "Wake up, Jayne. Please." I put my hand on her belly, trying to feel movement from Jack Jr., but there was none. The only reason for that I was willing to accept was that the drugs Jayne had been given had knocked him out, too.

They would both be fine. They had to be.

Spider rubbed against her hip, as frantic as I'd ever seen him.

A sound reached my ears. A tiny groan. A shushing hum.

"Jayne? Jaynie? Baby, I'm right here."

"Shuu …"

She was trying to speak. "What is it?" Gently, I patted her face. I saw a bottle of water nearby. "You want water?"

"Nuhh."

"Okay, no water." I held her close, desperate to help her.

"Shuu … grr."

"Shuugrr?" Almost sounded like, "Shoot her," but that couldn't be it. I tried to sound it out. "Shugar … shuger … sugar. Do you mean sugar?"

Before she could respond, I was digging in my pocket for a Jolly Rancher. I found one, yanked the wrapper off with one hand and my teeth, and popped it into her mouth. "Don't choke. Is that okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Her eyes, which had been closed the whole time, fluttered open. They were unfocused, and I couldn't tell if she was seeing me or not, but it seemed like a good sign, all the same.

"Hi, Jaynie." I kissed her face.

"Hmm."

"Mama? Mama Mama Mama." Spider had his front legs on Jayne's leg and was trying to see her face.

"She's going to be okay."

Jayne gave a tiny nod, the first sign of movement I'd seen. She swallowed. "I … am."

A loud crash and shouting carried in from the other end of the warehouse. I glanced over my shoulder. "That has to be Matt and Isla."

"Go," Jayne mumbled. "Get her."

"I can't leave you."

"Yeth," she breathed out, the scent of green apple tickling my nose. "Ssspider ssstay."

"Spider stay with Mama," he fiercely proclaimed.

Her little protector. "Okay, but I'll be right back."

I eased her to the ground, yanked off my jacket and balled it up for a pillow beneath her head, then I ran back toward the stairs and the second-story office.

Matt and Isla were fighting on the steps. She clawed at him while he tried to keep her away from him. In the distance, I heard sirens. I ran up the steps to help Matt.

Isla heard me and tried to dart past Matt, back toward the office. She grabbed hold of the railing, like she was going to swing around him, but she misjudged something and nearly fell.

She screamed. Matt grabbed her wrist just in time. "Sin, help me!"

She dangled, glaring at him. "Let me go. Let me fall. You don't love me."

"Shut up," Matt snarled back. "I'm not letting you go. That would be too easy for you."

I leaned over the railing and grabbed her other hand. Together, we hauled her up.

She fought the whole time. Matt put her in a bear hug that did nothing to stop her from kicking at his shins.

He gave her a good squeeze, enough to stop her from breathing for a few seconds. "Enough," he growled at her. Then he looked at me. "Zip ties are in my pocket."

I took two and secured her hands behind her back.

"You find Jayne?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"She … okay?"

"I don't really know."

"She should be dead," Isla muttered. "Meddling cow."

I stared Isla directly in the eyes, no longer caring if Matt saw my true self. I brought power into my gaze. "What did you give my wife? Tell me and I will consider letting you live."

The defiant bluster that had bent her mouth in a sneer and filled her eyes with hatred disappeared. Fear replaced it as she stared back at me.

"I…" She swallowed and went silent.

Matt shook her, his voice deep with anger and grief. "Tell him. Or I'll throw you over this railing myself."

Isla's lower lip trembled. She stared back at me, unable to look away. Even in the dim lighting, I could see the silver-white of my eyes reflected in the darkness of her pupils. "GBL. Just like I gave Charlie."