4. Walker

4

WALKER

I’m pacing in my living room, ready to lose my mind. She’s on a date with another man. Brook, my Brook, is dating. Just thinking about it makes me physically ill. I don’t know why I’m so surprised. After five years, it was bound to happen. There’s no way the men of Whiskey Run were going to stay scared of my warnings forever. But I still can’t figure out who was the brave soul that asked her out. I even went to Red’s Diner tonight to see what I could find out. No one was talking, and the elderly women in the booth that were meeting for their quilting club seemed just as surprised as I was that Brook had a date tonight.

I’m just about to call Dylan and have him trace her phone when my phone rings. “Yeah,” I grunt, not even trying to go for niceties. It’s an unknown number, and whatever they’re selling, I’m not buying.

“Uh, hello. Is this Walker? Oh gosh, I don’t even know your whole name, my sister just calls you Walker.”

“Yeah, this is Walker. Who is this?”

She clears her throat. “Hi, my name is Cassie. I’m Brook’s sister.” When I don’t say anything, she says in a curt tone, “Brook, your personal assistant.”

“Is she okay?” I ask her.

“Uh, well, I don’t know. I’m not sure. I mean...” She starts to stammer and stutter, and my frustration goes to another level. I’m not the most pleasant or patient man.

“Is. Brook. Okay?” I ask her again, enunciating each word.

She sniffs on the phone, and a second later, a man comes on the phone. “Hello... Mr. Walker.”

“Who is this?” I demand.

“This is Baker Johnson. I’m Cassie’s husband. She’s upset and worried about our sister. Brook had a date tonight, and she still hasn’t called to check in. We’ve tried calling her, and her phone goes straight to voicemail. I’m a police officer but you know my hands are tied until she’s been missing for twenty four hours.”

I’m listening to him word for word, but it’s like I’m listening through a tunnel. There’s something wrong with Brook, and I wasn’t there to protect her. I wasn’t there for her.

“Walker,” Baker says over the phone.

“Yes. Yes. I’m here.” I grab my keys off the counter. “Tell me everything you know. When did you talk to her last, where was her date, who was she with... everything.”

“Okay, I’m going to put Cassie back on the phone.”

I put the phone on speaker and send a group text to the guys and Sam. 911. Meet at the office.

“Hello?” Cassie says.

“Cassie, I need to know everything.”

She takes a deep breath and lets it all out. “I talked to her around six, and she promised me she’d call me after her date. She was at the Del Rio Restaurant in Jasper.”

Fuck, I should be writing this down. “Del Rio Restaurant,” I recite. “Who was she there with?”

“His name is Jason. She had sent me a screenshot of his profile on the dating app. I’ll send it to you.”

“She met him on a dating app?”

“Yes. I told her it was a bad idea, but well, she was determined to go on a date, and I don’t know what the hell is wrong with the men of this town, but they treat her like a pariah. She felt it was her only option.”

Fuck! I pushed her to this. If I hadn’t put out the warning, she would be dating some accountant or someone safe instead of some douchebag she met online. I grip the phone tighter. “Was she okay when you did talk to her? Was there anything off about her or anything?”

I’m already in my SUV, driving to the warehouse. I’m going way faster than I should be, but I don’t care. Nothing matters right now except getting Brook home safe.

“Uh, she was upset... but she was fine.”

There’s something Cassie’s not telling me. She doesn’t trust me.

“Cassie, listen, I’m going to find Brook. I promise you that. This is what I do. But in order to do that, you have to tell me everything. Now, why was she upset?”

She sighs into the phone. “She’s going to kill me.” Before I can ask her what that means, she continues, “She was upset about quitting and well, everything that’s been going on at the office and... you. But when I got off the phone with her, she was fine.”

I push harder on the pedal, but it doesn’t do anything. I already have it stomped to the floor. “What’s been going on at the office, with me?”

She clears her throat. “It’s nothing. I mean, it doesn’t have anything to do with her being missing. If I thought it would help, I’d tell you, but it’s completely separate, and I’m not going to betray my sister like that.”

The strength in her voice is obvious. She’s not going to tell me. I let it go for now. “Okay, so maybe they decided to go to a movie or dancing after.” But even as I say it, I feel sick thinking of another man holding her.

“No. Look, Walker, I’m not being hysterical or crazy about this. She said she’d call me as soon as dinner was over. She didn’t. Now, you may not know my sister well, but I do. If she says she’s going to do something, she does it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. She does it.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m going to go find her.”

“No, Cassie, please. Stay home, let us do this. And I do know Brook, and I know you’re right. This isn’t like her. Send me the profile. I’m on my way to meet the team right now. We’re going to find your sister. We’re going to find Brook.”

I hang up with her as I pull into the lot at the warehouse. Some of the other guys are already here and inside. My phone dings, and I look at the profile Cassie has sent me. I forward it on and rush into the warehouse, barking orders. “Dylan, I sent you a profile from a dating app. I need you to tell me everything about that person and specifically where I can find him now.” I point at Logan. “You stay close. When we find her, I need you to make sure she’s okay.” I point at Bear. “You’re with me.” I point at Aiden. “You, shut down the airport in Jasper.”

“Shut it down?” he asks in surprise.

I sit down at Brook’s desk to search for any clues. “Yes, shut it down. I don’t want any planes out tonight. I don’t care what you have to do, what you have to promise or pay, make it happen.”

The rest of them come in, and Nash, the commander, walks in last. “What’s going on, Walker?”

Everyone stops and stares at me. They’ve all been wondering, but none of them have asked. I shove papers to the side and look in her empty trash can. There’s nothing here, no clue to what she had planned for the night. I take a shuddering breath. “Brook. Someone took Brook.”

Knox swears. “Fuck!”

I nod in agreement. “I want her home. Now. So let’s do what we do. They, whoever they are, have one of our own. I want her back, and I want her back now, dammit.” I pound my fist on the desk, and the team all gets to work. I know how much Brook means to everyone in this room, and I know we’re going to find her, but I’m already imagining what is happening to her, and I put my hand on the desk to steady myself. “She was last heard from by her sister at 6 p.m. at the Del Rio Restaurant in Jasper. I want her phone traced. Bear, John, you’re with me.” I start racing toward the door, shouting orders as I go. This isn’t me. This isn’t what I do. Nash is the commander, this is his job, but there’s no way I’m stepping back. “We’re going to the restaurant. Let us know anything you find.”

I get back into the SUV. Bear gets in the back, and John gets up front. They are both quiet and don’t say a word when I make the thirty-minute trip in twenty. As soon as I pull into the lot, I park at the front door, and we all get out. I spot Brook’s car and walk all around it. John goes inside to see if anyone has seen her, and Bear canvases the rest of the parking lot. I point to the camera that is pointed toward the lot and run inside with Bear following me.

We walk in just as John has his hands on a man at the front. “I want the recording, and I want it ten minutes ago.”

John, also known as Knuckles because he likes to fight with his hands instead of guns or knives, is trying to get the man to cooperate. Sometimes I don’t agree with his tactics, but today I don’t give a fuck. I don’t care if he has to beat up everyone here to get it, but I’m not leaving without seeing the tape. People in the restaurant are all staring, and some even have their phones out recording. We’re usually more discreet than this, but there’s no time tonight.

I push my way through the restaurant until I get to the back. I find the office and see the monitors on the desk in the corner. I start to go through the tapes, rewinding to earlier tonight. I stop when I see a woman being shoved into a van. I rewind it further until I see her coming out of the restaurant. She’s alone, head down, walking to her car. I see the men before she does, and my whole body goes taut. Bear and John have joined me in the tiny office, and we’re all holding our breath as the scene before us unfolds. I grip the chair as we watch the men push her into the van and drive off. There’s no license plate on the van, no distinguishing marks on the men, nothing.

I hit rewind to watch it again. I’m missing something. I know I am.

We watch again, and I pause it, zooming in on the maskless man behind Brook. All three of us gasp at the same time. Christian Rodriguez. He’s the right-hand man of Alvin Bendetty. The man we put in prison three years ago for kidnapping a US senator.

My phone rings, and it’s Aiden. “Walker, that profile was a fake. I’ve traced it back to Christian Rodriguez.”

“I know. We’re watching him on the surveillance camera here. He has Brook. I want an APB put out for the white van. Have you had any luck tracing her phone?”

“It’s shut off, but I’m working on it.”

I grunt into the phone. “Work faster,” I tell him.

I pull the box from the wall and put it under my arm. “Let’s roll,” I tell the guys. We walk through the restaurant and out the front door. I don’t know what happened with John and the restaurant manager, but he doesn’t even try to stop us.