Page 45 of Out of Reach
“Even so, he’s not going to be able to change plans. He’s not the only one working this. He’s got people delivering human cargo to the ship at all hours tonight.”
“That what Slade said?” Hawk asked, feeling slightly better.
Mal nodded. “Yeah. We just have to get there. Slade said the feds will be rushing the ship. We don’t even have anything to do but get Jude when it’s over.”
Hawk wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. Too many things could go wrong in a sting, and Hawk didn’t want Jude caught in the crossfire. But he didn’t have much of a choice. He had no idea where Jude was being kept. He might even be on the ship already.
“Wait,” he said, more to himself than to Mal. He dialed Dex.
“Hawk? What’s going on?”
“We’re headed for Slade’s private jet and Miami.”
“Miami! I thought you said LA.”
“Jude called. I was only able to talk to him for a minute, but Prescott interrupted. I need to know where he called me from, Dex.”
“I’ll get on it.” Dex disconnected, and Hawk sighed, letting his phone drop to his lap. They were crossing the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, and Hawk stared out the window, although he wasn’t taking in the view. His mind turned inward, moments in his life with Jude flickering before him. What if Hawk had to live his life without Jude in this world? He could handle being without him as long as he knew Jude was somewhere out there, safe and happy. If Prescott got him killed, Hawk wouldn’t rest until he got his revenge. And then he’d end his own life.
“Hey, man.” Mal patted Hawk on the leg, bringing Hawk’s attention to him. “Where the hell did you go? I’ve been saying your name for the past couple of minutes.” Mal was exiting onto I-80 W. It wouldn’t be long now before they reached Teterboro Airport.
“I was just thinking,” Hawk answered.
“Yeah, well, did you hear any of what I said? Slade called. He got a pilot and they’re waiting on us.”
Hawk let out a breath. “Thank fuck. Now if we could just teleport to the damn plane.”
“I’ll have us there in ten minutes,” Mal promised.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Jude
Fear kept Jude awake. Sam hadn’t caught him on the phone—Jude had hung up in time. But he’d known he was faking being asleep. Sam stayed in the room all afternoon, alternating between talking on the phone and stepping onto the balcony to smoke a cigar. The guy who Sam had been talking to earlier watched Jude from the doorway. Jude didn’t recognize him as one of Sam’s regular men. With a body like a bulldog’s and a face that looked like it had been beaten more than a few times, he terrified Jude, especially with the way he eyed Jude like he looked delicious.
As the day wore on, Jude’s stomach began to growl. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. Sam had opened the drapes. Jude lay on the bed, staring out and listening to Sam talk abouthuman cargo. He wished he’d been able to tell Hawk more before he’d had to hang up.
Stretching out on the bed beside Jude, Sam regarded him with cold eyes.
“You could have been happy back at the penthouse with me. I liked having you around. I would’ve taken care of you.”
“Is that why you’re doing this?” Jude asked, surprised at how weak and out-of-it he sounded.
“You’re asking if I’m shipping you off to Southeast Asia to be sold as a sex slave because you broke up with me?” Sam asked, then chuckled. “You weren’tthatgood of a fuck.”
“Then, why?” Jude asked.
“Because, my darling boy, not only did you disappear, but all the names of my clients and their preferences—information that it took over a year for me to collect—disappeared with you.”
“I didn’t have—” Jude stopped, suddenly putting two and two together. “It was on my laptop.”
“Smart boy,” Sam said.
“But…why did you put it there?”
“Seemed like the safest place at the time. I never thought you’d leave, and when you did, I thought I could easily get the laptop back. But I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“It wasn’t like I was actually hiding. You got me fired from Utopia and made sure no other agency would pick me up. I had to live really cheaply.”