Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
My vision cleared, and I focused on the notebook. “This was what they were after.” I opened the book and found the page with the table. “They took a photo of this page.” I handed the book to Vanetti.
“Shit.”
“What is it?”
“Delivery dates and shipments.” He sighed. “I’m glad you caught this. It gives me time to make some changes.” He pursed his lips. “Knowing this schedule would put Stone in danger, since he’s usually involved. But this hints at something bigger.” He raised a brow. “I think someone’s trying to move in on my territory. Did you see anything else?”
“Yes. The person’s hands had tattoos on the fingers. Just like the ones I saw on Johnny’s hands. But it wasn’t him, because they were smaller and more delicate… like a woman’s.”
Vanetti narrowed his gaze. “The only people with after-hours access to my office are the cleaning crew. I don’t have a camera in here, but surveillance video might show us more.”
He picked up his phone and pushed a button. “Slater. We need to see the surveillance video from last night… yes… now.” He set the phone down. “Slater’s on Nate’s security team. He can access the video on my computer, so he’s on his way. While we check it out, do you think you could sketch the tattoos you saw? I’d like to know what they look like.”
I shrugged. “I can try. But honestly, I didn’t see them all that well.”
Vanetti nodded. “That’s okay. Anything would be helpful.”
I sat at the round table in Vanetti’s office with a pencil and piece of paper while Vanetti and Slater watched the video. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the vision. I’d thought the tattoos were symbols, but maybe they were letters or numbers in an Old English style font.
“There she is.” Vanetti pointed at his screen, and I hurried over to take a look. The cleaning woman wore light blue overalls and a ball cap. She pushed a cart into Vanetti’s office, but kept her face turned away from the cameras, and all we could see was the top of her hat.
Vanetti turned to Slater. “Call the cleaning service. I want to know who was here last night.” Slater hurried out of the office, and Vanetti picked up his phone. “I’m calling Nate.”
While he explained what we’d found, I went back to the table and closed my eyes. Concentrating on the vision, I managed to draw a couple of symbols, but they just looked like circles with lines drawn through them. They weren’t right, and frustration tightened my jaw.
Vanetti ended the call and glanced my way. “Get anything?”
“Not really. I’m sorry. I might recognize them if I saw them somewhere, but it’s not real clear what they looked like.”
“That’s fine. I told Nate I’d send you home, so you might as well get going. He’s probably more familiar with those kinds of tattoos than I am, so maybe he can help you figure it out.”
“True. But at least we know it’s got something to do with a gang, right?” I jumped to my feet, suddenly anxious to get home.
“Yes. But which one? Didn’t you check them out all ready?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t any of them.”
He sighed. “If you can figure the tattoos out, it might tell us what we need to know. Let me know what Nate thinks.” Vanetti stepped to the door and held it open for me. “And Serenity… keep Nate alive, all right?”
I met his gaze and nodded. “I will.”
His eyes narrowed, seeming to take in more than I wanted him to see. Before he could comment, I blurted, “see ya,” and hurried down the hall. After a quick wave to Julia, I stepped through the lobby to the elevators.
With growing unease, I took the elevator to the parking garage and stepped out, glancing toward the corner where Nate kept his motorcycle. A sudden desire to take a ride with him washed over me. His sleek, black, shiny bike looked lonely, so I took a detour to admire it.
Running my fingers across the fuel tank and leather seat, I could almost smell Nate’s amazing scent. My lips twisted into a smile before my vision changed and Nate’s face swam into view. My heart lurched to see blood running down the side of his face.
He sat in a chair and his hands were tied behind his back. I heard a gun go off, and a bullet slammed into his chest, sending him backwards to crash onto the floor. “No!”
The vision cleared and I gasped. That was my kitchen! Yanking out my phone, I called Nate, praying that he’d answer.
“Hey Babe, what’s up?”
“Nate! You’re in danger! Get out of there! Now!” He didn’t answer right away, and my heart sped up. “Nate?”
“I’m going. What did you see?”
“You were tied up in my kitchen and you got shot in the chest. Please don’t let that happen!”