“You know I don’t, damn it!” He swallowed the ferocity and tried for another dose of calm reason. “I want to protect you, I want—”
“Great,” she said, cutting him off. “So don’t screw this up.”
And she disconnected the call.
His discipline shattered, Logan broke into a jog. “She’s going to the club.”
Both Rowdy and Reese kept pace alongside him as they maneuvered through the sally port and out to the lot. Rowdy grabbed his own cell but muttered, “Damn it, she’s not answering.”
“For the love of…” Reese grabbed Logan’s arm, pulling him to a halt. “This is insane. You go in through the park. I’ll circle around from the other side. Whoever finds her first can head her off from doing anything stupid.”
Rowdy started to protest, but Reese said, “Not a word from you! We don’t have time to argue about it.”
Logan agreed. “It’ll take twenty minutes to get there, but don’t use your siren.”
“Noted.” And with that, Reese jogged to his car.
* * *
FORCING ASIDE ALL uncertainty, every ounce of hesitation, Pepper studied the setting before her. She knew that guards protected Checkers not only from within but also from the exterior, every minute of every hour of every day. Morton Andrews spent a small fortune on security. Getting to him wouldn’t be easy.
After shutting Logan down midsentence, she’d set her phone on vibrate. The last thing she needed was a call in the middle of her setup. She’d already felt her phone buzzing, so that had to mean he was concerned, right?
Fortified by that thought, she started forward.
She prayed that she hadn’t entirely misjudged Logan, that deep down he was just a good cop trying to find justice.
She had to believe that, because anything else was unthinkable.
Anything else meant her brother might already be gone.
Several yards away from the club, she saw two goons, each wearing an earphone, no doubt armed, chatting to each other while keeping watch on all coming and going down the walk. In the business area, well-lit establishments lined the street, everything from liquor stores to tattoo parlors to restaurants and gas stations.
Neon signs flashed. Night owls laughed and talked, some outside their cars, others hailing cabs, a few just loitering. No one should have paid undue attention to a woman alone.
But with her gaze zeroed in on the men, they felt her approach—as she’d intended.
Without glancing away, Pepper walked right up to them. The one closest to her looked her over with appreciation. The other faded back a little, probably to keep the advantage.
Like a woman without a care, Pepper stopped before the biggest goon. “I need to see Morton.”
A mean smile curled his mouth. “Yeah, you and a dozen other women.”
Now, that was funny. Pepper copped a stance that she hoped hid her jitters. “I seriously doubt any of them see him by choice.”
The condescending arrogance darkened to irritation. “Get lost, honey.”
“Here’s what you’ll do, honey. Inform Morton that Pepper Yates is here, and if you behave, I won’t tell him that you tried to send me packing. Because you know, if he found out, he’d probably kill you for being so incompetent.”
Skepticism showed, but it couldn’t win out over the guy’s healthy respect for Morton’s ruthlessness. He gave a slight nod, and his buddy made the call. He spoke so softly that Pepper couldn’t hear him over the human congestion spilling out of the club, but she knew he spoke to Morton’s number one guy.
And judging by the look on his face, Morton had agreed to see her.
Few at the club had ever noticed her while she worked there, and the only photos available were the same that Logan had. Morton might not recognize her, but he knew the name.
Because she was Rowdy’s sister.
And Rowdy had set himself up to be the snitch.
Too many people wanted her brother, all because he’d tried to protect her. She had to do this.
“Let’s go,” the big goon said. He reached for her arm, but Pepper stepped back.
“Morton is inside?” She assumed he was, but she needed it verified. If she’d miscalculated, if they tried to stuff her into a car to transport her somewhere else, she’d scream bloody murder.
It might not save her, but at the very least, others would notice.
“He’s in his offices.”
“Above the club?”
Impatience shortened the goon’s temper. “Are you coming along or not?”
Pepper got her stiff lips to form a smile. “I am.” She stepped ahead of the guy and marched toward the club. Her heart beat in time to her every footfall. The closer she got to the hubbub around the club, the sicker she felt. Nausea churned in her stomach and her temples throbbed, making her almost light-headed.
In an iron grip meant to hurt, the goon took her arm to steer her around to a back entrance. Breathing too hard and too fast, Pepper willed her feet to keep moving, one in front of the other. She didn’t want to be dragged. She wanted, needed, to do this on her own terms.
Morton Andrews had plagued them long enough. If Logan didn’t get there in time, well then, she’d find a way to end the miserable cretin one way or another.
At the back of the building, beneath bright security lights, he stopped. One of the additional guards, stationed to keep anyone from intruding, scowled. “What are you doing? You can’t bring her back here.”