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He decided to present it to her as a business trip. However, he wouldn’t rule out an involvement if the opportunity presented itself. “My partners want to meet you, and this would be a good opportunity for them to do so. I told them what a great job you’re doing.”
“I haven’t shown any results yet, Locke.”
“You will. I like the way you handle your business.”
He wanted to say she was very professional, but he didn’t want to think about that. Hadn’t Shep said earlier that…“maintaining a degree of professionalism doesn’t necessarily require emotional distance…”
“Thanks. Can I give you an answer in a few days?”
“Sure.”
“Hmm, that’s odd.”
“What is?”
“My back door is cracked open. I didn’t leave it that way. I would not have been able to set the alarm if I had.”
Suddenly, he heard Hollis’ phone drop as she yelled, “Hold it right there, or I’ll shoot.”
What the hell! He was off the sofa in a flash, grabbing for his pistol. “Hollis? Are you okay?”
He then heard what sounded like a scuffle, then suddenly a gunshot. Then another. “Dammit, Hollis, answer me!”
Using his second mobile phone, he called 9-1-1. “There’s a robbery in progress,” he said, although he had a feeling it was more than that. Already he was dashing out the door. “I was on the phone with her, and heard the sound of a scuffle and then gunfire at Hollis Calloway’s residence.”
“What’s the address?”
Address? Damn, he didn’t even know her address. “Hold on.” Opening his car door, Locke quickly got in. Speaking into Rexar, he asked, “Address for Hollis Calloway?”
When her address appeared on the screen, he relayed it to the dispatcher as he started the car. His heart was pounding in his chest. Please let Hollis be alright.
“I need more information, sir,” the dispatcher said.
“There’s nothing else I can tell you right now,” he responded, pulling onto the street. “Just send officers to that address as soon as possible.”
“A police officer is on his way.”
Locke nodded as he sped off. “So am I.”
CHAPTER 20
Locke pulled up in front of Hollis’s house less than five minutes later. It should have taken him more time than that, but he ran a few red lights, cut several people off, and did nearly a hundred when he had gotten on an open stretch of road – all for two miles. The house was swarming with cops, and he barely brought his car to a stop before he was out of it, racing toward the house. And to Hollis. He didn’t know what he’d find, but he hoped and prayed it wasn’t the worst.
“Hey, you can’t go in there,” some cop called out.
“Try stopping me.” He threw the words over his shoulder and kept walking. As fast as his legs could carry him. Almost running. The police officer standing at the door – who looked no more than his mid-twenties, probably a rookie ─ took one look at him, met his gaze, and moved out of the way.
Locke stopped long enough to ask, “Where is Hollis Calloway?”
“In the kitchen.”
That was all the rookie cop said, and Locke still didn’t know what to expect, and prayed she was okay. He had never been to this house before but followed the sound of loud voices. Some were shouting. Not one of them belonged to Hollis.
He rushed to the kitchen, quickly scanned the room, and saw her. Hollis was sitting calmly at the kitchen table with Charlie, her Glock in front of her. Locke let out a relieved breath. She hadn’t noticed him yet and was angrily staring at the occupants of the room and saying nothing. Namely, three police officers, a paramedic, and two detectives.
Then there were two other men. Young. Probably no more than twenty-two or twenty-three. And they looked as if someone had beaten the shit out of them. Busted lips, bruised eyes, swollen heads, and what looked like broken noses. Hell, they took battered faces to a whole new level. One man was holding a cloth to his mouth, wailing that he’d lost a few teeth, and another claimed his jaw felt broken.
Locke’s gaze went back to Hollis. A smear of blood was on her jacket, and he doubted it was hers. He saw her hair was mussed, and a slight bruise was forming on her cheek. But compared to those two men, she looked good and had definitely come out the winner.
