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What the hell was up with that? I pursed my lips together, and my chest burned with a combination of hope and fear. You owe me, you fucker. Where is River?
“In order not to risk anything, I’ll send someone else to pick her up at the designated location at ten tomorrow night.”
Confusion lines creased my forehead. I couldn’t tell if he was talking about River or someone else.
“Later,” Tim said, then disconnected the call.
“Dammit. That didn’t tell us a fucking thing. Holden, I’ll keep monitoring his calls. I have no idea if he was talking about River or not.” Silence filled the line. “Are you all right?”
“That depends on what your definition of all right is,” I responded.
“Learning that your father has men with weapons surrounding you has to be a little nerve-wracking.” The sound of paper shuffling in the background reached my ears. “You did well. Brian, Pierce, and I have already listened to the recording of your meeting with Tim. I’m guessing that the armed men were precautionary. Tim can’t trust anyone in his type of work, and that includes his son. This won’t be the last time, I’m sure.”
“I appreciate all the safety measures.” It hadn’t occurred to me that Tim lived his life constantly on-edge, but it made sense.
“Using yourself as bait isn’t something to take lightly. Hopefully, Tim will call soon with some news about River,” Sutton said.
“He knows the deal, so if he wants me to work for him, he has to deliver her beforehand.” I ran my fingers through my hair, irritated that the bastard hadn’t said anything that would help us locate River.
“Zayne will meet you at Chance’s place. He’s already on the way,” Sutton said.
“Us, too. Talk to you soon.”
Tad ended the call, and I provided him with Chance’s address.
We rode the rest of the way without talking, my brain working double-time as I tried to figure out Tim’s weak spot. He had to have one. Everyone did. It wasn’t money or women … an idea suddenly occurred to me. I’d talk to Zayne as soon as I saw him. He’d know what to do.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zayne was waiting patiently for me on the front porch. “I’m going to search the place before you go in.”
I unlocked the door and waited with Tad as Zayne secured the premises. Since he’d beat us there, I assumed he’d already patrolled the property.
I entered Chance’s place and called out for Jace, but there was no response. Before I’d left to meet Tim, Jace mentioned he had some errands to run, and he’d see me when he got back.
An eerie silence filled the home as I walked over to the windows. My thoughts took a dark turn to Brynn. Chance hadn’t given us an exact time that Brynn would be transported to Oregon, but I realized he’d let me know when they were in transit.
The front door opened, and Zayne strolled back inside. “Tad is going to take over for me while I talk to you.”
“Was that normal today?” I asked, eyeing Zayne.
“Can be. Powerful people have a lot of enemies, so it’s not out of the ordinary. What bothered us was that a few of his men had their weapons directly trained on you. Every move you made, so did they.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “So, Tim was ready to strike if I screwed up.”
“It appeared that way. The possibility that he’d take his own son down is disturbing.” Zayne placed his hands on his hips and stared at me.
“I don’t fucking care. He won’t shoot me. I basically offered him my soul in exchange for River.” I shook my head in disbelief that any of this was happening. Maybe my idea from earlier would work, though. “He knows my weak point. Her. Now I need to figure out his.” I glanced at Zayne. “Did Sutton ever learn whose house Tim was at the other day? The one with the blonde headed lady and the little girl?”
So much had happened in the last few days. I’d forgotten all about it.
Zayne removed his cell from the front pocket of his black slacks. He tapped the screen a few times, then a phone began to ring.
“Hey, Zayne,” Sutton answered.
“Holden is with me and you’re on speaker.”
“Hey, Holden,” she said.
