Page 77 of Protecting Josie
“Do that. And have him call Cookie and the others. You and your team can handle the search when I have info for you, and Wolf’s team can hold down things at the apartment and with the women.”
Blink nodded.
“Blink? Did you hear me?” Tex asked in a demanding tone.
“Yeah,” he managed to say.
“I’ll be in touch. Call Kevlar. Out.”
Blink clicked off the connection and stood motionless in his apartment, feeling utterly lost. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. All the life. Without Josie, it seemed…empty. Blink wanted to sink deep inside himself, as he’d done after that horrible mission with his previous team. Going to that place where life didn’t hurt so much.
But he couldn’t. Not now. Not when Josie needed him.
He took a deep breath. Then another. Nothing could happen to her. Not when they’d just found each other. Not when they had a beautiful life ahead of them after so much heartbreak. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to show him everything he’d ever wanted in life, only to rip it away ruthlessly.
He clicked on Kevlar’s name and brought the phone back up to his ear.
“Kevlar here.”
“She’s gone,” Blink said succinctly. “I need you and the team.”
“Are you at your apartment?” Kevlar asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll call the others. Have you called the police?”
Blink shook his head, feeling as if he was in a long, dark tunnel.
“Blink?”
“No,” he whispered.
“Okay. Hang on, buddy. We’re comin’.”
He nodded and clicked off the phone without saying goodbye.
Blink wasterrified. He didn’t know what to do. All he knew was that Josie was missing, she was probably scared out of her mind, and she was relying on him to find her. Except he didn’t have a clue where to start. Where to look.
This feeling of helplessness was all too familiar. He’d felt the same way when watching his teammates dying and moaning in pain in Iran, and there was nothing he could do except attempt to give them cover from enemy fire.
But this felt way worse. Because Josie hadn’t volunteered for this. And she’d already been through hell. It wasn’t fair!
Closing his eyes, he took another deep breath. He had to get himself together. He’d be no good to Josie like this. Her scent filled his nose. The soap she used. The lotion she liked. The slight scent of eggs from that morning, still lingering in the air.
Opening his eyes, Blink felt more in control. More determined than ever to find Josie and give her the beautiful life he envisioned for them both.
Looking down at his phone, he clicked some buttons for the third time.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“My girlfriend’s been kidnapped. I need a detective. Immediately.”
The trip to Las Vegas was surreal. Gen spent the ride alternating between being completely silent and ripping into Josie for “killing” her little brother. She held the gun the whole time, using it to punctuate her words now and then.
Josie didn’t dare do anything to distract her or make her lose control of the vehicle. Though Gen wasn’t speeding, wasn’t doing anything to bring attention to their car. At one point, she pulled over on the side of the interstate and took a small dirt road that veered off into the desert. She drove about half a mile, out of sight of any cars that might be going by, then forced Josie to get out.
She’d thought that was it. That Gen was going to shoot her in the head and leave her body to rot out there in the desert.
