Page 123 of The Innocent

Gah, this goddamn man!

“I’m currently locked in the bathroom at a bar on Centre Street. It’s called The Oakwood. It’s got lots of neon bar signs and the front windows are blacked out. Can you come get me?”

There was a long stretch of silence.

“Gent!”

“Yeah, I’m here. Gonna put you on speaker, okay? Tell me everything you just said.”

She swallowed the knot in her throat. “So, I was meeting my client ’cause he works here, and he said it would be easiest for him. And it’s a public place, so I thought it was safe, but then everyone left, and he locked the door. I told him I had to go, but he’s insisting I stay for a drink. Right now, I’m in the bathroom.” Her voice was shaking, and she was on the verge of tears. “Can you please come get me?”

“What the fuck, Imogene!” Jekyll’s voice was so loud she had to pull the phone away from her ear. The anger streaming through his tone was enough to send a shiver down her spine. “I told you no more meetings with him.”

And I should’ve listened. But that was neither here nor there. Hindsight was 20/20. If she had a choice, she’d be drinking a cup of coffee in her apartment while Hank sent her a death stare. God, that sounds perfect right now. Imogene was finally at her breaking point.

“Imogene,” Jekyll snapped.

Tears streamed down her face, and her voice shook. “Can you just come get me and then yell at me later?” She sniffled. “Please.”

“Fuck, where?”

Jekyll’s voice faded, and she heard Gent say, “The Oakwood.”

Even over the line she could hear heavy boots, and not just Jekyll’s. It sounded like an army.

“Jek’s on his way. Usually takes about ten minutes from here, but you can expect them in three. You just stay on the line with me, darlin’.”

“Okay.” She wiped her cheeks. “He’s pretty mad, huh?”

Gent laughed. “Oh, he ain’t the only one.”

“What do you mean?”

Gent snorted. “You’ll see when you get here, darlin’.”

Uh-oh!

****

A plan was probably in order, but he wasn’t wasting time coming up with one. He grabbed a garbage can from the back entrance and tossed it through the window of the back door. Jekyll knocked away the broken glass and slid his hand to unlock it. He swung open the door and charged down the hallway and to the main bar. The guy was at the farthest end of the bar, and he scanned the room.

“Where the fuck is she?”

Logan widened his eyes. “Who?”

You motherfucker!

Jekyll stormed forward, reached across the bar, wrapping his hands around Logan’s throat. “I’m gonna fucking kill you.” Jekyll dragged him over the bar, slamming him down to the ground. “Where the fuck is she?”

For everything he endured throughout his life, Jekyll had never felt rage like this.

“Everybody hands up!”

Jekyll froze and slowly angled his head. He was looking down the barrel of a gun aimed directly at him.

“I’m not gonna tell you twice. I’m just gonna start shooting.”

A cop in plain clothes.