Another mumble of a deep voices.
I dont have it. No! Her pitch rose, filling with panic. Stop! Get out, or Ill call the cops!
Zoey! Gage yelled.
She cried out, sending Gages blood pressure into the stratosphere. Zee, answer me!
A crackling sound blasted his ear, followed by a deafening silence.
Then a dial tone.
He clutched the phone to his ear like a lifeline to her, anxiety climbing his throat. Zoey!
But she was gone.
He quickly punched in her cell phone number and waited while it rang and clicked over to voice mail.
Zoey here. You know what to do, her message chirped in the bright, carefree tone that characterized the woman hed fallen in love with years ago. Spontaneous. Mischievous. Full of life.
Its me, Zee. Im worried about you. Call me. His voice quaked, but he didnt care. Zoey had seen him worse off. Much worse.
Look at me, Uncle Gage! Pet called from the yard.
He raised his head to find his niece hanging upside down from the swing set. His five-year-old niece was a lot like Zoey. Wild. Full of energy. Fearless.
Im a monkey! the dark-haired imp giggled as she swung from the top bar.
Be careful, Squirt. Dont fall. One personal emergency at a time, please.
He might be a firefighter, a first responder, handling crises in the community for a living, but in his private life, Gage could juggle only
so much. Taking custody of his niece while his sister dried out and put her life back together already consumed most of his energy. Now Zoey was in trouble.
He had no use for a trip to the E.R. tonight with Pet. Been there. Done that.
Dividing his attention between the phone and his niece, Gage redialed Zoeys number.
Again the call kicked over to her voice mail. Zoey here. You know what to do.
But he didnt know. As he had much of his life, Gage felt himself sinking into uncertainty, worried about the people he loved. What was he going to do with Pet? With his sister?
And how the hell was he supposed to help Zoey?
Chapter 2
With a jerk on the cord, he disabled the motel rooms landline, as well.
How could Derek have done business with these cretins? And how could she convince them that she had no more money than Derek did to pay off Dereks debts?
You dont want to call the cops, cause that would piss me off. And Im not someone you want pissed at you. He aimed a finger at her and narrowed his eyes to slits. Its real simple. Either tell us where Derek is or give us the twenty grand he owes us.
Zoey choked. Twenty grand? He told me it was just a couple thousand!
The guy whod stomped her cell phone jammed his face in hers. Your boyfriend lied. And the price goes up every day hes late payin. Interest, you know.
His breath smelled of cinnamon gum, and Zoey pulled a face. What should have been a refreshing scent turned her stomach coming from him. Look, Derek and I split up. Your beef with him is not my problem. I dont have any money. He stole it all from me, so
A stinging smack landed on her cheek, and she gasped in shock and pain.
Mr. Cinnamon-Breath shook out the fingers in his hand. A hissing-snake tattoo on his forearm seemed to writhe as his muscles flexed. I told you not to piss me off.
Zoey raised her chin defiantly. He was ticking her off, too. I dont have
He grabbed her wrist and jerked her close. Derek told us you came from money. You can get that twenty thou and a whole lot more from your family.
A chill slithered through her. Dread knotted her gut knowing this guy would likely extort any sum of cash he could from her through fear and intimidation. Her familys money. She couldnt let this guys menace hurt her family. Squaring her shoulders, she dug deep for the courage to stand up to this bully. My family disowned me two years ago when I hooked up with Derek. They wont give me a cent. She waved a hand toward the dingy motel room bed. Do you think Id be living like this if I had a cash flow from my parents?
You got credit cards, dont you?
I, uh Her gaze darted to her purse and back, her spirits rising. Her emergency credit card! After getting in a load of debt in high school, from which her parents had had to bail her out, Zoey had sworn off credit cards, cut them up. Except for one. The emergency Visa. Well, this was an emergency, right?
Except the thugs gaze moved to her purse, too. Uh-oh.
Hey, Viper, a cop just pulled in up at the front office, his cohort said from the door. Time to go.
Viperhis moniker no doubt the reason for his tat, or vice versastiffened and snapped his gaze toward the door with a grumbled curse. Returning his narrowed glare to Zoey, Viper backed toward the door. You seem like a smart girl. Use those smarts to come up with my money. Meantime, well just take this. He grabbed her walletwith the emergency credit card and what little cash she hadand stormed out without closing the door.
Hiccuping a half sob, Zoey slid to the floor. She touched her throbbing cheek and shivered. Cheesy theatrics or not, Viper and his cronies scared her. She had no doubt theyd return, and theyd hurt her if she didnt come up with the money they wanted.