"This was the part I didn't like," Woody said.
"Which part did you like?" I asked.
"None of it." He sipped his water. "I know, Forrest and I came up with it. Doesn’t mean I like it. If I hadn't given my input, it would have been a clusterfuck."
I wasn't sure it wouldn't be a clusterfuck anyway.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. The tone for an incoming text message rang out in perfect unison with everyone else in the room. I pulled it out of my pocket. On the screen was an address a couple of blocks away.
"This is it," I said. I tapped on the screen to make sure the tracking devices were still working. "She just left the restrooms. What the fuck?"
Woody looked over my shoulder. "Same fucking question. Why is she headed in the…" He peered harder at the phone his lips drawn back.
"That's not good," I said.
"Y'think?"
I wanted to go in after her immediately, but everyone had started toward the door. Some pretending they weren't as excited as they were. Others smiling, almost rubbing their hands together. All thrilled to receive the instructions to move on.
Only the people in this room right now would know where the auction was actually held. They thrived on that knowledge. Somehow it made them special, to be a part of something so exclusive. As though it meant they'd arrived.
If blackmail was my thing, I had plenty of targets right here. Lucky for them, I enjoyed slicing throats better than making threats. Why did that make them lucky? Because they lovedexpensive shoes. What better fate could there be than becoming a pair? The justice was poetic as fuck.
I caught Forrest's eye. He nodded and followed the others out the door, his brow creased in a line of worry. No one seemed surprised Sable wasn't with him.
I hung back while everyone filed out. "You should go with them," I said to Woody. "She's probably fine and the tracker is malfunctioning somehow. I'll get her, and we'll be right behind you."
Woody was conflicted. His eyes swiveling back and forth from the restroom door to the exit that led out of the hotel. Finally he nodded.
"Fine." He pushed away from the bar and stalked out behind everyone else.
I waited half a minute before trotting over to the restroom and pushing the door open.
"Sable?" I called out, although doing so was pointless.
No one was in here, just an open window. The wind that blew inside was frigid.
I hurried over and leaned out. The hotel's loading dock was empty. There was no sign of Sable. No vans pulling away with a squeal of tires. Nothing.
I slapped my hand against the windowsill. "Fuck." Shook my hand because that hurt.
A tap on my phone screen gave me access to the feed from the microphone. Was it still active?
From the speaker of my phone came the sound of a car engine. A muffled groan.
Sable. She was still alive.
I wished I could speak to her, but the microphone only went one way. The tracking devices were still active, thank fuck.
"We're following," I said, even though I knew she couldn't hear me.
I sent a text to Woody and Forrest to let them know what was going on. They both read the message and didn't respond. What was there to say? They could see the tracker's movements from their phones. They also knew she was moving away from us, in the wrong direction.
I trotted out, all the way to the front of the hotel. Pushed out the front doors and looked around for Forrest and Woody. Saw them across the street in Woody's car.
I ran across the road, narrowly missing being hit by a bright pink convertible. Why was anyone driving around with a top down on a day like this?
I wrenched the back door open and threw myself inside, behind Woody.