Dakota Firestorm

Excerpt

Travis reached over to touch Danni’s hand. “What did Andrew tell you about your sister?”

“He said that she’s out with friends. Doesn’t know who she went with, where they were, or when she’d be back. So, I’m waiting.”

“We’re gonna go check it out. Come on. Let’s go fuck up this guy’s night.”

Danni scrambled from the SUV, more than willing to go knock on this asshole’s door again.

As they crossed the street, the man who came out the front door saw Travis, still in uniform, and took off toward his car.

“I’ve got the back.” Drake ran around to the back of the house, while Travis easily caught the other man and cuffed him.

Using another set of cuffs to secure the man to his car door, he looked back at Danni. “You and I are going to talk later.” He slammed the other man, one screaming for Andy, against the car door. “Shut the fuck up.”

Danni nodded and stood just outside the front door, suspecting that the loud music kept Andrew from hearing his customer.

Moving to the front door, Travis placed his hand over his weapon and knocked loudly on the door. “Stand so he can see you.”

Travis stepped to the side and, when the door opened, nudged Danni back and stood in front of the door, his gun pointed at Andrew’s chest. “Where’s Veronica Marsh?”

As Danni expected, Andrew, although slow at first, probably due to his own merchandise, quickly realized that he might be in some sort of trouble.

Especially when the coffee table behind him was covered with an assortment of drugs, a nine-millimeter handgun, and a scale.

Andrew turned, but before he could bolt, Travis grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him toward him. “Well, what do we have here?”

“Fuck you!” Andrew’s dirty T-shirt ripped as he managed to jerk away from Travis and went for the gun on the table.

Travis caught him again, yanking his hands behind his back and using a zip tie that had been secured at his side, secured his wrists behind his back.

“Looks like you were right about the drugs.”

“I don’t give a shit about the drugs. I want to see if I can find something that’ll tell me where the hell my sister is. I know she lived with him. I— Jesus! Ronni!”

“Danni!”

She leapt toward her sister, studying her bruised and swollen face just as Drake came in from the back. “That asshole did that to you?”

The music suddenly stopped, and Danni blocked out the curses and threats coming from the other side of the room where Travis had tossed Andrew into a chair. “I need to get you to a hospital.”

“No. I’m fine.” Veronica’s blood-shot eyes filled with tears. “I’m just so glad you’re here. When you came earlier, I was in the bathroom. I didn’t hear you. When you left, Andrew told me it was you.”

She glanced at Andrew and seemed to shrink into herself, pissing Danni off even more. “When I heard you were in town, I knew it was almost over.”

Both enraged and relieved to tears, Danni wanted to hug her sister but didn’t know the extent of her injuries. She wrapped her arms lightly around her and rubbed her back. “Christ, I’ve been so scared.”

Drake approached, easing back when Ronni jolted. “I’m gonna take one in while Travis takes the other. Mace will drive you in your car to the hospital. We’ll meet you there unless you leave earlier. Then we’ll see you at home.”

“At home?” Ronni blinked and wiped her wet cheeks.

“I’ll explain everything. Let’s go.” She glanced at Travis, giving him a stony look as he spoke on his radio to the police station, asking for two officers by name to come to the scene.

Drake opened the door for her and escorted her outside, where Mace stood, standing guard over the guy still secured to his car door.

With a look of horror, Mace rushed forward, glancing at Danni. “What the hell? Is this your sister?”

“Yes. I need to get her to the hospital.”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital, Danni. I want to get my stuff. I packed almost everything up except for my clothes.”

Drake lightly touched Ronni’s shoulder. “Where is it?”

Ronni smiled, wincing and touching her lip. “I have two big blue bins in the garage. I hid them under a piece of tarp. My clothes are in the first three drawers in the dresser and in the closet.”

Nodding, Drake looked into Danni’s eyes. “I’ll take care of it, okay? I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’ll get your sister’s things together and bring them to the house.”

Mace bent and lifted Ronni. “Let’s get you to the hospital. I’m Mace, by the way. You must be Veronica.”

“Ronni.” With fear in her eyes, she held out a hand to Danni. “I recognized the chief, but I don’t know any of these men. How long have you been here?”

Danni grimaced and opened the back door of her SUV. “A couple of hours. Mace here is Travis’s brother. Drake and Zane are brothers and their cousins. I want to hear about how the hell you got tangled up with this asshole and what he’s done to you.”

She closed the door behind her sister, turning and stopping abruptly when she found Mace directly in front of her.

He lifted her chin, his dark gaze steady on hers. “She’ll be safe now. Both of you will.”

Even scared and pissed off, she couldn’t deny the slam to her system. “I can take care of myself and my sister. But something’s wrong in the department. I don’t trust anyone. I can take her to the hospital myself.”

“No. Sit in the back with her. I’ll drive.”