Despite her attempts to soothe her nerves, though, she was worrying about John just as much as he was obviously worrying about her. She just couldn’t admit it to him, or he’d be speeding back to Langston, plan abandoned.

Dragging her brain back on track, she shifted to a more comfortable position. She was perched on the edge of the neighboring building in the dark shadow of a cottonwood tree, watching the main entrance of the warehouse. The other doors were either the huge overhead kind that semi trucks could fit through or chained and locked, so this appeared to be the only possible way to access the building at night.

She shivered slightly, both from the chill in the night air and from anticipation, wishing John were with her right now. She’d gotten used to being a team, and working by herself again made her feel vulnerable and lonely. The previous hours ran through her head in vivid color—the way his soapy skin felt under her fingers in the shower and the long, intense kiss he’d given her before they’d split up—and she was suddenly no longer cold.

Peeking at her phone, Molly saw that it was just a few minutes before eleven and that John had sent her a frowning emoji. Swallowing a snort before it could escape, she focused on the entry again. Her heart rate slowed back to normal as she pushed thoughts of John out of her mind and concentrated on scanning the front of the building and the space around it. Nothing moved.

As the minutes ticked by, she grew more and more uneasy. Things were too quiet. Even as she watched the door, she knew in her gut that she was alone except for the night bugs and a few bats. No one was meeting at this warehouse tonight.

A chill crept back over her skin. If Sonny’s cohorts weren’t here, that meant they were possibly at the Denver location with John. The silent buzz of her phone made her jump, and her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled it out. The text was from John, and she relaxed slightly when she saw his name, but the actual words on the screen made her stiffen.

Tell your boy goodbye.

Her heart stalled before stuttering back into motion too fast, like a startled jackrabbit’s, her fingers suddenly numb and fumbling as she texted back.

Who is this?

There was no answer.

Her skin went clammy as she stared at her screen, unable to tear her gaze off that menacing text. Something had happened to John. Just as she knew that no one would be showing up at this address tonight, she also knew that John was in trouble. Terror roiled in her gut. She had to get to him.

Scrambling to her feet, trying hard to ignore the twenty-foot drop to the asphalt below, she rushed for the back where a work truck had been parked conveniently close to the building. It was a struggle to descend cautiously, to not just hurl herself onto the roof of the truck cab, heedless of noise or safety. Even though she was terrified that something had happened to John, she shouldn’t blindly run right into a trap. She needed to plan.