Page 46 of Waggs

Waggs nodded at Decker, knowing Willow needed time and he still needed to figure out how he felt about AJ being his son and not Aaron’s. “Sure.” Waggs saw Liam heading across the bar to them with a frown. “Everything okay?”

“Not sure, there was a lot of extra security at the yard today. I reckon whatever is going down is happening tonight, but they headed out just before I did, so I figured I had time for food.”

Waggs felt his blood begin to heat at the thought this could be over soon. “You think the shipment is tonight?”

“Yeah, my gut says so.”

Decker ordered the wings then turned to Waggs. “Will still have his drone up, watching?”

“Yes, Laverne is watching the feed.”

“I should be doing that, not her. This is my responsibility.” Waggs was glad for the help but he shouldn’t be in a bar getting drunk while others did his job for him. He got up to go and threw the rest of his beer back. “I’m heading out. This doesn’t feel right.”

“Fuck’s sake.” Liam got up and followed, as did Decker. “We need to go via a drive through.”

“Someone’s hangry.”

Liam glared. “Fuck off, Deck.”

Decker just laughed but he drove the two minutes to a fast-food joint so Liam could get food. They all ordered something and were on the way home when they got a call from Laverne.

Waggs put it through the car audio. “Hey, Laverne.”

“They took them. I couldn’t stop them. There were too many.”

Waggs sat up straighter, his mind clearing, his body tensing as he glanced at Decker and Liam who mirrored his posture. “Explain.”

“Five heavily armed men stormed Willow’s home ten minutes ago and took her and Bebe.”

Waggs’ blood turned to ice, the sounds around him becoming white noise as the realisation that the woman he loved was in the hands of sex traffickers. “Where are you now?”

“I’m following them in the car but trying to stay right back so they don’t spot me.”

That was clever and probably her best call, seeing as she couldn’t have taken out five armed men alone without getting Bebe and Willow killed. His gut clenched at the thought that if he hadn’t stormed off, neither woman would have been there.

Decker glanced at him and shook his head, seemingly knowing what he was thinking. “Where are they headed, Laverne?”

“Trucking yard.”

Decker swung the car around and headed toward the house they’d been using opposite Willow’s. “We need ammunition and to check the footage.” He glanced at Waggs who was clenching his fists, every muscle tense. “I know you want to go rushing off to save them, but we need to be smart.”

“I need to check on AJ. I wouldn’t put it past them to use him.”

“Already on it.” Liam had the phone to his ear but handed it to Waggs through the seats.

Waggs closed his eyes not sure how he’d explain this to his mother or AJ if anything happened to Willow because of him.

“Hello.”

“Mom, it’s me. Is AJ okay?”

His mother must have heard the strain in his voice. “Yes, why? What’s wrong?”

Closing his eyes, he had to make the second worst admission of his life. “They took her, Mom, they have Willow.”

The gasp on the other end was audible. “Well, we’re fine, and everything is quiet here. You go and get our girl back, son, and then we can make our plans for the future. I’m thinking I might like to live in this Hereford place.”

Waggs bit back the emotion he felt, knowing there would be time for that later. Now he needed to do what was needed of him to make this right. “Will do, and, Mom?”