Too Close

Chapter 34

Tyler's P.O.V

O was still asleep when I got up to get dressed. I made sure not to wake her and left as quietly as possible. The flight home would take a couple of hours. Hours that I used to think. I thought about Olivia. If I loved her as much as I did, why didn't I tell her the truth about what's been going on last night when I had the chance?

By the time the plane landed and I found Colton's car in the lot, I decided I couldn't do it. I couldn't keep working for Jason and putting my life last. I drove straight to Colton's to grab my stuff. I'd prolonged it long enough. I was ready to get out.

Someone's hammering on the door woke me up from a nap I didn't know I was taking. I shook my head to shake the grogginess from lack of sleep and looked through the blinds.

"Reed?" He pushed his way past me barely letting me open the door.

"Where have you been? I've been calling you." He touched the top of his hat.

"I was in Florida with Olivia for her aunt's wedding. I told you that." He looked out of breath and wiped sweaty palms on his shirt. "Bro, what's going on?" He ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath.

"Jason has Olivia. For real this time." I cocked my head to the side.

"What do you mean, 'Jason has Olivia'? I was just with her, she's in Florida, she's fine. Jason should be at Rover Lake for the deal, which is where you should be too." He shook his head like I had it all wrong.

"No, Jason sent some guys down to take her. They got her right after you left. They're taking her to Rover Lake for the deal. She's the big drug deal that's supposed to go down. Her and a truck load full of other girls. He's sex trafficking, Ty."

"No." I shook my head. I didn't waste another second, another thought. The possibility that haunted me for months had come true. I could feel something in my chest shutting down, but it pushed my legs.

I pulled Colton's keys out of my pocket and ran to the car. Reed climbed in after me just as I revved the engine and peeled out of the driveway.

"Colton's at the shop. Curtis will be there soon. He wants to help." He pulled out his phone to let them know we were on the way. I didn't have a plan yet but I would need their help.

When we pulled up to the shop, I didn't speak while we strapped ourselves up with all of Curtis' guns and ammo we could carry. I didn't even think about putting on a vest until Colton's dad stopped me to put one on. He had been watching us from his desk.

He knew about Jason, Ciro, and that we were in it. Colton shared everything with his dad so he'd probably known about it since we became friends. I climbed into the car ready to go when he stopped me again.

"Do you guys have any idea about the layout of this place?" He peered into the car at us. Reed sat next to me in the passenger seat while Colton and Curtis were in the back.

"No, sir," I answered respectively, despite my fingers tightening on the steering wheel. We needed to get going.

"You know better than to try and raid any place—let alone crash a drug deal—without a proper layout of the place." He shook his head. "Give me five minutes?"

He came back with a map of the lake and a big red circle around a building. He said he'd forgotten to throw it away along with other maps of Charlotte he'd kept even after he retired from his Parks and Recreation gig long ago. I thanked him and handed it to Reed.

"Before you go," Colton's dad said from the other side of the car.

"We really don't have time for this, sir."