They’d been stupid to sexually discriminate. They should have restrained her too. Then again, captured she’d gone docile and acted scared. She’d even managed a few terrified whimpers on the long drive to Chicago. Clearly these were bullshit.

Christ, he had GI Jane as his receptionist.

“Jesus, Cal, you didn’t leave me anything to do,” Cal heard Benny’s voice and he, Lindy and the man down but not whining all looked at Benny who was strolling casually into the room like he was walking through his Pizzeria except he had a gun in his hand and a crazy motherfucking grin on his face.

“What the f**k?” Cal whispered but Benny lifted his gun and pointed it at the roller.

“Think you should stay still,” Benny suggested to him and came to a stop close to Cal, his eyes not leaving the man on the ground.

“Like I said, what the f**k?” Cal ignored the man and stared at Benny.

“Frankie came callin’ early with info. Couldn’t get you on your phone so I moved out. I been on your tail since Indiana,” Benny answered, his hand went into his front pocket and he came out with a small army knife. “You,” he said to Lindy, “limp over here and cut Cal loose.”

Cal watched Lindy do as she was told and limp toward Cal and Benny, keeping her eyes on her target and her gun up as she dragged her leg with her. She took the knife, opened it and cut Cal loose. The minute he was freed, he pulled the gun out of her hand and trained it on her man.

“Next time bullets are flyin’ and I say the words, ‘leave out the backdoor’, you leave out the f**king backdoor,” Cal ground out.

“If there’s a next time, Joe Callahan, I quit,” Lindy snapped back.

“Can’t quit seein’ as your f**kin’ fired,” Cal returned.

“Kids, can we have this domestic somewhere on the way to Violet?” Benny asked and Cal’s head swung to him.

Then he walked to man one who took one look at his face and started crab walking backwards on all fours. Without hesitation, Cal drilled a round in each of his thighs which made him stop crab walking and start screaming in pain.

Cal ignored this and turned to man two who was scrambling in the direction of the loose gun but Cal got to him, kicked him in the chest so he flew to his back and he drilled a round in each of his thighs.

Then he walked to the gun, picked it up and handed it to Lindy on his way out the door. He heard Benny helping Lindy and following. He walked straight to the Escalade and shot out all four tires. Then he walked to Benny’s Ford Explorer.

When they were all in and Benny was on the road, Cal in the passenger side, Lindy rifling through a First Aid kit in the back, Cal asked, “You know where she is?”

“No, but I know where Hart lives,” Benny answered.

“Good,” Cal looked out the windscreen, “we’ll start there.”

“Don’t you think we should start by droppin’ her off at the hospital?” Benny suggested.

“It’s just a flesh wound,” Lindy put in.

Fuck him. A flesh wound.

On his next job application there was going to be the question “What did your father do for a living?” and if an applicant filled in “Marine”, “Police Officer” or “Commando”, he was shredding it.

Benny glanced at Cal and Cal saw his lips twitching.

Then Benny muttered, “I think I’m in love. Where do you find them?”

“Just drive,” Cal growled.

In the distance three squad cars going in hot could be seen, sirens wailing, lights flashing, an early invitation for Cal and Lindy’s captors to get down to business if they already hadn’t done it.

Cal scratched having a word with Pryor on his mental to do list.

The squads flew passed them and Benny kept driving.

“Not to give you bad news on top of what hasn’t been such a good day for you, cugino,” Benny said, “but Sal made a deal with the cops and when I called him ten minutes ago, he told me he was sendin’ them in for the rescue.”

“I didn’t have time for that rescue,” Cal remarked. “They wanted me on my knees.”

Cal watched Benny nod and then Benny spoke. “Let’s hope, they see the mess you left them, they’ll feel lenient seein’ as they wanted you on your knees. I’m a man, most cops are men, we all understand why you wouldn’t wanna be on your knees.”

Cal stared at his cousin. “Benny, they wanted me on my knees so they could drill a round in my skull.”

“Why would they take you all the way up to Chicago to do that?”

“How do I f**kin’ know?”

Benny drove silent for awhile then muttered, “Thank Christ they did.”

“After we rescue your girlfriend,” Lindy piped up from the back, “can I get a coffee? By the time those ass**les barged into the office, I was only halfway through coffee numero uno. By this time, I’m usually on coffee numero doce and I need a f**kin’ fix.”

Cal was in no mood to laugh but that didn’t mean he didn’t smile. “Sure, Lindy, we’ll get you a coffee on the way to the hospital after we rescue my girlfriend.”

“No, got my belt on it even though the bullet went clean through and I don’t think it’s bleedin’ anymore. You can just take me home. Dad’ll stitch me up,” she said and Cal closed his eyes and wondered what Lindy’s boyfriend was like. Cal had trouble enough f**king Vi on her back. Even though he knew she liked it like that, she also felt compelled to climb on and Vi was like Keira, a woman but still all girl. What he learned about Lindy that day, she was probably prepared to fight to the death to take the dominate position and ride her man. Cal figured her man had learned to just lay back and enjoy the ride.

He heard Benny chuckling before he heard, “Again, cugino, where do you find them?”

Cal opened his eyes and answered, “Her father’s a marine.”

“Ah,” Benny replied.

Cal was done playing.

“They sent six men after me. I took down two at my offices. Two came with us. Two in another car where I suspect they took Vi.”

“I saw ‘em,” Benny said quietly, “there were two.”

“While you were tailin’, you see anything else?” Cal asked.

“Like what?”

Cal didn’t want to know but he had to know.

“Kate and Keira.”

“I hit your house first, all was quiet, Vi’s car in your drive, Vi behind your security system. I left her there thinkin’ she was safe but there was no car for you so I went to your office to give you the lowdown. When I hit it, they were movin’ you and her out,” Benny jerked his head to the backseat.