The Zoo Crew (Zoo Crew series Book 1) Read online

  The handlers stayed behind in the press box. If anybody important from the community stopped by, she needed to have some presence there.

  More important, she wanted to make sure they were nowhere near where she was going.

  Twenty minutes after leaving the stadium, Mayor Sloan pulled onto a dirt drive on the north end of the Bitterroot Valley. Long and winding, the drive took her almost a half mile from the highway.

  By the time she got to her destination, the outside world had melted into the background.

  Though only a couple of miles outside of town, the place was isolated. A small ranch farmhouse sat in front of her. Off to the right was a pair of bunkhouses. To the left, a barn.

  Behind everything ran the Bitterroot River. Mayor Sloan could see the afternoon sun glinting off of it as she exited the car.

  Without ceremony she crossed the thin swath of grass that constituted a front yard and went inside. There was no need for her to knock. The person she was here to see knew she was coming. Not that she would stop to knock otherwise.

  Mayor Sloan stepped inside the front door into a foyer that split two different worlds.

  On the left side was a typical home. Living room with two sofas, coffee table, television. Bedroom. Bath.

  To the right resembled more of a compound. The front room was lined with television monitors, all displaying closed circuit feeds. Past it was an industrial sized kitchen where two girls were busy preparing dinner.

  Both were in their second trimester of pregnancy. Avoided even looking at Mayor Sloan as she stood in the foyer.

  A moment later, the woman she was there to see emerged from the bathroom. She rubbed her hands in front of her as she approached.

  "Maria," she said. Extended her arms out in front of her.

  Mayor Sloan returned the gesture. "Yelena."

  The two hugged each other tight. Released and kissed three times in succession, alternating cheeks. The traditional Russian greeting for old friends and, in this case, family.

  "How was the game?" Yelena asked. She motioned them into the living room.

  "Go Griz," Mayor Sloan deadpanned. Her sister was already versed in her disdain for the entire spectacle. No need to belabor the point. "How are things here?"

  Yelena sighed. Tucked her long legs up under her on the couch. Pushed her thick brown hair back behind her ears. Her sharp features twisted as she pondered how to respond.

  Despite the two year disparity between them, the two could pass for twins. The only real difference between them was Mayor Sloan had a deep, rich voice that played well into the microphones.

  Yelena's was thin, nasal. Endearing to those that liked her. Grating as hell to everyone else.

  Which was just about everyone, period.

  "They're okay," Yelena said. "We've had one girl that acted like she might go off-script a little this week, but it's been taken care of."

  Mayor Sloan arched an eyebrow. "Like the last one?"

  She hadn't been in the barn the weekend before to see Notch’s handiwork. Didn't need to be. She'd seen it before.

  "Not quite that bad. He was told to stand down a bit. Seems to have done so."

  "And the girl? Was the child harmed?"

  Yelena shook her head. "We didn't touch the girl or the child. But we got close enough that the point was made."

  "Good," Mayor Sloan said.

  Silence fell in the room. The scent of Italian food wafted in from the kitchen.

  "Have I mentioned how much I hate it here?" Yelena asked.

  "About a thousand times," Mayor Sloan said.

  "Yet, somehow, our operation keeps getting larger."

  "And so do our bank accounts. You don't seem to mind every time a check comes in."

  Yelena made a face that said she wanted to protest. Thought better of it and shut her mouth. "How much longer you thinking?"

  "Just until my term is up. By that time we should have a serious nest egg put back. Pull up stakes and move on."

  Yelena nodded. Remained silent.

  "You losing your nerve?" Mayor Sloan asked. Her eyes narrowed.

  "No. Just wondering."

  "I think it goes without saying you have the most important job of everyone here."

  "I know that," Yelena snapped. "And believe me, nobody else ever sees this side of me. I'm just asking you, as my sister."

  Mayor Sloan stared at her. A mix of surprise and disgust.

  Even sisters were prone to disagreements. Theirs were becoming more frequent by the day.

  Mayor Sloan rose to her feet. "I should be going. There's a post-game mixer at the Lodge I need to stop by."

  "Sounds fun," Yelena said. Made no effort to stand. No effort to walk her sister to the door.

  Mayor Sloan showed herself out.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Even six beers down, Kade worked with impressive precision.

  He and Ajax stopped by the back bedroom just long enough to see what they were dealing with before heading to the garage. Like Sage, if they seemed fazed at all they didn't show it.

  Calling on three years of wilderness training, Kade grabbed everything he need for an impromptu stretcher in seconds.

  An old drop-cloth. An unscrewed broom handle. A painting extension stick. A staple gun.

  Drake and Ajax fell in beside him. Followed his exact orders as he constructed the stretcher. Carried it to the back bedroom as Kade pulled his truck into the alley beside the house.

  Inside the bedroom, Sage took over. Secured Ella and showed them how to transfer her. Held the back door as they eased her outside. Cleared the backseat for them to load her in.

  The moment they were all outside, Drake went back through. Put the house back the way he'd found it. Even returned the knife to the sink.

  Pulled the bedroom door shut and locked the house behind them.

  Outside, Ajax and Kade were already loaded in the bed. Sage sat behind the wheel.

  "Where to?" she asked.

  Drake raised his palms by his side. Shrugged. "I guess a hotel. If anybody has any ideas, I'm game to hear them."

  Kade twisted his head to the side. "We can stash her on the rez. Nobody would find her there. If they did, they damned sure wouldn't touch her."

  Drake weighed the suggestion. It did make sense. At the same time, he couldn't put anybody else in danger. He was already potentially opening up his friends. He couldn't risk hurting their families too.

  By extension, pretty much his own family.

  "No. I appreciate the offer, but we have no idea what this is. Maybe in a day or two, but right now we have to be careful."

  Kade looked like he might object. Opted against it. Nodded.

  "Stay in town?" Drake asked. "More witnesses, better lit. Get her out in the Valley somewhere? Maybe down to Lolo?"

  "As much as the idea of being in town appeals, might not be that easy," Sage said.

  "Meaning?" Drake asked.

  "Meaning she's on a stretcher. Looks like an extra from a bad horror flick. We can't go parading her into the Holiday Inn on Broadway."

  "Shit," Drake muttered. She was right. Things were moving too fast. He was missing key details.

  Ajax stood up in the bed of the truck. "Let me ride shotgun, you get in the bed."

  Drake's face went blank. "Um, okay? But we don't even know where we're going yet."

  "Let me make some phone calls," Ajax said. "I got it covered."

  Drake knew better than to argue. His friends were all capable people. If they said they had it covered, it was covered. He stuck a foot onto the rear tire and hoisted himself into the back.

  Ajax dropped to the ground on the other side with a thud. Climbed in the front seat beside Sage.

  With a rumble of exhaust, the truck was off and running.

  "Any idea where he's taking us?" Kade asked. The only thing about him that still resembled the guy from the tailgates that morning was his Griz t-shirt.

  Drake shook his head. "He's done a lot of bus
iness with the hotels in the area. Gaming demonstrations. Meetings. I bet he's calling in some favors."

  Kade nodded. Said nothing.

  Drake turned and peered through the rear window of the cab. Could see Ajax' phone pressed to his head. Sage glancing back at him in the rearview mirror.

  The wind tugged at them as the truck angled north on Higgins Avenue.

  Kade's hair started to blow around his face. He paid it no mind. Kept himself pressed against the rear tailgate. Nodded towards Drake with his chin.

  "Hey, you're blowing up man."

  How he could have heard Drake's phone over the wind and truck engine, Drake wasn't sure.

  He fished it out from his shorts pocket and flipped it open. Unknown number. 225 area code.

  Drake paused for a moment, tried to place it. "225 area code?"

  Kade shook his head.

  Drake stared at it again. Wondered if he should answer. Wondered if someone had seen them loading Ella into the truck. He hadn't given Beth his number, but that didn't mean somebody else couldn't have tracked it down.

  Took a deep breath. Pushed it out. Hit the green button.

  "Hello?"

  "Drake?" Female voice. Familiar.

  Drake sighed. "Hey Ava. Thanks for calling me."

  "Where the hell are you? Sounds like you're in a wind tunnel."

  Drake hunkered low against the truck bed. Cupped a hand around the phone. "That help any?"

  "A little. What’s going on?"

  Drake paused, debated how much to divulge. He barely knew Ava. Hated the idea of dragging anybody else into the mess.

  Thought about Ella in the backseat of the cab behind him. Of the uphill battle he was going to have trying to do right by her and Beth.

  "It's a very, very long story," Drake managed.

  "Um, alright?" Ava said. Dismissive.

  The truck slowed almost to a stop. Made an easy turn into a parking lot.

  Drake sat up and took a quick look around. Smiled at Kade. Of everywhere in town, they should have known this is where Ajax would take them.

  "Have you ever had Firetower Pizza?" he asked.

  On the other end, Ava paused. "Look, if this is you asking me out..."

  "No," Drake said. More emphatic than he intended. "I am not asking you out. I have a lot to explain. It's going to take a while."

  "Uhhh, I don't know," Ava said.

  "Please," Drake said. "After I'm done, if you're not interested, you can walk away. No questions asked. No hard feelings."

  "I mean, it's Saturday night..."

  "I'll even cover your office hours. For the semester."

  Drake hated making the offer, but it worked.

  "Okay. I'm meeting you at the, what was it, Firetower?"

  "No," Drake said. He rose from the back seat as the others piled out. "I'll text you the address in a bit."

  He clicked off without saying goodbye. Her next question was no doubt going to be where they were going.

  He didn't have it in him to answer.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ajax took them to The Hawthorne. A local establishment with a sister site in Bozeman. No other locations in the world.

  Situated just a mile from Missoula International Airport, it was well outside of town on the west end. The kind of place where people could fly in, conduct business, fly out.

  The Zoo Crew loved Missoula. Not everyone else felt the same way.

  Especially not many of the people Ajax did business with.

  Sometimes, one of the clients that came was of a less-than-savory makeup. The kind that enjoyed college towns. Didn't want their wives at home to find out.

  For those situations, in stepped Ajax. When he first started doing business with The Hawthorne, he told them he would pay top dollar. The insinuation was it was for their discretion as much as their accommodations.

  Kind of like keeping an attorney on retainer.

  It took two phone calls for Ajax to arrange a room. One to the front desk. A young girl that had just started. Tried to give him the runaround.

  A second to the manager.

  They had a first floor suite in the back corner long before the truck reached the parking lot.

  Sage pulled the truck to a stop outside the rear entrance. Drake sent Ava the address, helped Kade carry Ella inside. Ajax went to the front desk and got the keys.

  Just twenty minutes after leaving Ella's house, they were in.

  The suite consisted of two bedrooms split off in opposite directions. In between was a large living room with a kitchen connected to it.

  Everything was adorned in hues of red and gold. Little bits of green to break the monotony.

  Drake and Kade carried Ella into the left bedroom and placed her on the bed. Sage directed them on how to unload her. Got her comfortable beneath a mound of blankets and pillows.

  Once she was situated, they all retired to the living room. Closed the bedroom door behind them.

  Kade let out a low whistle as he dropped himself onto the couch. "Impressive."

  Drake nodded. "Ajax, I can't thank you enough."

  Ajax waved off the comment. "Everybody's been playing superhero today. Figured it was my turn to chip in."

  "Thank you," Drake murmured. "Only for a night or two. Until we get things figured out."

  "It's taken care of. For as long as it needs to be," Ajax said. Finality in his voice.

  Everybody knew pressing any further would only insult him.

  Drake pulled his phone out again, checked the time. Although it felt like they had been up for days, it was just four o'clock.

  "So what do we do now?" Sage asked.

  "If you gentlemen don't mind," Kade said, "I'm going to check some scores."

  "By all means," Drake said. His head was spinning. He had no idea what he was doing.

  And he knew it.

  Ajax dropped into the couch beside Kade. A moment later Oklahoma thrashing Ohio State came onto the screen.

  Just like that, Kade and Ajax fell into discussing it. No mention of what had just taken place. They'd done what was asked of them. Would continue to do so.

  In the meantime, they were watching football.

  Drake pulled up a seat at the small kitchen dinette set. Rested his elbows on the table. Locked his fingers in front of his chin.

  Sage slid into a seat across from him.

  "What happens next?" she asked.

  Drake considered the question. "I need to get back online. Log into that message board and contact Beth. Try to get her away so I can talk to her."

  Sage nodded. "Anything else?"

  "I also need to get hold of my supervising attorney. See what we can do, whether it be getting protective custody or sending someone to investigate this. Maybe set up contact with the prosecutor's office."

  "What can they do?"

  "Until I talk to Beth, I mean really talk to Beth, I don't know."

  Drake wished there something more he could offer. Hated like hell that there wasn't.

  He also knew Sage would see right through him if he tried to embellish even a little. Hate him like hell for trying.

  A sharp knock snapped all four heads towards the door. Ajax leaned forward from his end of the couch. Behind him, Kade rose to a half-standing position.

  Drake stood and reached the door in three steps. He knew who was on the other side and didn't bother checking the peephole.

  He also knew she wouldn't be happy.

  In one fluid movement he turned down the handle and pulled the door open wide. In front of him stood Ava, half angry, half exasperated.

  "You have got some nerve, you know that?" she spat. Her voice was two levels below hysterical. She made no effort to enter.

  "Please, come inside. I can explain."

  "I'm not going anywhere. You can explain right now. You don't know how close I was to telling you to go to hell and driving off. The only reason I came inside was to tell you what an asshole you are."

  Behind him,
Drake could hear snickering.

  "Again, please come inside. I can explain."

  "What kind of idiot do you take me for? Sliding me your number. Having me call you. Swearing you weren't hitting on me then texting me an address to some hotel."

  "Ava!" Drake snapped. He stepped aside to reveal Ajax and Kade on the couch, both grinning. Sage at the table with her jaw agape. "If you'll shut the hell up and come inside, we can explain."

  For the first time, Ava noticed the other three people in the room. The anger retreated from her face, replaced by embarrassment.

  She blinked several times. Lowered the finger she'd been wagging at Drake. Stepped inside.

  "Didn't you say something about pizza on the phone?"

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sheriff Spore pulled up in front of 601 Kent. Parked the car along the curb. Sat inside it for a long time.

  The game day traffic had long since dispersed. Now, late in the afternoon, the street resembled most everything in Missoula.

  Mellow. Sleepy. Bathed in late day sun.

  The call had come in as he was leaving the stadium. He pretended not to hear it. Let it go straight to voicemail.

  Once he was home, he checked his messages to find Yelena's annoying voice waiting for him.

  "Do me a favor. Get off your lazy ass and make sure Notch didn't kill that girl. He swears she was alive when they left last night. Judging by the effect it's had on our surrogate, I'm not so sure. 601 Kent."

  No hello, no goodbye. Just a simple command.

  Spore sighed, continued watching the street. He'd been elected sheriff for the first time twenty-one years earlier. In the time since, nobody else had gotten more than fourteen percent of the vote.

  Taking commands wasn't something he was used to.

  How he'd come to find himself in this position was something he wasn't proud of. A former Griz football player, he liked to believe he had all the angles of the sport figured out.

  Liked to use those angles to turn a steady profit.

  For a long time his plan worked. He used his background in football to scout the college and pro games. Call in a few wagers each weekend. Make a little extra on the side.

  While maybe illegal, he didn't see the harm in it. Couldn’t be any worse than the slot machines in every gas station in the state.