Free Vortex (SAI Book 1) by Lea Hart Page B

suggested yesterday in the meeting, but it doesn’t explain the two men that ended up in the clinic,” Joel replied.
    “Taylor and his grandfather are going to be over at the DuMonds’ tomorrow for the Super Bowl party, and we thought he and Gideon could have a talk and see if he could make some sense of it,” Ben said.
    “No one in the neighborhood would know that he was talking to the cops, and maybe he has some info that could be helpful,” Dane confirmed. “We also told him he could come down this summer after he graduated, and we would get him in shape if he decides to join the navy.”
    “Good call,” Joel answered. There were a lot of pieces of puzzle out on the table, and he wanted to begin putting them together. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Vivi, and right now he wasn’t sure where the threat was coming from, which made him want to lock her down out of sight. They were going to have to operate by some new rules, and he had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like them. Too bad. Mad and alive was better than the alternative.
    ***
     
    The guys left, and Joel assumed they were returning to the women who were making them so damn happy. Not that he cared. His phone buzzing brought him out of his jealous thoughts, and he barked into it, “McDade.”
    “Vivi must have gotten home late from her date last night,” Gideon said as his greeting.
    Joel sat down and let out a huff. “She got home later than I expected.” He wasn’t going to advertise his feelings to everyone, so he left it at that. “What do you have?”
    “The Feds shared some information this morning that I think you should be aware of. The old-fashioned way of tagging a territory by throwing shoes on an electrical wire or spray painting a wall are pretty much a thing of the past. They still do it in Algiers, but they also are doing what they call ‘electronic tagging.’ It means that they’re sharing the information on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram as a way of letting rival gangs know what they’re claiming.”
    “So Vivi’s clinic got electronically tagged?” Joel asked.
    “Unfortunately, the clinic has been tagged by the Fischer Fools, Hot Block, and a crew out of North Dakota.”
    “What the fuck? Why in the hell is her small clinic such a hot commodity for so many people?”
    Gideon cleared his throat before answering. “The two neighborhood gangs are claiming the clinic because it sits on the corner between their territories. The crew out of North Dakota is claiming it because it is part of a string of clinics that they want to target to feed the need for their prescription drug business. The neighborhood gangs post to brag, and the larger crews see it and decide if they want a piece of the action. Welcome to gang life and social media in the twenty-first century.”
    “This isn’t going away, then. The clinic will remain a target until it stops offering prescription drugs for the patients.”
    “Unfortunately, yes,” Gideon replied. “Talk to Vivi and see if she would be willing to either relocate or stop offering that as part of her services.”
    “Good luck to me,” Joel grumbled. “There is no way that she is going to like either of those options.”
    “If she wants to stay alive and keep her friends safe, then she is going to have to consider them. We still don’t know why the men had Vivi’s picture and information on their phones, and that means that she is still in the eye of the storm.”
    “I know. It’s what’s keeps me up at night.”
    “I have a meeting with the DEA in ten minutes, so let’s talk more tomorrow at the party.”
    “Okay, call me if something comes up.”
    “You got it,” Gideon replied.
    ***
     
    Joel trudged upstairs as all the new information swirled around in his head. He and Vivi had to come to an understanding, and he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Knocking lightly on the door, he waited for her to answer.
    “Come in,” Vivi called.
    Opening the door