Part 25 (1/2)

”What the h.e.l.l are you doing?”

”There's some gravel spilled and I'm trying not to ping the oncoming vehicle with it. The driver might call the cops.”

”Oh. Okay. Good thinking. Guess you're pretty scared.” And he sounded pretty d.a.m.n happy at the prospect.

”Terrified.”

She didn't know why, but she focused on the oncoming vehicle as if it was her salvation. And then, just a few seconds away from pa.s.sing, she saw the woman behind the wheel. Am I losing my mind? How could it be?

But the driver was Chloe Rhodes and her eyes widened when she recognized Emily Anne!

She mouthed the word ”help” as they pa.s.sed and then she began to pray as she'd never prayed before.

”Turn at this driveway here.”

She put her turn signal on and then turned. Her eyes flicked to the mirror, and relief flooded her when she saw the brake lights of Chloe's car come on.

Don't stop, friend, just make a note and get help. Emily Anne didn't believe in telepathic communication, but she sure as h.e.l.l believed in the power of positive thinking and in prayer.

”Here.”

She'd heard a jangling in the back and a key landed beside her. ”Use that to open the gate and no funny stuff.”

”Don't worry.”

She opened the door and got out of the car. She did her best not to make it seem as if she was looking back down the road the way they'd come.

But in her peripheral vision she saw that Chloe's car crept ever so slowly down the road, and finally over the hill.

Emily Anne felt tears sting her eyes. Help was on the way. All they had to do, she and Lucy, was stay alive until it came.

Chapter 24.

”Hey, if you decide to go that route, when the time comes, I'll put on a wig and mustache and carry a big stick. I'd love to help you scare the s.h.i.+t out of that f.u.c.ker.” Beck O'Malley's smile looked a little fierce.

Mel grinned at his enthusiasm. The man seemed like he'd be good to have in his corner in a fight. ”We'll give you first dibs on the role of hired muscle, then.”

Someone's cell phone rang, but that was all right, because for all intents and purposes, they were done here. Mel got to his feet. They'd covered all they could for now. The plan they had was solid, if simple. Prints, distraction, search and then, hopefully, enough to get a warrant.

It was time now for them to scatter, before the Pony opened its doors for business and Bruce Smith came in for his beer. Because he and Connor were unknown in town and therefore might raise suspicions, they were leaving-or they would as soon as Emily Anne got there. Mel frowned and then looked at his watch. It was well after noon hour, nearly one. She should have been back from Discretion by now.

He pulled out his phone to call her but something Ace Webster said into his phone made him stop. His attention snapped to the other man.

”Do we know who else Smith grabbed?”

Mel wasn't the only one who went silent and still at those words. Ethan and his two friends, O'Malley and Owen, stopped talking in mid-sentence, turning their attention to Ace Webster.

”f.u.c.k. Okay. What about Ms. Rhodes, then? Well, that's something at least. All right, we'll meet you there. Just wait for us, all right? No, we won't go off half-c.o.c.ked, Hank. We're not amateurs. We won't do anything until you give the word-not with those two women's lives in jeopardy. Oh yeah, I believe in my gut they're in real danger. We believe Bruce Smith has already killed once.”

Mel's cop instincts went on full alert. A quick glance at his partner told him Connor was just as ready.

Ace looked up and met his gaze. ”That was Hank Stinson. He just got a call from Adam Kendall. Chloe Rhodes was on her way here when she pa.s.sed a car she didn't recognize being driven by someone she did-your Emily Anne. She said Ms. Bancroft looked scared out of her mind, and there were two other people in the vehicle with her, in the backseat. Ms. Rhodes kept her cool, took note of the car license plate number, and called Kendall.” Ace turned his attention to O'Malley and Owen. ”The car she was driving belongs to Lucy Carter.”

”Lucy!” Both men looked at each other and then looked like they were about to charge out the door.

Ace Webster held up his hand. ”Hold it right there. You're not going anywhere.” He turned his attention back to Mel and Connor. ”Kendall was able to relay GPS coordinates taken through Ms. Rhodes's phone to Hank. He told her to stay put and wait for help. We know where they are-he took the women to his home. Hank is on his way there now. We need to get moving. Hank has a couple of deputies with him, but you two know the layout of Smith's place.”

Mel nodded, then pointed toward O'Malley and Owen. ”If Smith has their woman, they have to come, too. They won't get in the way of whatever it is Hank decides to do.”

”We won't,” Owen said. He looked toward Ethan. ”I don't know why this has happened. How could this happen? Why would Bruce Smith take Lucy?”

Corinna stepped into the room. She looked at the men standing in a circle then turned to her boss. ”d.a.m.n it, I'm sorry, boss. Did Mr. Smith take something when he was here earlier? Tommy gave him a few bucks to help him off-load the soda. I swear he was in my sight the entire time-well, except when he had to go to the bathroom.”

”Bruce Smith was here? Today?” Connor asked.

”What time?” Ethan asked. He placed his hand on the waitress's shoulder. ”You're not in trouble, Corinna. We just need to know. When was he here?”

”Gosh, about thirty minutes or so ago. Y'all were in your meeting at the time.”

Mel ran a hand through his hair. ”f.u.c.k. He knows we're on to him.”

”Makes sense,” Ace said. He looked at O'Malley and Owen. ”You recognized him, he must have recognized you. That's why he took your woman. He would have remembered where he'd seen you and with whom. He made a move of desperation, likely trying to buy himself some time, while he figures out how to get out of the mess he's in.”

Connor had stepped away with his phone to his ear while Ace had been speaking. Now he came back into the circle. ”I just spoke to your wife, Webster. She confirms that Emily Anne left Discretion before noon and was planning to stop in to see Lucy Carter before coming here. Apparently the two had met the last time Emily Anne visited her store.” Then he looked at Mel. ”I also spoke to Adam. He said he most emphatically told Chloe to stay put but he had a really bad feeling that she was going to defy him. You know how close she and our woman are.”

”Yeah. Best friends. d.a.m.n it, what a cl.u.s.ter f.u.c.k,” Mel said.

”Kendall also contacted Grant and Andrew Jessop, who were spending the day in San Antonio at an Arson Investigation conference. They were already on their way home. They've adjusted their route and should be here in about thirty minutes.”

”Let's go,” Ace said. ”We'll take my SUV. We'll all fit.”

”I'd just be in the way,” Ethan said. ”Y'all keep me posted. I'll be saying a prayer for your success.”

”Will do,” Mel said. He followed Ace and Kemp in a ma.s.s exodus out of the club to the parking lot. ”d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l, we have two for certain and possibly three women in peril,” he said to no one in particular. ”I guess we don't have to worry about just cause now.”

”Smith hurts Lucy, I'm going to f.u.c.king kill him,” O'Malley said.

”Get in line,” Connor said. ”He's got our woman, too. As far as I'm concerned, he's already a f.u.c.king dead man.”

Everything inside Connor had turned to ice. He was on a mission-the most important mission he'd ever undertaken in his life. He felt the edges, the tension, and knew that he could be back in Afghanistan as far as his body was concerned.