Chad groaned. “Yeah, I get all that. Crap, Mom’s driving me crazy. She calls me every Sunday afternoon, pestering me about whether or not I’ve found a church home here yet. I guess once we get married, we’ll probably have to do that.”
Chelsie nodded, although she doubted any church on the planet had the recourses to rehabilitate Chad. Only God could change his heart, and she knew Chad was nowhere near ready for that to happen.
She suspected that, currently, he considered himself capable of change, but for a person to really turn over a new leaf, it took major introspection. Perhaps he would get there in time once he was in a Missouri jail cell with nothing to do but think.
A part of her felt truly bad for this deception—that would ultimately lead Chad into the hands of the state of Missouri—but Chelsie couldn’t be his savior. He was too dangerous, possessing a very tenuous thread of sanity. God would have to deal with him in His own way. Her mission was to get Chad out of New Orleans, out of range of her loved ones, before something else tripped his trigger of rage.
“Well, then it’s settled. We go to Missouri and meet with Dad. Today.” She picked up her cell off her coffee table.
Chad grasped her hand. “Wait a minute. Are you crazy? We can’t go today. We play tonight.”
Chelsie pursed her lips and frowned. “Of course we can. Within the hour I can have a Davenport jet ready to take us there. It’s a short trip by plane. I just need to call Dad and have him meet us somewhere.”
Chad scowled. “Can’t this wait until the first of the week?”
Of course his main concern was the band and would always be. She scowled back at him. “No, it cannot. I have appointments all day long next week. Luckily, today I don’t. The weekend is out because we both are going to be fried after playing until two in the morning. It’s now or never, Chad. The sooner we can inform our parents, the sooner we can begin planning a wedding. I’m already thirteen weeks pregnant. We don’t have much time to pull this off. Now choose.”
He glared at her for a good bit, then snorted. “Fine. Call your dad. But we had better be back in time to play tonight. I’m serious, Chels. I’m going to be majorly pissed if we don’t arrive at the club on time.” His eyes narrowed with menace.
The maniac was back, and all it took was messing with his first love, the band. The thought fueled her determination to do whatever necessary to hand his ass over to the state of Missouri. She affected a reassuring smile. “No worries, Chad. We’ll be where we both need to be by the time the band plays tonight.”
Chapter 11
“Asa!”
Asa was on his way to his next appointment when he heard Tiffany yell out his name. He stopped in the middle of the hall and turned. Tiffany stood several yards behind him, a legal pad in her hand, wearing a very scared frown. “What’s wrong?”
“We need to talk. ASAP. Christian’s office.” She spun around and stalked off down the hallway.
“What the heck?” he muttered as he watched her disappear around the corner. He tucked the holotop he’d been carrying under his arm. Something had her flustered, and Asa knew it had to be serious because Tiffany, by nature, did not pander to drama. She tended to be far more flamboyant than her sister, but the last time he’d seen her this upset was when their clinic had been in meltdown mode during the Katie/Charla incident involving her and numerous patients who had been poisoned.
He rushed to the nurse’s station. “Tammy!”
The young, red-haired, human nurse who had been working on a computer gave a start, then turned in her chair to face him. “Yes? What’s wrong, Dr. Bradley?”
“Reschedule my current appointment. I might need you to reschedule others, but I’ll let you know. I’ll be in Christian’s office. Here.” He handed her his holotop. All of their staff now used them for charting patient information due to Tiffany’s work in revamping the patient filing system. “Drop this in my office.”
“Okay, sure,” she replied, her expression bewildered.
He wasted no more time getting to Christian’s office. The instant he entered, Asa knew the situation was bad, because both Christian and Tiffany stood in the center of the room wearing matching expressions of anxiety.
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
Tiffany shook her head and frowned at the legal pad she still held in her hand. “I’m not sure, but I have a really bad feeling about Chelsie, Asa. Did you by chance talk to her this morning before her doctor’s appointment?”
Asa gave a shake of his head, confused. “What are you talking about? I spoke with her before we opened, but she never mentioned a doctor’s appointment.”
Tiffany shared a sinking look with Christian. “Yeah, well I figured as much. Most likely there wasn’t one. She told me she had a routine gynecological exam with a female doctor in Baton Rouge. Chelsie sucks at lying. With me anyway. I knew something was up, and it’s been eating at me all morning. So I went to her office and found this in her desk.” She handed him the legal pad.
Asa took it and read aloud the header before he got to the body of the writing. “Exterminating a Snake? What?” He glanced up at Tiffany.
“Yeah. Keep reading. You’ll figure out who the snake is soon enough.”
He began to read and instantly realized this was some sort of strange list of tasks that involved Chad because point six read: Call Chad at nine a.m. His attention riveted back to point one, very confusing. It read: Lab work results on pregnancy. He didn’t know what to make of that. He kept reading, getting even more confused and worried. Number sixteen scared him shitless. It read: Arrange corporate jet. Arrival time in Springfield Missouri, two p.m.
“What the heck?” he muttered, rereading the list for some sensible explanation. Number twenty-three said: Meeting with Chad. Number eight caused another stab of fear in his gut and he looked at Tiffany as he read it aloud. “Call Greene County Sheriff’s office?”
She shook her head again, her gold eyes shimmering with irritation. “Yeah. That’s the county Springfield is located in.”
Asa was irritated, too, and baffled. Whatever she was about, she hadn’t seen fit to share information with him. His gaze cut back and forth between Christian and Tiffany. “What the hell do you think she’s up to?”
Christian inhaled sharply. “We were hoping you could shed some light. You talked to her this morning. Was there anything she said that might give you some insight?”
Asa scratched his forehead and thought back. She’d appeared very exhausted, but that might have been an illusion because of that bruise on her cheek, a result of her fall from the tub. A sudden notion took root and he cursed. “If that bastard laid a hand on her, I swear, I’ll tear him limb from limb.”
Tiffany nodded sagely. “So we’re coming to the same conclusion. That bruise on her face wasn’t a result of that lame falling out of the bathtub routine she fed us both.”
No, it wasn’t. He’d sensed something off with her—a weird sort of anxiety—but he’d been so lost in his lust for her, as he generally was when he had her to himself, he hadn’t been focused. His lack of attention for her wellbeing pissed him off almost as much as the notion that Chad may have hurt her.
He gritted his teeth, then reread the weird list, slower this time. When he was finished, he came to the gut-wrenching conclusion that Chelsie planned to go to Springfield, Missouri on a Davenport jet with Chad. Her purpose, he wasn’t sure, but he sure as hell intended to find out. “Okay. We know whatever she’s up to involves Chad, and from the looks of things, she’s about to board a plane as we speak to Springfield—or already has. Is there any way to stop her?”
Tiffany sighed. “Already tried minutes before I hollered at you. I called our airport here outside the city, but I don’t have the authority to cancel the flight, which is scheduled to leave in about thirty minutes.”
“But Nathan does?”
“Of course, but the problem with that is tipping off Chad, which could put Chelsie in danger. He could take her
hostage, start beating on her again. Lord knows what he might do. And we don’t know why they’re going. Or whether Chelsie went willingly, for that matter. She’s turned her phone off. It keeps going to voicemail.”
“Oh, shit.” Fear sliced through him like a hot knife at the notion that Chad might have forced her to do this. The thought that she might be behind this trip scared him even more. “Why would she go there with him, assuming she did so willingly?”
Tiffany swiped a curly lock of hair behind her ear and sighed. “We can’t figure it. Our best guess is Chad has her over a barrel somehow, but his leverage is a mystery. The contract most likely, but I can’t say for sure. I’ve been holding off calling Mom until I talked to you. I know Mom and Nathan’s sudden appearance here in New Orleans has something to do with Chelsie. Maybe Chad too. I think it’s time I call her.”
“Hell, yeah,” Asa bit off. “Wouldn’t she or Nathan be aware she’d booked a private flight with one of the Davenport planes?”
Christian shook his head. “No. As members of the family, we have access to them anytime we want. We don’t have to go through Nathan or Mia first. I’m sure they’re as clueless as we are presently to whatever Chelsie’s up to.”
Tiffany added, “But Mom and Nathan showing up in New Orleans out of the blue has my interest piqued. Knowing Chels, she probably said something to Mom about Chad and that damned contract, and I have a feeling they might know a thing or two about whatever’s going on with Chels.”
“I may be able to shed some light there,” Asa said.
Christian frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Nathan Davenport discovered Chad has a warrant in Missouri for rape. Chelsie told me the other night.”
“Oh, my God!” Tiffany clasped a hand over her mouth.
“I know, right? Call your mother, Tiffany,” Asa growled.
She pulled her cell out of the back pocket of her jeans and began to scroll through its contents, then she brought up holotime so everyone could see and hear the conversation.
Seconds later, the call was answered. Asa heard Mia Davenport’s voice come through Tiffany’s cell, happy and buoyant, and she was smiling.
“Hello, sweetheart. How are you and Christian? And when are the two of you coming to dinner? I’m beginning to feel like a very neglected mother.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Soon, Mom. This ain’t a social call. There’s some major crap going down with Chelsie. She’s in the process of boarding a Davenport jet with Chad. Her destination is Springfield. Happen to know anything about that?”
Mia frowned appearing as confused as the rest of them, “No. Why in the world would she be going to Springfield with Chad?”
Tiffany smacked her forehead. “Mom, if I knew that I wouldn’t be calling you. Chels is in trouble. She came into the clinic this morning wearing the badge of a trailer trash wife, meaning I think Chad messed her up last night. Now she’s in flight to Springfield with him. I’m seriously freaking here, Mom. So are Christian and Asa who are also here with me. If you know anything that could shed some light, help us out.”
Mia let out a groan of worry before she spoke. “Oh heavens, what is she thinking? Listen, Nathan did a background check on Chad. He has several felony charges for assaults on women. One is still pending in Missouri. A warrant for rape. Nathan and I told Chelsie all this last week when we arrived in New Orleans. I truly thought we’d gotten through to her regarding how dangerous Chad could be. I can’t begin to imagine why she’d be flying to Springfield with him.”
Asa was starting to after hearing Mia and reading that list. Fear was having a field day with his gut. Knowing Chelsie, most likely she’d concocted some crazy, dangerous plan to have Chad arrested upon arrival in Missouri. He glanced at Christian, who rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. Apparently, he’d come to the same conclusion. Tiffany, too, because her mouth was tight, and he could hear her teeth grind.
Asa had had enough. He grabbed the cell out of Tiffany’s hand and held it up so Mia could see him. “Mrs. Davenport, if my suspicions are correct, Chelsie took Chad back to Missouri to hand him over to the law. Well and fine if it goes simple and easy, but if he catches wind of her plans at any point, it could really get ugly. Christian, Tiffany, and I need to make it to whatever Springfield airport that plane is destined to arrive, which is at two p.m. Any thoughts on how we can make that happen?”
She let out a little sigh of distress and rubbed her cheek. “Let me talk to Nathan. If it’s possible, I assure you it will happen. I’ll call you back.” She disconnected. Asa handed the phone back to Tiffany.
She snatched it out of his hand and cursed. “I swear to God, guys, if Chad hurts her, I’m going to hunt his ass down like a rabid dog and plant a bullet in his brain.”
Christian scowled at her, but Asa knew as well as he that her speech was bravado—to a point. All of them wanted a go at Chad because they all now knew he’d hurt Chelsie last night. Tiffany might be ponying up for first place to make Chad pay, but Asa intended to round her. If that miserable human had indeed laid a hand on his woman, when he caught up with him, he’d be lucky to see the next dawn.
Several minutes later, the cell in Tiffany’s hand began to ring with a country song; the voice of the artist belonged to Chelsie. He sucked in a sharp breath, thinking that the recording of her sweet voice might be all he’d have left of her if they failed to get to her in time.
“Yeah?” Tiffany said.
On the other end of the line, Asa heard her mother say, “Get to the Davenport Enterprises’ airport as fast as you can. Nathan and I will meet you there. Be prepared. This jet we’ll be using is a prototype designed for military and certainly not meant for private use, but it will get us there ahead of Chelsie. Nathan said if any of you have eaten in the last eight hours it will probably be a nasty ride.”
Tiffany laughed wickedly. “We’ll be there as soon as possible, and one way or another I’ll hold it in until I see Chad’s sorry-assed face. Then I’ll hurl directly into it.”
Asa snickered, glad for Tiffany’s off-color humor in the midst of this nightmare of worry. He didn’t care if he got sick on this aircraft or not. All he cared about was making it to Springfield before Chelsie’s plane arrived.
Mia cleared her throat. “I have no time to properly chide you for that, Tiffany Jane, but that wasn’t very Christian. Just get to the airport.”
Tiffany punched the end button on her phone, then said as she glanced between Asa and Christian, “Let’s go do this thing.”
***
Mia had been point-on accurate about this air ride from hell in which they all now traveled. It most definitely wasn’t appropriate for anyone beyond skilled military personnel. It was meant to transport men trained for Mach three, four, or five, or however-the-heck fast this thing currently moved.
Their passenger list included Nathan and Mia Davenport, Tiffany, Christian, and himself.
All were strapped into seats facing one another inside the craft’s narrow fuselage, which housed ten seats on each side. The interior, seats, floor, walls, everything was black just like the outside of the lethal-looking contraption. Asa had never seen an aircraft like it in his life. The thing was dome shaped like a small alien spaceship, bearing no wings. It looked like a UFO and definitely behaved in an alien-like way. When they took off, it shot straight off the ground, then seconds later took off with the speed of a bullet, and it hadn’t slowed down since.
None of them had gotten sick yet, but the others were as close as he; Asa could tell by their miserable expressions. Mach force had them plastered into their respective seats. Moving was impossible, and speaking was out because the engine noise was deafening. Aside, he needed every ounce of concentration he possessed to keep from passing out or vomiting. Poor Mia had passed out at some point, and Nathan glared at her with deep worry. Asa knew she’d be okay once this airborne projectile came to a halt. They all would. However, had any of them been human, Asa had no doubt eac
h of them would have lost consciousness and their stomach contents long ago.
Prior to embarking, Nathan had told them the trip would take less than an hour. At the moment, Asa felt as if he’d been in the thing for ten—partly due to discomfort, but mostly because he was worried sick about Chelsie.
Why would she attempt something so dangerous? If Chad had a warrant in Missouri, she could have had Nathan deal with it. Or she could have called the law herself and had him extradited. What did she think to gain by having him arrested herself? Revenge? Maybe. If Chad had struck her, which Asa was certain now that he had, perhaps she was after getting even with him. Yet at such a cost to herself? Yesterday Asa would have doubted she’d be that careless. Today he didn’t know what to think, because the Chelsie he knew was not an impulsive, careless person.
But she was protective of those she loved—to a fault. The main fault being, she tried to deal with her trials and tribulations on her own without the support of those who loved her. This had to be what she was trying to accomplish now: dealing with this lunatic on her own in order to protect her loved ones. From Chad? What had he threatened? Whatever it was, it must have terrified her to do something this reckless.
A few minutes later, the craft’s engines began to whine. Scream was a better definition. Loud sounds were always irritating for a vampire, and this noise was eardrum splitting. Asa covered his throbbing ears.
After a few more minutes, it slowed to the point where everyone could move again. The relief on everyone’s faces was profound when it finally landed. Mia had come to, but she looked very green around the gills. He felt more than a little green himself.
Their destination had been The Springfield/Branson airport in southwest Missouri; Nathan told them before they’d embarked. He warned them that police and military would likely be greeting them upon arrival because of this aircraft. Asa didn’t know why, and Nathan hadn’t offered many details. There had been no time.
Deadly Secrets (Forever and a Night Book 3) Page 14