by Rita Sawyer
“I only shoot to kill when the occasion calls for it. Kind of like catch-and-release fishing. I catch the little fish”—he figured she wouldn’t like that comparison—“and toss them into the legal system pool, because they’re not worth the paperwork. Then they can be judged and punished accordingly.”
“How noble of you.” She let out a huff. “Still, I think we both know that you know who I am and why I’m calling.”
“I suppose that’s true enough, Patrice. After all, you’ve sent enough threats my way over the years that I figured you’d turn up someday.”
“But the difference is now I’m free to act on them. Starting with taking from you what has been taken from me.”
“Exactly what did I take from you?” He knew, but he wanted to hear her say it out loud.
“Everything.”
“I disagree. You embezzled the money, not me. You got your boyfriend killed, not me. You pointed a gun at a cop, not me.”
“You shot me.”
“You didn’t leave me a choice. And as you point out, I only wounded you.”
“You took away my freedom.”
“No, I didn’t, a judge and jury of your peers did that.” The line went dead and Jake wondered if he’d pushed her too far.
He didn’t have to wait long. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot filled the air. Jake instantly turned back to Bobbie, whose squeal was almost as loud as the shot that rang out. First his brain ran through the options and decided it had been a rifle of some sort. Not that it really could have been anything else. Thankfully, Bobbie’s high-pitched screech was one more of surprise or fear than pain. She sat up and the boat rocked. Actually, it was slightly rocking before she moved. Jake feared she might tip it over, which wasn’t as easy as people thought.
Bobbie stared out into the woods, confirming his suspicions that Patrice was out there somewhere, but she wasn’t alone. Clint and the guys were out there, too. They were his secret weapon. He had no doubt the five of them had heard the shot and were all on their way. Within minutes, Patrice would be snared in her own trap. What mattered more at that moment was getting Bobbie to safety.
“What the fuck?” Bobbie shouted. “The three holes in the bottom weren’t enough, now you’re going to shoot holes in the side?”
With that one comment it became obvious that Jake couldn’t wait for the men to arrive. He didn’t have time to try and determine what Patrice was trying to do. Jake moved deep into the brush. He ignored the way the branches clawed at his arms, leaving scratches, some deep enough to draw blood. Once his feet hit the water, Jake’s phone, which was still wrapped in his fist, buzzed. He flipped it open and brought it to his ear as he waded out into the water.
“I’m done playing games.” Patrice’s pleasant tone had been replaced by a hard, curt edge. “By my calculations, you have about fifteen minutes to rescue your girlfriend.”
“Where is she?” Waist-deep in the lake, Jake paused just before the point where he knew there was a steep drop-off.
Patrice’s laugh was more of a cackle. “I left you enough clues, so do your job and go find her.”
“What about you? You want your revenge, so let Bobbie go and you can have me instead.” He didn’t think she’d go for it, but he had to try.
“I’m not going to make it that easy for you.” The line went dead.
Jake glanced down at his phone. Damn, he was going to have to get a new one. He slammed it into the holster and looked over at the boat. There was no way he’d be able to stay under the whole time, but there was a slight chance Patrice wouldn’t notice him. He swam straight out then ducked under the water. Twice he came up for air, but Bobbie didn’t notice. The third time he came up behind the canoe where if he was lucky there was no way Patrice could see him.
“Don’t look at me,” he said softly.
Bobbie dropped her head back onto her knees. “Get me out of here.”
“I will. Just give me a few minutes. Clint and the guys are out there looking for her. Hopefully, they’ll find her before you sink.”
“Jake, she’s watching. And the bitch has a gun, probably more than one.”
“I could tip the boat then drag you out of sight.”
“Um…You’ll have to come up with another plan. She tied me to two cinder blocks.” Jake almost laughed at the way Bobbie made it sound like an insult.
“Hold on.” Jake took a breath and dove down to judge how deep the water was right there.
He came back up and smiled. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
“Just keep talking to me,” Bobbie pleaded.
Jake hated the defeated tone in her voice and swore he was going to make Patrice pay. “Where’d you get your Jeep?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to need a new truck.”
She laughed. “I loved your truck.”
“So did I.” He sighed. “I need to get a new phone, too.”
“If your phone is dead how will we know when they find Patrice?” Bobbie’s question was reasonable.
“I’m sure we’ll hear something.”
“Jake, the water is coming in faster.”
“Okay, we won’t wait any longer, but stay behind the boat.”
She nodded and Jake grabbed on to the side of the canoe and pulled it over. Bobbie tumbled into the water with a splash. Jake dove under the water and followed the cement blocks. He quickly got the first one stood up then grabbed the other, stacking it on top of it. Jake grabbed Bobbie by the arms and helped her to stand on the bricks. He came through the surface with a smile. Bobbie wasn’t smiling. She was breathing, though. With the bricks stacked end to end, her head was above the water. Jake heard a shot then the canoe rocked.
Loud voices and a scream filled the air. “That’s Clint and your brothers-in-law. It won’t be long now.”
Chapter Thirteen
Bobbie walked into the house and used her foot to shove the door shut behind her. She glanced at the phone in the hall and the message board hanging above it. Nothing. She ignored the little drop she felt in her heart. It shouldn’t have surprised her. There hadn’t been anything there for the past six days, so she didn’t know what would make today any different.
“Hey, Stephanie,” Bobbie said as the young girl stepped into the hall.
“Hi.” Her soon-to-be sister-in-law flashed her a smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Terrific.” Stephanie’s eyes raked over her as she shook her head. “Okay, fine, I’m tired, bitchy, and sick of everyone waiting for me to have some kind of breakdown.”
“I bet you feel better now that you got that off your chest.” Stephanie turned on her heel and headed down the hall toward the dining room.
For someone so young, Stephanie seemed too damned astute. Bobbie actually did feel a little lighter. “Thank you.”
Bobbie walked into the living room. She tossed her bag on the floor and collapsed onto the couch. There were a few assignments she needed to do, but all she wanted to do was take a nap. No, that wasn’t true. What she really wanted to do was drive into town and confront Jake. It had been nearly a week since the night Patrice had forced her to go with her, and though he’d stayed by her side that first night, she hadn’t seen Jake since.
Bobbie understood he probably had lots of paperwork and stuff to do just to make sure Patrice stayed locked up, hopefully for good this time. As for Kerri, she was in some serious trouble, too. She was being charged with the only thing they could prove, which was harboring a fugitive. Bobbie wasn’t heartless. She didn’t want to see her life completely ruined, but she did want Kerri to get what was coming to her, and some serious help. Jake was a fair man, and Bobbie knew he’d do what he could to help her.
Added to all that, he’d have to file all the insurance stuff for his truck and garage. So it wasn’t like she could be upset that Jake wasn’t giving her his undivided attention, but he could have at least stopped by or called. He’d taken the ten minutes to call Beau, which she knew
because Beau and Charlie had called yesterday.
Beau had said he would have called earlier, but he wanted to give her a few days before letting Charlie loose on her. They were having a great time down in Florida at the amusement park. So much so that he’d let Charlie talk him into staying for another week. Beau had suggested she hop on a plane and join them. He even offered to pay for it. His claim that he could use the help with Charlie sounded heartfelt, and he swore that after everything Bobbie had just been through no one would blame her for taking some time to do nothing but have fun. Bobbie knew he was right. Still, she’d turned him down, because she had to focus on school.
Actually, it was the truth. She just hadn’t been doing a very good job of it. Neither of them had brought up Jake’s name. It was probably a good thing. Beau, being Jake’s baby brother, most likely didn’t want to hear all the dirty details about them having sex in the cabin. Now her sisters were still prodding her to give it up, but she wasn’t going to talk until things between her and Jake were at least a little more determined. Beau probably would have taken offense if she told him that she was starting to think Jake was a coward. Yet now she was thinking she should’ve taken Beau up on his offer and got the hell out of town.
The phone rang, and Bobbie was debating whether or not to get up and answer it when Stephanie shouted, “I got it.”
Good, because Bobbie really didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She rolled on her side to face the back of the couch and closed her eyes. Stephanie’s laughter traveled down the hall to her. At least somebody was in a good mood.
“That was Sam. We’re all having dinner at the lodge, and she wants me and you to go up and help.” Bobbie squeezed her eyes tighter. “I know you’re not sleeping.”
She turned her head and looked at Stephanie. “You’ve been here long enough to know what this is.”
“Well…Tyler hinted that they are all starting to get a little worried about your moping, so I’m guessing one of two things is going to happen. Either your sisters are going to ask you to tell them what’s going on between you and Jake, or…”
“There is no ‘or.’ In their opinion, my sisters have given me enough time to stew and now they’re going to launch an inquisition. It’s not like there’s anything else that I can do to distract them.”
“Not true. Someone else has a secret they’ve been keeping.” She paused and smiled. “Sam may have something she’s ready to tell everyone.”
“You know?” Bobbie rolled of the couch and got to her feet.
Stephanie nodded. “Georgie took me in for a physical so I can play softball at school, and one of the nurses came into my exam room and handed an envelope to Georgie. It was meant for Sam. Georgie opened it and ran out of the room. When she came back she told me what was going on, but she promised Trent and Sam neither of us would say anything until they gave us the okay.”
“Well, it wasn’t like she could keep hiding it.” Bobbie laughed.
“Yeah, well, be ready to get an earful from Georgie. She’s pissed that you knew and didn’t tell anyone.” Now it was Stephanie’s turn to laugh.
* * * *
Jake tossed the file onto the conference table hard enough that it skidded across the surface. It came to a stop when it smacked into the stack that he’d already signed off on. He glanced over at the two undercover fugitive recovery agents, going by the aliases Tom and Bill while in town, sitting at his right. They were discussing whose turn it was to pay for lunch today. Clint, who was on Jake’s left, had his head down filling out his own paperwork. If Jake had to eat pizza or another sandwich he was going to lose it. They’d spent the past five days going over everything, making sure every t was crossed and i dotted. Patrice had already been arraigned, and this time she was relocated to a maximum security prison until her trial, but Jake was still filling out forms.
He had never enjoyed the paperwork part of his job, but he knew the reports needed to be filed. Right now he just wanted to get the hell out of his office. Alone. Since the agents were undercover and were there because of him, Jake had insisted they stay at his house until they got everything settled. So between spending their days in the office and the nights at his house, Jake had barely had a minute to himself. Jake hadn’t had a chance to go shopping, so they’d been eating a lot of takeout.
Jake’s guys knew him well enough to sense he was irritated and give him what space they could. He figured they all had their own assumptions for his pissy mood, but they’d all be wrong. The real reason for Jake’s bad mood was Bobbie. On one hand, it was probably a good thing he hadn’t been able to go see her. Yet on the other hand, staying away wasn’t going to make facing her or her sisters any easier. Actually, he’d expected any one of the Brazen sisters to storm his office long before now, which led him to believe Bobbie hadn’t told them how far things between them had gone.
If her sisters knew they’d had sex, there’d be no escaping their wrath. Jessie and her husband, Victor, had to know something from the condition they’d found them in, but unless Bobbie confirmed it neither of them would say anything to him. Oh, he had no doubt that they told the rest of the family. They were all probably waiting for the permission to pounce.
Fred knocked on the door. “Sir, Cameron Elwood is here to see you.”
Jake practically jumped to his feet. He ignored the other guy’s chuckles as he walked out into the main office. Cameron stood by the door to Jake’s office. He didn’t look happy, though he did flash him an awkward grin as Jake approached him. Jake got the feeling this wasn’t a social call.
“Got time for a chat?”
“Sure.” They went into Jake’s office and he closed the door, giving them the privacy he figured they might need. “What’s up?”
Cameron didn’t waste any time. “Listen. I know you’ve got your hands full right now, but you should give Bobbie a call.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Other than the fact that she was almost killed while being used as a pawn by a crazy broad looking to get revenge for something you did?” Jake knew Cameron wasn’t blaming him, but he could help blame himself.
Jake ran his hand across his chin. “Yeah, other than that, is everything okay?”
“No. She hasn’t been sleeping or eating much. The whole family is starting to get worried.” Cameron dropped into the chair across from Jake’s desk. “She perked up a little after Beau called and invited her to join him and Charlie for the rest of their vacation. Now she’s back to moping around.”
“He did what?” The sting of jealousy he felt was totally irrational, but he felt it all the same.
Maybe because Beau hadn’t mentioned that he talked to Bobbie. He sure as hell didn’t tell Jake he was thinking about inviting her out of town. Jake didn’t want her going anywhere until they had a chance to talk. If he had time, he’d give Beau a call and make sure he knew it, but that was unlikely.
He caught Cameron’s smile and wondered if he sensed his jealousy. “Bobbie said Charlie is running Beau ragged and he thought Bobbie might enjoy the time away after everything that’s happened. She told him she had to focus on school, but I think she wished she’d gone.”
Would she have said good-bye to him? Jake wasn’t going to let her walk out on him like she did before. “Well, she can’t go anywhere right now so Beau will just have to manage without her.”
“Huh?”
“We might need to ask her some questions, so she needs to stay in town.” Jake didn’t think Cameron bought his excuse, but it was too late to take it back now. “I’ll call her as soon as I can.”
“Um…” Cameron hemmed a little before saying, “they’re having a big family dinner tonight. If I were you I’d wait until tomorrow.”
Jake understood Cameron’s hesitation in telling him. He usually received an invitation—he had to admit that sometimes it felt more like a command—to attend every Brazen event no matter how small. Hell, they’d all been pissed at him for the Kerri situation, yet they still
invited him to Bobbie’s welcome home party. So whatever was happening tonight, he wasn’t part of it and that worried him, almost as much as Bobbie thinking about leaving town however briefly.
Chapter Fourteen
Somehow Jake had made it through the night without caving in on his urges and going to see Bobbie. Tom and Bill had helped by insisting they all watch the baseball game on TV. It just so happened that they were rooting for opposite teams. Jake had to step in a few times to calm things down, but in the end it was all good fun. When the guys turned in he was still too amped up, so he went down in the basement where his gym was to work out.
Each time he hit the heavy bag he imagined his brother’s smiling face. Damn, he wished he was there to spar with him right now. The last time Beau had taken a few cheap shots and got away with it because Jake had been thinking about Bobbie instead of anticipating Beau’s next move. He hadn’t kicked Jake’s ass as Bobbie had teased, but he’d come too fucking close.
Even after working out until the wee hours of the morning, Jake had still slept like shit. He tossed and turned, glancing at the clock every half hour. At four thirty, he gave up and decided to go for a run. He probably would have ended up at Bobbie’s, but Tom and Bill had gotten up and joined him. Now here he was stuck back in his office waiting for them to get the word that the case was processed and that they could move on.
At least until the court date. Then the guys would have to come back for that, but they would be reassigned in the meantime. Jake hoped the word would come today, but he knew it could take longer. Weeks even.
Tom leaned back in his chair and pinned him with a curious look. “Go see your girl.”
“I will when this is over.” Jake didn’t bother to deny she was on his mind.