“Take it easy,” Lucas coached her, though she couldn’t hear him. “Don’t let him provoke you. That’s his game. He wants to see if he can shake something loose.”
“I didn’t realize meth addiction required models,” Michelle said, with a smile. “Imagine the bone structure I could capture on film.”
“I don’t find your insults amusing, Ms. Sieck. I have no idea why you’d link my name with meth addiction.”
“Oh, I guess I wanted to hold off with the white slavery charges until later in the evening. Once we got cozy.”
“Would you like to speak to your friend?” Robert asked. His tone was hard.
“Yes.”
Robert brought out a phone, dialed, and held it out to Michelle. She took it and raised it to her ear.
Lucas could hear only Michelle’s response, and he caught the sob in her throat as she said, “Kev, are you okay? Where are you?”
Robert reached across the table and took the phone. “I’m negotiating with Ms. Sieck. If I don’t call you back in fifteen minutes, do what must be done.”
“You kidnapped him, and you’ll kill him, won’t you?” Michelle asked.
“Indeed,” Robert said. “Now I’m tired of your games. You come here thinking you can provoke me without consequence. That’s the action of a very foolish woman. Then again, women are mentally inferior. But that topic bores me. Where is Betty Sewell?”
It was all Lucas needed. He had the conversation on tape. It was enough to put Robert behind bars. But first, Michelle had to get out of there.
“I have to know that Kevin is free. You can kill him at any moment.”
“Don’t make me angry,” Robert said. “You spoke with him. He’s uninjured. For the moment. Now tell me what I want to know.”
Michelle leaned forward. “The witness is in Austin, Texas. She’s in a safe house.”
“The address.” Robert’s voice was sharp, eager.
“I don’t have it, but I can get it. Lucas can find out. I just need some time to get it from him.”
Robert drained his champagne. “You have until tomorrow morning.”
Michelle pushed back her chair. “I’ll get the information, but I won’t tell you until Kevin is free.”
“And how will you convince West to cooperate with you?”
Michelle leaned closer. “That’s not your problem, now, is it? I’ll call you when I have the information.”
Some sixth sense must have alerted Robert. He reached out and grabbed the front of Michelle’s shirt.
Lucas came out of the marsh grass, his hand going instinctively to the place where his gun should be.
“Let me go.” Michelle was completely unrattled. She grasped his hands and wrenched them free of her shirt, which had come partially unbuttoned.
“If you try to roll over on me, you’ll regret it,” Robert said.
Lucas could see that several people in the restaurant had stood up and were watching the confrontation.
Michelle leaned even closer. “Stick it in your ear, creep.”
Robert suddenly let loose a howl of pain. He jumped up from the table and began to hop around. Several people started to laugh.
“Get out of there!” Lucas urgently whispered. Even though Lucas couldn’t see, he knew exactly what had happened. Familiar had been under the table and had latched on to the mobster’s leg with sharp claws and teeth.
“Get it off me!” Robert commanded as he jumped and bobbled.
Calmly, Michelle walked away. When she got to the door, she held it a moment for Familiar to dart out. Behind her, the restaurant was in pandemonium.
“Lucas, 212-555-1212—that’s the number he called when I spoke to Kevin,” Michelle said into the hidden microphone as she went toward the car. Their plan was that she would drive away, alone, then circle back to the eastbound lane of the causeway, where he’d meet her.
She executed the plan perfectly. Whatever else Michelle Sieck might lack—like good judgment and patience—she was certainly long on courage and panache.
The black cat hopped into the open car door, and Michelle followed. Her red taillights were leaving the parking lot when Robert Maxim appeared at the doorway of the restaurant. He half shook a fist.
Lucas knew that Michelle had hooked him well and thoroughly. He wouldn’t harm Kevin until he had the information he thought Michelle could give him. That put her in more danger than ever before, but it would buy some time for her friend. And as soon as Lucas was certain Kevin was unharmed and free, he’d turn the tape over to the law-enforcement agencies involved. But not until he was positive both Lorry and Kevin were safe.
Lucas dialed Will Bennett at NYPD and gave him a rundown on what had just happened. He also gave him the phone number Michelle had recited.
“It’s a cell phone,” Will said, “but we can run a location on the call. Good work, Lucas. With any luck, I can have a SWAT team there in under twenty minutes.”
“Be careful. Robert’s men will kill the hostage. And I’ll pass your compliments along to the woman who deserves them.”
He hung up and dashed through the tall grass and across the four lanes of the causeway. According to their plan, Michelle turned on her right-turn signal before she began to slow.
When she drew abreast of him, Lucas jumped in the car before it had time to coast to a stop. “Just keep driving,” he told her. “I think we’re in the clear, but I don’t want to take any chances. And turn around at the first chance. We need to get back. If we can track Robert, we may get the jump on him in more ways than one.”
As he spoke, Lucas scooped Familiar into his arms. “Did you see this guy?”
“Oh, did I ever.” Michelle reached across and scratched the cat’s ears. “He was stupendous. You have no idea. He was hanging on the back of Robert Maxim’s butt like a Tasmanian devil.” She started laughing.
Lucas joined her. The relief flooding his body told him how tense he’d been. How much he cared about what happened to Michelle.
“And just to show that I’m not totally ungrateful…” Michelle handed Lucas her purse. “Dump it, please.”
He did what she asked, immediately catching the smell of the delicious fried seafood. He looked at Michelle. “You didn’t!”
“Oh, yes, I did. While Robert was dancing around, I scooped up the crab claws for Familiar. I knew he was dying from lack of good seafood, and I didn’t want them to go to waste.”
Lucas leaned across the seat and kissed her on the cheek. “If you ever went into a life of crime, you’d be extremely dangerous. Lady, you have—”
“Fortitude,” she supplied.
As she eased the car over beside a Dumpster, where they had a good view of Robert getting into his big Lincoln Town Car, the laughter died.
“Want me to drive?” Lucas asked.
She considered it. “I can manage.”
He leaned back, Familiar in his arms. “Good. I need a session of affection with the big guy here. And I thought my blue heeler was smart.”
“Never underestimate a feline,” Michelle said. “Or a female.”
“That lesson is well and truly learned,” Lucas said, pulling out the binoculars and reading off the license plate of Robert’s car so Michelle could write it down.
MICHELLE IS THE BOMB. Not only did she stand up to that creep, Robert Maxim, but she snatched his crab claws and brought them home to Daddy. And I have to say, light, crisp crab claws, with a hint of garlic and lemon—these are delicacies from the abundance of the Alabama coast. This might truly be God’s country, at least for a seafood-loving cat.
All in all, a rather good evening. Michelle got a lead on Kevin Long’s location; Lucas got a tape of Robert Maxim confessing to kidnapping and threatening to murder, and I got a hunk of Robert’s muscular ole buttocks. That’s one biped that will be standing for the next several days.
I’d love to know what’s running through his mind, other than fantasies of harming Michelle. The man is seriously angry at wo
men, and Michelle intentionally pushed the edge of his envelope. He’s not going to forget or forgive.
She outsmarted him, outmaneuvered him and outright challenged him. Now he’s going to try to make her pay. Which was the scheme all along. When Michelle first drugged Lucas and headed out on her own, she was determined to be the bait to draw the Maxims after her instead of Lorry. Now I think she’s succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. Robert is going to come after her, and he’s going to enjoy hurting her—if he gets a chance.
But that’s where Cowboy Lucas and I come in. We’ll protect Miss Shutterbug. And hopefully, we’ll snare Robert in his own trap. That would give me ultimate pleasure. Even more than clawing and chomping on his derriere.
We’re headed across the causeway, back to Spanish Fort. There’s a wonderful old hotel in Point Clear, and I’ll bet you my bottom dollar that’s where Robert is holing up. Perfect. The place couldn’t be better designed for a takedown. Some of the rooms are isolated, with plenty of space for a SWAT team to maneuver.
Once Kevin is located, Robert is going down.
Chapter Fourteen
The adrenaline rush had begun to recede, and while Michelle drove with the ease of a New Yorker, she could feel the tremors of nerves tingling through her thighs. Jelly legs. If she tried to walk right now, she might drop to her knees.
She’d confronted Robert Maxim, and she hadn’t backed down, just as Lucas had coached her. The strategy they’d chosen to employ involved bravado and bluff. Now that it was over, she realized how truly frightened she’d been. Thank goodness for Familiar. Otherwise, Robert Maxim might have tried something at the restaurant.
The problem was that even focusing on the late-evening traffic along Scenic Highway 98, she couldn’t push the image of Robert’s dark, malevolent eyes out of her mind.
She tailed him into a charming town. Fairhope. So aptly named. Lush flowers adorned every street corner, and twinkle lights were strung in the Bradford pears along the streets.
Robert continued through the town, and for a moment, as they headed down a steep hill, she wondered if he was going to the water. Perhaps he had a boat—which would greatly complicate the plan Lucas had mapped out.
Instead, he took a left and headed along the shore. Michelle kept well back without Lucas having to warn her. Traffic was almost nonexistent, and she kept plenty of road between the two cars.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into a hotel with a guarded gate. She glanced at Lucas.
“Keep going,” Lucas instructed her. “The man has some audacity. He sits in a restaurant and threatens you, then heads to a fancy hotel.”
“Shouldn’t we call the local authorities?” Michelle asked.
“We can’t, unless we’re willing to risk Kevin’s life. I have someone working on it in New York.”
“So we wait?”
“That’s exactly what we do.”
She pulled into a small service station and turned around. “There’s a neighborhood across from the hotel. We can park there and watch.”
“That’s the good thing about a hotel with one entrance and a guard post. We can keep up with who goes in and out.” Lucas tried to sound upbeat, but she could tell he was exhausted.
She found the road and drove in, killing the lights on the vehicle. The night was brightly lit, and she found a parking spot in the protection of a beautiful mimosa tree with a clear view of the hotel entrance.
“Why don’t you try to rest? I’ll watch,” she offered.
The black cat put a paw on her mouth.
“I think Familiar is telling you that he’ll take the first shift,” Lucas said. “He is danged amazing. When this is over, I’m taking Familiar and Eleanor out for the finest meal D.C. has to offer.”
“Me-ow!” Familiar agreed.
“Let’s get some shut-eye. We might not have another chance.” Lucas slid down in the seat and tilted his head back.
Michelle did the same, but she was too keyed up to sleep. She glanced at Lucas. For a moment she thought he’d already given in to exhaustion, but he turned to her, his gray eyes clear in the light that filtered into the car from a nearly full moon.
“I’m too tired to sleep,” he said.
“Same here.” She hesitated. “Would you mind telling me about your brother?”
When he didn’t answer immediately, she started to apologize. He picked up her hand and held it, gently stroking the fingers.
“Harry was a great guy. We grew up on a ranch out in West Texas. It was a lot of hard work, always cattle to find and doctor and round up. Miles and miles of fence to ride and repair. By the time we were both ten, we were working alongside my dad and the other hands.”
“That’s a lot of pressure for a kid,” she said.
“In some ways, yes. But in others, we had the best childhood possible. Sure, we worked, but we also played baseball in the summer and touch football in the winter. Heck, we were driving the farm trucks before we could see over the steering wheel. We’d stand up and drive. My dad taught us responsibility, but he didn’t stint on the praise.”
The image he drew was so different from anything she’d ever known. “Tell me more,” she said.
“Harry was my best friend. He taught me things. He looked out for me. He was the good guy that everyone looked up to in high school. Athletic, competent, honorable. He married Janice right out of high school.”
“Did that upset your folks?” she asked.
“Are you kidding? Janice was the catch of the century. She adored Harry. And when he decided to go into law enforcement, she agreed to leave the life she loved on the ranch and move to Dallas. It was a big sacrifice, but that’s the way their marriage was. They both put the other first.”
“I always wished I’d had a sister,” Michelle said. “Someone to help shoulder the burden of disapproval from my parents.”
“Maybe if you’d had a sibling, they wouldn’t have expected so much of you.” He hesitated. “I spoke to them, Michelle. When I couldn’t find you, I called and warned them. I urged them to go to a safe place.”
“I’m sure they went ballistic, wondering what I’d done now to make such a mess of their lives.”
“For some people, being critical is all they know.”
“That’s a fine explanation if you aren’t the one who is always being criticized.”
The pressure of his fingers increased on her hand. She never talked about this to anyone. She didn’t want Lucas to think she went around feeling sorry for herself because she didn’t have adoring parents. “I’ve done okay with it. I followed my dream, and I learned to live without their approval.”
“I don’t think parents understand how important approval is,” he said. He brought her hand up and kissed it lightly. “From my perspective, though, you’re one helluva woman.”
Her first inclination was to throw up an emotional barricade. Praise always came with a price, from her experience. But her hand felt so warm and protected in Lucas’s grip. And he had nothing to gain by saying what he’d said. She took a deep breath. “Why did Harry become a Dallas police officer?”
“He always had that sense of right and wrong, and when he decided to go into law enforcement, the Dallas PD was hiring with a fast promotion track. He felt he could best support Janice and the family he wanted by joining the force.”
“And you became a marshal?”
Lucas laughed. “Now that was a more romantic choice. Just the image appealed to me. And I preferred the Austin area. Still not as big a city and lots of land nearby if I had a yen to ride my horse.”
“Are your folks still on the ranch?”
“You bet. They’re a tough couple. Dad still works the cattle, and Mom cooks and feeds the twenty farmhands. Heck, if Dad quit paying them wages, they’d stay for Mom’s cooking.”
“I’d like to meet them one day.”
“When this is over, I’ll take you there. I bought a place north of Austin, more toward the center of the state. But we’ll dr
ive over to Mom and Dad’s. I think they’d get a charge out of you. Heck, you’d be a big-city celebrity in Limestone County, Texas.”
Talking with Lucas was like falling off a log. She began telling him things she’d never expressed to anyone. Not even Kevin.
At the thought of her friend, a prisoner who was possibly being harmed, the tension returned to her body.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.
“Kevin.”
“We’re doing everything we can. In fact—” he punched the stem of his watch so that it glowed in the dark “—I should hear from Will before too much longer.”
Lucas had told her about Bennett and the SWAT team, but she was too afraid to even hope. If they could free Kevin, then she and Lucas could call in backup to arrest Robert in his hotel room.
Visualizing the look on Robert Maxim’s face as someone snapped cuffs on him made her intensely happy. “Do you think Kevin is still alive?”
Lucas nodded. “No reason for Maxim to kill him. Yet.”
“And Lorry?”
“As far as I know, she’s safe. Robert wouldn’t be talking to you if he had Lorry. She’s a smart gal. She didn’t leave a trace of trail behind her.”
“I disrupted her entire life.”
“It wasn’t deliberate, Michelle. You’ve got to learn to forgive yourself for honest mistakes.”
“Now that’s easier said than done.”
For a moment they were quiet. Lucas continued to hold her hand, his thumb making gentle circles. It was such a pleasurable sensation. A week ago, if someone had told her she’d be sitting in South Alabama with a former U.S. marshal, keeping watch on a Texas mobster, she would have scoffed.
“If we succeed in getting Robert Maxim arrested and charged with kidnapping and attempted murder, what happens next?” she asked.
“That would be the best possible outcome. With Robert behind bars, I think the Dallas and New York PDs could break the back of the Maxim organization.”
“And Lorry could live a safe life?”
“Yep. And you, too.”
Familiar Vows Page 11