Jiminy’s eyebrows pulled together in what looked like true concern and he asked, “She okay?”
“Yeah. She’s tough. Our deal was for her to be protected by me or one of my men when not working, though she’d need someone with her for any new clients. But, she met your wife in the office once, and this had been set long enough we didn’t think there was any danger of you being connected to McPherson. Still, she had a nine mil on her hip and a three-eighty under her arm, and was trained to use them long before I came along. Unfortunately, he knew she’d be armed, and with his cop training he took her by surprise and zip-tied her before she could react.”
“Call me Jiminy. We’ll go through the details later,” Jiminy said, “but I’m not holding you responsible. I’d like to get inside and see Pebbles, though.”
Duke nodded to the door. “Up the steps and end of the hall. They’re in the bathroom but I’m sure she’ll come out when she hears you. I’ll get the scarf from the trunk and be up.”
Pebbles was in Jiminy’s arms when Duke made it upstairs, and he stuck his head around the partially closed door of the bathroom to hand Gen the scarf. He watched as she tied it around her waist and knotted it at her right hip. He leaned in, touched her hip, felt her Sig back where it belonged.
“You were right. He had me tied up before I had a chance to even think of drawing.”
“It’s what he’s been trained for, Beautiful. Just remember this the next time we disagree about your safety though, okay? I was right?”
Gen smiled and rolled her eyes, and he stepped into the bathroom and drew her into his arms. “I was so scared, and it’s been a long time since I felt true fear. Longest damned ride of my life.”
“I tried to signal you almost as soon as he took me down.”
“And I got it, but that’s for discussion later, we need to go back out, if you’re put back together okay?”
“Yeah, as good as I’m going to get.”
* * * *
When Duke walked Gen back to the master bedroom, Jiminy and another well-dressed man had taken control of Mike.
For some reason, the first thing that came to Gen’s mind was the fact the house would be shown again this afternoon, so she said, “No blood. Another Realtor will be here with prospective buyers in less than an hour.”
“Good to know,” Jiminy said without turning around. “Cut the zip-ties, Fox.”
As soon as Mike’s arms were free, Jiminy grabbed him by the forearm, spun him around, lifted his arm, and yanked. Gin saw his shoulder dislocate, and Mike’s scream went through her and made her realize she needed to pee. She turned into Duke, buried her head in his chest, and he held her, his body tight but his arms comforting.
Gen heard a second scream, and looked around to see both of Mike’s arms hanging loose. Jiminy punched him in the gut, and when Mike leaned forward, Jiminy grabbed his arm and held it out as Fox grabbed Mike’s torso and held him in place, and Jiminy forced Mike’s arm back into the socket.
* * * *
Duke let Gen run from the room, and nodded for Brain to follow her. He wanted to be there for her, but needed to be in this room with Jiminy and Mike even more.
Dozer and Fox worked to get the second arm back in, and Jiminy turned to his wife, who was standing strong a few feet behind her husband. “Anything else, Babe?”
“Yeah. Restrain his arms behind him again, and I want him on his knees.”
Jiminy motioned to Fox, and Duke retrieved the stack of zip-ties they’d pulled from McPherson’s pocket and handed a few to Dozer.
When they had him restrained and kneeling, Pebbles stepped to him and said, “Make him look at me, and spread his legs a little, please.”
Fox grabbed Mike’s hair and pulled his head back as he kicked the man’s knees apart.
“Gen might be too nice to do this, but I heard what you had planned for her and I’m gonna ask my husband to send you to his cohorts in South America, where there’s a nice market for male sex slaves. They’ll beat the fight right out of you, so you’ll bend over and take it up the ass anytime you’re ordered.” Duke watched in fascination as the petite woman pulled her foot back and aimed her pointy-toed high-heeled shoe directly at Mike’s nuts, and had a very satisfied look on her face as he fell forward with another scream.
Pebbles turned and looked at Duke, “You got a problem with my solution?”
Duke shook his head. “I don’t know what he had planned, and I’m gonna want to get a few of my own punches in once we get him out of here and don’t have to worry about blood, but it sounds like a great long-term solution to me.”