Ace turned his serious gaze on both of them and Patrick’s heart began to pound. Ace said, “The car she was driving belongs to Lucy Carter.”
Patrick erupted from his chair with Beck hot on his heels. “Lucy!”
They both moved toward the front door but Ace stopped them. “Hold it right there. You’re not going anywhere.” Ace turned to Mel and Connor and said, “Kendall was able to relay GPS coordinates taken through Ms. Rhodes 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 in acknowledgment and then pointed toward Patrick and Beck. “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.”
Patrick shook his head. “We won’t.” Ethan put his hand on Patrick’s shoulder and Patrick turned to him. “I don’t know why this has happened. How could this happen? Why would Bruce Smith take Lucy?”
Moments later they knew. Corinna told them that Smith had helped the delivery driver who had made such a racket earlier carry in the soda syrup delivery. They surmised he’d overheard the conversation and already had a thirty-minute head start on them.
Ace got his attention with the question and he turned to Patrick and Beck and said, “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 got Ace’s attention and said, “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.” Connor shifted his attention to 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.”
Mel nodded, showing no emotion. “Yeah. Best friends. Damn it, what a cluster fuck.”
“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.”
Patrick was impressed. Damn, they must’ve been in an emergency vehicle with the siren on and the lights flashing to make it here that quick! Then he wondered briefly what Beck thought of Chloe’s men arriving soon but didn’t have time to ask.
“Let’s go,” Ace said. “We’ll take my SUV. We’ll all fit.”
Ethan stayed behind to man the club and asked them to keep him informed of their progress. He told Beck and Patrick he’d call Seth and let him know what was going on. Knowing Ethan would keep a cool head in explaining to Seth, he agreed to let him make that call.
As they cleared out of the club and headed across the parking lot, Mel said, “Damn it to hell, we have two for certain and possibly three women in peril. I guess we don’t have to worry about just cause now.”
“Smith hurts Lucy, I’m going to fucking kill him,” Beck growled.
Connor grunted and said, “Get in line. He’s got our woman, too. As far as I’m concerned, he’s already a fucking dead man.”
Patrick was quite all right with implementing that plan.
* * * *
Lucy sat rigid next to Emily Anne, watching Baxter as he rushed around the house, gathering items and putting them in duffle bags. She wasn’t sure how he could see because all the curtains were drawn and the shades pulled. He fumbled around in the dim confines of the small house, giving them a hard, suspicious look every now and then to make sure they were behaving.
He’d tied them at the ankles and the wrists, with their hands in front, evidently so he could make sure they weren’t up to anything. Stupid man. He was never out of their sight for more than a few seconds and his nervousness seemed to escalate with every pass through the living room, where they sat against one wall of the shabby little house.
She promised herself if she got out of this mess she’d love on her men so hard they’d never forget it. She’d let her breast-obsessed lover call her sugar tits all day if he wanted to and she’d let Patrick buy her as many expensive gifts as he wanted and never complain about it ever again.
What the hell am I saying? If I get out of this mess? When I get out of this mess is more like it. This guy is nuts. I just need a diversion.