“
Bien
. I will gladly visit your jail.”
Peter stepped forward. “If you have information that could assist the State of Texas and the government of the United States in their investigation and prosecution of Broussard, I’m pretty sure that you would be a free man.”
Morgan nodded. “And we’d make certain your mother was safe.”
“I had heard that America was the land of opportunity, but I never thought that would ever apply to me.
Merci
. I will tell you everything I know.”
St. Pierre didn’t object to the handcuffs, or to being taken to the Lusty jail. Adam called in his other deputy—a man named Jasper—to come and collect and then babysit the man.
Adam’s cell phone rang and he walked off to converse—likely with the sheriff of Divine. He was back moments later.
“Jayne has her cell phone with her and has been texting what information she could along the way.”
“Gutsy lady,” Peter said.
“She is that. Smart as a whip, too,” Julián said.
“They’re in Morgan’s SUV, heading this way.” Adam looked over at Morgan, who nodded.
“I’m putting a call in to Mitch at Benedict Oil and Minerals.” Morgan looked at Julián. “All of our vehicles and cell phones have GPS locators. Mitch—who’s head of security and an ex-Marine—will tell us where the car is, so we can monitor their progress.”
“I’m betting they’re still in it, still headed this way. They’ll want to keep up the façade of being wealthy, law-abiding businessmen. Likely figure we’ve no idea what they’re really doing,” Adam said. Then he looked at Julián. “Ace Webster is driving a man named Seth Carter here.”
“Jayne is Seth’s woman,” Julián said. “And the baby she has with her, if I’m not mistaken, is Seth’s son.”
“So, his coming isn’t a problem for you?”
Peter answered for him. “I think my big brother has his eye on another woman—someone from his wild and wanton past.”
Julián slugged Peter’s arm. “Hey, I finally
got
myself a wild and wanton past, and it wasn’t too many years ago, either.” His thoughts and feelings about Gwen were too raw and undefined to share with anyone at the moment. Besides, he needed to bring all his attention to the very real dilemma of rescuing Jayne and the baby. He turned his attention to Adam. “Seth and I are okay. What do you need me to do?”
Julián listened as Adam outlined a basic plan. Morgan would take his place in the pilot’s seat—so their quarry could see a body in the cockpit, and, if worst came to worst, he could start the plane.
Adam put a call in to the state cops, who were perfectly willing to come and lend a hand. It didn’t take them long to get there. Captain Connell and Adam conferred, and then Connell set about hiding his men from view.
Peter headed out in Julián’s pickup truck, after grabbing a Stetson and some dark glasses from somewhere inside one of the hangars.
“He’s going on recon,” Adam said as they watched Peter drive off. “We know where the SUV is, but we’d all feel better if we got eyes on it, if only in passing.”
Julián grinned. “You figure he won’t make it back in time for the action to go down, don’t you? He’ll have to circle around after passing that car. If he’s not here, there’s no way he can get shot.”
“Damn straight. Jordan and my mother would have my nuts if I let that Fed get shot again.”
Personally, Julián approved of the ruse.
Twenty minutes later, Peter called with an update. The SUV had pulled over and Peter had done what he called a pretty decent good ol’ boy act of offering roadside assistance. He reported two men, one who looked like a weasel and one big dude—likely Broussard and his lackey. They’d stopped so Jayne could change the baby’s diaper. She was bruised, but on two feet, and appeared lucid. The baby had been waving his arms about. Adam immediately let his counterpart, Hank Stinson, know.
They were all conscious of the time. It occurred to Morgan that there should be an invoice for that son of a bitch to pay. He even included a fee for the rental of the SUV. He looked up from his computer. “If that bastard has put so much as a scratch on my ride, I’m going to castrate him.”
Adam grinned. “Hell, maybe you can castrate him anyway.”
“Or leave that to him.” Julián nodded toward the black SUV that turned, tires squealing, and came through the front gates.
The passenger door practically exploded open, and Seth Carter hit the ground running. He headed straight for the only man he knew, Julián.
“He hit her. He grabbed Jayne, and my son, Toby, and he hit her. That bastard’s a dead fucking man.”
“We’re ready for ’em, Seth,” Julián said.
“Don’t fuck up our plan.” Adam Kendall came over and got in Seth’s face. “Every single one of us is focused on getting your family back. We won’t make you stand on the sidelines. But you have to get with the program.”
Julián waited with everyone else to see if the big tattooed man could rein himself in. After a moment, Seth nodded. His sharp gaze took in the lay of the land, and the men he didn’t know. Julián had noticed that Adam greeted the other man—the driver of the SUV—like an old friend, which he probably was.
“This is Ace Webster, a man not unfamiliar with dicey situations.” Adam performed the rest of the introductions. Then he said, “We’re ready. Captain Connell, here, has his men tucked out of sight. He’ll wait just inside the hangar door and direct them when the time is right. Morgan will be in the cockpit. I’ll pull the plane out of the hangar using Henry’s truck as the suspect vehicle pulls through the gates. Julián is going to be our grease monkey.”
“And me?” Seth took a half step toward Adam Kendall.
“You can be inside the plane. Likely, they’ll want to rush Jayne and your son on board, get them out of Julián’s sight as soon as possible. If so, you can grab them, and keep them safe. Ace, maybe you’d like to join Seth, since you’re armed.”
“Sounds good, Adam.”
Then Adam looked at Julián. “If you get a chance to grab Jayne and Toby, you take it. Otherwise, you’re just another working man, only happy to help the rich and awesome foreigners.”
“Christ, I don’t know if I’m that good an actor.” Then he met Seth’s gaze. “But I’ll do everything I can to help Seth protect his woman and his boy.”
Seth nodded. “I owe you, man.”
Julián waved that away. He reached for the tool belt Morgan had brought out for him to wear, and strapped it on. Then he tucked the guns—one Adam had handed him and one Morgan had passed—into the waistband of his pants, one on either side.
He hoped to hell Broussard and that other bastard didn’t look past his tool belt and his goofy grin and see the weapons.
Morgan’s phone beeped. He looked at the screen then up at everyone else. “They’re nearly here.”
Adam nodded. “Okay, places. And let’s do this thing right.”
Julián was in awe at the speed with which everyone moved. Ace pulled his vehicle around the far end of the hangar, out of sight, and then ran toward the Lear. Morgan, followed by Seth, was on his heels and got into the jet, too, leaving the door open and the steps down. They’d already hooked the jet up to the pickup—the one the Kendalls had modified for that very purpose. Adam got behind the wheel of the truck and waited.
They’d all figured if they appeared to be hauling the jet out as Broussard approached, the man’s attention would be split between that and keeping an eye on his prisoner, and he wouldn’t notice Morgan, or Adam, or that the noose was about to be pulled tight around his worthless neck.
Julián tucked the “invoice” Morgan had given him in his shirt pocket, and got ready to play the role of his life.
* * * *
“How are you doing there, sweetie?” Robert Jessop looked from the woman whose eyes had just blinked open, to the man and young baby hovering close by. He’d scrubbed up and was, thanks to his woman helping him, ready to don gown and gloves, and get to work.
“Okay, I guess. Woozy.”
“You’re a little woozy because I’ve given you some happy juice so my brother can tend to your wound.” David said.
“Seth? Toby?”
“Right here, baby.” The tattooed man looked at Robert. “I think it would be better for her if we stayed.”
Robert wanted to grin at the slightly confrontational tone that the man—Seth Carter—had just used. He didn’t, of course.
“You see anyone asking you to leave?” Robert turned his attention back to his patient.
He could tell by looking at her that Jayne was a little slow to process the situation. Totally understandable, under the circumstances. “Wound…my roses? My beautiful roses?”
“That is a very pretty tattoo you have there, sweetie. Don’t you worry, that piece of lead didn’t make a mess of it. I promise.”
“’Kay. Good.”
“Even if it had, baby, you know I’d fix it.”
Robert looked from the artwork to the man. “You do good work, Mr. Carter. And so do I.”
“Big brother here earned his stripes as a trauma surgeon at one of Chicago’s busiest hospitals,” David Jessop said. “He’s good.”
Seth Carter nodded. He still held his son, who’d fallen fast asleep on his shoulder, and hovered over Jayne as if he would kill rather than be parted from her.
Robert definitely understood that level of devotion.
Jillian came back into the exam room just then, pushing one of the office chairs. He and David adjusted the stretcher Jayne was on to make room for it.
“Here, Mr. Carter. You sit down and take a load off.”
“Thank you.” Seth sat and seemed to relax the slightest little bit.
Robert met Jillian’s gaze for just a moment. When she smiled, and nodded, he turned his focus back to the matter at hand. “The X-ray shows us the bullet didn’t go deep. It hit a rib and stopped.” He pointed to the single negative on the display box. It had been a simple matter to wheel the stretcher down the hall for the diagnostic procedure and then back again. “The bullet was a small caliber, which is a blessing. But you lost a lot of blood, Jayne, and that’s what made you lose consciousness. That’s why you’ll be on IV for at least the next twelve hours. I’ll use local anesthetic to dull the area, then pull out the bullet and stitch you up.” He looked at Seth. “You ready?”
“Me?”
Robert grinned. “Yeah, you.” He nodded toward Jayne who’d closed her eyes again and appeared to be sleeping. “Your lady isn’t going to feel a thing. You, on the other hand…”
Seth almost laughed. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Robert stepped forward and got to work. He gave Jayne Sheridan the local anesthetic, and she didn’t do more than murmur in discomfort. Even that much, to Robert’s way of thinking, was too much.
He worked quickly, his experienced eye noting the damage, all things considered, was really fairly minor.
Carter sighed audibly when the extracted bullet hit the metal bowl on the table with a
clank
. David immediately used tongs to set the slug into a small plastic zippered bag. He wrote on it, citing date and time and location.
Robert knew that Adam was waiting inside the doorway to receive that piece of evidence.
“How’s Julián doing?” he asked of his cousin. Julián Alvarez had been rushed into exam room two, cursing the whole way. Apparently—according to that man’s epithets—getting shot hurt like hell. Robert fought a grin. Who knew?
“Julián?” Jayne turned her head to look at Seth. “I think he helped us, didn’t he?”
Seth reached out and stroked her head. “Yeah, he helped us. He’s fine, baby. He just got a little chicken scratch, is all.”
Adam scoffed. “I send Peter off on recon to protect him from getting shot and what happens? The
other
Alvarez takes a bullet.”
Robert chuckled because his cousin Adam sounded so disgusted.
Adam stayed by the door of the room, not coming in, and continued his story. “Peter arrives back at the airfield just in time to see Jayne and his brother being loaded into the EMT’s truck, and he tears a strip off me for getting his brother injured. Hell, it was just a graze.”
“Must run in the family,” David said. “That whole getting-shot thing.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, too, after I assured him that it had all been nothing more than ‘a little dustup.’” Adam sighed. “Sunday dinner is
so
going to suck for me tomorrow.”
That might be so, but Robert noted Adam seemed a lot more settled than he had been the last time he’d come to the clinic on official business.
“Anyway, Dr. James said Julián is fine.” Adam snickered. “Of course, he had to administer a shot in the ass before he pronounced that to be so.”
“Yeah, that dad does love his ass shots,” David said.
“The other one prefers to scold and then just give one in the arm,” Robert said.
“I’m not sure which one is worse,” Adam Kendall said.
“You have two fathers?” Seth looked at him, his head tilted to the side. Robert was a pretty good judge of men, and he didn’t read censure there. Just curiosity and a whole hell of a lot of fatigue.
“Lusty and Divine have more than one thing in common,” Adam said then. He came all the way into the room. “There’s a room waiting for you and your son at the bed-and-breakfast. Once the docs get Jayne settled, I’ll be happy to take you over there.”