Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (31 page)

He looked up at his partner
.
“What’s the plan? Tell me you have some master plan to catch this asshole. Tell me he isn’t that good and
he’s
screwed up somewhere.”

Jake glanced at his shoes before he looked his partner in the eye. “I don’t know. I won’t know anything until after I talk to
Thompson
and have all the facts.
Right now
,
all I know for sure is that he knows we’re on to his games. The sick bastard probably got a kick out of watching us search for all of his
hiding spots.
When Abby’s team gets done, I’m sending in our crew to do another sweep and look for anything that was missed.
They’ll set up watch
to monitor the security
system and secure the location and post guards around the house. Nothing and no one is getting inside that place without us knowing it.”

Butch nodded. “Thanks.”

Claire returned with Mike. She looked pale. She took her seat by the window and stared outside the entire
t
wo
-
and
-a-
half
-hour
nonstop flight to meet up at the beach house. He’d never seen her this way, so withdrawn into herself. He didn’t know how to help her. He pulled her hand from her lap and locked fingers with her. That didn’t even
elicit a response from her. Poor thing was probably in shock at being violated they way they had been.

****

Throwing up had helped her. Now she was just mad as hell. How had she been so stupid to let some asshole get the drop on her like that, especially after the last year of lunatics that had been in their
lives?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
How was she going to get out of this and keep everyone
safe?
Abby and Emma would be easy enough to convince to stay at the beach house.
A
ll of the males she loved
, however,
were going to have a conniption fit when she told them she was going back.
The bastard had been a silent witness to their
lovemaking
. The sick
bastard
,
whoever
he was, was going to pay. She’d worked too hard and too long at keeping her family safe
for this asshole to come crawling out of the woodwork
. If the bastard wanted her, then
by god
,
he had better
come at her with more than just video cameras and bugs. The bomb Mike had told her about had
made
her curious.
Claire started thinking back
, trying to figure
out who had access and time to plant everything
. Not only in her house but on her car too. Jenny and Butch had been the only ones that had been in
her house unsupervised that
she knew
of, and she knew
it wasn’t Butch. Cla
ire could feel her cheeks flush as she gri
nded
her teeth,
seething the entire flight
.
She narrowed her eyes at the passing clouds.
Claire still didn’t believe it was Jenny, but she wasn’t going to take any more chances. The first chance she had, she was reading the poor girl’s mind. Claire hadn’t moved the entire flight
, not wanting to give away the hatred and action she was planning
. She felt Butch take hold of her hand, but she didn’t want distractions from the plan she was formulating in her head. She might not be as tech savvy as Jake, or have her siblings
’
abilities, but there was one thing that Claire unde
rstood better than her sisters, and that was men.

This sick asshole wanted her to be submissive
. H
e
’d
liked what he saw, and she was going to use that to her advantage.
If the asshole wants my body, let him come and try and take it
.
I
t was going to be the worst mistake the asshole ever made
,
and that was what she was counting on
.

The plane landed with a bump on the runway, eventually slowing down and pulling into their personal hanger. Abby, Emma, Sam, John, and Briggs all stood inside waiting on them as they exited the plane. Her sisters attacked her as her foot hit solid ground
, p
ulling her into a
warm embrace
and checking to
make sure all of her vital organs were still attached.
Damn,
she’d missed her sisters.

Jake took Lily out of Emma’s arms and kissed the
baby on
top of her head
before reaching over to lay one on Emma’s lips
. Emma
pulled back and planted her hands on her hips
and raised a brow at Claire. “Where the hell were you? I told you to keep your phone on you at all time
s
. I called and called
,
and all I kept getting was your voicemail. I told Jake if he didn’t find you, I was bringing the jet back and was going to find you myself.”

Claire smiled at her sister. “My phone died, but I promise that Butch was with me.”

Claire gazed up at Butch and smiled. “He’d never let anything happen to me
.
”
S
he glanced back at Emma “Or he’d have to deal with you.”

Emma raised her brow as she looked at Butch. “You got that right, but what’s your excuse for not answering? I tried to call you too?”

Butch pulled his phone off the clip and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry Emma, Claire and I were on my motorcycle. I just didn’t hear it or feel it vibrate.”

Emma shook her head. Claire was thankful that Emma didn’t start yelling about the bike. Claire just wanted to leave, get somewhere they could let their guard down and regroup.

“
I
t’s been a long flight. I’m sure Claire would like to
get settled in and get some
rest.”

Butch picked up the bag that Jake had handed him hours
before
and placed his other palm on Claire’s lower back
, guiding her to
one of
the nearby black SUVs.
She climbed in with Butch behind her. Sam and Abby took the front seats. It was a short ride to their summerhouse on the beach
and
not much traffic since the summer was
over
. It was quiet and peaceful enough that she could settle down and think.

Chapter 17

They pulled up in the drive
,
and Claire climbed out of the SUV. It w
as just how she’d remembered it, h
er favorite place in the world.
It was
n’t
too long ago that they’d been here for Sam and Abby’s wedding
,
and it looked just the same. Abby
linked her
arm
through Claire’s
, bumped her shoulder
,
and
, after unlocking the door and disarming the alarm,
pulled her through the
front door. Claire
pulled from Abby’s hold,
bypassed everything in the house
,
and walked to the French doors that overlooked the Gulf of Mexico. She pushed them open and walked outside to stand on the
deck
,
leaning against the weathered railing
. The waves gently crashed along the shore
line
. Claire closed her eyes and inhaled. The familiar salty air
tickled her nose
,
making her lips tilt up
. She
’d
spent many a summer running up and down this beach
. S
he
loved it here.

Abby
slid
up
next to her
.
“It’s beautiful
,
isn’t it
?
”

Claire opened her eyes
and watched
a seagull dip down trying to catch its evening dinner.
“Yeah, I’ve missed it. I think
,
when all of this is over, I’m going to come back and stay for a bit and re-energize. I’ve always felt more connected
to
M
om here. It’s like you can almost feel her
spirit
.”

Abby leaned her head against her sister’s shoulder
and linked her arm through Claire’s
. “I miss
her
to
o
.”

“Momma Mae says it’s because she is here
;
we just can’t see her. She said that she’s always with us
,
” Emma said as she latched onto Claire’s other arm.
“Do you think she would have been proud of us?”

Claire felt her eyes start to pool. Thinking about her mother was always hard for her. She’d always had to put up a brave front for her sisters and
had
never t
aken
the time to grieve herself, not like she should have.

“Yeah, I do
,
” Claire whispered into the wind.

Claire shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She wasn’t here to
reminisce;
she was here because of a threat. Not just any threat, but one that had them all worried so much that broccoli
had been uttered. They’d used a plan they’d made as teenagers
, and
today it wasn’t looking so childish
.

“Okay
,
girls, let’s go figure this out. I’m
about sick of all this crap
,
and it’
s time we figure out who this asshole is
.
”

Emma
grinned
,
and Abby laughed
. S
he was sure it was because she hardly ever cu
r
sed
out
loud
, but
desperate times called for desperate measures. She’d figured that out a long time ago. The person trying to kill her didn’t care that she was a good person who raised money for underprivileged kids and abused mothers. The person didn’t care that she’d never hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it. No
,
this man wasn’t playing by any set of rules, so she was throwing her
own rulebook
out
the window
and into the wind
. She needed to get on the same level as this asshole
,
and she wasn’t going to be able to do it using her manners or wearing her pearls.
Claire was throwing off the kid gloves
, and if she was going to go down fighting, she was going to get some damage in before she fell.

Claire walked with her sisters back inside and headed straight for the coffee pot but stopped short. Butch stood in the kitchen with a cup of coffee
in each
hand. He tilted one to his lips
, sipping the steaming liquid as he held out the other to
her.

Claire was lucky. She’d never dreamed there would be someone in her life that would take care of her, even if it
were
just the little things. She appreciated it more and more every
day.
Claire walked up to him, stood on her tip
p
y toes
,
pressed her lips to his
,
and whispered, “Thank you.”

Butch grinned. “You’re welcome,
angel
.”

Claire took a sip of the steamy brew and made her way to the huge kitchen table from their childhood. The big
sturdy oak table sat eight comfortably
and
showed signs of wear and tear
.
It had lasted through thirty years of family get
-
togethers
,
and she could remember a time or two when Abby had stood atop of it,
singing at the top of her lungs when they were little. This place held special memories she’d never forget. Claire glanced at Butch.
And hopefully more to come.

Clair
e
pulled out a chair and plopped down in
to
it. They’d had such a pro
ductive
day finding out details about their dad
. W
ell
,
until all hell
had
broke
n
loose. Emma pulled a pre
-
made casserole from the
refrigerator
and popped it into the oven before coming to sit down next to her. She took Claire’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “So whe
re were you when we couldn’t find
you?
I was doubled over cramping
,
and I thought someone had died.
”

Claire sipped her coffee. “
I’m sorry
,
Emma.
” Claire sq
u
eezed Emma’s hand back. She hadn’t meant for anyone to worry. She hadn’t been thinking. “
W
e went to see Detective Berman.”

Emma tilted her head
.
“
Who
?
”

“Dad’s old partner.”

Mike took a seat across from them. “If I had to guess, I’d say that Claire was
too
impatient
waiting
for me to go back to the office and hunt down the rest of the documents.”

Butch walked up behind Claire and put a hand on her shoulder. “Be glad we did. We found out more than what was in your file.”

Mike leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not possible.”

“Believe it
,
buddy.” Butch explained everything they had found out from the detective and Glenda. How there was another person involved that she
’d never pointed the finger at.

Abby pulled out a seat. Her eyebrows were scrunched together as if she were trying to put the pieces together. She glanced at Mike
.
“Where’s the ballistics report? We can put this third person to rest by looking at the report.”

Mike frowned
.
“It wasn’t in the file.”

Abby threw her hands
up. “What the hell? First documents go missing and now the evidence. What kind of place wer
e they running thirty years ago?
Didn’t anyone believe in due process and catching the bad guy?”

Claire leaned over and patted Abby’s shoulder. “The
y didn’t have you back then, sweetie
. We’ll figure this out. Maybe now that your team is running the stuff they found at my house, we’ll get some answers.”

Emma nodded
.

Claire pushed from the table. “Is my room still
available? I’ve got a migraine
,
and I’m exhausted
.
Maybe after a good night’s rest, we can figure all of this out.
”

Emma stood
.
“We were using it for Lily’s naps, but
let me move her things out and i
t’s all yours.”

Butch walked to her and put his arms around her, pressing his lips to hers. He rested his forehead on hers. “You want me to l
ie
down with you,
angel
?
”

Claire lifted her palm and stroked his face. “No, I’m okay. I’m afraid when my head hits the pillow I’m going to be out like a light anyway. You should eat something and catch up with the guys. Maybe they found out something from the files they had here.”