Rising Bounty (10 page)

Chapter 18

Abe watched from the front porch as Roxanne and Lexi played with Cici at the lake. Her mother was taking a nap upstairs. He turned to Vic who had just gotten a text from Isaac.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone broke into Lauren’s apartment.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she wasn’t home, thank goodness. Blade and Jade were with her, coming back from the meeting. They made a stop by Lauren’s office first and by the time they got to her apartment, the authority had been called and were examining the scene.”

“The timing is so close after the meeting at the mall that it’s no coincidence. They were after Lauren to get information. She could have been hurt.”

“She’ll stay with Blade and Jade for now. Isaac is setting up surveillance at her apartment in case the trespassers come back.”

Abe ran his hand through his hair. “I want ye to know I’ll pay ye for everything, and I’ll pay to have Lauren’s apartment put to rights again.”

“Don’t worry about any of that. I’ve already got people repairing the damages at Lauren’s and you don’t owe anything for helping out with Roxanne’s situation. Lexi thinks of Roxanne like family; Jagger and I feel that way about you. We take care of our family.”

Abe fought back his emotions. “Thanks.”

“I hate to even bring this up but…”

“Spit it out.”

“We could shut Hadley down quicker if we could set up a situation that would draw him out.”

“This situation would be involving Roxanne and Cici? No way in hell.”

“Not Cici, just Roxanne. We will have her completely protected.”

“No!”

He must have raised his voice because Roxanne turned to look their way. He waved so that she wouldn’t think something was wrong. All Roxanne wanted was to live her life and raise Cici. If there was a chance they could be together and have a family, perhaps he should at least listen to Vic’s plan.

“OK, hold on. I’m listening.” Abe tried to soften his tone. Vic seemed to understand the pressure Abe was feeling.

“We pretty much know that the third agent wasn’t there to help Roxanne.”

“Hadley sent him.”

“Yep, but he found out about Lauren contacting the other agents and making this deal. He just showed up at the last minute, which was why Lauren and the other two agents were pissed off.”

“So what do ye suggest?”

“We’ll have Lauren contact the two agents saying that Roxanne wants to enter the witness protection program and is going to come in.”

“I won’t let Roxanne do it. We’ll have to get someone else to pose as her with a wig.”

“I need to do it,” Roxanne spoke from behind Abe.

He hadn’t heard her approach. He shook his head as he turned and faced her. “Lass, it’s too dangerous for ye.”

“I won’t have someone else endangered because of me. Darryl will demand a positive identification before he shows his face. I know him.”

“I have to keep ye safe.”

She walked up to him and cupped his cheek with her hand. “You always keep me safe. I need to end this before anyone else gets hurt, like Cici. I want my life back. I want to start my life with you. I can do this.”

He wrapped her in his arms and nodded at Vic. “OK, make the call. We’ll set this up for tomorrow evening and I still want Asia ready to take her place at any time.”

“I’m on it.” Vic walked away, dialing his phone. He was probably calling Lauren right at that moment.

Abe looked down into her angelic face. “I can’t lose ye, so I need ye to follow my directions, no matter how bossy I may sound.”

“I will, I promise. I just want this all to be over with.”

He kissed her until she melted in his arms. He pulled back and smiled at her dazed expression. He loved that he could affect her like that.

“Come on, let’s spend time with Cici and have dinner. Then later I plan to make love to ye all night.”

She smiled up at him. “I like your plan.”

*****

Later that evening

Lexi glared at Vic as they were leaving Abe’s cabin. “I told you I didn’t like that plan.”

“Baby, we’re going to be there to protect her the whole time.”

“What do you think he’ll try to do?” She bit her lip as she got into the passenger side of Vic’s truck.

“He could show up with the authority or he could make a play to grab her. He won’t get away with it. The agents can handle any complications with the authority and there will be someone with Roxanne.”

“I just worry for her. Should I come too?”

“Absolutely not!” He sighed when he saw that he had made her angry at his response. “Honey, I’ve got to be on my game to help Abe and Jagger protect Roxanne. If you came too, I would be more worried about protecting you.”

She took his hand in hers. “I know, you’re right. Distractions can get people killed.”

He laughed. “I say that to my bounty hunters all the time.” He brought her hand to his mouth so he could place a kiss on her knuckles. “I do want you to stay away from the club tomorrow just in case Hadley or one of his cronies go there.”

“I’ll come back and be with Sandy and Cici and help Shy and Drake protect them.”

“Lexi, don’t get into trouble.”

“I won’t. I’ll be good.”

He looked her up and down. “Honey, you were built to be bad in the best way.”

“Take me home and I’ll show you just how good this bad girl can be.”

He stepped on the gas. “Now you’re talking.”

*****

“Time for bed, little one.” Roxanne called out from the kitchen. Their friends had just left and she was finished cleaning the dishes from dinner. Her mother had already gone up to bed. She heard the door open and looked over as Abe came in from checking the perimeter.

“Everything okay?”

He took off his jacket. “Yes.” He came over and hugged her. She felt instant relief. Everything was better when Abe was near.

“Mama, can Abe come up and tuck me in?” Cici asked from behind her. They parted and turned to face her.

“It’s up to Abe.”

“Of course.” Abe bent to lift Cici in his arms and carried her up the stairs while Roxanne followed behind them.

Cici had already changed into her pajamas so Roxanne just pulled the bed sheets down. Cici climbed in and Roxanne tucked her in. She kissed her forehead. “Good night, angel, I love you.”

“Good night, Momma, love you too.”

Abe sat down on the edge of the bed. “Good night, my wee lass.”

“Good night, Abe, I love you.”

Abe looked surprised, then he smiled and kissed her forehead. “I love ye too, angel.”

They walked to the door and Roxanne turned off the lights and partially shut the door. When she turned around, she found Abe standing there with his hand over his heart.

“Are you okay?”

He looked up and his eyes were glistening. “I couldn’t take it if anything happened to any of ye.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. He was the sweetest man ever. “We’re your family and you want to protect us.”

He squeezed her in a tight hug. “Exactly.”

“For the first time Abe, I feel like there’s a chance to end this chaos that Darryl started. Then we can move forward and be together as a couple. We’ll have date nights, and do things as a real family, like go on vacations. You know, I remember taking vacations a few times growing up when my dad was alive. I don’t think my mom has taken a vacation since he passed away.”

He took her hand as they came down the stairs together. “Where was yer favorite vacation spot growing up?”

“The mountains. My father used to rent a cabin up in the mountains close to a lake. We would go fishing every day and talk about stuff. I think that’s why I fell in love with your place the moment I laid eyes on it. It reminded me of the good times with my parents.”

“After this is all over, I will take all of ye to the mountains. Vic rents a place up there sometimes so I can get a good deal.”

“Sounds wonderful. I can’t wait.”

He lifted her up in his arms, surprising her. “Now, didn’t I have something important that I needed to take care of?”

She smiled and nibbled on his chin. “Yes — yes, you do.”

Chapter 19

The next morning

Roxanne was nervous as she waited inside the SUV with Abe, Vic, and Jagger. Two bounty hunters, a brother and sister, were inside guarding Lauren. Their friend Isaac was in a van close by overlooking the security cameras. She knew they wore weapons and it scared her. She had never been around guns or knives and it was scary to think things might come down to violence.

“Are ye okay?” Abe reached for her hand.

“I’m scared,” she whispered, eyeing the gun tucked inside the waist of his leather pants. She missed his kilt.

“The weapons are a last resort.”

“I—” She was interrupted by Vic.

“Let’s go.”

She waited in the SUV like Abe told her to while they got out and checked their surroundings. A few seconds later, Abe opened the door for her and took her hand to help her get out. Vic walked in front and she stayed between Abe and Jagger as they approached the steel building.

“What is this place?”

“We chose to meet at a library. It’s not busy at this time of morning.”

“How do you know that?”

“I used to—know someone who worked here.”

She narrowed her eyes as she glanced up at him. “You mean you used to date someone who worked here. A librarian, maybe?”

“I refuse to answer any further questions in case it convicts me.”

Jagger snorted when Roxanne emitted something that sounded like a growl. Vic entered the building first, and then motioned them forward. As soon as they were inside the lobby, she spotted Lauren with the brother and sister bounty hunters. Lauren approached them, looking worried.

“We have a problem,” Lauren said in a low voice.

“What is it?” Abe looked around and spotted the trouble right away. “What’s
he
doing here and where are agents Fitzgerald and Carlysle?”

“Agent Ward did something to pull rank on the other two agents. They’re not here, but he is. He says he’ll take Roxanne into protective custody.”

“He’s not taking her anywhere. Who is he on the phone with?” Abe motioned toward Ward.

Vic got on his earpiece. “Isaac, find out who Agent Ward is talking to on the phone.”

“He dialed a number to a disposable phone. It will take me a little longer to find out who purchased the phone.”

“Can you tap into it?”

“It’s starting to storm out here which is going to interfere with my surveillance signal.”

“Try.” Vic turned back to Abe.

“Your call, man. We can leave now or see what this weasel has to say.”

Abe looked over at Roxanne. He wanted nothing more than to take her home. “What do ye want to do?”

She took a deep breath. “Let’s hear what he has to say, but first, I need to go to the bathroom.”

“I’ll take ye.”

“I’ll go with her,” Lauren offered.

She walked with Lauren to the other side of the lobby to go down the hallway to the bathroom. They entered the bathroom. It had three sinks, three stalls, and a large window.

Lauren stood by the door. “So you and Abe are an item, huh?”

Roxanne entered the stall. “I love him.”

“Good. He’s a good man, one of the best working for Vic and Jagger.”

“Have you worked for them long?” she asked. She heard a thump. “Lauren?”

She finished up and came out. Lauren wasn’t there. Maybe she had gone out into the hallway. She went to the sink and washed her hands. She looked up at herself in the mirror and froze in place. Standing behind her was her nightmare.

“Hello, Roseanne. I like what you’ve done with your hair.”

God, no.
“Darryl.” Her last thought before everything went black was that she wished she had told Abe one more time that she loved him.

*****

“It shouldn’t take them this long.” Abe paced back and forth.

Vic hit his earpiece. “Isaac, did you find out who the agent called?”

“The phone was purchased with cash.”

“Vic! Jagger!” Lauren came stumbling out of the bathroom, holding her hand over a bloody head wound.

Abe caught Lauren before she fell and handed her over to Jagger. “Where’s Roxanne?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see the guy until it was too late and he about bashed my brains in.”

Abe ran into the bathroom. The window was open and there were bloody handprints visible on the ledge. He checked the stalls. Roxanne was gone.
How did this happen?

Vic came in. “Ward has run out the back of the library. I’m having Isaac tap into the traffic light cameras to look for vehicles that have left this area recently. We’ll track where he went. We’ll find her.”

Abe punched the wall. He couldn’t imagine his life without Roxanne in it. She was everything to him.