To Protect the Heart of a Brazen Woman [Brazen Sisters 6] (Siren Publishing Classic) (16 page)

Then all the possible reasons for her to be crying started to ping around in his head. He glanced back at the boat, noticing it was sitting really low in the water, way too low for someone her size. With just her in the canoe the water should only be maybe a quarter of the way up the side. It was at least halfway if not more. His phone vibrated against his hip. He slipped it off and flipped it open.

Private Caller
flashed on the display. Jake was almost positive who was on the other end. This was it. He needed to play it cool and not let Patrice know that he knew she had Bobbie.

“Hello.” His tone came out sounding gruff and somewhat annoyed, which was better than the panic he truly felt.

“Jake, how nice to talk to you after all these years.” He found it hard to understand how someone with such a warped mind could sound normal and damned pleasant.

“Who is this?” he asked, pretending not to know it was her.

“The woman you shot, but failed to kill.” The edge to her tone told him she wasn’t happy he didn’t immediately guess it was her.

“I’ve shot several women over the years.” It was a lie. She was one of the two he’d been forced to shoot. “You’ll have to give me more to go on than that.”

“Well, if we all lived I’m not surprised you only made it to a small-town sheriff in your illustrious career. From what I heard through the grapevine you were on the fast track. Guess everyone realized you weren’t all they cracked you up to be.” If her jibes were meant to wound him she was way off.

Jake liked being the sheriff and pretty much making the rules as long as he followed the letter of the law. And he was damn good at it. His instincts told him Patrice was there, somewhere where she could see Bobbie. Jake needed to find a way to get her to show herself. Even if it was just getting her to raise her voice enough to give away her position.

“I only shoot to kill when the occasion calls for it. Kind of like catch-and-release fishing. I catch the little fish”—he figured she wouldn’t like that comparison—“and toss them into the legal system pool, because they’re not worth the paperwork. Then they can be judged and punished accordingly.”

“How noble of you.” She let out a huff. “Still, I think we both know that you know who I am and why I’m calling.”

“I suppose that’s true enough, Patrice. After all, you’ve sent enough threats my way over the years that I figured you’d turn up someday.”

“But the difference is now I’m free to act on them. Starting with taking from you what has been taken from me.”

“Exactly what did
I
take from you?” He knew, but he wanted to hear her say it out loud.

“Everything.”

“I disagree. You embezzled the money, not me. You got your boyfriend killed, not me. You pointed a gun at a cop, not me.”

“You shot me.”

“You didn’t leave me a choice. And as you point out, I only wounded you.”

“You took away my freedom.”

“No, I didn’t, a judge and jury of your peers did that.” The line went dead and Jake wondered if he’d pushed her too far.

He didn’t have to wait long. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot filled the air. Jake instantly turned back to Bobbie, whose squeal was almost as loud as the shot that rang out. First his brain ran through the options and decided it had been a rifle of some sort. Not that it really could have been anything else. Thankfully, Bobbie’s high-pitched screech was one more of surprise or fear than pain. She sat up and the boat rocked. Actually, it was slightly rocking before she moved. Jake feared she might tip it over, which wasn’t as easy as people thought.

Bobbie stared out into the woods, confirming his suspicions that Patrice was out there somewhere, but she wasn’t alone. Clint and the guys were out there, too. They were his secret weapon. He had no doubt the five of them had heard the shot and were all on their way. Within minutes, Patrice would be snared in her own trap. What mattered more at that moment was getting Bobbie to safety.

“What the fuck?” Bobbie shouted. “The three holes in the bottom weren’t enough, now you’re going to shoot holes in the side?”

With that one comment it became obvious that Jake couldn’t wait for the men to arrive. He didn’t have time to try and determine what Patrice was trying to do. Jake moved deep into the brush. He ignored the way the branches clawed at his arms, leaving scratches, some deep enough to draw blood. Once his feet hit the water, Jake’s phone, which was still wrapped in his fist, buzzed. He flipped it open and brought it to his ear as he waded out into the water.

“I’m done playing games.” Patrice’s pleasant tone had been replaced by a hard, curt edge. “By my calculations, you have about fifteen minutes to rescue your girlfriend.”

“Where is she?” Waist-deep in the lake, Jake paused just before the point where he knew there was a steep drop-off.

Patrice’s laugh was more of a cackle. “I left you enough clues, so do your job and go find her.”

“What about you? You want your revenge, so let Bobbie go and you can have me instead.” He didn’t think she’d go for it, but he had to try.

“I’m not going to make it that easy for you.” The line went dead.

Jake glanced down at his phone. Damn, he was going to have to get a new one. He slammed it into the holster and looked over at the boat. There was no way he’d be able to stay under the whole time, but there was a slight chance Patrice wouldn’t notice him. He swam straight out then ducked under the water. Twice he came up for air, but Bobbie didn’t notice. The third time he came up behind the canoe where if he was lucky there was no way Patrice could see him.

“Don’t look at me,” he said softly.

Bobbie dropped her head back onto her knees. “Get me out of here.”

“I will. Just give me a few minutes. Clint and the guys are out there looking for her. Hopefully, they’ll find her before you sink.”

“Jake, she’s watching. And the bitch has a gun, probably more than one.”

“I could tip the boat then drag you out of sight.”

“Um…You’ll have to come up with another plan. She tied me to
two
cinder blocks.” Jake almost laughed at the way Bobbie made it sound like an insult.

“Hold on.” Jake took a breath and dove down to judge how deep the water was right there.

He came back up and smiled. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

“Just keep talking to me,” Bobbie pleaded.

Jake hated the defeated tone in her voice and swore he was going to make Patrice pay. “Where’d you get your Jeep?”

“Why?”

“I’m going to need a new truck.”

She laughed. “I loved your truck.”

“So did I.” He sighed. “I need to get a new phone, too.”

“If your phone is dead how will we know when they find Patrice?” Bobbie’s question was reasonable.

“I’m sure we’ll hear something.”

“Jake, the water is coming in faster.”

“Okay, we won’t wait any longer, but stay behind the boat.”

She nodded and Jake grabbed on to the side of the canoe and pulled it over. Bobbie tumbled into the water with a splash. Jake dove under the water and followed the cement blocks. He quickly got the first one stood up then grabbed the other, stacking it on top of it. Jake grabbed Bobbie by the arms and helped her to stand on the bricks. He came through the surface with a smile. Bobbie wasn’t smiling. She was breathing, though. With the bricks stacked end to end, her head was above the water. Jake heard a shot then the canoe rocked.

Loud voices and a scream filled the air. “That’s Clint and your brothers-in-law. It won’t be long now.”

Bobbie walked into the house and used her foot to shove the door shut behind her. She glanced at the phone in the hall and the message board hanging above it. Nothing. She ignored the little drop she felt in her heart. It shouldn’t have surprised her. There hadn’t been anything there for the past six days, so she didn’t know what would make today any different.

“Hey, Stephanie,” Bobbie said as the young girl stepped into the hall.

“Hi.” Her soon-to-be sister-in-law flashed her a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrific.” Stephanie’s eyes raked over her as she shook her head. “Okay, fine, I’m tired, bitchy, and sick of everyone waiting for me to have some kind of breakdown.”

“I bet you feel better now that you got that off your chest.” Stephanie turned on her heel and headed down the hall toward the dining room.

For someone so young, Stephanie seemed too damned astute. Bobbie actually did feel a little lighter. “Thank you.”

Bobbie walked into the living room. She tossed her bag on the floor and collapsed onto the couch. There were a few assignments she needed to do, but all she wanted to do was take a nap. No, that wasn’t true. What she really wanted to do was drive into town and confront Jake. It had been nearly a week since the night Patrice had forced her to go with her, and though he’d stayed by her side that first night, she hadn’t seen Jake since.

Bobbie understood he probably had lots of paperwork and stuff to do just to make sure Patrice stayed locked up, hopefully for good this time. As for Kerri, she was in some serious trouble, too. She was being charged with the only thing they could prove, which was harboring a fugitive. Bobbie wasn’t heartless. She didn’t want to see her life completely ruined, but she did want Kerri to get what was coming to her, and some serious help. Jake was a fair man, and Bobbie knew he’d do what he could to help her.

Added to all that, he’d have to file all the insurance stuff for his truck and garage. So it wasn’t like she could be upset that Jake wasn’t giving her his undivided attention, but he could have at least stopped by or called. He’d taken the ten minutes to call Beau, which she knew because Beau and Charlie had called yesterday.

Beau had said he would have called earlier, but he wanted to give her a few days before letting Charlie loose on her. They were having a great time down in Florida at the amusement park. So much so that he’d let Charlie talk him into staying for another week. Beau had suggested she hop on a plane and join them. He even offered to pay for it. His claim that he could use the help with Charlie sounded heartfelt, and he swore that after everything Bobbie had just been through no one would blame her for taking some time to do nothing but have fun. Bobbie knew he was right. Still, she’d turned him down, because she had to focus on school.

Actually, it was the truth. She just hadn’t been doing a very good job of it. Neither of them had brought up Jake’s name. It was probably a good thing. Beau, being Jake’s baby brother, most likely didn’t want to hear all the dirty details about them having sex in the cabin. Now her sisters were still prodding her to give it up, but she wasn’t going to talk until things between her and Jake were at least a little more determined. Beau probably would have taken offense if she told him that she was starting to think Jake was a coward. Yet now she was thinking she should’ve taken Beau up on his offer and got the hell out of town.

The phone rang, and Bobbie was debating whether or not to get up and answer it when Stephanie shouted, “I got it.”

Good, because Bobbie really didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She rolled on her side to face the back of the couch and closed her eyes. Stephanie’s laughter traveled down the hall to her. At least somebody was in a good mood.

“That was Sam. We’re all having dinner at the lodge, and she wants me and you to go up and help.” Bobbie squeezed her eyes tighter. “I know you’re not sleeping.”

She turned her head and looked at Stephanie. “You’ve been here long enough to know what this is.”

“Well…Tyler hinted that they are all starting to get a little worried about your moping, so I’m guessing one of two things is going to happen. Either your sisters are going to ask you to tell them what’s going on between you and Jake, or…”

“There is no ‘or.’ In their opinion, my sisters have given me enough time to stew and now they’re going to launch an inquisition. It’s not like there’s anything else that I can do to distract them.”

“Not true. Someone else has a secret they’ve been keeping.” She paused and smiled. “Sam may have something she’s ready to tell everyone.”

“You know?” Bobbie rolled of the couch and got to her feet.

Stephanie nodded. “Georgie took me in for a physical so I can play softball at school, and one of the nurses came into my exam room and handed an envelope to Georgie. It was meant for Sam. Georgie opened it and ran out of the room. When she came back she told me what was going on, but she promised Trent and Sam neither of us would say anything until they gave us the okay.”

“Well, it wasn’t like she could keep hiding it.” Bobbie laughed.

“Yeah, well, be ready to get an earful from Georgie. She’s pissed that you knew and didn’t tell anyone.” Now it was Stephanie’s turn to laugh.

* * * *

Jake tossed the file onto the conference table hard enough that it skidded across the surface. It came to a stop when it smacked into the stack that he’d already signed off on. He glanced over at the two undercover fugitive recovery agents, going by the aliases Tom and Bill while in town, sitting at his right. They were discussing whose turn it was to pay for lunch today. Clint, who was on Jake’s left, had his head down filling out his own paperwork. If Jake had to eat pizza or another sandwich he was going to lose it. They’d spent the past five days going over everything, making sure every
t
was crossed and
i
dotted. Patrice had already been arraigned, and this time she was relocated to a maximum security prison until her trial, but Jake was still filling out forms.