Tri Me (Primrose, Minnesota, Book 4) (13 page)

“You mean argument?” He chuckled. “Sure, I kinda like your sass, Miss Carpenter.”

“You bring out the best of me,” she drawled.

He snickered at the aforementioned sass and glanced around the room. “How much longer do you think this will take?”

“Probably a very long time. I hope.”

“What is it about women and clothing? It doesn’t take me hours to buy what I need.”

“We have taste.” She tipped back her glass and swallowed every last drop.

He waited until she moved the glass from her lips and then snatched it. “Speaking of taste, you’ve had enough.”

Her eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead. “You cut me off and I’ll shop for you.”

“One more.”

“Maybe.” She grinned and signaled for yet another beverage.

Alex glared at Ryker as she paid for her merchandise and then grabbed Marnie’s arm as they left the store. “How much wine did you let her drink?”

“She had four glasses.”

“Four? Geez, Ryker you two must have had quite a conversation.”

“We did,” Marnie said from beside her. “Ryker doesn’t like to shop.”

Ryker just shook his head and headed for his truck.

“It’s a good thing I kidnapped your keys.” Alex led Marnie to the car, placed her in the passenger seat, rounded the car and settled into the driver’s seat.

“It’s Ryker’s fault,” her friend mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Don’t make me ruin my buzz.”

“You need a nap when we get back to your apartment.”

Marnie snorted. “Nope. I’m going to fix us something for dinner. Then we can play cards or watch a movie.”

“You don’t have to keep me entertained, Marnie.”

“I’m not. It’ll be fun.”

“Fun.”

“Yes, fun. You do remember what
fun
is, don’t you?”

“Of course. I have fun at the DRAMA meetings.”

“That’s not enough, Alex. You need to have fun more than once a week.”

Marnie’s statement echoed in her brain while Alex drove the distance to the apartment. Her friend was absolutely right. She spent way too much time working. In the beginning it had been to build her client base. Then it had become a habit. A habit that she intended to break with one certain person.

She glanced out the car window as she parked in Marnie’s designated space and turned off the ignition.
Speak of the devil.

Parked several spaces down, Jackson left his truck to greet Ryker and gather Intel about the morning’s events. The scowl on his face told him the exchange wasn’t pleasant. A certain amount of fear passed through him as Ryker signaled at Marnie’s car where both women pulled shopping bags from the back seat and then moved to the trunk. He arrived at the same time as Ryker and glanced at the numerous packages on the sidewalk.

“Did you leave something for anyone else?”

Alex shrugged her shoulder, causing her purse to slide down her arm. “Funny.”

“And you were driving because …”

“Speed Racer had a lot of wine during our marathon shopping session,” Ryker answered for her.

“Speed Racer? You mean Marnie?”

“Yes, Marnie,” Ryker continued. “She’s a danger to society. She needs to go to driving school.”

Jackson bit his tongue. He’d never seen Ryker so flustered.

Marnie snatched a couple of bags out his hands. “There’s nothing wrong with the way I drive. Or shop.”

“Really?” Ryker held out his palm to Alex. “Keys.”

She quickly placed them in his hand and shut the trunk.

“I was perfectly happy to offer Alex my expert opinion on her choice of outfits. But, nooo – someone kept buzzing in my ear like a mosquito. The entire time!”

“Ryker?” Alex and Jackson said in unison.

“Yes, Ryker,” Marnie scoffed. “He wouldn’t stop talking.”

When they finally made it to the front door, Ryker inserted the key and turned the knob. “Sonuvabitch.”

“What?” Jackson pressed forward, dropping bags while he pulled his weapon.

“This door wasn’t locked.”

“Yes, it was.” Marnie frowned. “I know I locked it when we left.”

Ryker glared at both women. “Stay here.”

He followed Ryker into the apartment. “I’ll take the right side.”

The other man nodded and took the left.

Jackson kept his gun aimed in front of him, cocked and ready to fire, as he moved first into the spare bedroom. His heart pounded when the afternoon breeze tickled his neck through a baseball-sized hole in the window next to the bed. Careful not to alarm anyone, he checked the closet and then entered the guest bathroom. Dread climbed his spine as he read two messages written in red, bold letters across the mirror.

You can’t hide.

No one is safe.

Quickly he returned to the living room, relieved to see Ryker had completed his patrol as well.

“Clear on this side.”

Ryker nodded. “On this side too. Anything suspicious?”

“Hell yeah.” He signaled all three of them to follow and led them to the bedroom Alex currently called hers.

Alex gasped at the hole in the window. “Vandals?”

“I’m afraid not.” He pointed at a large rock resting on the floor. “Apparently, this was thrown in so the intruder could reach inside. The window latch is undone.”

Alex turned to look around the room. “I don’t think anything’s missing.”

“There’s more.” He led them into the bathroom.

“Spiteful, isn’t she?” Alex leaned against the opposite wall.

Ryker pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll notify the police.”

Marnie paled. “Oh my gawd, Alex! Someone is really trying to kill you!” She began to sway and Ryker’s arm stopped her descent.

“Do you need to sit down?”

“No,” she scoffed, “just be still and let me hang on for a minute.”

Jackson moved his attention back to Alex, his first instinct to fold her in his arms and assure her he would protect her. He knew, however, that would be an insanely bad idea at this point – if he had any hope of winning her trust, he’d have to let her deal with this on her own. For now.

The sound of screaming sirens dragged his attention back to the issue at hand and as soon as officers appeared on the scene, he and Ryker followed them through the apartment and answered questions as best they could.

The girls sat on the sofa while the officers took their statements and crime scene technicians dusted for fingerprints and snapped pictures. Alex looked a little shell-shocked but overall Jackson had to give her credit for maintaining her composure. Until he dropped the next bomb.

“Pack up, ladies. We’re moving you to a secure location.”

“Oh really.”

“Yes.”

“I might be more agreeable if you gave me a little more information, Jackson.”

“Zip it, Alex!” Marnie groaned. “How on Earth do I get myself in the middle of things like this? I try to be good but trouble always finds me.”

Ryker cleared his throat. “You won’t mind staying where we take you.”

“Now, Alex.”

She refused to budge.

“Damn.” Jackson released a heavy sigh. “Alex, would you please pack your things so we can get you the hell out of here?”

With a smirk, she stood and patted his shoulder. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Excruciating,” he mumbled. “Hurry up.” He glanced at Ryker. “What’s your plan?”

“Safe house.”

Jackson nodded.

“Hold on a minute.” He clenched his teeth and waited for Alex’s next ultimatum. “I can’t just disappear. I have court appearances and appointments with clients. I refuse to stop living my life because of some psycho.”

“This psycho will kill you, Alex.” Jackson lost all patience with no chance of recouping even a minute portion. “She will not rest until you’re cold. Now, you have exactly five minutes to pack.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll throw you across my knee and paddle that sweet little ass until you realize how serious I am.” He pinned her with his gaze, daring her to argue.

“You really think—”

“Go, Alex!”

She took only seconds to toss him a menacing glare before she left the room.

“Umm.” Marnie cleared her throat. “Would you like me to pack as well?”

“Yes.” Jackson ran a hand through his hair. “We’ll drop you off at Jake and Bri’s house until we figure out how to safely transport you.”

“Good idea to keep them separated for the time being.” Ryker shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “How do you want to work this?”

“We’ll take Alex tonight. Marnie will be safe with Jake until tomorrow evening.”

“Gotta hand it to you, man.” Ryker exhaled hard. “You’ve got your hands full of woman.”

***

From within the bushes, the action across the street toyed with her emotions. On one hand, she claimed victory. Her warning had obviously served its purpose and she had escaped detection. This plan had been risky from the beginning but had gone off without a hitch.

On the other, she was furious. She had been prepared to make absolutely sure Alex was out of the way for good, but again the conniving witch had managed to escape danger. If only the girls had been home as usual.

As badly as she hated to admit it, taking Alex out would be much more difficult than she thought. She would have to be quite a bit more creative.

Sirens sounded in the calm afternoon and she knew she only had minutes to disappear. Careful not to rustle leaves, she backed out of the bushes and distanced herself from the scene. She glanced down at her feet and again cursed her choice in footwear. Her heels sunk into the soft ground, making rapid progress difficult. With no other choice, she bent to remove each shoe and then looped them over her finger. With four backyards between here and her car, traveling barefoot would be a much better option.

Jackson moved his eyes from left to right and back again in the pitch black night as he scanned the rural blacktop road and negotiated a series of twists and turns that led to the one place he knew would protect Alex. Tucked off the main road and shielded by thick pine trees, the naked eye missed it every time. He just wouldn’t relax until they got there.

He stole a glance at Alex sitting beside him, her hands folded in her lap and her head lowered slightly to peer out her window. “Do you know where you are?”

“Do you?” she countered.

“Absolutely.”

She turned her green gaze on him and even in the dark he intercepted her silent challenge. “Care to share?”

“What’s it worth?”

“Cute.” She shrugged. “I’ll find out sooner or later.”

Her snickered at her nonchalance. “But the suspense is killing you.”

“Not really.”

He reached for her hand and braided their fingers. “Really. That amazing brain of yours is working ninety to nothing.”

“Okay, yes. I’d like to know where you plan to hold me hostage. Especially if you intend to keep me away from civilization.”

“The place is hardly a shack, Alex.” He took one last turn and stopped behind an iron gate. “In fact, we’re here.”

She turned her attention to the front windshield. “Where’s Ryker?”

“Probably already inside.”

“How do you propose we get through the gate?”

He rolled down the window and punched a series of numbers into a green-lit keypad. The gate hummed and then opened. “Like this.”

She settled back against the seat, seemingly pacified for the moment. He took his foot from the brake pedal and inched through the opening at a snail’s pace.

“Is there a speed limit?” she drawled.

He released a hearty laugh. “No. The camera rays are scanning the undercarriage.”

“For what?”

“Bombs. Weapons.” He shrugged. “Anything suspicious.”

The sensor released one final
beep
and the gate closed as he crossed into the perimeter and drove up a slightly elevated driveway. A two-story, gray-stoned colonial stood proud before them.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured as he parked in front, directly behind Ryker’s truck.

“And safe.” He opened his door and climbed out. “Slide over here and I’ll help you down.”

Amazingly, she did so without protest and he lowered her to stand. Maybe he was making some progress.

“I could’ve gotten down by myself.”

And maybe not.

“I know. I just like touching you,” he whispered in her ear.

He reached into the bed of the truck for her bag when Ryker opened the front door of the house and braced himself in the doorway. “Need a forklift?”