Upper Hand (Cedar Tree Book 5) (32 page)

“A pain in my ass is what she is. Doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘I’m not interested,’ and has her eyes set on one or the other Mason brother. Been there, done that, and have the T-shirt.”

Joe hisses between his teeth. “Sounds like a story.”

“It is. It’s a long and complicated one, but it’s done. One day over a beer, maybe.”

“Fair enough.” Joe, good guy that he is, drags my thoughts back to where they should be. “Besides, you’ve got Beth. Nothing like the love of a good woman to put shit in perspective.”

“You’ve got that right.”

We say nothing more until we pull into Sarah’s drive. She’s already standing on the porch, waiting with a big smile on her painted face. Dressed to the fucking gills in a skin tight dress that leaves nothing to the imagination, since her tits are spilling out the top, and the bottom barely covers her crotch.

“Fuck me sideways,” I curse, as Joe says, “Holy shit,” at the same time.

“Probably should come in with me. Don’t trust the bitch.”

“I’m thinking not a bad idea. No worries, I’ve got your back,” Joe mutters, getting out of the truck.

-

-

A
fter Clint kissed me goodbye, thoroughly and not caring about Neil and Joe watching, he took off with Joe taking my place in the passenger seat. Off to see to a leak. Whatever. I turn, smile up at Neil and slip my arm through his.

“Walk me inside, handsome?”

He does as I ask, despite my attempt to lighten the heavy pall hanging over us and the resulting small lift of the corner of his mouth, Neil is all business. Which in turn makes me all antsy. There’s something in the air.

“Hey.”

“Hey. You’re looking a bit better. But we seriously have to find some better places to meet. You guys get a family discount or something?” I joke, earning a smile from Jed.

“Surprised to see you without my brother attached to your side. Where is he?”

“Had to go see to a leak,” I smile when I see Jed pull up an eyebrow, “at your favorite customer’s home.” A laugh bubbles up when I see Jed’s face go from questioning to confused, finally twisting in a look of utter disgust.

“Sarah Creemore? Holy shit, I hope he brought some reinforcement because that woman’s like a piranha. She’s gonna chew him up.”

“No worries. He’s got Joe with him for muscle.” I snicker at the thought of a bunch of big, brawny, grown men shivering over some woman. “I’ve got Neil. He got Joe.”

“Things coming to a head?” Jed wants to know, his expression one of concern now.

“I don’t know. There’s something oppressive in the air though, but that could just be my imagination. Ready for this to be over. I miss my babies.”

“Still nothing on Dylan?”

“Not even a hint. But Gus had a theory that he shared with Clint yesterday. Says if anything really bad had happened to him, we’d likely have found him by now. He thinks Dylan had help from someone to stay out of sight.”

“You don’t say?” Jed covers his mouth when a big yawn escapes on the last word.

“Why don’t you grab a nap? I’ll go see about something to eat. It’s coming on lunchtime. Can I bring you something back?”

“Maybe I will, didn’t sleep a lot last night. Don’t need anything from the caf though. I’m still on restricted diet,” he reminds me.

“Shit. Sorry, totally forgot about that. Anyway, just rest. I’ll be back in a bit.”

I find Neil chatting in the hallway, a little ways down, with one of Drew’s deputies. Just as Gus has had someone cover Clint and me at all times, turns out Drew has made sure someone had an eye on Jed in the hospital. Neil’s eyes turn to me when he sees me walking up to them.

“Jed’s having a nap. I’m gonna see if I can grab something at the cafeteria. You guys want something?”

“I’m good, thanks,” the deputy says, but Neil pushes away from the wall and grabs my hand to pull it through his arm.

“I’m coming with,” he states, marching us down the hall.

It’s busy inside the hospital cafeteria. Seems we’ve just caught a shift change or something, because most of the crowd is hospital staff by the looks of it. I grab yogurt and a muffin, just something to tide me over until Clint gets back, and shuffle in the line to the cash register. Once I paid—something Neil made me fight over—I walk away with the win and out the door, when his phone rings. He stops in the hallway to answer it and I keep going toward Jed’s door, giving Neil some privacy. The deputy must’ve gone for a bathroom break or something because his chair is empty when I pass it to go into Jed’s room.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I can come back later,” I mumble when I find a male nurse bent over Jed’s IV line. He turns to me and smiles.

“No worries, I’m just giving him the last of his intravenous antibiotics.”

Jed still appears to be sleeping, since he’s not reacting, but a small niggle of worry has me walk over to the bed and lean over him.

“Jed?” I barely get his name out before an arm slips tight around my neck, and I feel the pinch of a needle at my neck. Then the world turns black.

-

-

“J
esus that woman is something else.”

“Jed calls her a piranha, but she’s more like an octopus to me,” I tell Joe, who’s still shaking his head, after we finally manage to get away from the Creemore woman. She’d been completely in my space at every damn turn. Going so far as to step over me as I’m on my belly with my head in the vanity to tighten up the connections that were loose, giving me a full view of her very bare pussy under the much too tight dress she was wearing. Not adverse to exposed pussy normally, this woman’s wares are not a turn on. Not when basically stuck in my face. Fuck. That shit makes me feel almost violated.

She wasn’t too happy when I asked her, barely hanging on to my temper, to move her ass out of the way so I could get up. Next thing you know, she turns to Joe, rubbing her tits against his arm. By the look of revulsion on his face, he’s no more welcoming to her attention as I was. Christ what a morning.

“Figure she loosened that shit herself?” Joe asks.

“Wouldn’t put it past her. Glad I had you there. Figure it kept her from literally throwing herself at me. Although, judging from what almost looked like a vertical lap dance she treated you with, she’s an equal opportunity man-eater.” An involuntary shiver runs through me.

“Don’t say it often, but that chick needs to get laid in the worst possible way, but I pity the man who steps up to the task.” Joe does his own light shake of the shoulders.

We’re on our way back to the hospital, to check on Jed and hook up with Beth, when Joe’s phone rings. Just as I hear him swear loudly, I have to slam on my brakes when I turn the corner onto the hospital parking lot. A Healthcare Laundry van comes tearing out of the loading dock, barely missing my front fender. When I look back at the loading dock where it came from, I see Neil jumping down the platform and running for his ride.

“Go after it!” Joe yells from beside me, pointing at the van that’s now turning right onto North Mildred Road, barreling toward the 160. Takes only a second for me to react, but then I have both hands on the wheel and my foot all the way down on the gas, tearing out of the parking lot.

“Putting you on speaker phone,” I hear Joe say, and then Gus’s voice sounds clear in the cab of the truck, freezing the blood in my veins.

“Clint, buddy. Beth’s in that van. Someone got to Beth from inside Jed’s room. Neil was in the hallway, saw a hospital employee come out the door with a laundry cart. He checked the room, found Beth gone and took off after the guy with the cart, only to see them load it in the van and take off. Keep a cool head and listen to Joe.”

“Beth...” is the only thing I manage to get out of my mouth.

“We’ll get her,” Gus says firmly.

“But—“ I try again, but he cuts me off.

“No buts. We’ll
get
her. Now focus on driving. Neil’s behind you, he may slip in front, given the chance, and you’re gonna let him. Get me?” Gus’s tone demands a confirmation, so I give it to him.

“I got you.”

“Good, leave the line open, Joe, and give me play by play.”

“Will do. Coming up behind him at the intersection with the 160, and he just got through in easterly direction. I repeat, he’s on the 160 in the direction of Mancos.” To me he says, “Get behind him. Now.”

Disregarding all other traffic, I plow into the intersection and with the sounds of screeching tires all around me, I manage to turn left in pursuit.

“Fuck. Please tell me I didn’t leave a massive accident behind,” I tell Joe, who briefly looks over his shoulder.

“Doesn’t look like it, although some may have shit their pants and will need their cars detailed. Quite the maneuver there, Clint,” Joe says, a hint of appreciation in his tone.

“Good man,” comes Gus’s mumble over the phone, but I barely hear anything right now, I’m so focused on the van’s back doors.

“Once out of city limits, Neil’s planning to come around you and you’ll try to box him in. Take his lead. Got a gun?” Gus wants to know.

“Glove compartment.”

Joe fumbles around and comes up with my weapon, checking it for ammunition. Should be loaded, which is how I’ve had it the last while.

“Ready and loaded,” he reports to Gus.

“They’re gonna come up shooting, I’m sure. At least two in the van. Driver and the guy in scrubs. Be prepared.”

Joe puts my gun on my leg and checks his own, pulled from a shoulder holster under his jacket.

The van is weaving in and out of traffic, and I do my best to stick close. I’m pretty positive they know they’re being followed, and I’m wondering what they’re leading us into.

“Keep an eye out. We’re approaching Denny Park, once past there, I’m thinking Neil will make his move,” Joe points out, but Gus comes with some new information.

“Actually, I’ve signed into the tracking software Neil’s installed, and Beth’s bleep is moving. I’m thinking they took her purse with them, or she had her phone in her pocket. I suggest you drop back a little, let them think they have a chance at dodging you. Then when their guard is down, we can go in and have surprise on our side. I’d much rather that than a shootout.”

“Gotcha,” I tell him, easing back on the gas to let them get ahead some. It goes against the grain, not racing after them to grab my woman back, but it makes me feel a hair better that Gus has a bead on her whereabouts. I’m not an idiot, I know my friends have the experience and know-how to deal with a situation like this, where I don’t. I’m simply ruled by the basic need to protect her, but given the nature of the adversary we face, my instincts will not likely be a match for Jablonski’s ruthless cunning. At least that’s who I assume has her.

“They’re turning right. There’s an access road to a KOA camp on the south side of the park. They’ve taken that. Pull over and wait for Neil to take lead.”

Biting down my frustration at taking a backseat, I nevertheless roll onto the shoulder of the road, waiting for Neil, who’s three cars behind me, to pull ahead. The instant he passes, my foot is back on the gas, and I’m hugging his bumper. I’ll let him go ahead, but I’m not about to let him get far.

“Camp would be closed this time of year, right?” I throw out, wondering out loud.

“Open May through end of October, so yeah—it’s shut down. No one should be there. Hang on one sec, Damien is on the other line.” I hear Gus’s voice in the background as I turn behind Neil’s truck onto a gravel path that runs into the trees. Through the open line I can hear Gus’s conversation get heated.

“Like hell I’m standing down—You’re playing with lives here, Damien—I don’t give a flying fuck about your men needing time to set up a takedown, this gets done now. Not gonna wait around for you guys to pull your heads out of your collective asses—“

I can only hear Gus’s side of the conversation when Neil pulls off to the side of the road and stops. I have no choice but to pull over behind him. Then Gus starts speaking again and the tone of his voice has turned dangerous.

“Say what? You’d better be fucking joking, because if I find out you’ve been playing us—not to mention used the woman they now have their hands on—to make your case for you, I’m gonna rip your fucking head off and shove it up your ass. Where it belongs.” A bang and a series of colorful swearwords later, Gus’s voice comes through clear.