Cain, soon on the phone in the bunkhouse with her bar manager, ignored all the eyes looking at her as if she had lost her mind and forgotten they weren’t the only ones listening. “Bryce, get in touch with our friend right now. Tell him I’ll make it worth his while to meet me before I go home.” She looked at the tag on the phone and gave Bryce the number he would need later.
“Cain?” Merrick put her hand on Cain’s back, surprised at how cold it felt.
“Go back to bed, guys. I’ve got things to do.” It was a clear dismissal and they all tried to comply, giving Cain some space. “Hayden.”
He opened his eyes and sat up with no further prompting.
“Stay in sight of the guys and Merrick. I’ll be back by morning.”
“Do you want some company?” Hayden wished for the day Cain would say yes to the question, but her shaking head meant it wouldn’t be today.
“I won’t be long. Remember, nowhere tonight alone.”
“I promise, Mom.”
Cain pulled him close and hugged him longer than normal. She had planned this scenario before she left New Orleans, thinking she would drag it out a little just for the entertainment value, but now her anger was fueling the timetable. She didn’t worry it would make her sloppy. Kyle would never get that lucky. She wanted to flush the rats out of their holes and discover which of her enemies were helping Kyle set his trap.
“Should I go start the car?” Merrick tried again, hoping Cain would at least take her.
“I’ll be fine, and I need you here looking out for Hayden.” Cain finished pulling on her boots and reached for her coat. She kissed Merrick’s forehead once she was dressed and walked out.
When the door slammed shut, Merrick put her finger to her lips so no one would say anything. The federal agents who had enhanced the room didn’t need to know none of them knew what Cain was up to.
Outside, Cain pulled a satellite phone from a bag in the car and punched in a number. “You in?”
“When and where?” the male voice asked.
“Four hours, and you know where.”
When Cain slammed the vehicle door like she had the door to the bunkhouse and started the engine, Emma ran back to the window at the sound.
In the back room of the barn’s loft, Kyle pumped his fist and whispered, “Yes.”
Cain’s Suburban was on the road for less than two minutes before it had company. In no real hurry she drove the speed limit and relaxed back into the leather seat. If Bryce did his job, losing the Ford behind her wasn’t going to be a problem. A faint chirp from beside her drew her attention from the road for a second as she glanced to see who was calling.
“Mission accomplished, boss. I’m guessing your package will arrive in about three and a half hours, depending on the weather and tailwinds.”
“Thanks, Bryce. I’ll call back if I need you.” Cain drove past the city limit sign and put her traffic signal on to pull in to Ray’s feed store lot, where one of the delivery boys who had brought Ross’s order sat on the steps waiting for her.
Cain waved to him and pulled an envelope out of the glove compartment before hopping out. “Make sure Roy gets this, and here’s something for your trouble.” Cain handed him the envelope and a twenty-dollar bill.
“No problem. Do you think this will make much of a mess?” The young man looked like he dreaded the amount of sweeping in his future.
“If you let me out back it shouldn’t be too bad.” Cain followed him through the store to a large fenced area. A large quantity of farm equipment and parts was neatly stacked throughout the yard, but back by the delivery trucks was all the room she needed for her ride. She handed the kid another twenty to appease him about the dust and studied the north for what Bryce had ordered.
Special Agents Joe Simmons and Anthony Curtis both started cursing when they saw the approaching helicopter. Kyle hadn’t planned for this type of contingency.
Curtis reached for the phone and pressed speed dial to the boss.
“Gentlemen, this better be good.” Kyle’s voice filled the inside of the car, and from the sound of it, he wasn’t too appreciative of the wake-up call.
They knew their boss well enough to realize that after Cain had left, he had gone to bed to rest up for any media appearances he would be making in the morning, if the night panned out like he planned.
“Is Casey in town having a cup of coffee and you got bored, maybe?”
“The cafe closes at nine o’clock, sir, and Ms. Casey isn’t looking for a midnight snack. She’s catching a flight somewhere.”
“She headed for the airport, and you just now felt we needed an update of her whereabouts?”
Joe was busy looking for a volume control, and Anthony rolled his eyes and secretly cheered Cain on. It surprised neither of the young officers that Cain had proved too much for Kyle over the years.
“Sir, we’re half a block from the feed store, watching her get on a helicopter. We thought you should make the call to track where she’s going, if it can be done.” When Anthony finished, a dial tone replaced the bellowing from the other end.
*
The pilot headed south, trying to keep his eyes on his instrument panel and not his quiet passenger. Their destination was a small airstrip right on the other side of the Illinois state line, which was all the information the man who had hired him said he needed.
When they landed, Cain sat with her eyes closed, obviously trying to ignore the cold weather that the cockpit didn’t protect them from, and didn’t open them until the whine of the arriving Lear engines came to a stop about forty feet from where the helicopter sat idle.
