His father’s truck made a right turn into a Braum’s parking lot, and Rafe pointed toward the stolen car, and then toward the inside of the ice cream store. Stewart sat at one of the little tables with Jamie, a cup of ice cream sitting in front of her. He continued through the parking lot toward a sandwich shop a couple of storefronts over, and parked in front of it. Douglas climbed out of his car, and headed inside, straight for Evan’s table.
“Here we go.” Rafe laid his cell phone on his lap. Douglas had the cell phone Evan gave him in his hand, but his personal cell was in his jacket pocket, already on speaker. Their end was muted, so Evan wouldn’t accidentally hear anything from their end, but they’d be able to hear every word. Antonio had wanted to wire Douglas, but everyone agreed Evan might ask Douglas to prove he wasn’t wearing a wire. This was their next best option on such short notice.
“Hey, Jamie.” Douglas squatted down beside her, ruffling his hand through her hair, and Brody felt a clenching sensation in the middle of his chest. He adored that little girl. If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.
“Mr. Douglas!” Jamie wrapped her arms around Douglas’ neck. “Did you come to take me home? I wanna see Mommy.”
“You’re gonna be going home in a minute, sweet pea. I need to talk to your Daddy for a few minutes, okay?” He pointed to a table beside the one where Evan and Douglas were sitting. “It’s grown-up talk, so we’re going to sit right over here. You eat your ice cream.”
“We can stay right here,” Evan started saying, but Douglas cut him off.
“She doesn’t need to hear this. She’ll be fine, right where she is. You’ll be watching her the entire time. Not like I’m going to try to pull anything. Not while you’re holding all the cards.”
“Fine. Where’s your laptop?” Evan scowled clear enough Brody could see it through the plate glass window. “You need to wire the money into my account.”
“Not until Jamie is safe and away from all this. That was the deal.”
“Deals change. You wire the money first.”
“Not gonna happen, Stewart. You want the million, Jamie goes free.”
Evan’s eyes widened and he looked around frantically. “I told you to come alone!”
“Calm down. I didn’t bring anybody. I followed your instructions to the letter. But I can call my son, and he’ll come pick Jamie up and leave. Then you’ll get your money. Plus, I’ll add in a bonus. I’ve got a private plane on speed dial. It’s already fueled and waiting. Twenty minutes away from here, with a pilot standing by. He’ll fly you anywhere you want to go, no strings attached. Think about it, Stewart. Your only problem will be deciding where you want to spend your million dollars.”
Brody choked on the breath he’d been holding. What game was his father playing? They didn’t have a plane, much less one on standby. He looked at Rafe, who shrugged. Guess he was clueless, too.
“Which one?” Evan’s voice came through the phone, drawing them back to the situation unfolding inside the ice cream shop.
“Which one what?”
“Which son are you going to call?”
“Does it matter?” Douglas’ voice sounded so nonchalant, you’d never know the man was in the middle of a hostage situation involving an almost four-year-old little girl. His dad really had nerves of steel.
“Can’t be that lousy sheriff. He’d try to pull a fast one, and take me in. I’m not going back to jail.” Evan paused for a moment and then laughed, the sound sending a chill up Brody’s spine. “Make it Brody. I heard he’s been sniffing around my wife. Maybe we should have a little chat before I leave the country. Besides, I owe him for pulling a shotgun on me.”
Douglas held up the cell phone not currently in use, wiggling it in front of Evan. “I’m going to call him now. I’ll put it on speaker so you can hear the whole thing, and know this isn’t a set-up. I simply want Jamie safe and returned to her mother.”
“Call him, but no funny business, or me and the brat will be gone, and you’ll never find us, I swear.”
The phone rang, and Brody answered on the first ring. “Dad, what’s happening? Did you find Stewart? Is Jamie okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m with them now. Jamie’s eating ice cream, and Stewart and I have come to an understanding. How far are you from Williamson County?”
“Roughly fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.”
“Head up I-45 north. I’ll text you directions. Follow them exactly.”
“Tell him not to bring anybody with him, or we’re outta here.”
“I know what to do. Dad, be careful, I don’t trust Stewart.”
He heard Stewart’s bark of laughter. “Like I trust you, either.”
Brody ignored the other man’s taunt. “I’ll be there as fast as I can, Dad.”
He disconnected the line, turning to Rafe. “Alright, here’s what I think we should do.” Ignoring his brother’s smirk, he continued, “You head to the back door, and see if you can get in the employee loading area. That way, you’re inside in case things turn ugly. I’ll pull around the building and come in from the street side, so Stewart doesn’t know we’re already here. Once I’ve got Jamie clear of the building, you and Dad take Stewart down.”
He watched Rafe’s face as he mulled over the plan. “I think it’ll work. Drop me off around back, and make sure I get inside before you pull off.”
Brody started the car and drove around the small row of shops, and pulled to a stop behind the Braum’s. Before getting out of the car, Rafe unbuckled his ankle holster and handed it to Brody. “Just in case.”
Brody silently eyed the gun before reluctantly taking it. “I don’t want to use this.”
“I know, but I don’t trust Stewart not to try and pull a fast one. Once you have Jamie, take her to Beth.” He knew
