“Okay, let’s finish this road trip.” Ian turned and shot her a grin. “Well, if we thought to get ourselves into a spooked-out state of mind before touring ancient caves, we’d have been able to claim a rousing success.”
Alice laughed. One of the things she really loved about Ian was his ability to, after a few moments to get his bearings, simply go with the flow.
“We’ll have to try to find a way to judge if the added mental preparation is a good thing, or not.”
Ian checked his mirrors then moved the truck back onto the road. He kept the speed down and appeared to be taking in the view.
She approved of the added few minutes that the lower speed gave them all to get over their self-imposed scare. It really is pretty country here. She’d had a totally different picture of Texas before she’d visited that first time. She was beginning to see that this was a very diverse state when it came to topography and the flora and the fauna.
Their destination surprised her a little. On a flat stretch between two hillocks, Davidson’s Digs was announced by a sign. The small parking area wouldn’t hold many cars, but Alice noted there was room to expand. There was a house-slash-store that announced, “sundries and souvenirs.” They all got out of the SUV and stretched their legs.
“Looks like Davidson is eager to get started,” Ken said.
Alice turned her attention to where Ken was looking. Before them, the black maw of a cave beckoned. A gate that, when closed, would cover the whole entrance stood open, and just inside the blackness but clearly visible, a middle-aged man stood, waving.
“Well,” Ian said, “this would normally be his day off. Maybe he has plans. Let’s go greet our host.”
They headed over, Ian holding her right hand and Ken walking on her left. As they drew near, she wondered why Mr. Davidson looked so…off.
Then a man stepped forward, one hand on David’s shoulder and the other clutching a gun.
“So glad you could join us. Drop your cell phones and your weapons and come inside—but move very, very slowly.” And then he moved, changing his target from Davidson to them.
“Baker! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s called payback, asshole. Now do as you’re told, or the woman will be the first to die.”
Chapter Nineteen
Now she knew why the loser in the blue suit and green cap had bothered her. Her subconscious must have realized who he was. A fat lot of good that does us now. Alice felt her men tense beside her and would have put herself between them and Owen Baker, except that their hold on her was absolute.
And then, in a blink of an eye, her men moved, and she found herself behind them, totally blocked from seeing what was going on—and totally blocked from Baker’s sight, too. Alice wasn’t stupid, and she didn’t hesitate. Moving quickly, she pulled her new cell phone out of her pocket and hit what the kids in Lusty called the “panic button.”
She felt the single vibration in response—a signal that help would be on the way—and then she slid her phone back into her pocket again.
“Have it your way, then. I’ll just kill the old guy, here, instead.”
“No!” Alice pushed her way between her men so that she stood between Ian and Ken. “It’s all going to be all right if we all just take a deep breath and relax a little,” she said to Ken. Then she looked at Ian, and he gave her a slight nod.
“Looks like she’s got more sense than the two of you combined.” Baker actually sneered.
Alice instantly detested the man, but she was willing to concede that reaction likely was entirely subjective.
“And a ton more than you, too, apparently,” Alice said. “How do you think that you’re going to get away with whatever you have in mind to do?”
“Oh, I’ll get away with it, all right. I did my research, and I finally figured out why you two damn Kendalls weren’t arrested for arson. How you’ve been able to do every damn thing, like cheat me out of my legacy and how the courts seem to think the sun rises and sets on your assholes. Family money covers a lot of sins, doesn’t it, Kendall? Let’s just see how much the good old family is willing to part with to save your lives, shall we?”
“Are you talking to me?” Ken asked. “Or Ian? Be specific, man. How can we respond if we don’t know who you’re talking to?”
“Actually, the reason they weren’t arrested for the arson was because their newly installed security cameras revealed a single perpetrator of the crime, not two as the so-called anonymous tipster claimed. Some low-life carrying a gas can jimmied the back door. And at the time of the crime—again, neatly and legally documented by those cameras—these fine gentlemen weren’t even in the area. Poor planning on your part, I’d say.”
“Now baby, don’t anger the man. Look, see? He has a gun!”
Something in Ian’s tone alerted her. So she did look, and she did see, and for a fraction of a second, she felt maybe a smidge of pity for the man who held them all at bay. “You’re right. I see it. That is a very dangerous combination,” Alice said. “A man with a gun and no brain.”
I should probably just shut up. Alice realized in a part of her own brain that she really should not work on getting this man all pissed off. Ian had a point. Baker did have a gun.
It’s kind of odd my men aren’t freaking out about my mouth.
Alice inhaled deeply. They really are willing to take me just as I am, period. Inside, her heart was smiling. She kept her mouth shut and her gaze fixed on Owen Baker. His emotions chased themselves
