“Okay, buddy, we have it. Thanks,” Toby said.
Anthony looked over at Adam, who had also inserted his earpiece. He’d caught his best friend and deputy’s comment. “One thing you can safely say for every damn one of us Y-chromosome carriers in the family, we’re all of us protective of every one of our womenfolk.”
“That’s a hell of a testament, if you ask me,” Anthony said.
“And I don’t think the women really mind, do they?” Toby held the door, and they left the range area of the complex. They turned left instead of right and headed toward the door to the outside.
Adam turned and gave his cousin a look that could only be termed “piteous.” “Not as long as we remember that they are people in their own right and are entitled to make their own choices,” Adam said at last. “Son, life was hell before Jake and I figured that one out. So consider yourselves the recipients of a few free words from the wise.”
Anthony grinned, because he’d heard Adam and Jake’s account of wooing their Ginny. And because his main focus was listening to his woman, he said, “Sounds like your mom and Grandma Kate are leaving.” He could easily envision the scene. “I guess that makes our timing on finishing here damn near perfect.”
Adam grinned. “Lucky bastards. I still have a few hours until I can head for home.”
Anthony didn’t say what he was thinking. He looked over at Toby, whose wry grimace said it all. They weren’t as lucky as Adam surmised, and wouldn’t be in the foreseeable future. Mary refused to get intimate as long as those listening devices in the house were turned on—and they were never turned off.
They’d even tried to coax her outside for a little moonlit naked rumba, but that hadn’t worked too well for them, either.
It wasn’t just that they wanted to make love to her. They were aching to propose to her, and yes, they wanted to be completely private when they did so.
Toby opened the door to the outside. “Yeah, we’re lucky bastards all right.”
“I thought those old bags would never leave.”
Anthony jerked to a stop. His gaze shot to Toby and then Adam.
“Fuck, that’s Joey’s voice.” Toby’s certainty kicked them into gear. They began to jog.
“Why don’t you pick up your cell phone off the table there and invite your lover Toby to our little party?”
“Why don’t you stop waving that gun around like it’s a pointer. Guns make me very nervous.”
“This gun is going to do more than make you nervous if you don’t get calling.”
“Okay, Okay. I’m calling. But I don’t know if I can reach him. He said something about being in a meeting this afternoon.”
Toby stopped and yanked out his phone and turned it off.
Adam directed him over to his cruiser. “Smart woman,” Adam said. “Buying us some time.”
“The smartest,” Anthony said. While Adam took his phone out and began calling their backup, Anthony focused on what he could hear from the surveillance equipment they had installed in Mary’s small house.
“Do you want to sit down? You don’t look so good.”
“You wouldn’t either if you’d been camped out in the fields for a couple of days.” Joey coughed, a dry, irritated-throat kind of sound. “I thought Texas was hot, but I can’t get fucking warm.”
“Hey, Toby, it’s me. Call as soon as you get this, please.”
“Yeah, he’s at the house right now.” Adam lifted his phone away from his mouth. “Do we know exactly where they are, in the house?”
“Probably the kitchen,” Anthony said. Toby motioned for him to ride shotgun. Adam finished up his call and got behind the wheel.
“Mel and his team are meeting us at the corner,” he said. “We can figure out our approach then.”
“You know, them in the kitchen would be the second-best place for us,” Toby said. “Living room would be best, strategically.”
“He likely got in by jimmying the patio door in the bedroom,” Anthony said.
“That’s what I figured, too.” Toby’s words, low and quiet, told him where his partner’s head was right then.
They were both mentally with Mary, praying she’d be all right. So far, she’d handled herself like a pro.
It didn’t take Adam long to get them into town. He parked on Main, well out of sight of the house. Connor and Mel were there, as was April Jessop. All three were armed and looked exactly like what they were. A team of professionals more than capable of carrying out this rescue.
Rescue. It was the hardest thing Anthony had ever done, shutting down his mind from dwelling on the fact it was their woman they were about to rescue.
“Listen, I’ve been sitting on this hard kitchen chair for hours, and my back is killing me. Can we go into the living room? I’m sure it won’t be long before Toby calls. And hey! You look like you could use some sweet tea. I have some right here on the counter. I’ll pour us a couple of glasses, okay?”
“Yeah, all right. No funny business. My gun’s trained on you, and I will pull this trigger. Ol’ Toby’s got himself a whiny woman.” He tried to chuckle but coughed instead. The coughing subsided, but his breathing sounded rough. “Looks good on him.”
Anthony looked at Toby. At first, he thought that Mary was just trying to maneuver Joey into a better position for them to take the bastard out. And she was, but he had the strong sense she was doing more than that. He thought back on the conversation he’d been listening to over the last few minutes.
“Hold up.” Anthony looked over at the four who were ready to lay it all on the line for his woman. Then he turned back to Toby. “What’s she been telling us?”
“I thought her chatter had just been that, chatter,” Adam said.
“Not Mary,” Toby said. Anthony could see he was thinking. “She knows we’re listening. She told me to duck her call to give us time,
