Greg was long gone. Jenny guessed he was recuperating in a hospital from the concussion, the gash on his head and his damaged throat.
A new third guy had been brought in to replace Greg, name of Rob. A carbon copy of the others – tough-looking, competent, disciplined.
Normally, all this would have been no problem for Hugh. But these guys were not taking any chances this time. They were gunned up.
“Listen, guys,” Jenny said. “I’m serious. If you let me go now, I’ll try to persuade Hugh not to kill you.” This was the third time she had made this offer.
“Why don’t you shut it little girl,” Rob said. “We’re tired of hearing that.” Rob was full of confidence and bluster because he hadn’t yet encountered Hugh or Jenny in action like the other two had.
“Look. Honestly. I’ve seen enough blood, and I’m telling you your futures look pretty bleak right now. It really is a huge mistake to mess with my man.”
Rob walked over to the mattress and slapped Jenny hard across her face.
“Rob!” William yelled. “Do not do that again! Ever!”
“Sorry, boss. She gets on my nerves with all her talk about superman trucker.”
“Deal with it. It will all be over soon.”
William had received a text from Frank saying everything looked good for tomorrow. He had responded with the same message.
Later that night, William and Kent had gone into separate bedrooms to go to bed. Jenny knew that William had checked in with somebody earlier, because he had told the others everything was still good.
She lay on the mattress on the living room floor, where Rob was supposed to be watching over her. He sat in an easy chair, trying, and losing, the battle to stay awake, being lulled into sleepiness by the quietness of the room.
The quiet was broken by the front door opening with a crash. It had been torn off its hinges and thrown violently inward.
In the half-darkness, Jenny could see numerous figures stream in through the ruined doorway. They were being led not by Hugh, as Jenny had expected, but by Roc.
“Roc!” she yelled. “Over here!”
Roc ran over to where Jenny struggled to get up.
Rob had been put down immediately, having been taken completely by surprise with the crashing of the door.
William and Kent ran out of their rooms, handguns pointed at the intruders. They immediately sprang into action, separated, and took crouched positions. But the rescuers were expecting them, and were quicker getting their shots off.
Kent took a fatal round to the head, and he was down.
A half-dozen shotguns blasted at once, and William folded double before collapsing to the floor.
“Collect their phones, boys,” Roc ordered.
“I’m glad you came armed,” Jenny said to Roc. She was rubbing her sore wrists and ankles.
“Would you expect anything less?” Roc said, laughing.
Jenny walked over to where Rob lay crumpled on the floor. “He didn’t make it,” one of the guys said. He made the thumbs down gesture.
Then she stood over Kent. Obviously a fatal wound.
When she walked over to where William lay she saw he was being zip tied and gagged with duct tape, but not a drop of blood could be seen on him.
“Bean bag rounds,” Roc said. “They are painful and will leave bruises, but they’re not fatal … unfortunately.”
“Why?”
“Your old man’s idea. He needs him alive.”
Typical Hugh, Jenny thought.
“Speaking of Hugh, where is he?”
“You’ll see him pretty soon. But first we need to clear out of here in case somebody has heard the shooting, and has called the cops.”
They left Kent’s and Rob’s bodies stay where they lay, and Roc led Jenny out to a van parked on the street. The gang’s motorcycles were parked farther down the block for a silent approach.
Roc opened the passenger door for Jenny, and then let himself in through the sliding door into the cargo area. Jenny looked back into the van and saw three guys sitting on the van floor propped against the sidewalls. They were zip tied, hands and feet, and had duct tape across their mouths. They looked completely miserable.
Roc caught Jenny’s quizzical look.
“We’ve been busy.”
“Hugh again?”
“Yup.”
A couple of the guys tossed William roughly into the van, jumped in, closed the door, and then they drove off.
Roc sorted through the cell phones collected from Jenny’s kidnappers. When he found the one he wanted, he grabbed William by the back of his head and forced his face in front of his phone.
“Open your eyes, you fuck,” Roc ordered.
So much for retinal security, Jenny thought.
It took Roc only a minute to find on William’s cell phone what he was looking for. He gave the driver an address, also in Scottsdale.
“We’ve got one more stop to make, and then we’ll take you to your old man.”
At Frank Rico’s residence, two guys jumped out of the van. “Don’t forget his cell phone,” Roc yelled out at them as they ran to the house.
Seeing Jenny’s quizzical look again, Roc said, “One last piece of the puzzle before the big showdown tomorrow.”
The side door to the van slid open again, and another bound and gagged body was tossed in among the others. It was getting crowded.
Jenny looked back at the men in the van. She caught William staring at her.
“I warned you,” she said. “I told you not to mess with my man, and gave you plenty of chances.” Then she shrugged her shoulders and looked forward again.
Chapter Forty
It was near midnight, and Hugh was trying to relax in his sleeper, anxious to hear how the events of the evening had played out.
“A van is
