On a sudden inspiration, she took her cell phone and called Rosie. She answered on the first ring.
“Hi, girlfriend. What’s up?”
“Rosie?” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. “Rosie, is Dylan in the factory?”
“He just walked in. Do you want me to find him?”
“Yes, please.”
“Hang on.” Rosie said something to someone. Marla couldn’t make out the words, but she got the sense Rosie was walking through the showroom into the factory. “Dylan! Marla Danaher wants to talk to you. He’ll be right here.”
“Hey, babe. What can I do for you?”
To her shock and embarrassment, she was unable to answer.
“Marla? Hello? I think I lost the call.”
“No! Um, Dylan.” She swallowed. “Did I overhear you say Francine was in a blue car the night of my dad’s party?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong? I can tell from your voice that something is wrong.”
She cleared her throat again. “Um, give me a minute.” After a calming breath she said, “I’m at my building, Dwayne left almost an hour ago. I think…I’m not sure, but I think Luke Henry was just here.”
“What did that bastard want?” His voice took on an angry quality that reminded her of Dwayne.
She closed her eyes and took a breath. “I’m not sure it was him, but he threatened me. He told me to stay out of his wife’s business. And something else I won’t repeat.”
“Did he touch you? Are you hurt?”
In the background, Marla heard Rosie say, “What happened, Dyl. Is she okay?”
“He didn’t hurt me! He scared me.”
“She’s not hurt. Where are you, Marla? Are you in a safe place?”
“I locked myself inside Emmaline’s apartment. It’s probably okay for me to leave. I saw a blue car drive away toward Simi.”
“No! You stay right where you are. I’m coming over there. Give me half an hour.” He clicked off.
The phone rang before she had a chance to put it back in her purse. “Hello?”
“Marla, it’s me, Rosie. What happened?”
She dragged herself across the room and slumped into Emmaline’s recliner. Skip jumped to her lap. “I got a scare, but I’m okay. Here’s what happened…”
She told Rosie the whole story including the part she wouldn’t say to Dylan. Rosie insisted on staying on the phone with her until he got there. Talking to her friend calmed her to the point where her breathing went back to normal and tears no longer threatened.
The doorbell buzzed. “Rosie, there’s somebody at the door.”
“Don’t open it until you know who’s there. I’ll stay on the line.”
“Marla, open up, it’s Dwayne and Dylan.”
“Rosie, it’s…”
“I heard. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay, thanks. It was a big help talking to you.”
“Marla!”
“Coming!” She opened the door and in an instant Dwayne had his arms around her.
“Are you okay, honey?”
“I am now.” She rested her forehead against his neck where the pulse in his throat tapped rapidly.
“I’m going to find that sonuvabitch and strangle him with my bare hands.”
A nervous giggle escaped her. “My hero.” She hugged him hard and said, “I don’t want you to kill anybody for me, but I wouldn’t mind if you scared the pee out of him.”
The brothers laughed.
When Dylan’s van pulled into Big D Construction and his brother hailed him, Dwayne knew something was wrong. Heart pounding, he met his brother at the front of the building and prayed that nothing had happened to Amber or their mother.
After Dyl related Marla’s phone call, his vision was blurred by a haze of red rage. The thought of anything bad happening to her was more than he was prepared to consider. “Let’s find them. Enough is enough. I’d like to kick the shit out of both of them.”
He laid a hand on Dwayne’s shoulder. “Me too, but that’s not gonna happen. Marla wasn’t hurt. We’ll take her home, then see if we can find Francine and Luke. Like your lawyer said, your next step is to file a complaint.”
Jaws clenched so tight his teeth ached, Dwayne hadn’t felt this level of tension since his last combat mission in Iraq. “I know, I know. I don’t want to do anything stupid. I’m glad she called you instead of me. God knows what I would have done.”
“She’s a very smart lady.”
“I’m in love with her.” He paced in a circle and clutched the back of his neck. “Francine created this shit storm. I want to be rid of her.” He hadn’t realized his fist was clenched so hard. He deliberately relaxed his hands and flexed his fingers.
“I’ll go inside and tell Slim and Jack that I’ll be out for the rest of the day. Let’s take your van. I haven’t had time to unload my truck.”
“I’ll wait for you out here. I want to call Grace and let her know what’s going on before we go looking for them.”
“I’ll be back in five.” He rushed inside, found his two main guys, and quickly related what he knew. “Jack, call Cluny and give him a head’s up. I want everybody to keep their eyes peeled for Francine and Luke, and let me know the minute they learn anything.”
“We’re on it, Gunny.”
He headed for the door and stopped. “Oh, Slim, would you finish unloading my truck?”
“Yep. Beat it, we’ve got it covered here.”
Now his woman was safely in his arms. She’d never felt so precious to him. “I love you, Danaher.”
“I love you back, Dempsey.” He held her tighter, never wanted to let her go. “I’m taking you and your mutt home.”
“My mutt was eager to attack that snake tattoo on Luke’s neck. I had to hold him back. He’s my brave little protector.”
Dwayne looked Skip in the eye. “That right? Okay then, Private Danaher, I’m giving you a battlefield promotion. You’re now Corporal Danaher. Let’s go.”
Dylan sat behind the wheel, Marla and Skipper in the middle, and Dwayne on the passenger side of the front
