“Possibly, but not too far out. It’s quiet here. Dante knows how to shut himself down, so there’s just me and the gulls. But I’m more likely to pick up the vibrations of the driver or whoever is with them. Kids need sleep.”
Evie prayed they were just sleeping. “All right. KK is still with me but she’s not connecting. We should be there in less than half an hour. How’s Dante holding up?”
“Not well. He’s out limping up and down the marina. I assume he’s hoping he’ll recognize whatever it is he feels when he touches things, but it’s not as if he knows Matt or Rhonda or any of them well enough to recognize their vibrations or whatever.”
“All right. Don’t let him do anything foolish until we’re there to fish him out of the water.” Evie punched off and turned onto the highway leading through town and to the island.
She couldn’t call Jax on his motorcycle. Not hearing his calm logic made the drive lonely and just a little scary. Which gave her too much time to build up her terror of what could be happening with those poor babies. She refused to play the blame game, but if even she felt guilty for not keeping a closer eye on the kids...Pris and Dante had to be writhing in abject misery.
Because of some murderous bastard who thought two innocents might stand between him and what? It was always money. Children were more about control than passion, normally—unless Lucia was behind this. Evie had good reason to be certain she wasn’t—and a dead Lucia had to be the clue to it all.
Please, let the twins be sleeping and not afraid.
The streets were quiet as she rolled into town. Breaking the speed limit only meant catching more red lights, so she paced herself on the green...and was rewarded with the sight of a large black car with a long band of shiny taillights stopped at the next intersection. She hit the phone and notified Rube so he could ping everyone else.
She didn’t know if the police would respond. Stopping fancy cars not breaking any law was probably iffy. It wasn’t as if they had a license plate or even a model for the kidnap vehicle.
The road was empty enough that she could stay a quarter mile behind, allowing work trucks and evening revelers to slip in and out between her little Subaru and the limo. Not until they were out of town and on the way through the silent island did she feel conspicuous.
A Harley roared up behind her, then sped past. Evie almost dissolved in relief. With a wave, Jax raced the bike ahead of the limo. He knew the routes to all the marinas. His adoptive father had owned a yacht.
Reuben phoned in again. “Pris reporting a BMW parking in the lot. I ran the plates, but it’s a rental. I’ll dig into the rental records next, but you may have company.”
“Matt and Rhonda aren’t that far away. They had plenty of time to drive here if Vincent called them.” Evie’s stomach ground in anxiety. “For all I know, Nick Gladwell is here too.”
“It’s out of Troy’s district, but the sheriff is calling in favors, trying to get people out there. Try not to hassle any cops if they show up.” With his usual lack of farewell, Rube hung up.
The anarchic engineer actually working with the authorities...Not a complete stretch. Unlike Roark, Reuben had a proper middle class upbringing. Joining the military may have paid for his education, but it had been a bad fit for a gay Black intellectual. With a little respect and normalcy, he might turn into an upright citizen again.
The limo rolled into the gravel-and-shell marina parking lot. Turning off her headlights, Evie drove down a side street, turned around, and parked where she could hit the main road running. Climbing out, pulse racing, she tried not to crunch shells as she pretended to be a shadow. If KK was with her, she couldn’t tell.
Evie was pretty certain that was Jax approaching from the other direction. He waited and caught her hand, squeezing it reassuringly as they watched the limo.
“Pris’s truck under the oak in far corner,” he murmured.
The limo blinked its headlights and turned them off. The dark BMW did the same.
“There are times when guns might be useful,” she said with a sigh. “And if you’re carrying, I don’t want to know. Weapons are too dangerous with kids around. They’re unpredictable.”
He squeezed her hand again. “I’m not a cop. I can only use a weapon in self-defense. I’m going to cover the BMW. Dante is almost at the limo. Try not to let KK get the better of you. I’m counting on you to stay safe.”
Despite her terror, Evie felt the warmth of his acknowledgment that she had spirit energy for her weapon. She didn’t know if that was true, but they were about to find out.
In the light of a dim parking lot security lamp, she watched the limo driver step out at the same time as a man left the passenger seat and a woman out of the back. Two men climbed out of the BMW. She saw no children.
Not liking this, Evie thought as she approached the limo from behind. She couldn’t see Dante anywhere.
From the shadows, a sturdy figure in clothes that blended with the night strode directly for the limo’s back door. That had to be Pris. The limo’s occupants, the Gladwells, if that’s who they were, had left the car to approach the BMW and had their backs toward Pris and Evie.
Where were the twins—and their father? Jax had said Dante was aiming for the limo. With his crippled leg and size, he should be noticeable.
Evie waited for the female passenger to follow the men, but she held back, lingering near the hood.
Accepting a mental shove from Pris, Evie slipped up to the driver side back door at the same time as her cousin took the passenger side. Together, they opened up the back seat.
The twins were just starting to stir.
The wave of relief rolling over her briefly blinded Evie to the woman at the front of the car, until she cried a warning.Damn.
