Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (10 page)

Butch looked up from the computer and raised a brow. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea
,
angel
. Maybe I should come with you.”

Claire hadn’t been expecting that. She didn’t think she was in danger of being run off the road
as
Emma had
ten months ago
or run down by a car as Abby
had.
Claire’s
trouble
was trivial in comparison to her sister
s
’ dilemmas.
So
far,
it was just a theft, not an attempted murder.
She lifted her fingers to her pearls and started twisting the beads.
“You don’t have to do that. It was just a theft
. N
o one is trying to kill me, just steal from me. Why don’t you stay here and go over the
surveillance
tapes
?
I’m just going to spend some time with Lily and Emma. You can call Jake and check that I got there if you want. I’ll only be gone a couple of hours.”

The muscles in his forearms hardened beneath his sleeve
,
and she could see him grinding his teeth.
H
e
studied her with a curious intensity.
“Okay, but I’m going to call.”

Claire didn’t expect anything less from Butch.
Her hands went to her pearls
,
and she twisted the little beads. Claire smiled down at him. “I’ll call you later.” Claire practically skipped from the room.

***

Butch knew that Claire was up to no good. Playing with her pearls
had
been a dead giveaway.
He
’d
almost bought the story about going to see Emma and the baby, until she reached for her pearls. Butch pulled his cell from
the clip on
his waist and called Jake

“Hey
.
”

“Hey
,
Butch
.
I guess you have your hands full if you had to make up a story about being engaged to Claire. What’s going on?”

“I’ll fill you in later. I’m working on a few leads. Hey
,
listen
.
I’m calling because Claire told me she’s heading over to your house to visit with Emma. Did Emma mention anything
about it
to you?”

“Yeah, she just told me. I’m watching Lily while
Emma
jumps in the shower to get cleaned up.”

Butch let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, thanks
,
dude. Can you call me when she gets there so I know that she made it
al
l
right?
”

“Sure. As a matter of fact, if things get worse, why don’t I come over and set up the tracing unit so you can monitor all of their watches
?
I hate
having the system set up in only one place
in the event something happens
to mine
here and we need it. I’d feel better about it if we had another system set up over there, at least until you decide on a house and we can move it. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea. When do you want to come over to set it up?”

“How about
the
Sunday after her next big fundraiser?”

‘Sounds good
. D
on’t forget to call me when she gets there.”

“Will do
,
” Jake said before he hung up the phone.

Butch had seen the determination in Claire’s eyes. She was set on going to Emma’s
,
and as much as he wanted to keep her
at home
, he knew it was a lost cause. That woman could hold her own when she wanted to. She wouldn’t back down from a fight if she thought she was right
,
and that turned him on. He’d have to see what it finally t
ook
to have her see things his way.
An unyielding anticipation settled through him.

****

Claire arrive
d at Emma’s house shortly after she called
. She did
n’t
know what Butch w
ould think about her big plans, plans that he hadn’t approved. He
would
ha
ve
no
choice
but to deal with it
.
Claire noticed Vivian’s car
parked at the end of the long driveway.
Excited Claire bound
ed
from her car with the intent
t
hey could get right down to business. Claire didn’t think Emma was
going to like her plan either but fig
ured
,
out of all
of her siblings, she would be the
easiest one
to convince.
She
’d raise
d
her hand to knock
on the door
,
but her knuckles never made contact
before Emma threw
the front door open
,
greeted her with a smile
,
and pulled her in for a hug
.

“
Big
s
ister, w
hat are you up to
now
?” Emma asked as she backed out of the
doorway
, holding it
open for Claire.

“I
’ll tell you about it when we get upstairs
.
I don’t want Jake hearing my plan
just yet
and calling Butch
to warn him
.”

Emma threw her arm around Claire’s shoulder as she walked her up the stairs.
“Well, Vivian is already here
,
and she brought all the things
you asked for.
She’s upstairs peeking in on Lily.
”

Claire followed
Emma up the stairs to the baby’s
room, where she found Vivian
lean
ing
over the crib
in the baby room
grinning like a goof at
the
sleeping
Lily
.

The
light pink walls
surrounding the room
had a mural of a
white
castle and an enchanted forest
painted on them
.
The circular crib had sheer white strips of cloth han
g
ing down from the ceiling and draping over the crib. The room was fit for a princess
,
and it was perfect for her niece
.

Vivian
turned and
walked to the door to greet
them,
speaking in hushed tones.
“
She’s still sleeping
,
but she is just precious
,
Emma. You and Jake
sure do
make beautiful babies.” She glanced over to Claire
.
“
Claire
,
i
t
’s
good to see you again
.
I haven’t seen you since Abby’s wedding
.
”

Vivian reached up and ran her hands through Claire’s
blond locks
.
“
I don’t see anything wrong with your hair, but
I brought all the items
you
asked
for
. I’m not sure what you have in mind
,
but at least
I know
you
’ll
look good doing it.”

Claire
steeled her nerves and
girded
herself with resolve
that
she’d follow through regardless
of
what any of them thought.
It was her name on the line and her house that the money
had gone
missing from, so there wasn’t really an option that she’d
be involved and go with Butch
.
She was doing this with or without their h
elp. She could do this
.
S
he knew
she could
. T
he only th
ing left was to explain
was
why she needed to
.
It was a crazy plan, but it would work. There were a few things bound to go wrong, but she’d been in worse trouble than this and had been trained with the rest of her sisters to take care of herself. Really, the worse that could go wrong
was
a drunk getting fresh with he
r, and she could deal with that
. S
he’d managed just fine at numerous fundraisers
, but bikers might be a different story
.

“Did you bring the clothes too
?” Claire as
ked as she proceeded into Emma and Jake’s huge bed
room.
Claire glanced around the big room
.
Emma had redecorated it since the last time Claire had seen it. Gone was the sparse bachelor room with
no
pictures on the wall. The
once bare walls
were
now adorned
with
wedding photos and pictures of family scattered about.