One Lucky Lady (14 page)

She finally responded, “Me too.”

With that, Mac smiled, kissed her again, grabbed the bags from the floor and stepped out into the hall. He looked both ways and motioned for her to follow. They made it down to the lobby and Buddy came around the counter to meet them.

He handed a small brown paper bag over to Mac. “You may need these.”

Mac looked inside. The bag contained a badge, an ID card that said he worked for the US Marshall’s office, a credit card with his name on it, and a cell phone. “How did you get these?”

“I had them made. There not real except for the card, but your ID number and badge number are right so if someone calls it in you’ll check out. I know you don’t normally use cards, but I figured it was better to have one if you needed it.”

“Thanks. Did anyone call the hotel this morning needing directions?” Mac asked, while transferring the items from the bag to his pockets and handing the bag back to Buddy.

“We get about fifty calls every day for directions. Why?”

“The guys after Alex are on their way here. We have to move. Thanks for everything, Buddy. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

Mac turned Alex to the door and they headed out into the parking lot. Mac unlocked the Jeep with the key fob. He told Alex to get in while he put the bags in the back.

Buddy came flying out the door at the same time the guy grabbed Alex. Mac turned to Buddy who was yelling “They’re here!” Mac and buddy both froze when they heard the click of the hammer on the gun. He watched as Buddy’s eyes went wide. Mac turned to see Alex pulled up against a very large man with a very large scar across his cheek that looked suspiciously like a lightning bolt.

Alex really wanted to move. She really wanted to kick or bite or scream, but she was afraid the gun pressed to her temple might go off. The goon had his arm across her shoulders. Her feet weren’t even on the ground. They were just dangling uselessly against the goon’s shins. She could feel his hot breath in her ear.
Someone needs a breath mint
.

Mac stood very casually and calmly asked, “What do you want with her?”

“The boss jus’ wants to talk to ‘er. The girl and I are leavin’ now. I ain’t got no problem shootin’ ‘er if it looks like we’re bein’ followed.”

Mac’s heart was hammering so hard in his chest that if the goon would have said anything more, he wouldn’t have been able to hear it. Mac looked at Alex’s eyes. She looked…mad.
Really
mad.

Alex could hear a car come into the lot. It screeched to a stop and the goon was throwing her in the trunk. Everything went dark as he slammed the trunk lid down. She heard a car door slam shut and she was thrown all over the trunk when the car sped out of the lot and turned onto the street.

Mac couldn’t shoot at them. He was afraid that he might hit Alex. He turned to Buddy. “I need the first flight to Mobile. That’s where they’re taking her. It has to be.”

Buddy nodded his head in agreement and they both headed back into the hotel. While Buddy booked the flight, Mac called Pedro. Pedro would meet him at Mobile Regional Airport and fill him in on everything. He knew it would take eight or more hours for them to drive to Mobile. His flight was in one hour and Buddy made sure they understood it was an emergency.

Mac had a lump in his throat. They hadn’t just shot her so they must need her alive, but he still didn’t know why. He did know that if they hurt her, he would hunt them down and kill them.
And then what?

Buddy had been watching his best friend. He knew what he was thinking. “Mac, if you need any help, I’m in. I can tell you love her. Man, I’ve never seen you like this. Does she know it yet?”

“No. I didn’t want to rush her. I have to get her back.”

Buddy thought about it for a minute then asked quietly, “Do you know she loves you?” Buddy had Mac’s attention now. “I told you she looks at you the same way you look at her. Bets noticed, too.”

Mac just nodded, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat that seemed to be getting bigger. He had to get her back
fast
. He sounded choked when he said, “Can you get the Jeep to me in Mobile and have the guns overnighted?”

“Done. Call if you need anything else.”

Mac wrote down Pedro’s address for Buddy, nodded again and headed to the airport.

Alex didn’t ever remember being this pissed off in her life. She had never had a gun pointed at her and she had most definitely never been tossed into a trunk. But the worst part was the fear she saw for just that split second in Mac’s eyes, just before they went icy cold.
He loved her!

She already looked for a trunk release, but the car was an older model. She searched for something to use as a weapon without any success. If they had a flat tire, the Goon Squad would have to call Triple A, because there was absolutely nothing in the trunk to change the tire.

Alex was trying to figure out what was really going on. She knew they had to be on a highway because they weren’t stopping and starting. She knew at least one of the goons smoked because she could smell the menthol and stale cigarette stench even when she tried to pull her T shirt up over her nose. There was also something that smelled suspiciously like urine.

She assumed they were heading back to Mobile because the boss, whoever in the hell that was, wanted to see her. Well, good, she wanted to see him too. She knew they could have killed her in the parking lot, but didn’t. She knew she was liable to be in the trunk for several hours.
What do they want? And who the hell is their boss?

Mac would come after her. Pedro would be looking for her, too. She would be okay. She just knew it.

Ultimately she gave up trying to figure out this whole mess, because she truly didn’t have a clue what was going on, and decided to think about Mac. She missed him. He was easy to talk to and easier to touch. She never wanted to touch Tom as much as she wanted to touch Mac. And, come to think of it, Tom had never really seemed to want to touch her at all.

Mac had been so gentle last night. They had eaten and laughed while they talked about his family and her family, again. He told her about his job. He explained that he mostly took spousal suspicion cases for people who were beyond wealthy. He was very selective of the cases he took. He worked as a US Marshall for the last thirteen years after graduating college. Then he had taken her back to bed. He had made love to her in ways she never imagined. They didn’t sleep until sometime after two in the morning.

She was starting to think Tom had married her for a reason other than love, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why. The night Lucy came into the ER, one of the other nurses bet Alex twenty bucks that Tom was gay. When Alex asked why Carmen thought that, she explained that he was perfectly dressed, perfectly groomed, probably professionally manicured, and she would swear he smelled like her favorite lotion.

After they were married, Alex discovered he did use the same lotion as Carmen. She didn’t think much of it however because Tom married her.
Didn’t that mean that he wasn’t gay?
Of course, Alex knew married men who had left their wives for other men.
That would explain a lot.
Maybe that’s what Mac meant last night when he had said he really didn’t think the problem was her.
Huh.

About two hours later Alex finally fell asleep.

Mac was on a plane halfway to Mobile and his heart was finally beating a little slower. He knew they needed her alive for some reason, and until she told them what they needed to know or did what they needed her to do, she was safe.
Kind of.

Mac really didn’t think Alex had it in her to get angry, but that look in her eyes scared him. She looked like she wanted to do somebody bodily harm and if she tried it on one of the members of the Goon Squad…
No she would be okay
. At least now he knew what it took to get her upset.

She had every right to be mad at him. Hell, he was mad at himself. He was the one who was supposed to protect her from these people. She was counting on him and he let her down. He had to find her. He would beg her for forgiveness and spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
If she would let him.
Please, Lord, let Buddy be right.

He had never known a woman like Alex. She was honest, caring and strong. She didn’t get all riled up over little stuff. He was sure she trusted him. She didn’t even hesitate when he had asked her in the car on the way to Savannah. That she trusted him meant more to him than anything, and he’d be damned if he was going to let her down again. He would find them, and he would get her back and then…
Then, what? I beg her to marry me. That’s what.

Pedro was waiting for Mac when he arrived. Mac followed Pedro in silence and got into the car. Pedro’s phone rang. He looked at Mac and answered it. “Yeah.”

Mac could only hear Pedro’s side of the conversation.

“Okay. Follow him. We’re on our way.”

“Love you, too.”

The last line got Mac’s attention. He had always figure Pedro for a loner. “Girlfriend?”

Pedro nodded. “She’s a local cop. We’ve been seeing each other for about two years. I have her following Jarred. I told you earlier that I had Lucy’s husband in the cellar.” Mac nodded, but otherwise stayed silent. “From what I can tell, somebody wanted Tom out of the way. According to Portman, he was hired to get rid of Tom and find Tom’s PDA. In return all evidence in his divorce would disappear. He was going after Alex on his own. He thinks Alex and Tom talked Lucy into leaving him. Tom kept all of his information on his PDA and it was always with him. Portman killed Tom, but grabbed the wrong one. I’ve been through Alex’s house, but someone was there before me. There is no other PDA in that house. If they would have found it they wouldn’t need Alex.”

Pedro paused to look over at Mac. “Portman didn’t know who had hired him, but was able to describe the two men sent to gain his cooperation. Did either of the two men you saw have a scar?”

Mac nodded, “Yeah, it looked like someone had carved it into his cheek. It looked like a bolt of lightning. Kind of creepy.”

Pedro let out a breath. “I was afraid of that. Okay, Tom used to work with Jarred in the DA’s office. Jarred is the one who wanted to take over Tom’s practice. I took him all of Tom’s records so he could find someone to take over the cases. He told me Lucy’s file was missing, but he was still able to contact her. He said her contact info was on a piece of paper in another file. Tom never misfiled papers. He was a little bit obsessive about that kind of stuff, so I thought it was a little strange. The file I don’t remember seeing was the one on the Senator.”

“The Senator had been to see Tom not long after his go-to guy was murdered in prison. Tom asked me to look into the Senator’s business. There was a lot of shady stuff, but that didn’t really interest Tom. Then I found out two days ago that Lucy is probably Senator Lange’s daughter. I think Tom found out when he was looking for Lucy’s family. She had lost touch with them after she married. Somebody in the records office probably contacted Senator Lange. Tom had given his name, but not his address or anything else. “

“Anyway, when Lange found out, I think he went to see Tom. I don’t think his visit had anything to do with the murder case so Tom wouldn’t have had a file. Tom would never do anything that might hurt Lucy, so he probably just gave the Senator some line of bullshit, but wouldn’t give up Lucy. I’m sure the Senator is just trying to keep this from going public, but someone decided Tom needed to be out of the way. Lange has been married for thirty-five years and one of his platforms is family values. He can’t have a twenty-five year old daughter that wasn’t born to his wife running around when he’s looking to advance in Washington.”

Pedro glanced at Mac to make sure he was following this convoluted story. “Somehow, Jarred found out Tom had something the Senator wanted. I don’t really know what Jarred’s involvement is in all of this, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the goon with the scar in his office before. I have a feeling Jarred is in over his head. People who cross the Senator wind up missing.”

Mac was starting to see the big picture. “So the guys who grabbed Alex are taking her to Jarred. If we follow Jarred we find Alex.”

Pedro nodded and his phone rang again. “Yeah.” Then, “okay.”

Mac looked at Pedro. “Where are we going?”

“Alex’s house. Christine is going back to work. She can’t report what she doesn’t see.”

Mac grinned. He liked Christine already.

Chapter Twelve

Alex woke up. They were slowing down again. She wished she knew how long they had been driving. It was long enough for her hip to feel bruised and her arm to be asleep. She could also feel a knot on her head, probably from where Goon number one had chunked her into the trunk. Surely, they had to be in Mobile. The car stopped and the engine was shut off.

Alex put both her feet towards the back of the trunk near the back seat and crouched down as best she could in the tight space willing her left arm to wake up. She heard two car doors close, and heard the key in the trunk.