Brock pocketed his phone. He would call Rena back when he was alone.
“What do I need to do?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Ellen McKenna has the Coulter contracts. Get them.”
Brock stared at him, incredulous. “And how the hell am I supposed to do that? They have a house full of people, a bunch of kids.”
Screw it, he thought. He didn’t need this.
“I have a plan,” Robinson said with an unpleasant laugh. “We’ll use the storm to our advantage. In fact, as soon as you get dressed, you can leave, get the file, and be back here in less than thirty minutes, if you’re smart about it.”
Get dressed?
Brock looked down at his jeans and flannel shirt. What did Robinson expect him to wear?
“I don’t understand,” Brock said. “What is the plan?”
Robinson ignored Brock and picked up the desk phone, dialed. A moment later, he said, “Get the utility truck ready. I’m sending Mr. Jones over to the garage to pick it up in five minutes.”
He put the receiver down, looked Brock up and down. “The uniform might be a little tight, but I think it’s close enough. This way.” Robinson left the office, then turned back when Brock didn’t immediately follow. “Now, Mr. Jones. We don’t have all day.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ellen got Margery settled into Avery’s bed and took her blood pressure.
“You must be frantic about your kids,” Margery said, reaching out toward Ellen.
“Shh,” Ellen said. “You need to remain calm.”
Shewasworried, about all of them. She hadn’t heard yet from Jake about Bobby; Avery had been taken by the people who had shot Greg Baldwin; and Lyla was in the barn, working alone to prevent water from flooding the horse stalls. Had she known about the water damage this morning, she could have taken the horses to Travis’s place, or to the Coulters’ barn. But it was too late now. Lyla had to keep the barn as dry as possible.
In the back of her mind she thought that the barn had had so many problems over the last year and she should have been on top of it, but that realization was buried under her fear for her children.
“I don’t know how you do it.” Margery rubbed her stomach in a slow, circular motion. Ellen blinked back sudden tears. She remembered carrying Avery for nine months and two weeks—she was late, she was nearly ten pounds, and had kicked at her sciaticnerve periodically just to keep Ellen on her toes. Or, rather, on her back because when she hit just the right place, Ellen couldn’t move for hours without pain.
And when she arrived, she was chunky and beautiful, with a shock of red hair and John’s warm hazel-brown eyes. None of the other kids were redheads, but Penny had been overjoyed because she had been a redhead before her hair turned snow white, long before Ellen had met her. So they named her Avery Penelope and while Penny said she didn’t have favorites, she always did small, extra things for her namesake. Like making a special picnic for when Ryan came over in the middle of the night.
Ellen’s eyes burned. Avery thought she didn’t know that Ryan sometimes came over after everyone went to bed and they went out to the old oak tree to talk and make out. She’d never confronted Avery about it, because the kids were good kids. She could see the tree from her bedroom window and seeing Avery and Ryan just sitting holding hands, looking at the stars, reminded her of the long summer nights when she and John had done the same thing.
“Rick knows,” Ellen said, clearing her throat to force back her emotions. “Avery’s smart. They’re not going to hurt her, because they need her.” Ellen had to believe that. She had to believe that Avery would find a way to escape, or that Rick would find them, save her daughter.
But the fear clawed at her heart. She’d lost her husband, how could God take her daughter, too?
“Margery, your blood pressure is too high. You need to relax. You’re safe here, your baby is safe. Close your eyes, keep your feet elevated slightly”—she adjusted the pillow under her calves—“and don’t think about anything except the fact that you have a growing baby who needs you to be healthy and calm. Okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’ll be back in a bit. I’m going to call Susie and tell her we’re safe.”
Ellen went downstairs and called Susie. Penny was watching her, but not talking. When Ellen ended the call, she said, “What?” She didn’t mean to snap. She pinched her nose to force back tears and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry about?” Penny asked. “You’re worried. I’m worried. We won’t sleep until all our chicks are back in the nest.”
“I need to do something and I don’t know what to do!”
That she hadn’t heard from Jake worried her as well. Maybe he couldn’t call, but he had a radio.
Still, Jake and Bobby were together by now. Avery was alone, with strangers who had hurt the Mendozas and tied up a disabled girl and shot Greg Baldwin. If they were willing to shoot a man—and his dog—would they really restrain themselves with a teenage girl?
