Page 115 of His Wounded Heart

“What’s the real deal, Commander? I don’t want or need to know any of the particulars of Trenda’s past. I just want to know what we’re up against.”

“Call me Simon.”

Aiden nods.

I go on to explain, “Renzo saw the whole thing. Not only did they try to run her off the road so that she would hit a huge old tree head on, when they missed they turned around and were making another run for her when Renzo chased them away.”

“Do we know who?”

“I texted Dex to let him know how things have escalated. He’s going to call within the hour. I want Trenda and Bella out of this house within the hour as well.”

“If Evie can score it, there’s a chalet that will do nicely. Hard to get to, and when you get there, the road to the place is hard to find. Then it’s gated with lots of electronic security.”

I grin. “Sounds perfect.”

“That’s because it is.”

When I look up and see Renzo, I motion for him to come and join us. When I was speeding to make it to Trenda after her call, I’d called Renzo’s brother Jase. I needed to get a handle on Renzo. Was he only a construction guy or was there more than met the eye?

There was more.

As he ambles over, my phone buzzes with an incoming call. I see it’s Dex.

I answer. “I’ll call you right back.”

“Good.” He hangs up.

As Renzo joins us, I speak. “I’ve got some information that will help us. Let’s go.”

The two men follow me out the front door—which is actually locked, a minor miracle that I will celebrate some other time. We got into my truck. I turn it on and start up the heater and my Bluetooth, then called Dex.

“Hey, Simon.”

“Hi, Dex. You have Aiden O’Malley on the phone with you. You probably know him, right?”

“Vaguely.” There was laughter in Dex’s voice. At his laughter, I remember that Aiden had once been on the Black Dawn SEAL team before transferring over to Midnight Delta. “It’s good you’re there with Simon,” Dex says. “This could turn even uglier.”

“You also have Renzo Drakos in the car with us,” I say. “He’s Jase Drakos’ brother. According to Jase he’s a good man to have on your side during a fight.”

I look over at Renzo. “Are you armed?”

He nods.

“Good.” I turn my attention to the cars’ speakers. “Okay, Dex, what do you have for us?”

“I’ve triple-checked. The emails are coming from Carla Harris’ IP address, but I can’t find any payments coming from her account or her joint account with Brantley to anybody that seems like they would be doing work taking pictures of Trenda and Bella in Tennessee.”

“Maybe it was a cash deal?” Aiden guesses.

“No cash has been withdrawn in the last year. Woman has a black Amex and she uses the shit out of it. The woman sure can shop.”

“Have you checked to see if she’s returned anything and asked for the money back in cash?” I ask.

“I did that very thing, Simon. She does return a shit-ton of what she purchases, but the returns always go back onto her card. If it’s her, she either asked a favor off someone, or did it herself.”

After Trenda gave me even more details about her encounter with Carla and how she’d acted, I just don’t see her driving her Botoxed ass down to Jasper Creek.

“From what Trenda has said, it’s highly unlikely she would have made the drive,” is all I say. “What have you got on the older sons from the previous marriage?” I ask.