Page 49 of Forgiving Chase


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Jacquie grinned. It took some time, but Courtney managed to cut through her binds, and by the time Jacquie cut her ropes off, she knew they were almost out of time. According to what Aiden had told Josh, the big boss was coming and would be there soon.

The question was, where were Aiden and Chase? Shouldn’t they be here?

“Do you know where we are?” she asked Courtney.

“The McDonald Ranch.”

“Really?” Jacquie didn’t know why she was surprised, the McDonald boys were arrested last month for trying to kill Josh and Jared, and for cooking meth. But she never would have believed their father, the commissioner, was involved.

“Yeah. They used to have a lot of horses and livestock, but not anymore.”

“We definitely need to get out of here.” There was no way they would let them live to tell this tale. She hurried toward the door, wondering how they were going to get it open when she heard talking on the other side. She held a finger in front of her lips and gestured for Courtney to keep quiet, then looked around the room for a weapon, an alternate escape route, or somewhere to hide.

There was nothing.

She stuck her ear to the door and listened, hoping whoever was out there would keep walking by.

18

Chase couldn’t stop thinkingabout the look on Jacquie’s face when he left her at the barn. Maybe she was right, maybe they should have called Josh instead of going after these guys on their own, without a plan, without backup. He thought about how pale Jacquie had looked, how tired. He hoped she was upstairs in her room getting some much-needed rest.

He turned to his brother sitting in the driver’s seat. Aiden had driven by an elegant ranch house, past a large red barn, and parked his car in the woods, tucked away under trees, and behind some bushes as they waited for who knew what. Chase took out his phone.

“Who are you calling?” Aiden asked, glancing at his watch.

“Josh. He needs to know what’s going on, and I want him to check on Jacquie.”

“Don’t.”

Chase looked at him and scowled. “She’s alone.”

“She’s fine. She’s a cop and can take care of herself.”

Chase stared at him for a long moment. “At the park today, did you lure me into the parking lot, separating me from Jacquie so your buddy could nab her?”

Aiden scoffed and shook his head as though the question was ridiculous. “What? No. And, for the record, Quentin is not my buddy.”

“It sure seemed that way at the time.”

“No. I swear. I just wanted to leave a note on your car. I didn’t know you even saw me.”

“And right now, did you lure me here to separate us again? Because sitting here in the bushes doesn’t seem like a great game plan.”

Aiden looked incredulous. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“Did you tell me all that DEA stuff just to get me away from Jacquie?” A coldness twisted through Chase at the thought. Did he walk into a trap—or worse, put Jacquie in danger?

“Of course not. I know you always like to think the worst of me, but I’m DEA. I’ve been with them for four years. I’d show you my badge, but I’m undercover. I don’t exactly have ID.”

Chase dialed the phone. “I’m calling my partner. That’s not thinking the worst, that’s covering all my bases.” Thomas answered on the first ring. “Thomas, did you find out anything about my brother?”

Aiden looked at him, eyebrows raised.

“No, sorry,” Thomas said. “The guy’s a ghost.”

Chase glanced at his brother. “That ghost is sitting next to me right now. Do you have any contacts in the DEA?”

“Yeah. Why?”

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