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“Yeah, I agree. We can talk about whether Darcy should just go about her life or whether staying close is safer for now. I honestly don’t know and while I’d like to keep her a little longer, she can decide not to stay at any time.”
“I’ll ask her and let you know. For now, though, I’m taking her home. She is jittery today and kind of withdrawn.”
The men parted company. Finley watched Darcy go with the Colonel and she hoped it was the right decision to let her leave from Jac’s. She also hoped she’d stick around a while.
Reading people had not been her best talent these days. No matter what Jac said, she wondered if he was honestly confident in her abilities. After all, she didn’t prevent the abduction, but she was out-manned. She couldn’t talk about it any longer because the guys were exasperated with her inability to let that worry go. She was better now, and Jac, deciding to bring in an additional bodyguard for Storm, made her crazy. Then the fact that Jac and Levi agreed he should stay with Finley as a second set of eyes infuriated her, and yet she found a peace with one of her guys around. This was such a clusterfuck, but these men of hers had skills when it came to distracting her. She was still achy, but she had an ache of another kind. Time to let her show her appreciation for Cash and Levi. And time they let her.
With everyone now back in their own homes except the regulars at the Jacquard residence, it was subdued they went to dinner. Soon, she found she wanted to go up to bed early. Ben had brought Darcy back for the night because she had expressed concern that she would be alone with Ben. She seemed to crave female company, and Ben knew couldn’t provide that outside of Jac’s group. She promised she would go home with Ben tomorrow and make up her mind about her next step in the future. Soon enough, they shooed her off to bed with Finley, Sharlee, and Storm. Florent had already put Spring to bed. She was so tired, but she didn’t go to sleep. She pushed to stay awake. He sternly sent her to bed, and that seemed to settle the battle.
The next morning, right after breakfast, the discussion was getting back to work. Typical day job work. “Levi, I’m ready to send you off for an afternoon assignment. Finley is giving me some pretty hard side-eyes, and you need a change of scenery.It should be a short and sweet court appearance, for our client, that is. Here is the dossier. Be on site at client’s home by noon, escort to attorney’s office, on to court, then escort back home. No expected threat other than a general one the client fears might occur, but keep on your toes.”
Levi seemed to sigh in relief. What he needed was an assignment and finally he had one. Jac and Sharlee resumed their work routine, and Finley took over completely for Storm. Cash did his thing at the house as Darcy, Jac, Levi and the Colonel prepared to leave the house for the day. Darcy walked into the front room with the Colonel right behind her as she grabbed a coloring book she had left. There was a sudden screech. “Oh, my God. You found him. That’s him. That’s Ace.”
“Fuck,” rippled throughout the room. Finley sat down hard next to Darcy, who had dropped onto the sofa, a stunned expression on her face. Levi put his hand on her shoulder.
Cash, who had been out of the room the first time the photo was shown, turned to Finley. “Did you see him, baby? Is this the guy?”
“No, I never saw him, but if Darcy says that’s him, then it is.” She looked at Darcy as though asked permission to share more. “She’s afraid of him. He can get violent if someone stands in his way of getting what he wants.”
Darcy wiggled uncomfortably and stood up. The Colonel placed his hand at the back of her neck, settling it at the base before squeezing. Finley knew it was to help, but seeing Ace’s photo was more disarming than Ben’s hand was comforting. Darcy took a step back, and Finley understood her need to feel the heat from Ben and his comfort. His arm slid around her hip and he drew her even closer. Her head fell back on his shoulder. Finley was making great effort to learn how to accept that from her guys. Her guys. It gave her such a shiver of anticipation.
“Finley didn’t see him, or she wouldn’t likely be alive. I didn’t know his real name, and he rarely came around, but I know that is Ace. The man who set up the kidnapping. He’s an angry man.” She lowered her voice. “And dangerous.”
“Darcy, did Ace hurt you?” When Darcy didn’t reply, another wave of angry curses echoed. Finley’s men drew closer to her.
Jac spoke to the room at large. “I want to find out everything you can about this asshole now. He is going down.”
“Jac,” Levi got his boss’ attention.
“No, you aren’t going off today. I can’t risk it with this new information. I’m sending someone else. I need eyes on Finley. Charlotte, get everyone on screen.” Jac looked at the people on the video feed until he located Carter and next to him Becky. “Rebecca, get the other team leaders on the phone. I need to find a fast replacement for Levi this afternoon.” Then, to no one in particular, “This asshole has messed with me and mine for long enough. Time for another hunting trip.”
There were simultaneous conversations started. “Coordinate with Garrett. He is still the lead on this case, but I’m clearer headed now. More useful than when we were trying to find them.”
Garrett asked Kaden to send out the photo. “Make sure every employee has a copy and let them know to expect him to be armed and dangerous. Remind them of the protocol and send them what we know, including his last known make and model of car in the correct color.”
It wasn’t like there was a higher threat than before, and things had gone quiet, but now that they had confirmation that it was Caleb they were searching for, it seemed to boost the urgency. The women agreed to stay home. All other lines of inquiry were ditched.
Garrett clapped his hands. “Finding the verification that Rodney is the person we are looking for makes this no longer aneedle in a haystack. It’s now a target with a bullseye. The odds are now in our favor and I like those chances much better. I like the driver’s seat.”
“It does, indeed.” Jac filled in more blanks for the ones who didn’t know about the Caleb incident. “Caleb Rodney has to be seeking revenge.”
Carter nodded. “Likely, but I’m not understanding why he made an advance and then backed up so far and for so long. Then another quick hit, only to retreat once again. Now, it’s a huge advance and everyone knows you never slack off your advantage. It’s not a logical strategy if you are trying to overtake your enemy. You keep the pressure up until something gives.”
Kaden spoke. “Remember, he isn’t prior military. He was a mechanic that got greedy and now blames others for his situation and for ruining his life.”
Ben was now sitting on the sofa and held Darcy close as they listened to the conversation. Her trembling was much less than when she walked in and spied Rodney’s photo on the wall. But because she did, the puzzle pieces fell into place.
Callie clarified. “So this yahoo is currently running from the Cartel and the Feds. Why hasn’t someone found him yet? I mean, I get why the Feds might not have found him, but what about the Cartel? Doesn’t that seem fishy?”
“Good point,” said Mark. “Unfortunately, at least where the alphabet agencies are concerned, they aren’t having any more luck than the rest of us. He is taunting them by coming up to the surface for a quick appearance, but when he sees they shift gears and hunt him exclusively, he goes into deep hiding. Then things go quiet. That might be what is going on now.”
“Meaning he was up too long, and the Feds got wind and focused on him, so he did a deep dive?” asked Finley. “So what keeps him from leaving the country and be done with it?”
The Colonel answered. “He is after revenge, but to do that he needs something to keep the heat of the Cartel off him while he does it. So he messes with Jac, then the Cartel notices and then he makes sure the Feds see him and as they pursue him, it keeps the Cartel at bay. Then he slips into the shadows and waits for another opportunity.”
Jac’s stare was hard, cold, emotionless when he spoke. “We find him, deal with him as needed, then we walk away with clean hands and go back to our lives. He isn’t familiar with our techniques, but he soon will be.”
Jac emphasized the importance of discretion and caution during their investigations, reminded the team to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to their activities. “We won’t have the element of surprise, but we can make the expected become the unexpected.”
