Saving Grace

by Avery Gale

  Tobi leaned back and tried to suppress her grin, because she knew her friend too well…this sales pitch was far from over. Gracie had a soft spot for both docs, but particularly for Brian Bennett. He’d been the one to treat her the night she’d arrived at Prairie Winds after being assaulted by the man who’d been stalking Tobi. Brian had been incredibly gentle and had even followed up with her several times in the weeks following the incident. Tobi knew that Gracie thought of him as a good friend, and they both also knew how much Brian and Kirk looked forward to the little time they got to spend with Regi.

  For the first time since Tobi had known Regina Turner, she saw a chink in her spirited friend’s armor. When Regi looked up, there were unshed tears in her eyes. “You know Kirk’s parents own a big ranch not too far from here, right?” They all shook their heads and Regi’s shoulders sagged. “Well, they do…a flippin’ huge one. Enormous actually. And Brian’s parents are in the oil business. Everything they do is covered by one media outlet or another.” Tobi didn’t like where she thought this conversation was headed because Regi’s insecurities sounded much too familiar. “Then there’s me…”

  Yep, I knew it. Well if that doesn’t beat all.

  “Hold on a second. So you aren’t trying to dish up some horse shit about them being better than you because their families have money, are you? Because I’m seriously gonna have to crawl right up your ass if that’s the case. Remember that little friends and family speech you gave me the night Gracie arrived? Well, right back atcha, sister!” Tobi was in full “Regi-mode” by the time she’d finished speaking. All the members and staff at the club knew the term because Regi might be tiny, but she was a toe-tapping, hands-on-hips, snapping bolts of lightning goddess when crossed.

  This time Regi was the target of everyone’s attention and she looked anything but comfortable with the role. After a huge sigh of resignation, she seemed to pull herself together. “Okay, I’ll invite them. But don’t think this is a done deal, girlfriends. Really, you just don’t understand all the implications here.”

  Something in the back of Tobi’s mind told her there was a lot of pain in Regi’s background, but now wasn’t the time to get into it. Yep, definitely a girls’ margarita lunch in our future.

  “Well, finally. Now, we need to plan the menu and decide on all the details. I really want to surprise the men and that is going to take a team effort in this place.” Tobi grinned in victory. The entire Prairie Winds property was covered with surveillance equipment that would have the CIA and NSA drooling with envy, so keeping anything secret required strategic planning and enormous amounts of stealth. “Gracie, didn’t you say something about Jax’s sister visiting around Labor Day?”

  “Yes, Elza will be here so I’d like to invite someone for her to spend time with, but I don’t know anyone who signs.” One of the first things Jax and Gracie had discovered they had in common was the fact they both had younger siblings who were deaf. “Do any of you know of someone? I’m not trying to fix her up, but I want her to feel included. And I’m only comfortable inviting someone that one of us knows personally.” Tobi grinned because if Elza thought her brother and Micah were protective, she hadn’t seen anything yet. Tobi had seen Gracie in “protective mode” and it was something to behold.

  Regi looked up and grinned, “Tank signs.” All three women gapped at her. “What? He does…really. He told me that when he was growing up they had a neighbor whose young son was profoundly hearing impaired and he didn’t like that the little boy often sat to the side alone at their neighborhood functions, so he learned to sign so he could interact with him. They are still close to this day as I understand it.” Regi grinned as she stood up, “I have to head up to the club and get things ready for this weekend. Let me know what I need to do for the party, besides make nice with the good fanny docs.” She left the others shaking their heads at her jab at the doctors who they all believed would be so good for her.

  Tobi couldn’t hold back her laughter at Regi’s outrageousness. “Just when I thought the lot of you couldn’t surprise me anymore, one of you pulls this sort of thing out of your ass…embled knowledge.” Tobi giggled and then said, “Come on, let’s go outside. I know just the place where we can plan our surprise without being overheard.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kyle glared at the screen before turning to Micah asking, “Is she serious? Is there a place outside where we can’t hear them?” He didn’t think they’d missed anything vital, but his wife was very resourceful so he wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’d found a corner for her pow-wow. And in all honesty, it didn’t really matter because they weren’t up to anything other than party planning, but she had essentially issued a challenge to her Masters and the entire security team, so now it was game on.

  Micah scowled at the array of screens in front of him and began using a joystick to track the women as they walked to the boathouse. “They all need to be beaten more, you know that, right? And tell your dads the same thing because this has Lilly West written all over it.” Kent and Kyle’s mother was a force of nature. No one doubted that she was a sub in the bedroom, but in every other venue she was hell on wheels.

  Kyle had just opened his mouth to question his friend when he heard Tobi explain to the others how his mom had shown her the one spot they’d be able to speak freely. He’d heard himself growl in frustration before asking Micah, “How did you know?”

  Micah laughed, “I saw them yesterday just wandering through the gardens as I was coming up to the main house. They were idly chatting but paused as they met me and Tobi turned absolutely crimson. Damn I love that trait, makes her so much easier to read. Grace’s darker coloring allows her to hide a blush easier. You and Kent are lucky bastards on that point.” Kyle knew his friend was trying to get him to lighten up, but it wasn’t really working. He didn’t know exactly why he was so frustrated. Admittedly, he had never liked being challenged, this was something more, and Kyle wasn’t sure exactly what else had burrowed beneath his skin. Kyle felt his instincts begin to kick in and he’d learned long ago to never ignore the sixth sense that all Special Forces operatives stake their lives on each and every day. “I’m worried we’ve got a point of vulnerability, if there is a place the women can talk without us hearing them, then there is a place where Baldamino has access.” The hair on the back of Kyle’s neck was standing up and that was always a sign that he needed to sit up and pay very close attention.

  Micah nodded, “I watched the tapes last night to find out exactly where your mom and Tobi went. Jax and I checked it out early this morning and there is a narrow dead spot down by the dock, and of course we won’t be able to hear anything if they go swimming.” Micah must have sent a text to Jax and Kent because Kyle saw both men jogging down separate paths toward the boat house.

  They watched as the women made their way out to the end of the dock. The four of them spent several minutes huddled together in conversation as they cast nervous glances around them. Yeah, you know you’re in it deep, sweet subs. Just keep digging. Kyle watched Tobi’s failed attempts to look nonchalant as she pointed toward the jet skis tied alongside the edge of the dock. It was obvious the other women weren’t convinced that whatever Tobi’s suggestion had been was a good idea. But when she’d pointed to a boat in the middle of the river Kyle had groaned, “Fuck, is that my dads’ boat?” Before Micah could answer, Kyle saw his mom standing on the small elevated bridge waving like a wild woman. Once the other women saw her, Noelle waved back and the others quickly followed suite. I am going to paddle Tobi’s ass so hard she is going to be sitting on a fucking pillow for a month of Sundays.

  They watched the monitors helplessly as the women grabbed life jackets and put them on quickly. They’d just fired up the skis when Jax and Kent started down the docks wooden planking. “You know they’ve seen Jax and Kent. But they are going to swear they didn’t. Goddammit to hell, she isn’t going to be able to sit until Thanksgiving.” Kyle had to force himself to watch as t
hey took off at full throttle. Both he and Kent had thought the toys were a bit too tame, and now their decision to have the engines jacked-up seemed like a very bad idea, because they really were too much for Tobi and Noelle to handle. Both drivers had nearly lost their passengers when they’d taken off from the dock. It they didn’t manage to kill themselves it was going to be a miracle.

  “You know, they’d all earned a paddling even before they hijacked the jet skis, but I think maybe we can use this to our advantage.” Micah’s tone had a pure Dom-evil thread running through it, and Kyle hoped his forced chuckle didn’t sound as hollow as it felt. He’d known the man for too many years to miss the sound of his friend’s mind spinning so Kyle could only hope he was coming up with something appropriately sinister. After all, Micah Drake had been called “Hannibal” more than once for his ability to “pull a plan together” almost out of thin air.

  *****

  Jax stood alongside Kent watching as the women took off on the souped-up watercraft. He’d nearly popped a vein when Gracie had almost been flipped off the back as Tobi had nailed it. Tobi had sprayed both he and Kent with stale smelling water in the process, and Jax saw Kent’s face turn a brilliant crimson. Swiping his hand over his face to clean off the river water, Kent had literally growled, “She is still gonna be sittin’ on a pillow come Christmas morning, I swear it.”

  When his phone vibrated in his pocket, Jax knew without even looking who was on the other end. “You better have a plan because right now I’m too mad at all of them to even think about touching them.”

  “Working on it. But right now, I’m more concerned about them misjudging and doing a header into Kent and Kyle’s parents’ boat in the middle of the river. That is their sweet mother standing out there waving the women on. But my biggest concern is the fact we have incoming from the west.” Jax immediately focused on the boat that was coming up the river much too fast to be fishing or pleasure cruising. Kent had followed his line of gaze and instinctively taken off toward the small speedboat tied at the other end of the dock.

  Jax untied the lines while Kent started the motor. Even though it had only taken them a few seconds, it didn’t take Jax long to calculate the speed and trajectory and know they weren’t going to make it in time. Kent hit the horn and Jax saw Tobi’s jet ski slow marginally and he assumed she knew better than to try to out run them. But as she’d turned back around Jax could tell she’d seen the boat coming up on them because she’d waved off Noelle and Mary. Good girl, split up. Let’s make sure we know what we’re dealing with.

  When the boat didn’t change course to follow Noelle and Mary, Jax felt his breath leave his chest in a whoosh. Tobi appeared to be shouting instructions over her shoulder at Gracie. Jax could see Gracie tighten her arms around Tobi and she leaned perfectly as Tobi went into a sharp banking curve around the Wests’ boat sitting almost dead center in the middle of the river. As they got closer, Jax heard Kent cursing, “Holy fucking hell, that’s mom. What the—” he’d just barely caught a glint of sunlight reflecting off the scope of a weapon before the rest of his words were drowned out by the booming sounds of gunfire.

  “Holy shit. What is she shooting? A fucking cannon?” Jax couldn’t completely suppress the awe from his voice.

  “Don’t encourage her for God’s sake. Why the dads let her spend so much time at the range is a mystery that ranks right up there with where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.” Kent had circled sharply to the right to avoid getting shot by his own mother. The men fishing in small boats along the bank yelled in frustration when they’d nearly been rolled by the wake Kent sent their way. The next volley of shots from Lilly West must have hit their mark because the speedboat appeared to have lost control and was headed for the rock bank on the other side of the river. Just as Kent headed that way the boat caught fire and exploded sending smoke billowing into the air. Well fuck! So much for finding out the whos and whys of this cluster.

  *****

  Tobi and Gracie had scrambled onto the boat with Lilly just as the boat that had been chasing them blew into a thousand pieces. They both turned their faces from the horror because even though Tobi wasn’t an expert on explosions, she knew the boat wouldn’t have had enough fuel on board to cause an explosion that large. Whoever had been on that boat had obviously been well-armed and knowing they’d been chasing her and Gracie sent chills up Tobi’s spine.

  Lilly lowered the gun from her shoulder and sighed. “Well, shit…my husbands are gonna be really pissed off about this. And I can’t even imagine how mad my sons will be. They tend to overreact to things like this.” She turned to Tobi then pointed to her phone. “See? Thirty-two missed calls in seven minutes. I do believe that’s a record.” She grinned before looking up and then sobering. “Incoming.”

  Tobi looked up into the fire-shooting eyes of the calmer of her two husbands. Oh shit!

  Chapter Seventeen

  Parker Andrews leaned against the back wall of the observation room situated alongside the conference room and watched as Tobi West and Grace Santos answered the same questions for the fifth time. The women had been doing great, but their men were getting restless. Pushing away from the wall, he said, “Come on, let’s go get some coffee. They’ll keep the women safely corralled until we get back.” Noelle and Mary had already been released because they hadn’t seen much since they’d already rounded a large bend in the river before all hell had broken loose.

  “Where’s our mother?” Now that Kyle’s voice had lost its deadly sneer, Parker was more inclined to answer. Even though this wasn’t Parker’s jurisdiction, he was sticking around to help his friends navigate the system and to keep the Doms from all landing in jail for interfering in an ongoing investigation. When the four men had first arrived, he’d actually heard one of the deputies working the case mention keeping the women in protective custody so they wouldn’t have to deal with their men.

  “There is another conference room down the hall. She is being interviewed separately since she is the one who fired the weapon. And just out of curiosity, where did she get that fucking gun anyway. Damn, guys, you need to talk to your dads about what they put in her hands. Christ almighty that woman was loaded for bear and she is a damned good shot, too. Hell, she drilled the motor—deliberately from what I heard. She wanted to disable the boat. Well mission accomplished, holy shit. Unfortunately, the kill shot for the motor went into their weapons stash.” The information on the men’s boat was being withheld from the media for the time being, but the fact Lilly West had taken out two well-known enforcers for a Latin American drug lord was going to make her a folk hero in most law enforcement circles. And the fact that she was the beautiful wife of two of Texas’s wealthiest businessmen was only going to add fuel to the fire. Talk about a shit storm in the making. If Parker had to guess, he’d put his money on there being at least two songs about her by the end of the year.

  “Your dads are down there and, of course, their team of lawyers is flanking her as well. But honestly, it’s really not going to be an issue. She was clearly defending her daughter-in-law from an obvious threat, so it’s a no-brainer that she’ll be leaving here tonight free and clear. I can tell you the D.A. isn’t going to touch this one. Particularly when Noelle is backing up her story about warning them away to safety.” They all grabbed drinks and made their way to a small table outside the ground floor cafeteria. Once they’d all sat down, Parker continued, “We got lucky and got the numbers on the boat from your security footage.” Turning to Micah, Parker nodded his thanks. “They aren’t going to release this just yet, but here’s the scoop on the guys in the boat.”

  ****

  Micah sat in stunned silence as Parker gave them background information on the two men who had been killed in the explosion. They’d been identified by security cameras located at the small marina up river where they’d picked up the boat. Obviously they hadn’t expected the small mom and pop operation to have any security equipment because they’d used the same boat for several
days and had never made any attempt to conceal their identities. Knowing two killers had been watching the Prairie Winds property waiting for an opportunity to get to Gracie made Micah’s stomach pitch.

  These were men who made a living killing others and the thought they’d gotten too close to Gracie and Tobi this afternoon sent an electric current of fear straight up his spine. Parker had told them the two were the go-to guys for anyone with cash in-hand, but their Central American connections were well documented. The more Parker had told them, the deeper Micah sank into operative mode and just the briefest glance at Jax showed he was following a similar path. Kyle West listened intently and when Parker had finished, he’d nodded once and then turned to the others. “I’d like you to send out messages to some of our other team members. And I’d like to bring in a few more if no one has any objections. We can use the extra manpower on this and several of our former teammates have expressed an interest in joining if they can find work around here.”

  This was news to Micah and he was anxious to talk to the Wests to find out who Kyle was talking about. Parker cleared his throat and leaned forward, “We’re hiring and I’m sure the county’s force is looking as well. I doubt the money is appealing, but it would be a start for them.” They all four nodded because it was well known that Texans had a real fondness for hiring veterans so anyone they sent that way would likely be hired immediately. Parker hadn’t leaned back and relaxed so Micah knew he had more to say. “Listen, if you guys want to leave here today with your subs, you need to lighten up. There was scuttlebutt earlier about putting Tobi and Gracie in protective custody because you were going all “Alpha” on them.” Micah would have laughed out loud at the sight of the Police Captain using air quotes…that is, if he hadn’t been so stunned by what Parker had just said.