Page 28 of Lone Star Protector

“I’d never forget about you,” Nash muttered before thinking that through.

He should have thought it through.

This time, it was Slade who groaned. “Okay, I don’t see any pitfalls with what’s going on here.” There was so much sarcasm in his voice. “No possible lack of objectivity. No potential to piss off the boss. No—”

“I know,” Nash interrupted, and then he did a quick change of subject. “You brought Caroline her meds?”

That caused Slade’s scowl to return, and he set all but one of the bags on the kitchen counter. He handed the last one to Caroline. “Meds and some extra toiletry items that Ruby recommended.”

Caroline looked inside the bag and sighed. “It’s hard to stay completely furious with her when she does thoughtful things like this,” she muttered under her breath. Then, she winced as if she’d said too much.

Nash was right there with her. He’d taken the too much said dive as well. So had Slade by bringing up the AI app formerly known as Caroline.

Slade checked the feed from the security cameras that was still on the monitor, and he cursed. “The sonofabitch didn’t follow me. And I gave him ample opportunity for it. I mean, if he was watching me at the grocery store, he’d likely know I wasn’t buying lavender shampoo for me. Added to that, the antibiotics script is in Caroline’s name.”

Yeah, that would have given Bodie or Jordana some clues as to where Slade would be heading with those items.

“You didn’t get a sense of anyone following you?” Caroline asked.

Slade didn’t do what Nash thought he might—grumble at her for something Slade would take as an insult. Because Slade wouldn’t have had to rely on “a sense” for that sort of thing. He would have spotted anyone tailing him.

“No one followed me,” Slade assured her. “No one put a tracker on my van. And no one got in my field of vision to alert me that I was being watched.”

“Maybe because Bodie didn’t need to watch or follow you,” Nash pointed out. “Any one at Caroline’s yesterday could likely figure out I brought her here with me. Anyone, including Jordana.”

“Yeah,” Slade agreed. “So, what the hell is the fucker waiting on? Unless his IQ has dropped to subpar level while he’s been in jail, he has to know Caroline’s not just going to serve herself up to him on a silver platter.” He shifted toward Caroline. “You’re not going to do that, right?”

“I’m not,” she confirmed and then paused. “But like you, I want him caught. If Bodie won’t come here because of the tight security, then maybe I go someplace where he thinks he can come at me. Sort of like your trip to the grocery store to buy lavender shampoo.”

Nash did some cursing. Slade, however, nodded in approval. At first anyway. He quit the nodding when he saw Nash’s reaction.

“A silver platter with a crapload of protection,” Slade spelled out. “That could work, but I’m guessing neither Nash nor Ruby will go for that.”

“I won’t,” Nash was quick to say. “I think it’s best if we stick to the plan and keep looking for Jordana and Bodie.”

Slade shrugged again, just as his phone dinged with a text. So did Nash’s.

“It’s from Ruby,” Nash relayed to Caroline. “The interview with Eddie is starting.”

He sent a reply to thank Ruby. Then, he instructed Oz to tap into the feed link that Ruby had sent him. It took only a couple of seconds for the link to load, and the feed came on the screen.

Detective Malley and another cop were on one side of the interview table, and Eddie and a guy in a suit were across from him. Eddie’s lawyer, no doubt. As standard procedure, Malley read in the date, time, case number, and the names of all of those present.

“Ruby’s already doing a run on the lawyer,” Slade let them know, though he added the name to a memo on his phone. Gary Sullivan.

Nash made note of it, too, since he wanted to do his own deep dive on the lawyer and find out who was footing the bill. And why.

“Mr. Mulcrone, I need to inform you that this interview is being recorded. And as I explained to you earlier, several people are watching, including my lieutenant.” Malley pointed to the camera on the wall. “Do you wish to know the names of those observers, and do you need me to reread your rights to you?”

“My client understands his rights,” Sullivan interjected. “And even though I would prefer to have no one listening in, my client has instructed me that he doesn’t wish to object to that matter. Therefore, he doesn’t need the names of those observers. Also, my client wishes to make a statement at this time.”

Malley kept a blank face while he nodded, and Eddie picked up a piece of paper. A statement the lawyer had likely had a big hand in creating.

“I, Eddie Mulcrone, did not assist Bodie McKenna in any way in his escape. I have no idea where he is, and if he contacts me, I fully intend to try to convince him to turn himself in.”

“Uh huh,” Malley said, not sounding the least bit convinced. “And did you try to convince Bodie when he called you and asked you to meet him in the woods near Miss Maverick’s residence?”

“He didn’t give me the chance,” Eddie readily answered. “He just asked me to meet him there.”

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