Page 51 of Operation: Unify

A noise from outside the bathroom that sounded a little like a muffled cry made her hurry to rinse off, towel dry, and find out what was going on. The moment she opened the bathroom door, she heard Melinda crying softly.

“What happened?” Lacy asked as she stepped back into the room.

“I got a text when we arrived here at about three in the morning. Tod posted bond and immediately skipped town. There’s no way he could find us where we are,” Connor said.

Melinda looked up and swiped under her eyes. “I know that, but he knows Piper’s Ridge. That’s where he met me. Don’t you think that’s the first place he would go to look?”

Lacy sat on the bed next to Melinda. “We need to take away his power. If we can find out what company holds the life insurance policy on you, we can cancel it.”

She shook her head slowly. “I don’t think that would help. The payout was a bonus, but he loves the manipulation. He loves feeling smarter than the police. What started as a get rich scheme has turned into a mental game for him. He always has to be the best, smartest, strongest, most . . . whatever you can think of, in the room. And this is the ultimate game.”

Lacy’s stomach heaved and she was glad she hadn’t eaten in a long time. “That’s twisted and I know twisted.”

Melinda nodded and sniffled. “I can’t imagine why they would let him go. He tried to kill me. Why would they do that and how did he get the money? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know, but I know we’ll be safe once we reach Wayside. It’s protected and secure.” Though not as much as it had once been when there were security gates and perimeter fences around everything.

“I trust you. It’s just that every time I believe something is going to go right, I’m reminded that nothing ever does for me. It hasn’t for years. I’m forgotten.” She looked away. “I’ll be quick, but I need a shower too.”

Lacy worked on drying her hair as Melinda headed into the bathroom. Connor had already moved to the desk and was on his phone, looking something up. She headed over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder to let him know she was there.

“What are you doing?”

He moved the map around with his thumb, looking around the area. She could see the pin on the location where they were.

“I’m trying to figure out if the route would be better to go back where we were, then take the backroads north like I’d originally planned or if we should take the highway through Cheyenne. There are risks to both.”

She nodded, understanding exactly what he meant and knowing the safety of all of them fell on his shoulders. “Thank you again for coming.”

He glanced up at her and snorted. “Like I’d just leave you to deal with a situation if you asked me to help. That’s not happening.”

The truth of the statement washed over her. He wasn’t leaving. Not again. He wouldn’t choose to walk away this time. Had he even realized he’d answered her prayers so casually? Almost as if she should know better than think otherwise.

“Good to hear.” She leaned over to look at the tiny map on his phone. “So, we’re trying to avoid Cheyenne.”

“Viceroy is still missing. Police are searching but according to the text I got from Brendon while you were in the shower, he still hasn’t been caught. Part of me wonders if he’s in Wisconsin with Ramona, but those two seemed like they were fighting more than anything last time we knew they were together.”

“And now that her son is gone, she has no reason to stay with Viceroy.” Not to mention, he’d treated Ramona terribly, not that Ramona didn’t deserve it. She’d been behind the killing of multiple people in order to save her terminally ill son.

Connor mumbled a noise of agreement. “Which means, he’s most likely in Cheyenne. His other wife is deceased who was from there, but he has a huge network there. Lots of places to hide out.”

“But what are the chances that he would see us? He doesn’t know our vehicles and doesn’t know we were traveling.Cheyenne means highways, faster speeds. We could get home sooner.”

He frowned slightly, then zoomed out. “It would take about ten minutes off the trip. Not really enough to make a decision one way or the other but I’m leaning toward agreeing with you. Viceroy doesn’t know we’ll be coming through town and Cal knows we’re somewhere in the area headed north.”

Melinda came out of the shower looking rosy from the hot water and scrunching her hair in a towel. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Randy zipped his bag and hefted it onto the bed. “Me too.”

Connor stood and stretched. It took all of Lacy’s effort not to step right into his arms. She could use a hug that morning. Soon enough they would be home, and she could get a hug whenever she wanted. For now, she’d have to settle for looking.

Chapter Nineteen

They’d only been on the road for about an hour when Connor’s phone buzzed. Lacy pulled it from the nook on the dash where Connor usually tossed it while he was driving and opened it. She immediately clicked the button on the side to make the screen blank.

“Wayside is in trouble. Officer Nixon has been shot. Brendon wants to know how far away we are.”

If he hadn’t stopped last night, he’d be there already but he’d thought Lacy and Melinda both needed actual rest in a bed, off the road. He swallowed and tried to quickly figure out if he dared go faster. “We’re still about two hours from home.”

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