Page 27 of Operation: Unify

Lacy felt a chill run down her arms. The stakes had just doubled. She’d assumed the only real danger was Tod, but if his brother was as connected to Melinda, they had more to worry about. “Does he own other properties? Or, what is the connection?” Those places were possibilities for either of them to take Melinda that they might think would be safe from Lacy.

“Yeah, he’s kind of a real estate king in the area. He’s buys up homes and turns some of them into rentals. Some of them areflipped if he has the money to hire people to fix them. He owns probably forty percent of the rental property in the city, which is how he knows my dad. My dad owns about three.” Randy took a deep breath. “Working for him is really good for me. His wages are good. That’s how I’m able to pay for school. I might not like or agree with the guy, but my bank account likes him.”

“If there are that many, then there’s no way we could look at them all. This might be a small town, but there are a lot more than a hundred homes, which means there are more than forty properties,” Connor said.

“I hadn’t considered that.” Lacy suddenly felt like a failure. She’d come all this way to help her friend, and she’d failed.

“Lacy is still in danger. Tod threatened her.” Randy stared at Connor, and it felt to Lacy like a challenge.

No one stood up to Connor in her life, except her. She was the only one who routinely stepped on the poor man’s toes, and she suspected it was because he let her.

“And if I take her back home, she won’t be in danger anymore,” Connor answered. “But I see your point. I may not care deeply for Melinda like I do for Lacy, but I can’t let her die just because I want to protect my wife.”

His wife.The word warmed something deep inside her. He hadn’t called her that in a long time.

“Don’t ask me to say sorry for that. I can’t do it and be honest,” He looked her directly in the eyes.

Her chest felt full. “I didn’t ask you to.” She kept her voice as strong as she could.

Connor waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, he continued. “Okay. I see where you’re coming from. We’ll talk about what we can do, but let’s eat first. Deal?”

She couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face. “Deal. Thank you, Connor.”

“Don’t thank me yet. The hardest part is yet to come.”

Chapter Ten

The little bed and breakfast rental house was laid out well for visibility, but that didn’t leave Connor feeling any better about staying there. Whoever was after Lacy, assuming it was Melinda’s husband, knew where she was while they were there.

Lacy hid a yawn behind her hand. “So, the plan is to go there early in the morning and make a stink until he let her go. That’s legal. We aren’t going in his house.” She frowned slightly. “I’m just not clear on what we’ll do if he won’t let her near the door.”

“That’s when we call the police,” Randy said, drumming his fingers on the table. He was the only one of the three of them that looked wide awake. “Though, I don’t think we’ll have to. He’s just like his brother, and he doesn’t get up until at least ten in the morning. We were told to never call him, under any circumstances, between the hours of three in the morning and ten.”

Somehow, that knowledge made Connor like him even less. “We’ll pray that he’s fast asleep and she is able to answer the door. That’s a big ask, but we serve a big God.”

Randy looked away and took a deep breath. “Since I’m the one who’s used to staying up, I’ll sit out here and keep an eye on things. I’m not familiar with weapons unless they are on computer, but I’m good at making noise if I need to. All I ask is that I have somewhere I can close the blinds and crash around seven in the morning.”

“How many rooms are there in this place?” Connor glanced over at the small love seats in the living room. They were great for making the area look bigger than it was, but trying to shimmy his six-foot-five frame into that tiny space was going to be an issue.

“Just one and my dad intentionally got furniture for the living room that people can’t sleep on. He wanted couples or singles to rent this place, not people with kids and not groups. That way, less stuff gets damaged. I guess the only good thing is the bed is huge.”

Lacy looked at him with an apologetic glance. “Look, we were married. It’s not a big deal. Randy has offered to watch. You take the side closest to the door because I know you’ll want to get up first if he sees anything.”

“You know it.” He automatically touched the weapon at his side. “I don’t like the idea of leaving someone unarmed to watch the door though.”

“Like I told Lacy, the nighttime is probably the safest time. Tod and Cal will be out drinking with their group of friends like they do every night. It’s the daytime that we’re in the most danger. So, knowing that, get your sleep now so you can handle whatever comes at us tomorrow.”

Connor looked between Lacy and Randy. Lacy seemed to agree with his assessment, and she would know better because she’d already dealt with this guy for two days. He stood and Lacy led him to the bedroom. His mind fired in a million directions. Sleeping next to Lacy would be a temptation. He hadn’t givenher more than a hug in so long and his arms longed to hold her again.

Lacy flicked on the light and blinked sleepily in the bright overhead light. “Sorry, that was a lot harsher than I expected.” She blocked it with her hand then headed for a small lamp at the bedside. The moment she turned it on, he turned off the big light.

“Thanks.” Lacy wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I know this shouldn’t make me nervous, but it’s been a long time.”

He nodded. “It has. What would make you the most comfortable?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. This isn’t something I thought about when I asked you to come. It literally never crossed my mind.” She bit her lip. “We’re probably just fine getting ready for bed and going to sleep like we do every other night, right?” Her eyes met his and they were full of questions.

He wondered what she would ask him if she felt she could. Then he wondered why she thought she couldn’t. “What is it, hon?” He opened his arms slightly and she stepped into them.

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