Page 52 of Operation: Unify

She opened his phone again and quickly typed out a text for him. He prayed that everyone was alright. Now was not a good time to take a call from Brendon. Here, in the truck, he couldn’t be objective with Melinda listening in. She wasn’t the same as a Wayside guest, but certain aspects of running the ranch had to be kept from her as much as they were kept from the guests.

“Should we pull over so you can call him and find out what’s happening?” Lacy leaned forward in her seat and searched the road ahead.

“I’ll wait to see how he answers. He knows I’m on the road and headed there as fast as I can. I wish I knew what ‘in trouble’ meant. Is Viceroy there? Are they under attack? What is going on?”

“I could call your dad, if you want,” she offered.

He glanced at her, then quickly over to Melinda and Lacy nodded her understanding. Melinda had been through enough and her danger wasn’t over. Her husband was free, had skipped town, and was probably headed for Piper’s Ridge. Plus, the main officer in town would now be in the hospital.

His phone buzzed again, and Lacy read the text then lowered her voice. “Nixon was trying to keep out three cars that descended on Wayside early this morning. He was critically wounded in a shootout. Edwyn and Sam were able to keep the vehicles off the property and the officer working with Nixon was told to bring him in since the ambulance was so far away that it made more sense for the officer to do it.” She put the phone back on the dashboard.

“I would imagine if they took him in a squad car instead of calling the Piper’s Ridge Fire Dept., then they thought he would survive the transport. That’s what I’ll believe until I’m told otherwise.” Nixon had become a friend over the years with the help they needed on Wayside. He’d been one of the few people to know what Wayside actually did and he supported the effort.

“Brendon didn’t say whether or not we should use the front entrance or if they were concerned about being stopped. I guess when we get within a half hour of home, we should call and find out what the exact situation is,” Lacy offered.

“I agree with that plan. Things could change quickly there and what would work right now, might not by the time we arrive. We need to let Randy know, though he’ll follow me.”

“Did he call his father?” Melinda asked. “I wasn’t paying attention right before we left.”

“He did. His father said that the news around town was that both of them were gone. The hotel is locked up tight, even though it was supposed to open back up today, and Tod didn’t even go home before he took off. Do they have relatives anywhere?” Connor asked.

“Yes. He has distant family near Piper’s Ridge. He was staying with them the summer we met. They were so nice, so I never thought for a moment to question Tod’s actions. To be completely honest, he wasn’t awful until after we married. Before then, he was a gentleman. I only saw the dents in his armor looking back with 20/20 vision. Being in love can be dangerous. It blinds you to things you would normally notice without hesitation.” She laid her forehead against the window.

“It happens. No one here thinks less of you. No one at Wayside will either,” Lacy said.

“I wish there was a way to know where he is. I would imagine he’ll be heading to Piper’s Ridge. He knows you still have family there even though your aunt is gone.”

“They must not have found any evidence against him in my aunt’s murder.” Melinda’s voice shook. “I will be so angry if they don’t convict him for that. I know he did it. If she hadn’t moved to be closer to me, she’d still be alive. It was worthless. I never got to talk to her anyway. She picked up her life and moved for me and I never even thanked her,” Melinda’s voice trembled.

Connor gripped the steering wheel; glad Lacy was there. He could deal with emotions at work, when he knew what to expect and he’d been trained. When it came to everyday emotions, Lacy was much better equipped.

“She knew, Melinda. You can’t sit in guilt over something you had no control over. Take it to God. That’s all you can do.”

“Without police, am I even safe in Piper’s Ridge?” Melinda turned to look at him. “What if he finds out where I am?”

If they could deal with Viceroy, they could deal with a couple narcissists. “I’m sure we have at least today to get where we need to be and settle in. Tod seems to mostly work with Cal. They were headed in the same direction so they’ll meet, but that will take time. Then, they’ll need to decide what to do. By then, we’ll have you safely behind security.”

His men would deserve a party and time off after Viceroy went to prison. All those who had been asked to testify would do so and get him put away for a long time. Even as he thought about it, he had doubts. When they had been in Cheyenne at a hotel, they’d found out it was known to be used by traffickers and owned by a politician. Viceroy wasn’t the only man they needed to stop but when would it end?

Miles on the road brought them closer to home and the turmoil there. He reached for his phone and called Brendon. After two rings, he answered.

“Connor, how far away are you?”

“About a half hour. What’s the plan?”

Brendon paused for a second and Connor heard him rolling his wheelchair, then closing the door. “So, the front entrance is probably bad. We have it covered right now, but we don’t know how far down the road before it’s blocked. Edwyn and Sam both report that no cars have gone by all morning. Now, we both know that people driving on this road is rare, but not that rare. It’s possible they are stopping traffic on both sides and sending them a different route. I’d bet they’re waiting for us to try and leave.”

“Or for us to come home.” Either way, if they were rerouting traffic one or the other would know someone was coming from Wayside if they came from the opposite direction as other traffic. There would be no other explanation.

“Right, so I propose that Junior will meet you over by the eastern fence where it meets the road. He’ll have one of the ATVs that seat four.”

“We don’t have one that seats five, but we’ll make it work,” Connor said.

“Leave all the bags in the vehicles. We can send someone to get them afterwards. It’s more important to get you onsite than it is for your belongings to get here,” Brendon continued.

“Agreed. I’ll have everyone ready to run to the ATV. Have Junior there when we arrive. Has anyone checked that way to make sure no one is even close to that area?”

“Affirmative. Nadine has been employing drones to check areas that are too far away for us to ride to. She has been our eyes and ears. She can confirm they aren’t near that spot, but she’s afraid to fly her drones down the road to see where the men are. If they shoot it down, it’s expensive to replace.”

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