Page 16 of Operation: Integrity

Kelly’s spirit shriveled and all sense of freedom vanished like it had never been there. Nathan was right. They couldn’t do anything, and she would never be free. Worse, now Sam and Connor would believe that she was crude and disgusting, that she wanted the attention she’d had to endure for so long. “No,” she said too quietly for anyone but Sam to hear. “I don’t ever want to see you again.”

Sam had never been morethankful to see Lacy come running out of the house, though he couldn’t say Connor looked all that happy about it.

“Lacy, help Kelly get back to her cabin.” He looked Kelly right in the eyes. “I’ll come see you in a minute. I didn’t believe a word of that. Just go. She’ll help you.”

He couldn’t leave Connor alone to face Nathan without backup, but that left Kelly in the open until Lacy had come out.

Lacy jogged over to Kelly and threaded her arm through Kelly’s. “Let’s get you back to your cabin, but we’ll take the long way. No one needs to know which one is yours.”

Praise God Lacy always thought ahead. No one said anything until Lacy and Kelly had disappeared into the barn. Sam went over to Connor’s side, so they showed a unified front. This guy wasn’t getting any further and the goal was to get him to leave. Unfortunately, they couldn’t just pull a weapon and make him go until he did something that threatened their lives.

Dominic came out of the ranch house next and stood up on the porch. The man was just as intimidating as Connor, maybe more so because Dominic wasn’t readable like Connor.

“You need to leave now. There is nothing for you here.” Connor crossed his arms and widened his stance. He knew he was intimidating, though perhaps not to a man like Nathan.

“You have something of mine. I don’t plan to go anywhere until I get it back.” Nathan stared at Connor.

“It?” Dominic growled. “What, exactly, do we have that’s yours?”

“I don’t need to tellyouanything. If you think herding Kelly off to her cabin is going to keep me from her, you’re wrong. I will see her. Looks to me like you’re keeping her in a little prison here. Wonder how long it will take her to fly your little coop, too?” he snorted.

Sam tensed and though he wasn’t the kind to start a fight, the desire to punch Nathan in the face crossed his mind.

“Just stay here. He’s baiting you. He wants to get one of us to make the first move so he can attack. Don’t give it to him.” Connor raised his head again, directing his words to Nathan once more. “You can leave now, or I will call the police. If you think the police will be on your side, then please call them. I’d like to see what Officer Blake has to say about your story. I’m sure he’d find it as interesting as we do.” Sarcasm practically dripped from Connor’s words.

Nathan snorted again. “I’m not calling the police.” He backed away two steps toward his car. “I can promise you that you will see me again. But if you know Evie, then you already know that. Next time, it won’t be a drone that checks things out first. It will be an army. You have onelast chance. Give me what is mine or you will not live to see next month.”

“That sounds like a threat,” Dominic rested his hand over the Glock on his hip.

“It is, but until he makes good on it, our hands will remain at the ready,” Connor said.

“That’s right. Wouldn’t want to make yourselves look bad.” Nathan opened his car door. “I guess I’ll just have to get my property back the old-fashioned way. You won’t win. We literally never fail. It isn’t hard to keep business going.”

Sam’s stomach knotted at the way Nathan could talk about people, human life, as worth nothing. He didn’t care about anyone other than himself. Sam had never met someone so far away from God that being near him actually made the hair on Sam’s arms stand on end.

Nathan got into his car, turned it on, backed from where he’d parked and drove away. Yet the feeling after he left lingered like a stench.

“Those were some big threats,” Dominic crossed his arms as he leaned against the porch railing.

“I understand now why the halfway house was so concerned about tracking, but it’s too late for that,” Connor said.

Sam glanced between the two men. “You don’t really think the halfway house gave him any information, do you? Why would they be so worried about her safety, yet tell Nathan where she was?”

Connor shook his head. “I doubt it. I doubt anything he said was the truth. How he found her doesn’t matter though, he did. Our job is to keep her protected.”

“Do I need to bring in more of my men?” asked Dominic. “If you need, just say the word.”

“Thank you,” Connor muttered. “I’m not interested in terrifying everyone just yet, but I also want to make sure everyone is safe. I need to notify Nixon and let him know what just happened.”

“We should probably tell the halfway house that all bets are off with our tracking technology. We need to be able to see every inch of Wayside,” Sam said as he followed Connor to the house. He wanted to go see Kelly, but he wanted to give Lacy time to calm her. Women were better about that than men, or at least better than he was.

“One thing I want everyone here to know: if they stay here they are safe. Period,” Connor slammed the door open and stomped into the lodge.

Chapter Eight

Sam followed Connor toward his office. A few steps inside the house, Dominic broke off from them and headed for the kitchen. Since Connor didn’t stop and seemed to want Sam to follow, he did. Unlike usual, Connor shut the door behind them, giving them privacy that wasn’t the normal mode of operations at Wayside. Unless there was a threat or someone was having a session with Brendon, most doors stayed open to convey a feeling of welcome. This change added to the growing knot in Sam’s stomach.

“Have a seat.” Connor went around to his side of the desk, sat heavily, and scrubbed down his face with both hands as he deeply sighed. “I hate that feeling.”

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