Page 26 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

The same three assholes who’d located them on Sturgess property were watching over Nikki to ensure she made it home. This wasn’t exactly kidnapping, but she was being held against her will. The problem? Her stepfather was responsible. If she tried to alert law enforcement to her present predicament, she would bring trouble to the one person who’d stuck up for her consistently in the past. She loved Heath. He’d been a father figure when Harrison had ducked out on the family. He was the only man who’d stayed.

And he was doing what he thought would protect her. Heath was wrong. She didn’t need protection from Conrad. But her stepfather wasn’t in the vehicle, and she didn’t have a phone to use, or she’d call him to straighten this out.

The Three Stooges kept her from moving. One sat on either side of her in the backseat while the third drove.

“I have to use the restroom,” she said. How these men had found them was beyond her. They’d been trespassing on private property. Could she do anything with that information?

Like what?

That was a dead end. She needed to think. She’d been on the road for a solid hour moving away from the one person who could help her. The farther away she got, the bigger the ache in her chest.

She needed answers regarding her father’s murder. Those were disappearing in the rearview along with the town sign: Saddle Junction.

Her hands and feet were free. Curly, sitting next to her, had a weapon within reach. Could she make a move for it?

Academics had been her thing, not athletics. The hours-long walk, followed by trying to outrun bullets, had zapped her energy. Lack of sleep wasn’t helping matters. Plus, she was already running on a half-empty tank after midterms.

“Heath is going to get an earful about the three of you,” she said out of impotent anger. She sounded like a frustrated teenager being punished for sneaking out or breaking curfew.

Moe and Curly laughed. Jep sneered at her through the rearview.

“What you’re doing is illegal,” she said. “I’ll have all three of you arrested. You’ll go to jail for abduction. That’s a serious offense, in case you asshats haven’t figured out that’s illegal.” They responded with more laughing, which fired her up even more. “Plus, I have no idea what your real intentions are. Human trafficking is being cracked down on, especially in a state like Texas. Do you really want that to go on your record?”

“Mr. Alastor would never let that happen to us,” Jep said, but he didn’t sound completely convinced. Could she work with that? Find an angle? Pick at it until one of them questioned whether or not this was still a good idea?

“I’m twenty-six years old,” she said with disdain. “I decide if I’m being abducted. My stepfather has nothing to do with it.” At this rate, however, he’d answered her question about whether she should take his last name. Absolutely not. For better or worse, she was a Guidry. Besides, maybe she could add respect to the last name. Her father might have made a fortune for himself working alongside Beaumont Sturgess, but he’d tarnished his own reputation by taking care of “things” for his employer. She would rather die than cower to a rich man. Plus, her father had money of his own. Hold on a minute. Maybe that was it. Maybe the Three Stooges could be bought for a higher price. “Whatever my stepfather is paying you, I’ll double it.”

“What kind of shit are you trying to pull?” Jep asked, shooting a warning look to the others via the rearview.

“I’m a businesswoman,” she said. “This is a business transaction, is it not?”

Jep nodded, but suspicion stamped his expression. “Our business is with Mr. Alastor, not you, little miss.”

Little miss?The term was fingernails on a chalkboard. These non-evolved creatures had to have a chink, something she could exploit.

“Fine, then,” she said, folding her arms. “Jail, it is.” She gave a self-satisfied smirk that she didn’t feel. Fake it ’til you make it. “But you won’t be able to spend any of the money there. And the feds will get involved because I’ll claim human trafficking, which means they’ll freeze your bank accounts. They’ll ransack your homes in case you hide money there. I guarantee you won’t make a dime from abducting me.”

“My ma,” Curly muttered under his breath, sounding rattled.

Everyone had a mother, or they wouldn’t be in this world, but it struck her as odd these grown-ass criminals not only had them but cared about them, too. People caught her off guard all the time, and this was no exception.

“You aren’t going to be any good to her when you’re locked behind bars and broke,” Nikki said under her breath, loud enough for Curly to hear.

“Don’t listen to this bitch,” Jep said. He spoke with the authority of a ringleader. All three had pot bellies and solid arms. All three had sunburned skin. All three looked to be in their early to mid-thirties. Did they work for her stepfather in his construction business? Could she use that angle?

“Even if you do somehow skate without going to jail, everyone in construction will blacklist you,” she continued. “Good luck getting work after this. Your careers will be ruined. You’ll have no way to earn a living. I’ll say you hurt me.” She held up an arm. “I’ll say these bruises came from you.” They might have a clue as to how overprotective Heath could be.

Curly squirmed. Moe, the one on her other side, kept his mouth clamped shut.Keep working on Curly.

Jep was shooting darts from his eyes every chance he had to look into the rearview, warning the others to keep their cool or face consequences.

“Do you have kids?” she asked. “Do you know what it’s like to hear that someone hurt your little girl?”

More squirming on Curly’s end. A quick glance at him revealed the light beads of sweat forming on his forehead. It was a long drive back to Austin. She could work on him the entire time.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” she said again.

“No way,” Jep responded.

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