Page 10 of Guard Dog

“Come on. We’re out of here,” I whisper in Violet’s ear.

Her grin breaks my heart. “Your place?”

“No, yours.” She frowns. I have to give her enough to get her out of here without a scene, but not too much or she’ll freak out. “Romy just called with a Peony S.O.S. so I think we need to take care of that first.”

I playfully push Violet in front of me as we head out. On the way, I whisper to Bishop telling him to follow us to Violet’s place, then flash a sign to JD to do the same. They both respond with a nod, and head for the other doors so Violet doesn’t see them leave.

Violet twines her fingers in mine as I make the drive. I raise her hand to my lips and kiss it gently before setting it on the console between us. I can drive faster with both hands on the wheel. When we arrive at the house, the front door is wide open, light spilling onto the steps. Violet frowns. “Why did Romy leave the door open?

I’m out of the truck first. “Romy, can we come in?”

“Yep.” Her voice is so quiet I almost miss it.

The house is trashed. Every drawer in the place is upside-down, the contents strewn across the floor. Cushions are cut open, tables overturned. I see Romy sitting on the floor, one elbow on the seat of the sofa. It looks like it cost her to be that upright. Rick beat the hell out of her. One eye is swelling shut, her nose is bloody, and her lip is split. I don’t know what bruises she’s sporting under her clothes but from the way she’s moving, there are plenty. “What the hell, Romy?”

“Where’s Peony?” Violet asks.

“Rick took her.”

I’ve heard SEALs take mortal wounds who didn’t make the same sound of pain that Violet did at those words.

“Bathroom,” Romy continues. She coughs and brings up a little blood.

Rick left a message on the mirror, written in Violet’s lipstick. “The kid for the key,” I read aloud.

“What key? Why would he take my baby?” Violet’s voice cracks. She’s barely hanging on, but she’s fighting to stay in control.

In between me going to the bathroom and coming back, JD and Bishop have arrived. Bish has helped Romy to a kitchen chair. JD has gone ice cold. He stares at me, waiting for instructions.

I pull out my cell and call Rick. No texts. I want to hear the fucker’s voice.

“What key?” I demand when he answers. No pleasantries. No threats. They aren’t needed. We’ll give him what he wants and get Peony back. Then that fucker is going to be buried six feet deep with no marker. Nobody here will object.

I have him on speaker. “The safety deposit box key,” Rick says.

Violet answers. “You already have the safety deposit key. You used it to access the box to get Keith’s will. Where’s Peony?”

“The other box. The one in the First National Bank in Baltimore. Keith stole it from me. I want that key, Violet. I gave you time, but you didn’t stop fucking around. I don’t know where you hid it, but I need it now. I want you to bring it to the garage at eleven-thirty. Don’t do anything stupid and it will be an easy trade. Try anything and, well, gasoline is flammable. So are little girls.”

The call goes dead. We have twenty-two minutes to find Rick’s key, and eight to get it to the garage.

“There is no other key,” Violet whispers. “We banked at Arlington Trust. All our accounts and our safety deposit box were there. Rick was the one who emptied the box. He had access to all of Keith’s and our joint accounts as executor. Hewent through our entire house when he helped me pack. He knows there isn’t another key.”

This makes no sense. Why would he kidnap Peony for a key? What the hell could be in a safety deposit box that he would be willing to risk jail time over? “He said Keith stole it. If Keith hid something, where would he put it?”

“In his locker on base,” she says without hesitation.

“Rick would have looked there. Where else would he have hidden a key?”

“God, I don’t know. My baby!”

I can see that she’s about to break down. I can’t let her. Violet will never survive it if something happens to her daughter. “Did you find any odd keys after Keith died? Any at all?”

“There was a whole drawer full of unlabeled keys. Romy and I had no idea what they belonged to. We put them on…oh my God. Peony’s princess keychain!”

JD locates the pink plastic purse in Peony’s bedroom, which she has carefully tucked under her pillow. He dumps it onto the kitchen table. Violet snatches the keychain. She fumbles through the keys and holds up an odd, flat one. “That’s it.”

I take a photo, showing the key with “FNB” stamped into the side, and text it to Rick. “We have fourteen minutes to get to the garage.”

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