Page 73 of Lorna's Savior
“Yes, Sir.” They hung up and everyone turned to Andy. He stood there with his hands in his hair, and a deer-in-the-headlights look. Ronnie took matters in her own hands, stepped up to him, and slapped him across the face. She’d seen this done in movies, and thought it would work. Andy’s response shocked the hell out of her. He grabbed his face, bent over, and screamed like it was on fire.
“I didn’t hit you that hard,” Ronnie said, and looked over at the men who was bent over laughing. It was the man named Brian who sobered first.
“You hit him in the same spot Lorna slapped him last night.”
He grinned as Andy flipped him off, then stood and looked at Ronnie. “Thanks, I needed that, but I still don’t know what to do. Why would this Santos character target Lorna? It doesn’t make sense. How would he even know to look for her, especially all the way up here in the middle of nowhere Montana?”
They all were silent until Finn snapped his fingers and swore. “Shit.”
“What?” Patch asked as he stepped up to his best friend, and former commanding officer. “What is it, Finn?”
“Kristen is back. She called Lorna yesterday around mid-morning.”
“Where does she work?” Brian demanded, and after he got the address, his hands flew over the keys. He pointed to the screen and everyone watched as he pointed. They all saw Lorna come flying out of the building, looking extremely upset, then someone grabbed her from the side. They couldn’t hear what was being said, but they read the body language. When the older woman struck Lorna, Ronnie and Andy grinned when they saw Ronnie strike back.
“Holy shit, you go, girl,” Ronnie crowed at the screen, then pointed. “Isn’t that the guy from the other video?”
“Shit, it is. Kristen must have picked him up during her cruise,” Andy said. He looked around the room. “You and I both know that we’ve got nothing. No leads, we’re flying blind here. Do you trust me?”
“We do,” Brian didn’t hesitate to say.
“So do we,” Finn and Patch said.
“Good, because Ronnie and I are going on a little trip.”
“Me, why me?”
“You and I are going to go pay a visit to Kristen. We’ll get answers.” He looked at Brian. “You know the combination to my gun safe. Gather what you need and get ready. We shouldn’t be longer than an hour, two tops.”
“Take Major with you,” Finn said, and looked at his dog, and pointed to Ronnie. “Major, guard.” The dog immediately stepped up to Ronnie’s side and didn’t let her take a step, until Finn said something in a foreign language, then he walked beside her as they started to leave the apartment. However, Finn stopped them, and kissed her, hard. “You come back to me safe and sound.”
“I will, and I’ll have answers for you.” She kissed him again, then used hand signals Finn had taught her to control Major.
Down in the garage, the three of them jumped into Andy’s SUV and he drove like a bat out of hell to get to Kristen’s home. At one point he looked at Ronnie, and said, “I love her, you know.”
“That remains to be seen,” Ronnie said, then sighed at his expression. She held up her hand to ward him off. “I’ve known Lorna for at least ten years. Trust me when I say I know her. Finn told me just this morning what happened with Marvin yesterday.”
“And what was that?”
“That he told her he was her father. Finn also said that she had no reaction until she asked who had done the investigation on her mother. Marvin handed her your business card. That’s when she lost it. I don’t know for sure, but I can probably say that when she found out your real name was Monk Ball, she felt humiliated.”
“I know,” Andy sighed and shook his head. “When we first hooked up, it was only one night. Hell, we didn’t even exchange names. It wasn’t until days later that I saw her on the deck next door. I knew from that first night that she used monk and ball as swear words. In my defense, I’d never planned on seeing her again.”
“And after you two started practically living together? You couldn’t have told her then?”
Andy shrugged. “I have no excuse. I thought it was cute.”
“I’ll withhold my judgement until we get Lorna back. But if she forgives you, it’ll take a long time for me to trust you. As I told that asshat deputy earlier, I’ve tangled with a wild mountain lion twice, and won, so tangling with you is nothing.”
“What does that…?” Andy looked at her, then his eyes widened. “You, you were the one that was kicked into the bottom of the ravine?”
“Yes, Major and Finn found me.” Ronnie lifted the sleeve of her long tee and showed him the scars on her forearm.
“Holy hell.”
“Yeah, these are nothing compared to the ones on my outer thigh. So, be warned. I love Lorna like a sister, and will defend her if need be.”
“Duly noted.” They continued to ride in silence, and when Ronnie saw they were getting closer, she looked at Andy and asked.
