Page 46 of Astrid
“I’ve gone over Stella with a fine-toothed comb, and fixed what that asshat Gus Carter did to her. Can you believe he put a king and queen seat on her? Anyway, she’s ready to go.”
“Do you think you should take Stella out? What if people are looking for her?”
“Let them find us. I’m tired of going on these bogus locations. Maybe if I go out with Stella, that asshat in the big black truck will come at me again. I’m ready for some action.”
They agreed with her, and stopped talking when the waitress put their wine coolers before them. Once left alone, the women started making plans of going out riding on a Sunday not only to have Stella seen, but also to have some riding time in. They were so into what they were discussing, they ignored the surrounding bar. It wasn’t until three men, each holding a beer approached them that they realized they’d been more into making plans than having their heads in the game on their mission.
“Jane?” someone asked from the side, and the three women jerked. Astrid was just about to tell them her real name when she saw it was their target.
“Oh, Griff, I’m so sorry, we didn’t see you come in,” she gushed, and actually batted her eyelashes at him.
Griff laughed, and shook his head. “That’s okay, I’d like to introduce you to my friends. This is Paul, and this is Harry.” Hands were shaken, then Astrid pointed to Joyce and Ava, introducing them as well. “This is Joy, and Eve.” Once hands were shaken again, the men grabbed chairs from nearby tables and joined the women.
Astrid held up her hand with a smile. “Sorry, but I need to go to the ladies’ room before we start.” Without waiting for them to say anything, she was up and walking down a short hall to where she’d seen the signs for the ladies’ room. Once inside she pulled her phone and sent a text to Tom. He was right on the ball and gave her an estimate of thirty minutes. Nodding, she quickly washed her hands, and headed back out. She didn’t know whether it made her happy or not that her friends were laughing and talking with the men. For some reason, she really liked Griff and didn’t want him to be a bad guy. Not that she would ever date him, because she was in a serious relationship with John, but he seemed like a very nice guy. Maybe after tonight they would have some answers.
As she walked back to her table, she noted the men had their backs to the hall, but faced the door, something a cop would do. She held up a hand with three fingers on it, and the other in the shape of a circle, so Joyce and Ava knew when to expect the cavalry to arrive. At their nods, she pasted a smile on her face and rejoined them.
“Sorry about that,” she said as she sat down between Griff and Paul. It turned out that she was paired with Griff, Joy with Paul, and Eve with Harry. The first thing they did was order another round when the waitress joined them. After she left, Astrid looked at the men and asked with a huge grin on her face. “Come here often?”
They laughed and shook their heads. “Never heard of the place until you called,” Griff admitted.
“Lot bigger on the inside than out, eh?” Paul asked, and Astrid got the distinct impression he was Canadian. She caught the expressions of Joyce and Ava, and realized they’d picked up on it also. Putting that to the back of her mind, they continued their conversation. The whole thing didn’t feel forced with Astrid, and they were all laughing about something when suddenly their table was surround by at least eight police officers.
Astrid looked up in shock when she saw Tom. In no way thirty minutes had passed, but looking at her watch, she realized it had. She watched the faces of the men intently, and saw their own shock.
“Help you?” Griff asked gruffly.
“Griffin Lee? Paul Girard? Harry Walsh?” Tom asked in a firm voice, when the three men nodded and gave a verbal affirmative, he continued. “You’re under arrest for outstanding warrants. Stand and put your hands on your heads.” Astrid was shocked when they did as told without saying a word.
“You too, Miss,” a police officer said to Astrid, Joyce, and Ava.
“What did we do?” Astrid asked in shock, never expecting to be arrested with them, then she realized it would be a perfect opportunity for them to be in the police station in order to listen to the questioning.
“You’re with them,” Tom said as he began putting the cuffs on Griff. Astrid sighed heavily and stood, putting her hands in the air. One good thing, the police officers cuffed the women in the front, but the men in the back. It all went down without a hitch, and Tom told the officers to take the men to the station, and he’d be right behind them with the women. Tom began putting them in the back of the police SUV, and as soon as the cars taking the men away pulled out, he gave a whistle and Morgan came out of the woods.
“Hey, guys.” She grinned at them. “Sorry about that.” She pointed to their cuffed hands. “I thought it would be better to take you guys into the station this way, than to walk in on your own. Make it look more real.”
“It shocked me at first, then I thought that also. I’ll go along with it as long as I won’t be booked, but I do have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“How will we get the truck home?”
“Oh, Tom stopped and picked me up, so I’ll be needing a ride home too, once all this is over. If you can give me the keys, I’ll wait twenty minutes then come to the station.”
“They’re in my pocket,” Joyce said as she grinned and stretched out her leg. It turned out that Tom had to let Astrid out, then Joyce, so she could get the keys, and once Morgan had them, they climbed back into the SUV.
“Are the cuffs really necessary?”
“Until we get to the station,” Tom said. “I don’t want anyone to know that we’re onto the men. The other cops know you’re the good guys, but they agreed it would look better to take you in along with the men, that’s why your hands are cuffed in the front of you, and not behind.”
“Will you book the guys?” Astrid asked. She leaned forward and studied the others. “I don’t know about Joyce and Ava, but for some reason I feel they’re good guys. I didn’t get any bad vibes off them.”
“Neither did I,” Joyce said. “As a matter of fact, I think they’re Canadian.”
“Me too,” Ava said. “Both with the Canadian part, as well as being genuinely good guys.”
“What makes you think they’re our neighbors from the north?” Morgan asked. They stood in the parking lot looking into the women sitting in the back of the SUV with Tom standing beside her.
