Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(67)

Jadyn let out a sigh of relief and she watched Colt click the handcuffs in place.

“So nice of you to do our dirty work,” a man’s voice sounded from the rear of the shop. “The man turned out to be such a liability to the organization.”

Jadyn ducked down and peered between the tires. The voice sounded familiar…too familiar.

Oh my God! Agent Ross.





[page]Chapter Sixteen


Jadyn sucked in a breath. Suddenly, it all made sense. The second crew had kidnapped Raissa because they knew the family had someone in the FBI on payroll but didn’t know who. When they found Raissa and Zach, two FBI agents, in a car just like Pickett’s, they must have assumed Raissa and Zach had confiscated Pickett’s car and planned on keeping the merchandise for themselves.

Ross’s sudden attitude shift toward Colt had nothing to do with his investigation and everything to do with their finding the Cadillac in the pond. Ross was looking for Pickett’s stolen Cadillac and was afraid Colt and Jadyn had stumbled across it before he could locate it. His insistence that he inspect the car before the forensics team arrived now made perfect sense.

She watched as Ross walked into the light, his gun trained on Colt.

“Put down your weapon,” Ross said, “and kick it over to me.”

Jadyn could see Colt gauging his options, but there was nowhere he could hide before Ross emptied a magazine into him. Colt leaned over and placed his pistol on the ground, then kicked it over to Ross.

“Why am I not surprised you’re dirty?” Colt asked.

Ross smirked. “You think the federal government is without complicity? Half of the things they do under the guise of protecting the public only serves their own interests and lines the pockets of executives. The rest of us risk our lives only to give them more power over us and make them wealthy.”

“That’s what you tell yourself,” Colt said.

“I don’t have to tell myself anything. My bank account speaks for itself.”

“How did you know the cars were here?” Colt asked.

“When I was looking for that thief Bart, I saw Pickett parking a rental car on one of the back streets. I figured there was only one reason he’d be in Mudbug, so I had him followed.”

“And he led you straight here.”

Ross waved his pistol toward the loft. “Who’s up there?”

“No one.”

“I heard a crash when we came through the window.” He looked to his left. “Check it out.”

Stepford emerged from the shadows and headed across the shop toward the loft.

Maryse!

Jadyn watched as Stepford approached the area, praying that Helena made a noise somewhere else, distracting him from the loft. Then she caught sight of Helena, standing next to a stack of boxes. She swung at them like a prizefighter, but with each pass, her hands went right through them.

“I can’t touch them,” Helena wailed and swung so hard, she spun herself around and fell to the ground.

Stepford walked up to the ladder and looked up. “Come down or I start shooting through the roof.”

Maryse rose slowly from the loft floor, her hands in the air, and carefully made her way down the ladder.

“You?” Stepford looked surprised. “It’s LeJeune’s wife,” he yelled and pushed Maryse toward Ross.

Ross cursed. “Like I need the shitstorm her murder is going to bring.” He glared at Maryse. “Why can’t you stay at home and bake cookies like a good little wife?”

“Why don’t you kiss my ass?” Maryse shot back.

Panic flooded Jadyn. While she appreciated her cousin’s backbone, she had no doubt Ross intended to kill Maryse. Jadyn pulled her cell phone from her pocket and texted Mildred.

Ross and Stepford dirty. Maryse and Colt captive. Get backup.

She knew the hotel owner was in her office, cell phone in one hand and the other poised over her landline. Jadyn had no doubt that Mildred would raise a cavalry worthy of a small war.

But would they make it in time?

“Where’s your girlfriend, the game warden?” Ross asked.

“Arresting the guy who was chopping cars,” Colt said.

Jadyn watched Ross closely, trying to see if he bought Colt’s lie. He studied Colt for several seconds, but Colt must be a convincing liar because Ross finally broke his stare and looked over at Stepford.

“What do you want to do with them?” Stepford asked.

“Later. First, I want the diamonds.” Ross looked at Colt. “Where are they?”

“In my safe-deposit box,” Colt replied.

“Mudbug doesn’t have a bank with safe-deposit boxes, but have it your way. When you’re dead, we’ll search your house. If I don’t find the diamonds there, I’ll kill everyone in the sheriff’s department and search there. The one thing I won’t do is leave this town without the boss’s product.”

Jadyn’s pulse pounded so hard she thought her head and chest would burst. She had no doubt Ross would live up to everything he said. He couldn’t afford for any of them to be left alive or his entire life unraveled. But with Stepford holding Maryse and Colt with nowhere to hide, could she risk firing? She was good, but she imagined Ross and Stepford were no slouches. Her odds of taking out both of them before one of them took out Maryse or Colt were slim to none.