The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(69)

“Lorna is gone. Lorna and the children! Someone is doing this—it has to be her. The only women left are you, Charlotte and Laine, and I know you two wouldn’t betray me. I know it!” He shook off his two men and said, “Take her across the river and tie her. Then check the fence. The entire fence!” Then he stormed out of the house.

The two men exchanged looks and then, apparently resigned, went to Laine and lifted her to her feet.

“Please,” she whimpered. “Please, no... I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t do that....”

“Come along now,” Sam said. “Like a good girl.”

How many Sams and Joes had worked for Jacob? she wondered. She looked beseechingly at Pilly and Charlotte who both looked shocked and scared. “Tell him I wouldn’t do that,” she begged. “Pilly, don’t let him tie me up. He’s going to hurt me.”

Laine knew better than to struggle against these two big men even if there was a chance she could get away from them. It was safer to stay in character and play her part. But to her dismay this meant that if she had a chance to flee she’d have to take it and just hope that no harm came to the two remaining women and their children. Right then Laine vowed to herself that if she got out of this place, she’d run far and fast and never look back. This wasn’t what she’d signed on for. This was supposed to be a simple fact-finding mission and when she had the information she needed, she was simply going to walk away from this compound. Then she found the guns, the pot, the danger to the children...

They tied her to a kitchen chair in Jacob’s house, her hands behind her back and her ankles bound to the chair legs. Then she heard the men talking with Jacob, telling him they were going to secure the perimeter and she thought, that sounded like police talk. But these men were not police. She heard one of them tell Jacob not to do any more damage. And then they left.

Every nerve in her body was on high alert and her heart was hammering so hard she trembled, but took comfort in the fact that this would be a normal reaction and would not raise suspicion. She watched the clock on Jacob’s oven and it ticked by slowly. She could hear him talking on the phone but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Who could he be communicating with? she wondered. He’d led them all to believe his entire world was inside the fence; that he neither wanted nor needed anything else.

Around ten in the morning she heard a knock at his door, heard him get up and open it and heard Pilly talking to him. Her voice was faint and trembling, but Laine thought she could make out a bit of what she was saying. “Don’t do this, Jacob, you’re scaring us. Let me take her back to the house and we’ll watch her. Please, Jacob, I’ll do whatever you need, but don’t hold her prisoner.”

And then Jacob could be heard, and there was no mistaking his words. “She’s not going anywhere until I get to the bottom of this! I think it’s her and she’s ruining everything!”

There was a bit more pleading then the door closed again, presumably on Pilly’s departure. At almost two, the men were back and she distinctly heard three voices in addition to Jacob’s. And she could hear their words, which were remarkably calm.

“The breach of our security has gone too far and has involved too many people. Too many have left and they’re talking—I’d bet anything.”

“It’s time to shut it down.”

“No! I’m not giving it up!” Jacob shouted.

“We’ll never get another shipment out of here and I’m not going to jail! It’s time to follow the original plan. Burn it and leave it.”

“No! We fight back!”

“Jacob, they’re bigger than we are, and too many people have left. We can’t rely on their silence. They’re going to sell us out—these women. Burn it, and while they’re dealing with the mess and the torch, we’ll take what we can out the back way. We’ll pick up a couple of cars and get out.”

“I’m not giving it up until they’re here with a warrant. Then we can torch it!”

“I’m telling you, I’ve seen this before. If you think the town constable is coming with a warrant, you’re delusional. They’ll come with a small army. And no one’s getting away unless we get out before they try to get in. Leave the girls and their babies behind, take the cash on hand and let’s move.”

Laine cursed under her breath because that was as much of a detailed conversation as she’d ever heard among the men. And she had to pee like a racehorse.

They continued to argue, except that Jacob’s men didn’t try to get tough with him. They calmly advised him, and they were articulate. Very well-spoken drug dealers. These were businessmen. Jacob was half-loony, a self-aggrandizing fool. But the people around him, the women and the men, appeared to be intelligent and in control.

How had he managed that?

“I’m not for taking more chances. We always said we were exiting this property before it got hot. When a dozen people take off, it’s hot.”

“We have a little more time,” Jacob said.

They’re going to run, Laine thought. And her greatest fear was that Jacob could be willing to die for it. She’d been here for months and his anger had been steadily escalating. He didn’t like the size of his tribe getting smaller.

Finally the talk stopped and the door to Jacob’s house closed. She used her small, pitiful voice. “Jacob?” she called softly. “Jacob?”