Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(95)

“I’ll check in on them and make sure they’re hidden for a few hours. And then we’ll see how we can get them the rest of the way.”

“I hope so. I’m off to bed. I’ve been up all night with this. Now I need to recharge in a big way.”

“Tabitha, thank you.”

Her laughter rang free. “I live for stuff like this. You know that, Stefan.”

She hung up, and he lay back down, a big smile on his face. He closed his eyes, and Humbug gently drifted a feather down on his cheek. “I know, Humbug. We’re actually making this happen. Hold steady, buddy. We’re almost there.”





Chapter 29





“Why? What difference does it make if I saw the boss or not?” Issa asked in bewilderment. “I wasn’t conscious much of the time either.”

“They couldn’t take the chance you could identify your kidnapper.”

She turned to Eagle and blinked. “You’re thinking he was somebody I might’ve recognized?”

Both Hawk and Eagle nodded. “That makes the most sense. It also makes sense that they knew to look for the jewels and the money.”

“Revenge? Is that possible? After twenty years?”

“Do you know how badly injured Danny was, Hawk?”

Hawk shook his head. “No idea.”

“Too bad. It would also help to know who else or what else he may have lost at that fight. You don’t know how it impacted the rest of his life. Maybe he was unable to do anything again. For all you know, he’s totally incapable of supporting himself, and his life is miserable, all because of whoever did this to him. And you could be the only living connection he has to the person who did this.”

“Then why torture me?”

“Because he wanted to make sure you weren’t protecting someone. He wanted to make sure you weren’t trying to hide this person from him.”

They were at the car by then. She slumped against the side of it. “I did hear voices that night before all hell broke loose. But I didn’t recognize any of them. A lot of the men were young who worked for my father. One was old. But he wasn’t that old.” She tilted her head and thought about it. “He was small and was older than my mother.”

“He might possibly have been somebody your mother knew. Maybe they were hoping she’d have bared her soul before dying and gave you all the details of what happened.”

“Or, out of respect for her, they waited until she was gone,” Hawk said. “I don’t know these people, but everyone has a motivation for doing something in a particular way. It all seems to revolve around your mother and you.”

“That’s nothing new,” she said in frustration. “None of this helps us find Panther or Tiger.”

She watched the two men exchange glances. Just as Eagle was about to speak, his phone went off. He answered it with, “What’s up?”

He spun and turned toward Hawk. At that moment Hawk’s phone went off. Hawk pulled it out, checked the number, and glanced over at Eagle. He held it up for Eagle to see the screen.

She leaned over to take a look. It was Panther calling. She frowned. “I can’t believe that.”

Hawk shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” He hit the Talk button and said, “Panther, what’s up?”

Issa only heard one side of the conversations. She paced and waited. And just as the men sounded like they were getting off the phone, hers rang. She wiped tears out of her eyes to see a number she didn’t know. Hesitantly she lifted the phone to her ear and said, “Hello?”

“It’s Angus. You’re looking for Danny McNeil,” he said. “He’s the man who organized the shipment. He was older than your brothers. He was the one hurt and taken away. He might have answers for you.”

“Any idea how I can find him?”

“Yeah. Barney from the pub. His brother-in-law is Danny’s father. You be careful though. Not all the pub folks are on your side.” And he hung up.

When she put down her phone, she found both men staring at her, but Eagle was now on another call. As soon as he was done, she raised her eyebrows and said, “That was Angus.” She repeated his message.

Hawk nodded. “That aligns with the information I just got. But Panther didn’t call me. It was one of my other men. He found Panther’s phone—outside the pub.”

She felt the color wash away from her cheeks. “Angus said Barney at the pub would know how to reach this other guy who is also his brother-in-law. But not to trust everyone at the pub because they weren’t all on my side.” She turned to Eagle. “Who were you talking to?

“The man who held you captive. He had Tiger’s phone.”

She took a deep breath. “Asshole. What did he want?”

“He wants us back at the pub.”

“Then I suggest we let the detective know what the hell’s going on and get back there fast,” she said darkly. When only silence met her words, she stared at them in bewilderment. “What? Why are we stalling?”

“I don’t want you to go back to the pub.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “It doesn’t matter what you want. They have your friends, and I won’t let the kidnappers hurt anybody else. If they want me, then let them tell me exactly what it is they’re after. Because I sure as hell don’t know.”