Page 5 of Fearless Protector (Ruthless Guardians #3)

“He lives farther out this way somewhere. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been out this way. I vaguely remember driving by his place before, but I’m pretty sure I can get us there. Take a left, and it’s about three or four miles before you turn off toward his house.”

Mason peels out and then veers down the long stretch of highway. “Call Garrett.” The dashboard lights up as the connection between the car and his phone connect. “Garrett here, I was just going to call you, Mason. Do you have PJ and Jules?”

Mason’s hand clenches on the steering wheel. “I’ve got PJ. Jules left the bar with a man named Bobby Ray. PJ told me he’s friends with Jake Eldridge. We’re heading out to his house now. I was calling you to make sure you had Lacy and Patti.”

“We’ve got the ladies, but only thanks to Tommy’s men and the fact that we haven’t let up on her security since Jake Eldridge left town.

There were too many red flags that kept popping up and too many of his old buddies still running around this town for me to be comfortable loosening up her security. ”

“Good thing you didn’t, Garrett. Damn, I hate like hell this is happening on the night before you wedding. How’d it play out; anyone hurt?” he asks, watching the road ahead intently as we drive.

“Jake Eldridge had some of his friends try to pick the ladies up at the new bar they were at, but thankfully Tommy’s guys intervened before they could snatch Lacy.

I’m just glad they were here so we could enjoy the night.

Him and his boys took the guys who tried to snatch the ladies with them when they left. ”

“They’re going to be in for a long ass night answering to Tommy and his boys. I’m sure the Larussios are going to want to know what the hell they were doing back in this town because I’d put a good wager on them being sent by the Chicago Boys.”

“Exactly,” Garret says. “I’ll let Tommy know we need Bobby Ray and Jules’ location asap. In the meantime, I can have some of the guys head out your way and come myself.”

Mason clears his throat as the wheel of the SUV pulls to the right, and he corrects course.

“No, the temperature’s dropping out this way.

The roads are getting slick, real slick.

I don’t like the combination of temps and moisture on the roads.

We’ll find Jules, handle Bobby Ray, and get back to town.

PJ doesn’t know the address, but she knows the area.

We’ll find her. You just take care of Lacy and Patti. ”

I continue surveying the area, watching for something familiar, anything that will tell me we’re getting close to Bobby Ray’s place.

But there’s absolutely nothing but desolate trees that have lost their leaves in a swirl of white, while visibility gets harder and harder.

I wait until after he’s disconnected his call. “We’re never going to find them.”

He points up ahead. “I think we just did. The farther away we get the worse the weather is. They’ve been driving in this sludge. You see the tracks up ahead?”

I turn my eyes to the front of us and take in the tire marks ahead.

The sludge and accumulating ice pulls the vehicle again.

Mason does something with the gears and keeps control of the wheel, bringing it back in line.

“Not all SUVs are created equal,” he says.

“This one could use a little more weight in the back, but in all fairness, not many vehicles are good on the ice. It’s going to turn into an ice-skating rink soon. ”

I point to the fork in the road. “There. They went right.” I have never been so thankful for bad weather as I am tonight, realizing that there’s no way I would have remembered which way to go to Bobby Ray’s without the tracks.

Mason takes a right and slows, following the trail but cutting the lights. “I’m not sure how far ahead they are, but we’re going to take it nice and easy and err on the side of caution to make sure we don’t spook him.”

My heart is still racing with what I heard on the phone, but everything muddles around in my mind right now.

Lacy and my other friends are safe. All I can focus on now is the fact that we need to find Jules.

I drink some more coffee, hoping it starts to clear this self-induced foggy brain.

“I’m so sorry for everything. If I hadn’t gone outside, Bobby Ray wouldn’t have had a chance to take Jules. This is all my fault.”

Mason takes my hand. “It’s not your fault.

We didn’t have a security detail on you and Jules, like we did on Lacy.

That’s the only reason Jules was taken, and Lacy wasn’t.

No one thought Jake Eldridge would come after her friends.

Did Jake ever put pressure on you or her other friends when he was trying to persuade her to sell her house? ”

I shake my head. “No, Jake left us all alone. We grew up together. I mean, we were never real friends, but he never bothered us when he was harassing Lacy.”

Mason nods. “This is a new pattern of behavior. The timing of it with Lacy getting married to Garrett tomorrow tells me it’s more of a personal vendetta than a business one. Probably a little of both, but it’s just too coincidental.” He slows. “Anything look familiar? Are we getting close?”

I nod, because the clearing and barren field that was bursting with corn in the summertime finally looks familiar.

I can picture exactly where we are now and what it looked like then.

“Right around the corner to the right. He lives in a one-story log cabin. The road takes you to the side of his house, and there’s a long gravel drive that leads up to the garage on the other side.

Mason turns in and then pulls off to the side of the road. “Keep the engine running and stay put. But if I don’t return in twenty minutes, I want you to get out of here. Get back to the highway as quickly as you can, and call 9-1-1. Understand?”