Page 147 of Thick as Thieves

“For now, stay with my uncle. Don’t leave him alone until you hear from me personally.”

“Copy.”

Ledge didn’t let himself become distracted by either his temper or self-castigation. He went into combat mode and focused on the job at hand.

He wheeled his truck around, barely avoided getting stuck in the ditch on the other side of the road, and was soon speeding in the direction from which he’d come.

He thumbed his phone to call Don, who answered immediately. Without any preamble, Ledge asked if any of the retired Texas Rangers were within shouting distance.

“All of them.”

“Dispatch them to the Maxwell place. Like now. I’ll need witnesses who’ll bear out that I was given no choice.”

“To do what?”

“Kill Rusty.”

“Arden?” Lisa called.

Where Arden lay with her ear against the floor, she could both hear and feel the vibration of her sister’s footsteps as Lisa entered the kitchen from the direction of the living room.

Rousing, Arden tried to sit up, but she was dizzy and off balance. Her hands were bound behind her back. Flex-cuffs, she thought.

“This place looks even worse upstairs, if that’s possible,” Lisa said as she came through the kitchen.

Arden tried to warn her, but only managed to croak her name.

“Are you—” When Lisa pushed open the door, she froze in place on the threshold and gripped the doorknob for support.

“Hi, Lisa.”

Arden’s synapses were operating sluggishly. From where she lay on her side on the floor, she looked up and blinked Rusty into focus. He was wearing disposable gloves. Her nine-millimeter looked very dark and menacing against the bright blue latex on his right hand.

Her own gun was aimed at her? How and when had Rusty gotten it?

Lisa said, “Don’t, Rusty. Please don’t.”

“Don’t pull the trigger, you mean?”

“Please.”

“Look at that, Arden.” He nudged her hip with the metal toe of his boot. “Did you think you would live to see the day that this bitch would beg?”

He bent down and hooked his free hand in Arden’s elbow, then yanked her to her feet with a suddenness that made her nauseated. He shoved her down onto the side of the bed. She sat, swaying, but raised her chin and gave him the fiercest look she could muster.

“Ledge is on his way here. If you hurt us, he will kill you.”

“Ledge is speeding in the opposite direction to rescue his poor ol’ senile uncle Henry.” He poked the barrel of the pistol between her breasts. “If you move, you’re dead.”

Lisa raised her fingers to her mouth and whimpered. “Arden hasn’t done anything to you.”

“Not yet, but she and Burnet are cooking up a bad batch of hassle for me. The only reason I haven’t killed her yet is because, first, I want to expose her to the devious bitch you are.”

As he said that, he reached into his shirt pocket, then opened his hand so they could see what it held. “These little buggers are the best invention ever. You stick them someplace like underneath a kitchen table, and you can hear conversations clear as a bell. Well, not quite that clear, especially with this damn weather. But clear enough.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get this one planted soon enough to be privy to everything Arden and Burnet have been discussing over the last few days, but I’m guessing they’ve been plotting my never-gonna-happen downfall.

“However, I did get it in here last night after taking care of some other, rather urgent business.” He winked down at Arden as though they shared an inside joke. Dwayne Hawkins. “While I was here, I helped myself to this.” He brandished the pistol.