“I don’t,” Tommy said. “Really.”
“Did you take Mr. Brewerston to his doctor appointments when he was alive? To that same heart surgeon that helped your dad?” Laurel rapidly switched topics.
Tommy blinked. “Sometimes. I mean, not all the time but once in a while. The old guy was nice enough to give me a job at the architecture firm, and I liked him. I wish he wouldn’t have died.”
“And Davie went with you, didn’t he? Yet here you are, lying to me about a gun, when Davie told me the truth. Why is that, Tommy?” Laurel asked, ignoring Steve’s move to grab his briefcase. She couldn’t let them leave. “Tell me.”
Tommy vigorously shook his head. “No. Davie never went with me. Nobody did when I was driving Harvey to the heart doctor.”
Laurel inclined her head. Something had caught her attention. “Did you ever go to the appointments when you were not the driver?”
“Sure. I went several times, because afterward we’d go by different supply stores and I’d help load the truck.” He shrugged. “I liked the old man. He told really great stories.”
Laurel’s phone buzzed and she tugged it from her back pocket with her good hand. “Agent Snow,” she answered.
“It’s Abigail.” Her sister’s tone was stressed. “I’ve had three hang up calls today, and one just came in. I’m being threatened, and I’m headed your way. This is real, Laurel. You will help me.”
Laurel held up a finger to Tommy and stood. “I’ll be right back.” They weren’t finished. She almost had the full story. She hustled outside the doorway. “Where are you?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Abigail Caine finished loading the crate of wine in the back of her SUV, her ear pressed to her phone. The vehicle made for a good winter vehicle, although she’d considered purchasing a Nissan Rogue like Laurel was driving right now. She didn’t like the way Laurel seemed to be ignoring her again, which made it difficult to sleep. “I’m in the middle of town.”
“If you’re really being threatened, you need to stop shopping and come to my office.” Laurel finally sounded somewhat concerned.
Abigail smiled. Now she didn’t have to take some sort of action to make Laurel see that she needed a sister. It was mildly irking that Laurel was willing to let Huck Rivers in, so to speak, but not her own sister. “Why don’t you come and fetch me?”
Laurel sighed.
Abigail straightened. The snow dropped lazily onto her nose and she wiped it away. It had been snowing all day, slow and methodically, and the roads were becoming impassable. The wind whistled through the deserted parking lot. Most people had taken refuge inside earlier that day. She’d do so with her sister.
“I’m in the middle of something. Come here, and we’ll figure it out together.”
A flake landed on Abigail’s eye, and she blinked it away. A movement behind her in the parking lot had her pausing. Then a strong arm banded around her waist, partially lifting her, and a rag was pressed against her mouth. She dropped the phone to the snow, gasping in air.
The arm around her was strong.
She shoved an elbow back into a male gut, heard a pained hiss, and then pivoted her hips to gain leverage and kicked down, hitting a thigh. The hand shoved the rag into her mouth, and something acidic burned her tongue. She blew out air, trying to dislodge the rag and not to inhale. She kicked furiously back with both speed and strength.
He snarled like an animal in her ear.
Laurel yelled her name from the phone, now in the dirty snow.
The world spun and Abigail kept fighting, her limbs slowing. Her last thought before the darkness forced her arms and legs to go limp was that she’d left her gun beneath the seat. She should’ve carried it into the store. Laurel would have taken her weapon.
Would Laurel find her in time?
The world didn’t completely go silent around her, and she felt the pain of her body being tossed in the back of a truck. Her cheek and hip hit cold metal, and pain filtered through the fuzziness surrounding her like cotton.
Then they were moving. Driving over bumpy ground. The cold and the pain helped to center her, and soon she could move her fingers again. Then her hands. The feeling began to return to her legs. What had he given her? What had been on that rag?
Not that it mattered. Right now, all that mattered was regaining her strength. Tingles swept up her legs, and she welcomed the return of sensation, even though pain accompanied each awakening nerve. Her head still felt as if a watermelon had taken residence between her ears. Was this how most people felt every day?
The truck finally came to a stop, and she unwillingly rolled to the side. Hands grabbed her ankles and yanked her out, and her nose bumped on the metal. Fury caught her but she remained limp as he flipped her around and hoisted her over his shoulder. She caught a glimpse of his determined face, confirming her suspicions.
He strode across an icy trail and then into a warm, humid building. The feeling began to return to her upper arms and shoulders. Then the area spun as she was flipped back over and landed on a wooden dolly on the floor. She blew hair out of her face and looked up at Jason Abbott.
“Was any of this truly necessary?” she murmured
