What the fuck would happen now? Border Patrol, the Coast Guard, the police… They all had their strategies mapped out. This new wrinkle could throw everything off.
Bobbie quickly ran the most likely scenario in her head, and much to her dismay, it wasn’t good. She could picture it now.
Once at Provard’s dock, the Coast Guard would hail her, then board her boat. Drew and Jeff would panic. With their drugs onboard, what else could they do but tell her to disobey the authorities, and set sail. They probably would have a weapon, and threaten her life.
It would be their only option, and once they were safely away, they’d toss their drugs overboard so there’d be no evidencewhen the patrol boarded. Which meant the judges, both US and Canadian that were standing by, wouldn’t have cause to issue a search warrant for either Provard’s mansion, or the barn on Dre— Onherproperty.
Everything would be blown all to hell.
Bobbie needed to think fast, to come up with a way to alert Buck to the new situation.
Luckily, she had more things to retrieve from her van. She’d make sure to call him as soon as she was clear of her brothers. He might be able to shed light on what Bobbie could do to stop the unfurling cluster-fuck.
“I, um, have several more cases of goods to load,” she told her unwelcome siblings as they scowled at her.
She tossed Drew the keys to the cabin. “If you and Jeff want to stow what you have, I’ll only be a few more trips.”
Drew turned to Jeff. “You take care of the…beer. I’ll help Bobbie with the rest.”
Dammit.Nowhe wanted to get helpful? Or was it that he sensed something might be up and he couldn’t trust her?
Drew eased off the boat, awkwardly, because yeah, he was no sailor, then he gestured for her to lead the way.
Bobbie held back the scream that clawed at her throat, and also tamped down the urge to stomp back to her van. Walking carefully, instead, with Reyghan once again by her side, she acted as nonchalantly as possible as she traversed the length of the pier. She didn’t even have time to appreciate that her sweet, four-legged companion had proven to be very smart, already sticking to Bobbie like glue, and not running away.
Reyghan…
Bobbie had an idea.
“You know,” she began in a speculative tone to Drew, “with you two joining me on the trip, I’m rethinking bringing my puppy. I know Jeff is extremely allergic to animal dander, sobeing around Reyghan for the next eight to ten hours is most likely going to make him pretty miserable.”
There was no argument for that. It was all true. Bobbie regarded Drew with innocent eyes.
Drew growled. “You and that fucking dog. But you’re right. Jeff will be a prick about it. Do you have someone who can watch the damned thing?”
Talk about being a prick. But thank goodness Drew hadn’t naysaid her assertion.
“Yes. I do, as a matter of fact. Her name is Sheila. She watches Reyghan all the time. And even though it’s very early, she normally rises with the sun, so it shouldn’t be a problem if I call her now.” Was she talking too much? Over-explaining? Bobbie needed to get to the point. “I’ll clear things with her, then leave Reyghan in the harbormaster’s office until Sheila gets here. Lou won’t mind.”
The harbormaster, Lou, and all his office staff already loved Reyghan.
“Call, then,” Drew grunted. “But don’t tell her we’re with you.”
Huh.Of course he was going to be cautious, considering what they’d most likely loaded onto her boat this morning.
What Bobbie needed to do right now, before she made her call, was to walk a short distance away from her brother. Not far enough that he’d become suspicious, but at a reasonable distance that made it impossible for him to see her screen; to see who she was actually contacting.
She really was pushing her acting skills this morning.
“The van’s open,” she told Drew as airily as possible. “There are four more boxes near the back that are coming with us. If you don’t mind getting started on those, I’ll call Sheila.”
Bobbie backed off a bit from her vehicle, stepping out of the way as Drew got in.
Yes.
She needed to make this quick, and believable.
She hit Buck’s number.
