“Fourteen and a half minutes of sex it is then. Sex with my fiancée. I like the sound of that.”
***
“Thanks for coming out, man.” Mitch stuck his hand out to shake Adam’s. He’d been working on plans to keep Maggie safe but also wanted to figure out a way to catch Manuel and finish this once and for all. He’d asked Adam to come out to help strategize. He was also looking for feedback and fresh ideas about how to do it as expeditiously as possible.
“No problem. We definitely need some sort of plan.” Adam seemed on edge, but Mitch figured it was just nerves.
“Come on into the kitchen. Maggie made some delicious chocolate chip cookies this morning.”
Adam held up the gallon of milk he was holding. “I presume that’s why you needed this so badly?”
“What else would you wash cookies down with?”
They made their way to the kitchen where Maggie was sitting, chewing on a pen, and squinting at notes she’d taken in a spiral notebook. When she saw Adam, she stood and hugged him.
“You doing okay?” he asked her.
“Yep. Doing great. How are Jenny and the boys?”
“Everyone’s good. They may try to come out for the weekend. The boys have a bye in their baseball schedule, so it would be perfect. You need some company?”
“That’d be great. Do you think it’s safe?”
“We should discuss that tonight. What do you think, Mitch?”
“I think Manuel’s operation isn’t as sophisticated as we thought. His associates, for lack of a better word, are idiots. Tracking us down will take manpower and know-how, and I’m not sure he has either.”
“Also, you’d think with the drugs and the guns he shouldbe rollin’ in money, but that dump they were hiding out in makes it seem like there’s a cash-flow problem,” put in Adam.
“Probably why they robbed the bank,” Maggie added.
“Yeah, good points. So, between the lack of cash and brainpower, we might have a chance at trapping him somehow.”
“I think my plan is the best. Wanna hear it?” Maggie looked hopefully at Adam. She’d already tried to persuade Mitch earlier, but he hadn’t liked the idea one bit.
Adam nodded.
“You use me as bait,” she suggested.
He immediately went from nodding to shaking his head.
“Just hear me out.” She held up a hand to keep him from interrupting. “I’ll just go back to work and act like nothing’s happened. They take me, and to keep them from killing me right away, I’ll tell them I know Mitch and can lure him in.”
“What happens if they don’t kidnap you and just shoot you in the head?” Mitch asked.
“Or decide to take turns raping you before they have you call him?” Adam chimed in.
Maggie’s eyes went wide. “Okay, fine. So it needs a little tweaking.”
“This isn’t a game, Mags,” Mitch said. “Manuel may be stupid, but he’s also lethal. I won’t let you put yourself in danger. We’ll figure out another way to catch him.”
He walked around the kitchen island and grabbed three glasses. Halfway back to his seat, he was blindsided by Adam tackling him. They fell to the floor, just as a window shattered.
“Get on the floor, Maggie. Now!” Adam yelled as he made the tackle.
The bullets made soft, thunking noises as they embedded in the wood cabinets directly behind where Mitch had been standing.
“Shit!” Mitch crawled his way over to Maggie and pulledher, not so gently, to safety. Adam followed, and all three sat huddled in the hallway behind the kitchen. Once quiet, they could hear the blades of a helicopter retreating.
