“Would you be willing to put a tracker on the Audi or the Mercedes if either car shows up?” Chase had asked Bill.
“Sure thing, Chase,” Bill said without hesitating. “Maybe under a wheel well, where I always hide my extra set of car keys?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Sorry the woman in the Audi took off before I could get my glasses and read the license plate number.”
Chase had given Bill the tracker he’d removed from his Corvette. He thanked Bill as Bella rubbed against his leg, and then he’d taken off to check in with Richard. After having thought of giving Bill a tracker, he’d asked Richard if he might have a couple extra on hand.
“Thanks for the trackers,” Chase said to Richard as they walked out of Southside Suzy’s. “I’m going to Jade’s office now, and I’ll look for a Mercedes or an Audi in the employee lot.”
“Lester should be hanging in some of his familiar haunts tonight,” Richard said. “He plays poker in some real dives and loses. A lot.”
“Thanks in advance for letting me go with you, Blade, and Tommy-Gun.”
“Along with Wolf, they’re my three best boys,” Richard told him.
“I’m grateful to all of you,” Chase said, recalling how smoothly Blade and Tommy-Gun had stopped Allison and Kendra from getting to him and Cash.
“Blade can slice and dice and be back on his bike before a man knows he’s bleedin’,” Richard said matter-of-factly. “Tommy-Gun’s real name is Tommy, and he’s almost as good a shot as I am. I might bring the wolf just in case a liar needs his throat ripped out.”
“Okay.” Chase didn’t need to ask about that nickname, just like he’d never asked Vince about the nickname Butcher. Better he didn’t know. “See ya tonight, Big Dog.”
“We’ll find Ol’ Lester, and he’ll talk.”
They shook hands, and Chase walked to his motorcycle. He’d ridden his bike because, in an employee parking lot, it would be easier to maneuver and make a faster exit than a vehicle. He started the engine and headed to Cascade Avenue.
* * *
The Victorian housecame into view, and he circled the employee parking lot. No Mercedes. No Audi. Sadly, no red VW Bug. He parked out on the street and strode down the sidewalk in the center of a manicured yard leading to the house. He crossed the wraparound porch and walked in through the front door. He passed by a severe-looking woman sitting behind a receptionist’s desk with a nameplate readingMargo.
“May I help you, sir?” the woman, sporting a short haircut, asked.
“No thanks, Margo,” Chase replied, knowing Jade’s office was on the second floor.
“Do you have an appointment?” Margo asked.
“Nope.” He saw Margo pick up a landline and took the stairs two at a time. Entering the waiting room of the therapy offices gave him pause. This was Jade’s domain, and he could almost feel her presence. A woman with light brown, curly hair sat behind a desk with a nameplate that readKaty. “Hello, Katy. Is Jade Taylor available?”
“You just missed her. Are you a client of hers?”
“A friend.”
“Are you—” Katy glanced right and left, then back at him and whispered, “Chase?”
“Yes, do you know where I can find Jade?”
“Katy!” came a sharp female voice from the direction of the staircase.
“Meet me in Acacia Park at seven,” Katy said as Margo rushed into view.
“Sir, if you don’t have an appointment, you need to leave the premises,” Margo said.
“No problem,” Chase replied, and turning away from Katy, he strode toward Margo. He stopped directly in front of the woman long enough to growl, “Tell ‘em I was here.”
With that, Chase sauntered down the middle of the staircase and out the front door to the street. He couldn’t believe he’d just missed Jade. But at least she was alive and well and in town. He swung onto his Harley and put on his helmet. Revving the motor for effect, he sped north on Cascade Avenue and then headed east. He wished Katy could have met him on her lunch hour but knew it would have been suspicious for her to leave the office right after his visit. He rode his motorcycle back to the cattle ranch. He’d return to the Springs later to meet with Katy and go looking for Lester with Richard and his boys. Since there was nothing more he could do in the meantime, branding was on the agenda.
* * *
