“Do you really think Reese’s mom’s friend is a mobster?”
JJ looked up from her computer, met Holly’s curious gaze. “It makes sense. The guy’s never held a real job, and besides a checking account and a social security number, there’s not a whole helluva lot to this guy.”
Holly’s gaze dropped to her computer screen. “But there’s even less for Patrick O’Brien.”
That was true. And that was the part JJ didn’t quite understand. If she’d had more time to research him, she could probably pinpoint exactly where the two intersected because if she was right and Toby was Patrick, she’d be able to find where the alias was created.
“They said Toby was from Coyote Ridge,” Holly added.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Look into that some more, would you?”
“Like what? Try to find a yearbook picture or something?”
“Or something,” she muttered, needing to stay focused on narrowing down exactly where this man was taking Cindy. He had to have a place, and she was confident he did. If he was an Irish mobster in Texas…
She snorted because the idea sounded ludicrous. Why in the world would an Irish mobster embed himself in Texas and take on this squirrely identity? And how in the world had he become mixed up with the Tavoularises? She recalled what Cindy had said, how Toby had been best friends with Thomas. She never said when that friendship had been established, but JJ assumed when they were kids.
They were missing something; she knew it. The question was, what? And did it even matter at this point? Finding Cindy Tavoularis was now the objective. She no longer gave a shit what happened to Tobias Land or whoever the hell he was.
***
The farther Toby drove them into whatthe sign said was a state park, the more concerned Cindy became.
He’d been silent for the majority of the trip, but she had noticed the tight grip he had on the steering wheel. He was hiding his nervousness but not well.
Was he going to hurt her? Kill her? And if so, why? What would that gain him? She still didn’t understand how she fit into all this. Or if this was a knee-jerk reaction by a man who’d reached the end of his rope. She was leaning toward the latter because it made sense to what she knew of Toby.
But did she really know him at all? Would the man she’d been intimate with years ago kidnap her? Cindy wanted to believe he wouldn’t. No, that hecouldn’t.
The only positive in the whole mess was that they weren’t too far from Dallas. Half an hour, maybe. Which meant Z and Reese would not have to look far to find them. And they would. She knew that with absolute certainty. She had the utmost faith in them, and she knew they would not hesitate to turn over every rock until they figured out where she was.
Cindy peered out the window at the tall trees looming overhead, lining the one-lane dirt road.
“What is this place?” she asked, keeping her anxiety out of her tone as best she could.
“Home away from home,” Toby replied, pulling the car behind a large cabin.
The good news was, it wasn’t run-down. In fact, it looked as though it had been recently remodeled. Off to the side was a small shed. Based on the color of the wood, it was a new addition to the property.
Cindy was tempted to make a run for the wooded area behind the house but figured she wouldn’t make it far. She had no idea what the terrain was like behind it or what, if any, wildlife might be out there. Since Toby had put his gun away, and he hadn’t restrained her in any way, she figured she had a better chance of sticking with him and hopefully being able to talk him down.
When he got out of the car, so did she. Cindy made an effort to appear compliant, not wanting him to pull out that gun again. She found she didn’t much care for being held at gunpoint, thank you very much.
“I like this,” she said, trying to make polite conversation. She figured it would help if he didn’t see her as his captive and more like a willing participant, which she wasn’t, regardless of the act she was putting on.
“Thanks. I had to do a lot of work on it, but I enjoy it.”
“Is this where you live?” she asked as she marched up the steps to the wraparound porch. He remained close behind her, so she made no sudden moves, simply taking it all in.
“One of them.”
When she reached the front door, she didn’t bother trying to turn the knob. Based on the biometric dead-bolt lock, she knew this wasn’t just a home away from home or a temporary retreat. The security alone told her Toby wasn’t who she’d thought he was.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” he said after he unlocked the door and urged her inside.
Cindy watched as he closed the door and locked it, this time with a matching interior contraption that also required a fingerprint to unlock. Great. Well, if she hadn’t felt like a prisoner before, she certainly did now.
“Toby?” This time she couldn’t hide the tremble in her words. “Can we please talk? Let me figure out how to help you.”
