“Jesus, Madison. You know where Golly is and didn’t tell me?”
How could the man sound both hurt and frustrated by that when he’d made no effort to stay in touch with her? “We’ll have to cover that later, Detective. Right now, I’m...concerned.”
“As you should be. I knew Grimes hung with Golly so I’ve been keeping tabs on him. Last night the weasel went to six different stores buying up enough ingredients for several homemade bombs.”
Madison caught her breath. The duffel he’d been carrying.
Leaning forward, hands flattened on the desk, Parrish spoke before Madison could. “He’s headed toward my son’s gym right now. How close are you?”
“Son of a bitch,” Crosby exploded. “Your family has a lot of explaining to do when this is over.”
“How close?” Parrish repeated in a hard demand.
“I’ll call it in. Tell Reyes to clear everyone out of there.”
“I’m organizing now. Don’t make me regret reaching out to you.”
Walking away, Parrish used his own phone to call Reyes.
Madison turned back to the phone. “Crosby?”
“Yeah?”
“Promise me you’ll be careful.”
He gave a gravelly laugh filled with affront. “Don’t worry about me.”
She’d worry if she wanted to. Irate, she glared at the phone. “Would it be too much to ask to be kept updated?”
Seconds ticked by, then he said evenly, “You haven’t seen fit to give me your number.”
Her heart skipped a beat. True, her calls came in as private, but she’d love for Crosby to have it. “I’ll text it to you now.” Why did it feel as if they’d just come to an understanding? “You’ll contact me once you’re at the gym?”
“I’m not going to the gym, but I’ll let you know once it’s been cleared.”
“Then—”
“You’re going to tell me what’s going on,” he stated, leaving no room for negotiation. “And you’re going to tell me now.”
* * *
REYES HAD JUST pulled up to the curb when his phone rang. It surprised him to see it was his dad calling, not Madison or Cade. Surprised him, and made him uneasy.
Making a quick decision, he pulled away from the curb and answered the call. “What’s wrong?”
“Get away from the gym.”
“Already doing that.” He checked his mirrors, not yet spotting any trouble.
“Two men left Golly, headed your way,” Parrish said, his explanation short and to the point. “Detective Albertson says the driver went shopping last night for the makings of a bomb.”
“Damn.” The ramifications settled in on Reyes. He had a gym full of innocents, and two women in the back seat of his truck.
“Albertson is on the way. I assume he’ll alert other authorities.” Parrish hesitated. “I want you to abort the plan. Given you three are the target, stay away from the gym. Divert to Golly’s motel.” His voice lowered. “Get the bastard.”
“You’ll get everyone out of the gym?”
“It’ll be my next call. Albertson will clean up that mess.”
Reyes tightened his hands on the wheel. “Got it.”
“Watch your back.”
“Always.” Before explaining anything to Kennedy and Jodi, he backtracked by going two blocks down, then two blocks over. The women patiently stayed silent.
Once he was headed in the right direction, he laid out the situation for them.
Kennedy sat forward to touch his shoulder. “Someone will tell Cade?”
“Dad or Madison, but his plans won’t alter. Cade is still on to close the net.”
Nodding, she sat back again, quiet as she’d promised to be.
Jodi whispered, “This doesn’t feel right. Golly doesn’t want to blow me up. He doesn’t want me dead at a distance.”
Reyes tended to agree. “It’s personal for him.”
Jodi’s voice grew urgent. “He’s trying to catch us unaware.”
Yup, exactly how Reyes saw it. “But we won’t let him, right?”
“No, we won’t.” Kennedy took Jodi’s hand. “Trust Reyes. He knows what he’s doing.”
Damn right, he did. “I don’t think anyone spotted us, but I want you two to keep watch.” Giving them something to do would make them feel more in control. “Tell me if you see anything suspicious.”
With no real sign of nervousness, Kennedy said, “Will do.”
Jodi remained silent. He could only imagine how she felt. The girl had been all set to use herself as bait, and now the plans were upside down. Shit happened. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to adjust to changing conditions, but that didn’t make it easy.
When he was near the motel, he called Madison hands-free on speaker. “All clear?” he asked.
“I haven’t seen Golly move. But Reyes, I don’t feel right about any of this.”
“I know. Same.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at Kennedy’s set expression. She was doing her utmost not to look unnerved. Because he knew every business on the road, Reyes said, “I’m going to put them both in a restaurant.”
“No!” Jodi said, immediately objecting.
Kennedy shushed her. “Let him do his thing, okay? He knows best.”
Her confidence felt good.
Madison agreed with Jodi. “Golly might have contacts in every area business. I think you should keep them close.”
He hesitated but knew she was right. Away from him, either of them could get grabbed. He’d die before he let that happen, so sticking close likely was the way to go. Deciding on a quick compromise, he asked, “Where should I park so that they’ll be near, but not too close, and you’ll have a constant view of my truck?”
“Three spots down from Golly’s cabin is best. It’s the third one from the office, and I believe the other two are empty.”
“Huh. Wonder if Golly rented them to ensure his privacy.”
“Makes sense.”
Reyes parked beneath a security lamp. Though the night was dark, the lamp hadn’t yet come on. Odds were it wouldn’t. Not much in the motel seemed to be in good working order.