“No.”
His short answer indicated that, just like Laila had heard, some woman had actually married this asshole. Was she around? She might be a kink in his plan, but so far he hadn’t seen or heard anyone else…
Over Hector’s shoulder, Zy leaned back and slid the door down the rest of the track without incident before settling behind the sofa with Tessa.
They were in now. Hopefully, they could find Cash and Hallie. They had to pray Tessa’s baby was alive.
Trees tried to help them by focusing on Hector. “You know how women are these days. Trying to be all independent. My momma would shriek to high heavens every time she came across a spider in her kitchen, but my sisters—I’ve got three of them—they just whip off one of their ridiculous high heels and whap the spider out of existence. Your wife like that?”
“No. I said I’m not interested.”
Over the sofa, he saw Zy mouth something to Tessa, who pointed to her ear, then to the right, toward the kitchen. Trees couldn’t see much because a wall divided the two rooms, cutting off his sight lines, but he heard dishes clank.
A radio came on, which pumped out deejay chatter. Clearly someone was in there. The wife? Cash?
Since Zy and Tess were aware of the presence in the other room, Trees kept distracting Hector. “Listen, Mister… What did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t.”
As Zy crept across the open space so he could glimpse into the kitchen, Hector whipped his head around as if he’d caught movement in his peripheral vision. Zy quickly tucked himself behind a black recliner.
Trees grabbed the asshole’s attention again. “Anyway, I’m up for a promotion. If I can sign up three people this morning, that would look real good to my boss. He knows I’m a go-getter, but he wants to see more hustle, so if you could help a guy out…”
The wail of a baby suddenly filled the air, seeming to come from the kitchen. Tessa’s head snapped toward it, her profile telling him her heart was in her throat.
“Shut that damn baby up,” Hector yelled. “Look, I said I’m not interested. I don’t care about your promotion, your sisters, your knowledge of roaches, or your bullshit. Go the fuck away.”
When he tried to slam the door, Trees flattened his palm against the sturdy fiberglass and shoved, wedging a foot onto the threshold so Hector couldn’t shut him out. “C’mon, you don’t mean that. We’re getting to be friends here, I think. We’re having a moment.”
Zy better move this along. Trees doubted his cover would last another two minutes. If the baby in the kitchen was Hallie, Zy and Tessa needed to move now. Trees was more than happy to deal with Hector the Molester on his own terms.
“What the hell? The noise level around here…” A man emerged from the right side of the trailer in a pair of boxer shorts, pulling a T-shirt over his head.
Cash. He presented a problem. Once the little weasel yanked the dirty tee down and finished rubbing his bleary eyes, he would be looking right at Tessa.
Damn it.
Zy poked his head above the chair, signaling to Trees with a finger across his neck.
Abort? Like hell.
Instead, he sent his widest smile to Cash. “You a friend of the family, sir? You’ve got to tell your pal here that he’s missing an opportunity if he doesn’t sign up for Pest-Away’s platinum-level service.”
“I don’t fucking want it,” Hector exploded. “Get your foot out of my house.”
Trees just went on. “Here. Let me get you my card and…”
As he pretended to dig in his pocket, Cash lost interest in the sales pitch. Before he could stop the little douchebag, Tessa’s ex turned toward the kitchen and spotted her.
Shit.
“Tessa, what the hell are you doing here? Get the fuck out.” Cash dashed straight for her and grabbed her arm, tugging her toward the back door.
Zy pulled his Glock.
Fuck. There went the covert operation, plan A. Plan Fucked it was. Trees hoped he and Zy could find a way to end this well.
Hector, who had been watching Cash’s drama with Tessa, turned back to him with a threatening scowl. But Trees was one step ahead, meeting him with the business end of a SIG, planting it against his forehead. “Hands up.”
Hector complied, wide-eyed with shock.
“Just like that. Now step back, motherfucker. Nice and slow.”
The asshole retreated to the middle of the living room. Trees kicked the door shut behind him, never taking his stare off Hector, while Zy emerged from the corner and aimed his barrel straight at her ex’s face. “Let her go.”
“Fuck you.” Cash glowered.
“You don’t want to give me a reason. I’m already half inclined to blow your worthless brains out.”
Wisely, Cash stopped running his mouth and released Tessa.
“Now get your hands up,” Zy insisted.
Muttering curses, Cash did.
“Tessa, in my back pocket are a couple of pairs of cuffs. Get them out. You”—Zy told Cash while she retrieved the handcuffs—“get to the middle of the room, by your buddy, Johnson. No. You can walk with your hands in the air.”
Trees nudged Hector toward Cash until they bumped into one another. “Stand back-to-back. Now!”
Zy motioned Tessa to his side and took the cuffs from her. Then he handed her his gun. “If either one of them moves, aim in their general direction. This sucker is loaded with hollow points, so whoever you hit, we’re talking maximum damage.”
“O-okay.” She nodded, looking resolute as she took the weapon and aimed it at the two scumbags.
“You’re doing great,” he told her in a low murmur. “I’m going to cuff them.”
Then they could start asking questions. And find out if the baby in the next room was Hallie.
“No, you’re not,” said a woman appearing from the kitchen. “Let them go.”
Motherfucking son of a bitch.
The woman was Aspen. She balanced Hallie on her bony hip—and pointed a Glock against her defenseless little head.
At the sight, Tessa looked ready to unravel. “Hallie, baby girl…”
The little one caught sight of her mommy and started wriggling and screaming, kicking and bowing her back.
“Stop it!” Aspen hissed, shaking the baby.
Tessa’s expression turned murderous. Zy rushed in to de-escalate the situation, approaching the other woman slowly with his hands in the air. “All right. Let’s not be hasty. You don’t need the kid. You need information, right?”
Aspen scowled suspiciously. “Yeah.”
“Okay, let’s make a trade.” Zy turned to glance past Cash and Hector, brow raised.
Trees met his friend’s stare. What the fuck was Zy doing?
“What do you mean?” Aspen asked.
“Give Tessa her daughter. A baby doesn’t belong in this situation, and I know you don’t want to kill her.”
The woman screwed up her face like he was an idiot. “I don’t give a shit. She’s just a whining, crying kid.”
“But Hallie can’t give you information. I can. I know everything you want to know. Every. Single. Thing. So let the baby go, and I’ll come with you in her place.”
Tessa gasped. “Zy!”