Marlee had the uncanny ability to figure out where they were located and find her way there. The fact that she kept sticking her nose in their business and getting closer and closer to them proved his point. If Marlee wasn’t taken out of the picture, he and Stella would find themselves behind bars—and that wasn’t something he would allow.
Chuck sat in his truck and glared in the direction of the house. He hadn’t expected the dog. Damn thing had nearly bitten him. He’d left his handgun in the truck, deciding on a knife as his weapon of choice. If he’d had the gun, he would’ve killed the dog the moment it first spotted him.
Frankly, Chuck was surprised that Marlee and Cooper hadn’t come running out of the house. Then again, they’d been all over each other the night before when they put the bull back in the pasture. More than likely, they had still been having sex. That would’ve allowed him to kill them easily since their attention was on anything but him.
Too bad the dog had brought attention to him.
Chuck wasn’t giving up on ridding the world of the nosey Marlee Frampton once and for all. He didn’t care if she was alone or with someone. She was going to die. He hadn’t clawed himself out of the gutter, only to have his cushy life taken away from him.
Age slowed him. Stella didn’t realize it yet, but she would soon. He had maybe another three years before he would be replaced. In that time, he planned to gather as much money as he could, and nothing sold as well as a child. People did anything for babies, which was ridiculous, considering there were so many in the foster system. But for reasons he didn’t understand, those kids were tainted to some.
He’d grown up in the system, and he’d turned out all right. He didn’t see the issue. Then again, if someone wanted to pay him for a baby, he’d get them a baby. It was as simple as that. And with Stella lining up the clients, all he had to do was find the pregnant women. That was the easy part. Those women were everywhere.
He didn’t discriminate either. If he found a woman and the situation allowed him to get her alone and the baby out alive, he did it. Everyone had a job. That was his. He didn’t like it or dislike it. What he did like was the money. For the last ten years, he’d lived comfortably. He had things he never thought he’d be able to get.
Marlee Frampton threatened all of that. She had to go. The government had taught him how to kill in the military. He was using those skills, and he would continue doing so until his bank account showed the number he wanted. Then he’d retire, though he’d still have some kind of hand in Stella’s business. After all, finding good people to work with was hard.
Chuck glanced at his phone when it buzzed. He spotted Stella’s name and answered it. “Yeah?”
“How soon do you think you can get me another baby?”
He shrugged. “Give me until tomorrow.”
“Can you do it sooner? I’ve got someone willing to pay a hefty sum.”
Chuck let out a whistle. “Why the rush?”
“Why do any of them come to us instead of a legit adoption agency?”
“True. Give me twelve hours.”
“You’ve got eight. These people have a flight leaving the country tonight.”
Chuck sat up straighter in his seat. “I’m on it.”
He ended the call and tossed the phone onto the seat beside him as he started the engine. His gaze went to Cooper Owens’ house.
“Looks like the two of you get a reprieve. Enjoy your day, because I’ll be back.”
Chapter 22
While Cooper made breakfast, the handle on the door twisted. Marlee stiffened on the stool at the island, her gaze jerking to the source of the noise. Before Cooper could make a move, he heard the number being punched in and then the door unlocked. Suddenly, Jace stood there, his gaze moving from Cooper to Marlee.
“Ah … I think I’m interrupting,” Jace said.
Marlee instantly eased and shook her head. “You’re fine.”
Jace looked to Cooper, who motioned him inside with his head. “It’s pretty common for Jace to show up anytime he thinks there might be food.”
“That’s not true,” Jace said with a roll of his eyes as he stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. Then he paused and smiled. “Actually, it is.”
Marlee chuckled and leaned on the island. “Do you not have food at your place?”
“Oh, yeah. I keep everything stocked, but I’m a growing boy and must eat,” Jace replied.
Cooper made a sound in the back of his throat. “You do realize your mother quit saying that to you when you were sixteen and you were eating her out of house and home, right?”
“I like to eat,” Jace said with a shrug.
Cooper went back to cooking with a shake of his head. Some things about Jace never changed. But a great many things had. Those things, the bad ones, Jace had shared about only once. It had been one of the lowest times of Jace’s life, but Cooper, as well as Brice and Caleb, had been there for him. For a while, they all thought that Jace was getting better.
But Cooper knew differently. Jace pretended. He smiled and put on a show that things were fine, but they weren’t. Far from it, actually. Cooper kept a close eye on his friend in case Jace fell down that rabbit hole and couldn’t get out of it. He would always look out for Jace.
Cooper’s gaze briefly landed on Marlee to find her watching him. She gave him a soft smile, and he realized that she knew about Jace’s past. He kept forgetting that she had done a deep-dive on all of them—something he would have done, as well.
“So,” Jace said to Marlee as he took one of the stools at the bar and poured copious amounts of sugar into his coffee. “What do you think of Cooper’s fixer-upper?”
She sat up and looked around at the crown molding that had gone up about a month ago and was waiting on paint. “I think Cooper pays attention to details. He’s taken this farmhouse into a new century, yet somehow managed to keep most of the charm. Like the real wood floors in the thin slats and the crown molding. It harkens back to a time when people took a lot of time and care with woodworking.”
Cooper smiled. He’d known that Marlee had an eye for details, but he hadn’t realized how much she saw.
Jace took a drink of his coffee and set down the mug. “The fact that he’s had this house for seven years and still hasn’t finished with the renovations tells you the time he takes. You sound like you know a lot about woodworking.”
“My dad did some small things as a hobby. He always pointed things out to me growing up,” Marlee said.
Cooper slid the omelet onto a plate and handed it to Marlee, along with some sausage and toast. “I have no skill with woodworking, but I know what I want.”
“And he makes sure he gets it,” Jace said with a smile as he rose and grabbed a piece of sausage to eat.
Marlee shrugged, her lips twisting. “I’m the same way. If I pay for something, then I’m going to make sure I get what I paid for.”
“I just love talking about remodeling,” Jace said with an exaggerated sigh. “But there’s something else I’d like to talk about.”
“Not now.” Cooper knew Jace wanted to discuss the missing child that Marlee was searching for, but Cooper wanted to give her a little more time to relax.