So instead, he grabbed his phone.
“Yeah?” Linc sounded slightly breathless.
Ed found himself smiling. “I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?”
“Yes, you did actually. What can I do for you?”
“Sorry to pull you away from the lovely Marisol. Just thought I’d tell you that her aunt just came in here to report her as missing.”
“She did? Marisol decided that she didn’t want to call her in the end.”
“Yeah, well, my guess is she’s fishing for information. Not sure if it’s for herself or for Tiger.”
“So you think he’s around?”
“He might never have left. Or could be close by. If he’s here, he’s keeping a low profile. Unlike those other bastards.”
“Heard they’ve been causing trouble. Also heard Markovich is pissed off.”
“Kent’s been talking to him, huh?” Ed said dryly. Markovich wasn’t a good guy. He was a loan shark. He owned several bars and ran a number of illegal gambling operations. But he did have his lines and he didn’t believe in exploiting or hurting women.
Linc just grunted. “Zander will find Tiger.”
“And what is Zander going to do when he finds Tiger?” Ed asked tensely. He was still a cop. Much as he wanted these bastards gone, it had to be aboveboard.
“He’s just going to have a small chat with him. I have to go. I’ll tell Marisol that her aunt is searching for her.”
“Just don’t let her cave and call her.”
“Of course not.” Linc ended the call and Ed stood, stretching. He grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out the door.
“I’m leaving for the night, Kiesha.”
“Have fun in the hot tub, boss. Don’t stay in so long that you turn into a wrinkly old prune. Actually, on second thought it might be too late.”
Ed just shook his head. Brat.
31
Linc headed towards his truck. It was already late afternoon. He hadn’t managed to finish by lunchtime today. There had been too many things needing his attention. But now he was eager to get home to Marisol.
Clint and Charlie were due home the day after tomorrow and he had some days off coming to him. He couldn’t wait to spend more time with her.
Had he really known her less than three weeks? It seemed like he’d known her forever.
“Linc! Got a minute?”
He turned to find Kent pulling up in his own truck. He walked over to him.
“Hey, man, what’s up?” Linc asked.
“I was just headed to your place to talk to you and pick Abby up.”
“Abby’s at my place?”
“She’s been with Ellie, but she said she was just popping in to see Marisol and asked me to pick her up from there. I don’t want her out too late, and it’s getting cold at night.”
Linc nodded. He got it.
“Zander just rang. He ordered me to talk to you in person rather than call you,” Kent said dryly.
“Why didn’t he call me?”
“Why do you think? Because he’s a paranoid bastard. He called on my satellite phone.”
“Who does he think is going to be listening in?”
Kent shook his head. “God knows. Anyway, he wanted you to know that they’ve found where the Devil’s Sinners have set up headquarters. It’s an old farmstead about a half hour north of here. They’ve been watching the place for a while now and this morning, they had a positive sighting of Tiger.”
Finally, they found the bastard.
“What’s he going to do?”
“Told me he wanted to observe a while. But he’ll let us know immediately if he makes any move towards the ranch. Did Corbin tell you that we’ve had a few drive-bys of Devil’s Sinners members down past the gate?”
He scowled. “Yeah. Ed said that Rosalind has guessed that she’s here. He thinks that’s why she reported Marisol missing, she was hoping Ed would bring her out here with him to check.”
He’d been furious when Ed had called. He’d also had to convince Marisol that she didn’t need to contact her aunt and tell her that she was all right. The bitch was just trying to use her.
“One of Zander’s people overheard Tiger going ape-shit because they can’t find Marisol.”
“Think they’ll try to sneak onto the ranch?” he asked.
“If they do, we’re ready for them. Don’t worry. Nobody will get to your girl.”
“I hate that everyone here is in danger and that all the women have been locked down.”
“Nobody is complaining, man. We all want Marisol safe and away from those bastards.” Kent grinned at him. “Plus, everyone is happy you’ve found your Little.”
She wasn’t quite his yet. But she would be.
“No problem. I’ll head to your place now. See you there.”
Linc nodded. Kent drove away and he turned, walking towards his own truck. He climbed in and just sat there for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. He wanted this threat to Marisol gone. He hated that they didn’t know what Tiger was up to. At least Zander had his people watching Tiger now. Having eyes on him made Linc feel better.
After a few minutes, he started his truck and headed home. One of the best things about his job was that it didn’t take long to get home. As he turned the corner and his cabin came into view, he slammed on his brakes in shock. What the fuck?
Oh God. Oh God.
What the fuck was she doing? Why had she decided to clean the damn windows? She’d already done all the lower ones. And when she’d found the ladder in the shed out back, she figured she might as well do the gable ones.
Big. Big mistake.
“It’s okay, Marisol. Just come back down,” Abby called out. “I’m holding the ladder, it won’t move on you.”
It was a big mistake, because when Marisol had gotten to the top of the ladder, it had started wobbling. In a fright, she’d climbed onto the porch roof, which had thankfully held her weight. And then the ladder had crashed to the ground.
Soon afterward, Abby had arrived and seen the ladder on the ground with Marisol clinging to the roof.
“Do you want me to come up and help you down?” Abby asked.
“No!” she cried out, shivering as a cold breeze whipped through her thin clothing. “No, you might get hurt.”
“I’ll call Linc then,” Abby told her.
“No, please don’t. He’s busy at work.” And her idea to help him had turned into a nightmare. He’d been talking about cleaning these windows yesterday and it had planted the seed about how she could take some pressure off him.
Stupid girl.
“I’m coming up,” Abby called out.
“No, Abby. You’ll get stuck too.” She wouldn’t let the other woman get in the same predicament as her.
She saw a truck pull up then Kent climbed out, rushing towards them. “Abby! What the hell is going on?”
“I’m going up the ladder to get Marisol. She’s too scared to climb back down.”
“No, you’re not. You know you’re not allowed to climb ladders. What’s happened? Marisol? Are you all right?” Kent called out.