Trouble Travels in Threes (Trouble, Tennessee 3)

Her heart stopped and she threw her hands to her face, refusing to think about what one brother might say to another. “Mac? Is that you?” She tried to peer around Bane in an effort to see the hallway.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry to intrude but you didn’t hear me knock and I need to see Bane. Are you decent?”

“Hang on, Mac!” She rushed to her closet, pulled free a pair of sweats and a matching sweatshirt. After she hurriedly dressed, she rushed into the kitchen where she was met by two concerned faces.

“It’s Markie. Get whatever you need and come with me. Draegan needs you,” Mac looked at Bane. “And whether he’ll say it or not, he needs you, too. We all do.” Mac’s voice was shaken. “Whoever’s holding Markie is getting his kicks by sending an assortment of photographs.”

“What kind of photos?” Serena locked the door leading to her back porch and grabbed her keys.

“They’re bad, Serena.” Mac turned to Bane. “I don’t think Draegan will want her to see them. You, however, may take one look at ‘em and be able to tell us what or maybe even who we’re dealing with here.”

“Any idea where he met this hookup?” Bane asked.

Serena glared at Bane, willing him to be quiet or at least tread softly. It was okay for the McCalls to call a hookup a hookup but they protected Markie with their lives. They wouldn’t want Bane or anyone else suggesting something inappropriate.

“He had a date with someone who called himself Special,” Serena told him.

“We knew that much,” Mac said. “I was joking around when he left and swung the rifle over the wall so I could get a good look at him through the scope.”

“Let me guess, the guy didn’t show his face?”

“You got it. He was picked up by a white stretch limo with no plates on the back.” Mac dropped his head. “That should’ve been my first clue. Why I didn’t call the locals in Drover or try and tail them myself—”

“You can’t blame yourself, Mac,” Serena said, patting his arm in passing.

“She’s right. I tried to talk to Markie at the park one night, you know the one down by the hospital? Anyway, I was working undercover down there for a few weeks and bumped into Markie. He was there meeting a hookup and I explained to him then that the world was rapidly becoming a very dangerous place, particularly in Drover.”

“We’ve all tried to tell him,” Mac said, despair strewn through his heartsick voice.

“You guys grew up together, huh?”

“Yeah,” Mac replied. “Maybe he didn’t have our last name, but he’s our brother. And because he’s family, I’ll do whatever necessary to get him back here safely. You understand that, right?”

“I understand.” Bane walked ahead of him.

Mac grabbed hold of his bicep. “We can’t lose him, Detective. He’s the heart of this family.”

Bane nodded once and glanced at Serena. “I’ve been around enough to know Markie is the heart of this community. I’ll call in favors and use every resource available. You have my word.”

* * * *

The door o

pened and slammed. A metal chair was raked against the concrete floor, alerting Markie to visitors.

A minute later, an animal of a man sat before Markie. Another fellow, the one with a jagged scar running from chin to cheek, grabbed him around the neck.

He kept Markie in a chokehold and tightened his grip until Markie could barely breathe through his nose. After the cruel theatrics, the brute untied the rag at the back of Markie’s head and yanked the cloth from his mouth.

Dying of thirst, Markie decided to play his need for all it was worth. The dude in front of him was obviously there for information. As he lit a cigarette and blew a few smoke rings in the air, it became apparent. He was the one calling the shots, and he wasn’t in any particular hurry.

If Markie attempted to talk but played this out the right way, he might earn a drink of water in exchange for information.

“Do you know who I am?”

Markie lifted his head, narrowed his eyes, and took a real good look. He wracked his brain, trying to think of who he might have pissed off in his past. There were too many to narrow it down. Coming up empty handed, he mouthed, “No.”

“No idea at all?”