Trouble Travels in Threes (Trouble, Tennessee 3)

“No.” Draegan turned to Bane. “Someone should’ve thought to tell us about a long lost sibling on the chance he surfaced looking for revenge.”

“It might have been nice

to have a head’s up,” Allister said, accusation in his tone. He pointed at Draegan. “You were right. When we went after Heather, you said if we didn’t take them all out, they’d follow us home. These boys just keep coming.”

Draegan remembered the comment well. When Bradley’s sister had been held at the Vance brother’s home against her will, he’d dished a few warnings. He’d feared the worst and it was undoubtedly a wise concern. “As much as I’d like to revel in being right, it wouldn’t help matters now. I’ve never met Vin. In fact, I’ve never heard his name before now.”

“We had no reason to believe Vin would be a problem. He didn’t show up for any of his brothers’ trials.”

“You had no reason to believe Vin would be a problem?” Allister looked mad enough to bite a board in two. His nostrils flared. He clenched his fists. Snarling, he asked, “Why would you believe anything else? Weren’t you the lead detective on the Heather Powers case?”

“We all know I worked on the Vance Holler investigation. I took a special interest in Heather’s case and that’s the only reason I knew about Vin Vance.”

“And you didn’t think to mention him?” Allister bellowed.

“Drudging up the past won’t help Markie.” Mac fired off a quick text and looked up. “What do you know about this guy? Where do we find him?”

“Vin wasn’t raised by Wills and Belles Vance.” Bane looked deeply troubled and Draegan suspected Bane knew plenty about Vin Vance. “He was Wills Vance’s eldest son by a previous marriage. When we first started following the Vance boys, we had every reason to believe Vin was on the up and up. His infrequent short visits to Tennessee suggested he wasn’t close to his father or brothers. As far as we knew, he had very little contact with his siblings.”

“So what happened?” Draegan wanted answers.

Bane frowned. “Turns out, he had very little contact with anyone. He didn’t make any special exceptions for his brothers.”

“Explain that,” Mac said.

“I’m with Mac.” Allister’s nostrils flared. “Just who are we up against here?”

“Best guess?” Bane took a deep breath. “A very dangerous man.”

“What’s your worst?” Mac asked.

“A cold-blooded killer.” Bane’s eyes set and he slowly added, “One who has gotten away with murder for more than a decade.”

Chapter Twelve

The next seventy-two hours were grueling. Bane worked with locals in surrounding counties as they tried to pinpoint a possible location for Vin Vance. Text messages were sent to Draegan’s phone every five or six hours, each attached with Markie’s photo, each arriving with a promise—one which suggested Markie would endure more violence, a lot more abuse.

“We should be getting some pings off cell phone towers or something,” Allister said, pacing.

“We’re on it, but I don’t think we’ll catch a break by tracing calls or messages,” Bane said. “They’re using TracFones and they’re moving around. No two messages have been sent from the same location.”

“We should be out there.” Draegan shook his finger at the door. “Instead of in here doing absolutely nothing.” He jabbed that same finger at the floor.

Serena understood his frustration. Other than sending out for food and being there for moral support, she hadn’t been necessarily helpful. To make matters worse, tensions were high between the McCalls and Bane. They undoubtedly believed Bane had withheld important information.

“A few days ago, I received urgent texts telling me to get down here. I’ve been here ever since.” Harley turned to Bane. “You said your sources believed Vin would hit us up with negotiations. Well here we sit. All of us are willing to swap places with Markie and yet the call isn’t coming in and we’re waiting like we’re incapable of doing much else. I’m willing to trade myself for Markie—we all are—but there are better ways to spend our time if you ask me.”

Bane scowled. “I’ve passed along reliable information from trusted sources. If you think you should be doing something more, I can’t stop you.”

“We know we could do something more. We waited on your advisement,” Allister reminded him.

“Yes and you’ve waited this long, so another day won’t kill you.” Bane dragged his hand through his hair. He seemingly hesitated before adding, “If Vin is as predictable as we think he is, you’ll hear from him late tomorrow afternoon. He’ll send his demands then.”

“Late tomorrow afternoon?” Mac balked at that. “Any particular reason tomorrow stands out?”

“Or why you’re just now bringing this up?” Allister asked.

Bane sipped his coffee thoughtfully. As soon as he set the cup on the desk, Draegan charged him. He grabbed him by the collar and shook him twice before resting his fists right under Bane’s chin. “You know something. What is it?” He shook him again. “Damn it to hell! What is it?”