“Have you seen JB recently? I tried calling him, but he hasn’t answered his phone.”
“Yeah, JB is here with me. He’s been having some trouble with his phone. He just stepped out with Rowe to get some food, but I’ll tell him to give you a call when he gets back. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Are you still in Virginia?”
Noah glanced up at Rowe, who shook his head. “Nope. We returned to Cincinnati. Emergency at work. Do you need us to come back?”
“I…umm…no, I don’t think so. I…I was hoping to say good-bye to both you and JB before you left. Chris talked so highly of both of you. I was hoping we could talk again, but I understand emergencies.” Her voice cracked on the mention of her husband, but that wasn’t the only thing in her voice. It wavered with fear. Rowe had a feeling that she was being forced to keep Noah on the line so that his phone could be traced. He was willing to put money on the fact that someone was holding that sweet woman at gunpoint.
Rowe silently stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room so his voice wouldn’t be picked up on the speakerphone. “I want Dom or Sven at that woman’s house tonight. I don’t care if we have to charter a private plane. She will be safe tonight.”
“I’m calling our pilot now,” Andrei said. “Tell whoever is sent to go to Lunken immediately. He can be with her in less than three hours.”
“Sven is here. He’s grabbing his bag and heading to the airport now,” Quinn replied.
“Thanks, everyone.” Rowe gave a relieved sigh. He still smirked a little at Andrei’s “our pilot.” That boy was blue-collar Kentucky through and through, but he’d also quickly adapted to being married to a billionaire. He was very good at using his new resources to help others.
Rowe walked back into the kitchen where Noah was reassuring Sally that he and JB would return to Virginia for a much longer visit and plan something to celebrate the lives of both Chris and Paul.
“It’s been nearly two minutes. That’s plenty of time to trace Noah’s location,” Quinn whispered.
“We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere. Maybe it takes longer out here,” Rowe said.
“It doesn’t work like that,” the tech genius muttered, and Rowe shrugged it off. Technology was not his forte. He was better with his fists and weapons, and he couldn’t wait to prove it.
Before Quinn could elaborate, Sally said her good-byes and ended the call. She’d sounded both relieved and worried, closing with an admonishment for Noah, JB, and Rowe to stay safe.
“I want everyone to check in,” Rowe said as he paced toward the front door. He knew that Erik could have been tracing that call while on the move. They’d left Virginia two days ago. That was plenty of time for the bastard to realize they were no longer in the state and follow them to Cincinnati.
“Tony Tiger, view from the back door is clear,” Noah immediately replied.
“Cap’n Crunch in the basement. Everything is quiet,” Andrei said.
“Sugar Bear has the garage covered,” Garrett said in a low voice. “And I think I’ve found a new toy.” There was a gleeful purr to the bodyguard’s voice that had Rowe shaking his head. He could only imagine what Garrett found in the garage. They’d stashed all manner of things in there over the past year.
“Snap in the fucking field,” JB bitched.
Rowe couldn’t blame the guy. The gunshot to the thigh was going to heal just fine, but it meant that he moved far too slowly to be right in the middle of the action. Of course, Noah immediately volunteered the fact that JB was an excellent sniper. So, the guy was stuffed into a ghillie suit and dropped at the edge of the field so he could take out anyone who might approach from the rear or the side of the house. Even if it wasn’t pitch-black out there, no one would be able to spot him as he blended so perfectly with the tall grasses and scraggly bushes.
“Crackle on the road. No one is approaching,” Jackson murmured. “And can I go on record as saying that we’ve forever warped cereal for me?”
“Pop in the command center,” Quinn said, his voice cheerful and excited, matching his codename perfectly. “All is quiet. Couldn’t get anything interesting off the call. It did originate from Virginia, but she could have easily had someone with her. We’re monitoring the police bands. There are zero cameras within the area of the house that we can tap. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, Pop. We’ve got the house covered and eyes peeled. Just get our boy in the air for Virginia,” Rowe said.
He walked into the empty living room. Royce had spent time ripping up the old shag carpet, patching holes, and painting the walls white. Rowe started paying him to rent it out so Andrei or Noah could run the bodyguards through training sessions. And then Rowe had to pay to fix anything they inevitably broke during those training sessions.