Kane (Arizona Vengeance 8)

Jim pivots, then starts walking away. Taking a moment to study Ella, I stifle a laugh at her stupefied expression.

Grinning, I follow Jim. He has his work cut out for him, but he might have some fun while trying to reach the end goal of getting his wife back.

As we clear the crowd and start heading toward the parking deck, I start to congratulate Jim on a mission well accomplished, but my phone rings in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see the name, “Kynan McGrath” on my screen.

I’d added him into my contacts a mere two days ago when Jim suggested I call Jameson Security Group to help locate Matthew. They were the outfit Willow was embedded with while on a photojournalism assignment earlier this year. Kynan is the owner.

“Hello,” I answer.

“Found your guy,” Kynan simply replies.

I come to a complete halt. Jim notices, turning to watch me.

“You found him already?” I mutter in disbelief. I’d hired Kynan and his group only two days ago. I told them the entire history with Matthew and Mollie, and that she thought she saw him here. I’d also told him about the arrest warrant.

“We tracked his credit card. It has been used in the Phoenix area as recently as about four hours ago—at a restaurant downtown.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, scraping my hand along my jaw. That fucker is here. “Now what?”

“Have you considered baiting him out in the open?” he suggests.

“And what… make a citizen’s arrest?” I ask glibly.

“Pretty much,” he replies. “The local police won’t take it upon themselves to use stretched resources to set up a sting. But we can execute a well-thought-out plan, then have them on standby to make the arrest. I’d suggest having Mollie contact him, see if she can entice him into a meeting in a public place. We can help you with that if you want.”

“The police in North Carolina made sure Mollie very clearly understood we shouldn’t try to engage with him at all.”

“And that’s generally sound advice,” Kynan agrees. “But the alternative is to wait in fear until he decides to make a move. The fact he attacked her and then tracked her to Phoenix tells me you have no other choice but to take matters into your own hands.”

“Exactly how would this go down?” I ask hesitantly.

“Well, first, you’d hire my company. I’ll warn you now—we’re not cheap. I’ll send a team there. We’ll protect Mollie during any meeting she has with him, and we’ll be nearby with local police as we have liaisons there. He’ll get arrested. End of story.”

“You make that sound way too easy,” I mutter.

“It won’t be. We have his email and current phone number. If we can’t get him this way, there are other ways we can help, but this is by far the easiest and the fastest. I am betting there is no way this guy will turn down an opportunity to see Mollie if she offers him the chance.”

“You think he’d be that stupid?” I ask.

“I think he’s mentally deficient, and he doesn’t have a rational cell in his brain. He’s operating on obsession. He’ll jump at the chance to see her.”

“I need to talk to Mollie about it, but I like this idea,” I say. “Give me about an hour, then I’ll call you back.”

“Deal,” he replies, disconnecting the call.

“Do you mind if we head over to Erik and Blue’s house?” I ask Jim as we resume walking to the parking deck. I take the time to fill him in on everything Kynan just told me.

It’s a solid plan, and I don’t think there’s time to waste. I want Mollie on board with this tonight so Kynan can send a team here immediately. It doesn’t matter the cost—I want this fuckhead removed from our lives so Mollie doesn’t have to be afraid anymore.CHAPTER 20MollieKane pulls his truck into Ella’s driveway, puts it in park, and cuts the engine. He hooks an arm under Samson’s neck—he’s in the back part of the extended cab, but he has his front paws on the console, so his head is between Kane and me—and gives him a nuzzle. “Gonna miss you, buddy.”

Ever since I first adopted Samson, Kane has always liked him. They’ve bonded some over the years. But over these last few weeks, they’ve become extremely close, to the extent Samson sometimes prefers to curl up on the couch next to Kane rather than me. I know it should bother me, but it doesn’t. It’s been Samson and me—a team of two forever—and now Kane has become a happy third wheel, and I like it.

Kane releases my pup. “I’m going to stay in the truck,” he says.

“Okay,” I reply as I snap Samson’s lead onto his collar. Frankly, I could have brought Samson here on my own, but now that Kane knows Matthew is in Phoenix, I’m not allowed to go anywhere by myself.