Page 94 of Building Courage

“Because two beautiful blondes will bring in twice what the others do.”

Tim opened the screen on his cell phone one-handed. “I’m in the parking lot with our two beauties. Ten slots over, third row back.” He hung up.

They sat in the car in silence for several minutes.

A man appeared from the direction of the dock. He lumbered toward them as though each step might shake the earth. His rough features lit up with a grin when he caught sight of them.

Brynn recognized him immediately. He was the same man in the photo she’d enhanced. The same man who’d beat the woman. She caught the bobbing movement of Jessica’s knee out of the corner of her eye and reached out to touch her arm. Jess gripped her hand so tightly she thought her fingers might break. Jess’s skin was pale, and she was trembling visibly.

Brynn looked away. She was afraid, too. But she’d lived with fear and fought it too long to give in to it. Up until now, she’d managed to remain calm. She couldn’t allow Jess’s fear to infect her and keep her from acting if she could.

The man reached them and strode around the car to Jess’s side.

“Unlock the door,” Tim said.

“No,” Brynn said.

He tapped the back of her head with the gun. “Unlock the door.”

“No.”

He remained silent for a moment. “Why not?”

“Because she’s afraid, and if he touches her, she’ll start screaming, and he’ll hurt her. You don’t want him damaging the merchandise, do you?”

Jess’s grip loosened and then tightened again. Tim motioned to the man, and he went around the other side of the car.

“Unlock the door.”

Fear dried Brynn’s mouth, and she tried to swallow. She palmed the key fob that opened the door from outside and slipped it into the pocket of her cotton pants. Her hand shook as she touched the button on the door to unlock it.

The man jerked it open and reached in to grab her arm.

“Don’t touch me. I can get out on my own.” Surprisingly, he stood back. She turned in her seat, lowered her legs, and gripped the door to get out. With her legs unsteady, she turned to slide along the door frame without touching him and closed the door. When he gripped her arm, she tensed and braced herself to fight. His hand looked big enough to palm her head like a basketball. He could easily break her arm like a toothpick.

“Don’t fight me, and I won’t hurt you,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.

Her face felt stiff with the effort to keep calm. “We both know that’s a lie.” She wished she’d told Tucker how she felt about him. How just being with him made her feel whole again.

The man’s grip tightened just enough to hurt.

“Careful, Meeks. They’re cooperating, aren’t they?” Tim said. He looked at her, and there was a taunt in his voice. “We don’t want the merchandise damaged until we’ve had a chance to try it out.”

Jess’s gaze met hers. She looked sick.

Meeks and she fell in behind Tim and Jess as they walked toward the entrance to the marina. The big man leaned down to speak to her. “You try anything, and I’ll make you regret it.”

*

Tucker whipped into a parking spot just one car over from Denotti’s. He shoved the vehicle in park and leaped out of the car just in time to see Brynn and a huge guy walking toward the entrance to the marina.

Denotti caught his arm when he started toward them. “You strut down the dock in that white sailor suit with all that fruit salad on your chest, and everyone in the place will be watching. You need to shuck the dress whites and tone it down, Gilly.”

Tucker took several deep breaths, reaching for control. He hit the auto hatch button and went to the back of the jeep. He dragged the neckerchief and jumper off and threw it over the back seat. He fished through his go bag and found heavy black exercise shorts. Denotti stepped in front of him and turned his back to provide some cover as he shucked his pants and quickly redressed. He replaced his dress shoes and socks with stained tennis shoes he wore when going fishing.

“Where the fuck are the police?” Tucker demanded.

“I called them ten minutes ago and gave them the rundown. They’re checking me out, probably to see how credible I might be.”

---