Page 72 of Deception and New Direction

“I thought you said they couldn’t get it, that the trust was ironclad,”Elliesaid.

“That’s what the attorney told us, but that same attorney showed up with guns toHank’shouse and took her at gunpoint, soIthink it’s safe to say we can’t believe anything he said,”Ianswered. “I’mgoing to the bank.Ifher dot moves, call me.”

“TakeElliewith you,”Catchimed in.

“Hell no,”WadeandIboth argued.

“What?Why?”Ellieasked, seeming curious as to why her name was mentioned.

I was leaving.Ididn’t have time for this.

“Wait,Jack.Hereme out,”Catsaid, holding up her hands to all of us to let her speak. “WhenValandIwere inWitnessProtection, the agents and marshals always used to say the most effective way to avoid a deadly turn of events during a rescue or recovery operation was through diversions and distractions.”

“I’m aware of that tactic—the military uses it as well—but my sister is not going in there,”Iprotested. “It’sbad enoughRuthieis there and we have no idea what she’s up against.”

“Jack, these people know what you look like, and they may even knowArchersince he was over there a lot,”Catexplained. “Ihighly doubt they would recognizeWadeandEllie.”

She laid out her full idea for the plan, andIwas torn.Itwas a great plan and would certainly allow us the opportunity to get a better assessment of the situation withRuthie.Butit also could potentially put my sister in danger.Iwould have preferred to useDeliafor this, since she was better trained, but she was out withAndreinvestigating another client case we had.

“Cat’s plan is good,”Archersaid. “WadeandElliewill go to the bank withJackas backup, butJack, youcannotenter that bank until we get the info we need fromWade.Understood?”

I cursed, butIknew he was right.

“Cat is also right about me,”Archeradded. “Imay not have metRonaldin person, but both you andRuthiesaid he brought up my name, which means he may know whatIlook like.VinceandIwill stay here and monitor everything that’s going on.”

As a military man,Iknew how important it was to cross yourT’sand dot yourI’swhen it came to building and executing your plans.Wedidn’t have enough time to do that.So, we had to rely on the information we had and just hope the rest all worked out.

That left a very uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

27

RUTHIE

I walked into the bank with my brother’s hand holding mine.Toanyone walking by, it may look like a boyfriend or family member just holding my hand.Whatthey couldn’t see was the iron grip he had on me.Hehad the gun tucked inside a shoulder holster underneath his jacket so no one could see it, butIknew it was there.

On the drive overIhad thought about howIcould try to get out of this without hurting my granddad or myself.Butevery scenarioIcame up with left one of us vulnerable.

When we arrived at the bank, there was a man waiting for us at the entrance who knewRonaldand shook hands with him before walking us all back to his office.Therewas no door to close and lock me in, which made me feel slightly better, but it was off to the side away from most of the other employees.

It was a lot of paperwork to unload a trust into another account.Iwas beyond thankful for that since it was dragging the process along so thatIcould try to come up with a plan for after this was over.Iknew my father, andIwouldn’t put it past him to killGranddadeven after he got the money.Hehad already proved he would kill a racing dog just for being slow and losing him money.Ifhe lost money from today’s venture, he would absolutely killGranddad.Ihad to think of what to do after we left.Mybrother had taken my cell phone from me at the house soIhad no way to reach out to anyone.Ihad a tracker built into my necklace, soIknewArcherorJackwould find me eventually, but they didn’t even know what was going on.

They thoughtIwas with my granddad.Itcould be hours before anyone even put the pieces together and found me.HopefullyCatorElliewould noticeIhadn’t responded to their texts about my arrival and would get help sooner.

As ifIhad conjured her up from my thoughts,Iglanced out the glass window of the small office and sawEllie’sface across the other side of the bank.Hereyes met mine, andIsworeIsaw them gleaming.

“Ruthie,” she yelled, waving her hand over-dramatically, and walked my way.

Oh no.

That’s whenInoticedWadewas with her.Ididn’t need them involved.Mybrother had a gun on him and would not hesitate to use it if he thought they were a threat.

“Hi,”Elliesaid from the doorway to this small office. “I’mso sorry to interrupt, butIhaven’t seen you in months!Comegive me a hug,Ruthie!”

What?Whatin the world was she talking about?BeforeIhad time to react, she was coming over to me and hugging me in the chair sinceIhadn’t stood up.

“Um, excuse me,”Ronaldsaid from next to me. “Weare trying to close a very important transaction here.”

He said it toElliein a polite manner, butIcould tell he was pissed because this was delaying us.Healso couldn’t pitch too much of a fit, becauseElliewas just a friend who wanted a hug.

---