Page 72 of The Scenic Route
The day was broken up by the arrival and departure of the various murder club ladies, and they all came bearing food. Felicity and Bennett made sure they had everyone’s contacts in their phones as they snacked and watched the camera feeds. Lou stayed for a few hours but then had to help with the lunch rush at the coffee shop. Ellie stopped by just to drop off doughnuts before leaving to pick up Mila from a playdate and promising to return later that afternoon. Daisy arrived around twelve thirty with cookies and—thankfully, since Felicity was starving but already buzzing from all the sugar in the doughnuts—mini quiches.
They all switched off watching the monitors, and Felicity even took a few outside breaks, just to breathe fresh air for a few moments. She stayed close to the door, not wanting any stray customers—especially Dino or any of his buddies—to get a glimpse of her.
Rory’s shop had a steady flow of customers of all types, but there was no sign of Dino’s tall form as the hours slowly rolled past.
By five o’clock, Felicity was starting to resign herself to another failed plan. All the murder ladies were there, along with Callum. Ian and Chris wanted to come, but both had shifts at work, and George had Mila at home. “We thought she was a little young for her first sting operation,” Ellie had said when she’d arrived without her child in tow.
Felicity watched the monitors idly while her brain attempted to work out the next step in capturing Dino. Hopefully, he’d never gotten the email. If he’d seen it and was too suspicious to come, that would make any other attempt to bring him out into the open that much harder.
There was a small rush at the store, the after-work crowd, Felicity guessed. A family with two teenage kids, a pair of women probably in their thirties, and two separate men roamed the store and gradually left, until only one of the men remained. He eventually bought two boxes of ammunition and then exited.
Felicity glanced at her phone—ten minutes until Rory closed the shop at six. “Guess we’re coming up with a new plan,” she said, stretching her arms above her head. Although she’d sat or stood around for most of the day, her body ached like she’d been bouldering the entire time.
“We could burn their compound down?” Ellie suggested, making Felicity choke before she realized Ellie was joking. At least shehopedEllie was joking.
“If we could get ahold of some building plans, we couldbreak in,” Felicity suggested, ignoring Bennett’s soft groan. “The problem is that the militia don’t usually get building permits when they renovate their compound.”
“What about plans for the original structure?” Callum asked.
“According to the Field County Building Department, they’re ‘lost.’”
“That’s annoyingly coincidental,” Daisy said to murmurs of agreement. “How would—” She broke off as someone entered the store.
Her mind busy coming up with a plan for breaking into the compound, Felicity sent the new customer a distracted glance. Her eyes widened as she leaned closer to screen, completely focused now on the tall man. “That’s him.”
“That’s him?” Lou repeated, shifting to get a better look at the monitors. “Himhim?”
“Dino Fletcher, in the flesh. All six four of him.” Felicity grinned at Bennett with fierce satisfaction. “It actually worked.”
Just then, all their phones dinged from a group text. Felicity glanced at hers to see a text from Rory.He’s here. Come get him before I have to give him a free gun.
Felicity snorted at her text and hurried to the door into the store. Bennett was already out the back door. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned around and fixed the murder club ladies—and man—with a stern look, one she learned from Molly, so she knew it was effective.
“Unless we’re about to die, do not engage,” she said. “Even if we’re about to die, only engage if you can do it safely.”
“We know, we know!” Lou scolded, waving her hands at Felicity like she was shooing away a chicken. “We’ve already discussed this and agreed. Go get him before he leaves! Hurry!”
Taking a steadying breath, Felicity yanked open the door and burst into the store.
Dino’s head whipped around from where he’d been studying the Browning rifle while Rory scowled at him. Felicity sprinted toward him as his eyes darted around like a trapped badger, his fingers tightening on the rifle in his grip. She was suddenly very glad that none of the guns in the store were loaded.
Still clutching the gun, he pivoted to face the exit and darted for the door. Felicity saw a flash of movement from the other side and slowed her run, a smile stretching across her face as she predicted what was about to happen. Sure enough, Dino yanked open the door and ran through the opening—only to bounce off Bennett’s broad chest and stumble right back into the store, tripping and landing on his ass.
With a laugh of delight, Felicity pounced, grabbing the rifle and passing it to Bennett in one move. She caught Dino’s arm, twisting it as she turned him over before he even realized what was happening. Pulling out her handcuffs, she secured them around his wrists and then double-locked them so they wouldn’t tighten any more.
From her position on her knees, straddling her still shocked skip, she grinned up at Bennett.
“You let him run into me,” he rumbled.
“I did, and it was so much fun to watch!”
It was his turn to laugh as he offered her a hand up, whichshe accepted. The two of them helped a cuffed Dino to his feet, and Felicity kept a secure grip on her skip’s arm. She’d expected more yelling and flailing and definitely more cursing from him, but he was surprisingly subdued. Felicity wondered if he was still stunned from his full-body collision with her mountain of a husband. Bennett walked the rifle back to Rory, who was still by the register, talking on her cell phone. She took the gun with careful hands and tucked it fondly under the counter.
“Clear,” Felicity called out to the group waiting in the back, and they all streamed into the store, chattering with excitement.
“That was beautiful,” Daisy said admiringly. “The way you just let him bounce off your big guy there. Way to incorporate a husband into your bounty-hunting toolbox.”
“Thank you.” Felicity could only laugh again, feeling giddy at accomplishing her mission—at least this one. Her mom had led them on such a frustrating chase that she needed a win to get her confidence and love of the game back. “Speaking of husbands, we should give yours a call, get him to pick this one up.”
