Madison shrugged. “We’ve been close through the years.”
Josie snorted. “I knew his name. Shane told it to me.” She crossed her legs, slamming her innocent foster kid mask on her face. “Franklin.”
Tom growled. “Shane doesn’t know his name. None of us know his name.”
Ah, the jerk didn’t like that, did he? Josie opened her eyes wider. “Sure Shane did. He told me a long time ago.” She lowered her voice. “Maybe Franklin liked the Gray brothers better than you, Tom. I mean, they were his favorites now, weren’t they?” Another pure guess, but what the hell.
Tom pushed away from the desk.
Dr. Madison’s pale hand on his arm stopped his forward motion. She turned her focus on Josie. “She’s quite the little manipulator, isn’t she?”
Josie refused to flinch under the hard gaze. “Just like your daughter, am I?”
Madison smiled. “Yes. Although Audrey has a genius IQ.” Shiny dark hair flew as Madison shook her head. “Unlike you.”
“She was smart enough to get Nathan to fall in love with her—and not with you.” Josie let a calculating softness filter into her voice.
Madison giggled again. “Your attempts at digging into my head… I love them. Oh, I wish I could’ve seen you work on Shane—I’ll bet you had my boy so tangled up he couldn’t find his way free.”
Yet he had now, hadn’t he? Besides, she’d never tried to manipulate Shane. She loved him, and she’d given her trust along with love. Josie glanced at the full wall of windows behind her. The sparkling jets waited, silent and watchful in the large space. “I figured you’d have more soldiers here.”
“The soldiers are all waiting for your husband,” Madison said just as her phone buzzed. She pressed it to her ear, gliding from the office and out of earshot.
Tom followed the doctor with heat in his gaze. “The commander will bring Shane and whoever’s with him to the plane, and then we’ll get the hell away from this Podunk town.” He focused back on Josie. “Not that I didn’t enjoy playing the out-of-luck workingman.” A Cheshire cat’s smile had nothing on Tom’s smirk.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a jackass.” The gun waited, heavy and sure, on the large desk. Maybe she should tackle Tom, just lower her head and aim for his gut.
He shook his head, grabbed the gun, and tucked it into his lower back. “Not going to happen, Josie.”
That’s what he thought. She flexed her fingers. Her wrists nearly bellowed in pain. “So how does this work? I mean, don’t you have to file flight plans and everything?” Not that he didn’t have government backing anyway.
“No.” Tom glanced at his watch. “This is a small airport. We can turn the lights on ourselves, and so long as we appear to be flying by visual, we just take off. Perfectly legal and acceptable.” His gaze focused on her, gaze skimming her legs. “Maybe we should come up with something interesting to pass the time.”
What an ass. “You’re an idiot.”
His face darkened with a purpose that chilled her completely through.
Madison clicked her high heels into the room, a frown marring her flawless skin. “We have a problem.”
Tom straightened up. “What’s the problem?”
Madison glanced at Josie. “Shane hasn’t shown up. Not even a hint of him.” She bit her lip. “Maybe we overestimated his feelings for her.”
Josie allowed a small smile to lift the corners of her lips. Adrenaline ripped through her blood. “Maybe you underestimated Shane.” Oh, yeah. Hope filled her. Her husband was coming.
Chapter 31
Shane shot an elbow into Nathan’s gut, halting their progress. “Go back to the fucking truck and wait for me.”
Nathan dipped a shoulder and rammed solid muscle into Shane’s arm. “No.” With smooth movements, Nathan yanked open the door to the police station. He’d discarded the bulletproof vest, but in his dark shirt and cargo pants, he still looked more like a soldier than a lawyer. “Detective Malloy has already met me, and there’s no reason to do this by yourself. Alone.”
A flashback to the military barracks smacked Shane between the eyes. “Never alone.”
“Never alone.” Nathan repeated the mantra they’d coined as scared kids.
Shane followed his brother into the station, their boots clomping in unison on the sparkling wood floors. They should’ve changed into more casual clothing, but there hadn’t been time. “Asking the cop for help might seriously backfire.”
“Yep.” Nathan plastered on a charming smile for a young blonde behind the bulletproof glass. “Hi, darlin’. We’re here to see Detective Malloy.”
The woman flushed, her pretty eyes sparkling as she grabbed a phone. Even through the glass, the sound of her breath speeding up forced Shane to bite back a smile.
Seconds later Malloy shoved open the door. He appraised Nathan and then Shane with shrewd, albeit tired eyes. His heartbeat remained steady and calm. “What the hell’s going on, gentlemen?”