She raised her hands in surrender, heart pounding so hard and fast she worried she’d pass out.
“Put…the goddamn gun down,” the guy on his knees rasped out, waving his hand at the one with the weapon. He struggled to his feet and pinned her with a deadly stare. “I underestimated you. I won’t make that mistake again,” he said in a much deeper, huskier voice than before.
“Get out, or I’m calling the cops,” she said.
He scoffed. “Go right ahead. While you’re at it, tell Chief Smith that Mark wants a chance to win his money back.”
So these people had the law on their side.
“I’m only in town temporarily,” she said, grasping for any way to get out of this.
“We know exactly why you’re here, Ella. That nasty ex of yours was released from prison today, wasn’t he? I bet he’d be interested to learn your whereabouts.”
Stunned, she opened her mouth to deny his accusation, but no words would come out. There was no point. They knew everything about her, had quickly put together why she was using an alias, who she was terrified of, and why she’d run—and had no issues using it against her.
“You wouldn’t,” she finally managed to say.
“The hell we wouldn’t. You have a choice, Ella. You can make this easy on yourself and take the job, or we’re going to make your life a living hell.” A menacing look encased his face, one that said clearly that he’d make good on his promise. “Just so we’re clear. Don’t disappear on us. We wouldn’t want to be forced to switch our focus to Brooke or your mother. All we want is your cooperation. No one else has to be involved…unless, of course, you decide to involve them.”
The veiled threat to her mother and best friend chilled her more than anything else he’d said. She wasn’t tied to Cheney, Kansas. If she wanted, she could up and leave without notice. Go anywhere. But her loved ones were a different story.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said between clenched teeth, knowing she wouldn’t pack and leave. She’d never put anyone else in danger.
“That’s a good girl.”
“What exactly do you need a doctor for?”
“You’ll be told when you arrive.”
“You do understand that I have limited resources, right? I’m not even practicing right now.”
“It’s all been taken care of. You just show up.” He handed her a folded piece of paper, which she hesitantly took. “Don’t be late.” Then he made a flicking motion with his hand and the two guys behind him did an about-face and walked out of the house onto the porch.
Ella closed the door, leaned her forehead against the wood, and stared at the piece of paper in her hand. All of this trouble because she’d stepped in to help—twice. What a reward for being a Good Samaritan. Had she minded her business that day, she wouldn’t be on anyone’s radar.
She unfolded the paper and stared at the typed note. Nothing but an address and a time. She crushed the paper in her fist as anger flared hot through her. She’d barely escaped one dangerous man. Now she was the focus of a whole group of them, who didn’t just use their fists. They used guns, and threatened her family and friends, to get what they wanted.
And Lance had some sort of association with them. This was exactly the reminder she needed to stifle her attraction to him. While the man she trained with came across as patient and endearing, he was hiding a darker side. A man’s darker side had been hidden from her before and hadn’t surfaced until it was too late to protect herself. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Chapter Four
What the hell am I doing?
As Ella drove down the deserted road somewhere between Cheney and Wichita, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and tried not to think about the unknown that lay before her. If she did, she was liable to have an outright panic attack.
The flatness of the land around her made everything feel more isolated. The fact that it was nine at night and darker than black because of the moonless sky didn’t help either. She had no idea what the hell she was walking into—or who she was really dealing with.
As soon as the thugs had left earlier, she’d hopped into the car and gone to the library to use their computers. She had done a search for “McNealy, Kansas” which had produced a long list of results. None of them bad. If she was dealing with the same McNealys, who were two cousins that had built a fortune on a line of successful convenience stores, they had a very favorable reputation around the area and regularly donated huge amounts of money to the city.
Dirty money she’d bet. Those convenience stores had to be a front for some kind of illegal business. Either the local government didn’t know about it or didn’t care, if all the ribbon cutting pictures were any indication.