“What do you mean, you’ll be fine? You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” Hauck pressed the accelerator and turned back onto the access road, melding back into traffic.
“They killed Trey, Uncle Ty. They killed the others, too. And they tried to kill me. We can’t just go back,” Dani said again. “We can’t just let them win.”
He switched lanes. Carbondale was still two hours away. He looked back at her. “Who said anything about letting them win?”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
The call came in from higher up. McKay was already at his desk back at the office.
“So how’s our situation?” Moss inquired. McKay detected a ripple of nerves in his voice. The RMM executive was an oilman at heart, West Texas through and through. Who turned a blind eye to the kind of tactics McKay employed. Still, he had hired him.
“Nothing you’ll have to worry yourself about anymore,” McKay replied.
“And that means …?”
“It means it’s not a problem anymore. No one who saw anything that could lead back to you. No more mouths running off that can get us in trouble. You don’t have to know any more. I assume that’s what you wanted to hear when you said to handle it my way.”
“Yes. I guess it was.” The oil executive blew out a breath. “And not a day too soon. Just to be clear, we are talking both of them, aren’t we?”
“I’m afraid Mr. Hauck is still at large. But he’s useless now. He has nothing that connects directly to anything we need to hide. In fact, it may have even worked out better for us. Call it a bonus …”
“Bonus?”
“The farmer. Watkins. Apparently the old man took the shot intended for Hauck.”
“Is he dead?”
“Let’s just say I don’t think you have to worry about any pain-in-the-ass lawsuits anymore. I didn’t think you’d be crying to hear that.”
“Good. This will all make the process go a whole lot smoother.” Moss exhaled, relieved. “I’ll pass the word upstairs. I’m sure there’ll be something in this deal for you and your team.”
“We do aim to please, Wendell,” McKay said, with pride.
His cell phone vibrated. Another call coming in. “Hold on.” McKay checked the screen. “That’s my man now.” He put the RMM executive on hold and went on his cell. “John …?”
“We’ve got a problem,” Robertson said.
“What kind of problem?” McKay felt a flutter in his chest.
“She’s gone.”
“Who’s gone?”
“The girl. We drained the tank. She wasn’t in it. We searched everywhere. Somehow the damn bitch managed to get out.”
“Someone just doesn’t get out, John. Are you sure you locked the containing door?”
“Of course I locked the door. Anyway it wasn’t opened. That tank was airtight. The only thing I can even think of is maybe through one of the water ducts out to the river. But that would be … We searched the area. All I can say is that she’s gone.”
McKay thought for a second about what this meant. Everything he had just told Moss was untrue. Everything the man was probably now drafting in an email, assuring his superiors about it being smooth sailing from here on in. But it was even worse. She had seen him. His face. A rare mistake, but one he thought came with zero risk. If she was talking to the authorities now, they were totally screwed …
“What if she talks, John? I damn well would. We’re the ones she can pin it on. We’re the ones who have everything on the line.”
“I know that, Mr. McKay.”
“Find her. We don’t let people down, John. Either here or back overseas. That’s not just a phrase, you realize. It’s a commitment. It’s what we stand for. And now we’re about to let a whole lot of people down. Important ones. You find her. Both of them. And when you do, you do what you have to, and do it right this time. This isn’t Alpha anymore, you understand that? This is us. This is one big, giant shit ball now.”
“I understand.”
He hung up. McKay’s stomach ground as tight as powder. He took in a breath and got back on the phone with Moss. “You’re on your cell, Wendell?”
“I am.”
“It might be a good thing to destroy it. Take it apart. Remove the chip. Maybe toss it down one of those wells of yours. Today, if you can manage the time.”
“What’s wrong?” the RMM man asked, hearing the sudden change in tone.
“What I told you before, about that problem we discussed … I’m afraid I may have been a little premature …”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
They made it back to Carbondale just after five P.M. Before heading to Dani’s, they stopped to pick up Blu where he’d been staying for the past four days.
As soon as he saw her get out of the car, he bounded up and smothered Dani with kisses, his paws up on her chest, almost as if he sensed what had happened. Dani put her head against him, knowing that was true. “Oh, Blu, baby, you sure are a sight for sore eyes. You have no idea how close I came to never seeing you again.” He eagerly hopped in the back of Hauck’s SUV, his tail wagging happily.
They all went back to her ground-floor unit in town. Dani’s roommate was still on the West Coast. Exhausted, Dani sank wearily onto her couch, Blu climbing up, one leg at a time, and resting his chin on her thigh.
“Who can you call?” Hauck asked her.
“Who can I call for what?” Dani replied.
“Who can you call to come and stay with you? Or better, who can you go stay with? I don’t want you here alone.”
“C’mon, I can take care of myself, Uncle Ty. I’ll be fine. Honest.”
“I saw that, but not for the next couple of days. You’ve been through a lot. You haven’t even started to deal with what just happened. You need to take it easy and regain your strength. Personally, I’d take you to the hospital …”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital.” She shrugged. “I suppose I could call Geoff.”
“Your Aussie boyfriend?”