Chapter Ten
Tobi was rootedin place, listening as the man standing a few feet away talked on his phone.Whoever was on the other end of the call must have been demanding answers, Mr.Polished Loafers didn’t have.
“I know you need the damned puzzle.Stop nagging.I’ve tracked her to Texas.The dumb bitch applied to get her license transferred here but only gave a general delivery address in Austin.Guess she plans to drop by the post office every day and pick up her sales flyers and clothing catalogs.Fucking hell, it’s not like she has any friends or family who care enough to write her a damned letter.I made sure her coworkers didn’t sound the alarm when she seemed to vanish into thin air.”He paused long enough to cast a quick glance Lilly’s way, but when she kept her focus on the bulletin board, he rolled his eyes and continued.
“She’s supposed to be working as a fucking bartender in a kink club.How hard can she be to find?There can’t be that many clubs in a state with more cows than people.Fucking hell, I didn’t think I’d ever get to civilization.”
There was a part of her that was half-insulted because he was completely ignoring her, but the sensible half knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.Setting her jaw, Tobi focused every ounce of her self-control on remaining in place.Damn, she wanted to step close enough to slap the arrogant bastard with enough force to send him ass over tea kettle into next week.When she’d heard him mention ‘bartender at a kink club,’ Tobi motioned Lilly to wait.They were returning from a shopping trip and had stopped outside Houston for fuel when Tobi overheard the man’s comments and decided she needed to find out more.There were too many coincidences for him to be referring to anyone but Fallon Foster.
Lilly hadn’t missed a beat, immediately understanding something was wrong.Tobi loved how in tune her mother-in-law was to everything happening around her.Lilly stayed where she was, but now, she was only pretending to read the colorful garage sale flyers taped to the wall.When Lilly slipped her hand into the large handbag slung over her shoulder, Tobi knew it was time for a distraction.There wasn’t a chance in hill country hell the man would miss the weapon Lilly kept stashed in the stylish piece of luggage she called a purse.
One of Tobi’s favorite Lilly memories was listening to her mother-in-law explain the differences between a purse and carry-on to airline employees when they questioned her at check-in.Lilly West was a former model whose successful career had allowed her the freedom to make substantial investments.She’d already been wealthy when she married oil men, Del and Dean West.It didn’t matter that the three of them had built a diversified empire worth several billion; Lilly had no intention of paying a twenty-five dollars upcharge for a second carry-on.
When the jerk on the phone turned his attention to Lilly, Tobi saw something too close to suspicion flash in his eyes, so she did the only thing she could—she pretended to trip and fell against him.Not long after she’d married Kent and Kyle, they’d insisted she attend the self-defense classes they taught for the men and women joining their team of special operators.One of the sessions focused on ways to spot and avoid pickpockets.Tobi had become so proficient in lifting anything and everything from the trainees’ pockets, the instructors still used her during their demonstrations.Kyle often laughed they’d wanted to make her safer, not train her for a new criminal career.When she and Lilly were safely back in their car, the other woman turned to Tobi and grinned.
“Did you get it?”Tobi gave the woman she considered her bonus mother a quick nod.“You are absolutely amazing, dear.Be sure to call the boys right away.”
Tobi loved the way Lilly still referred to her grown sons asthe boys.One of the things she loved the most about the family she’d married into was their unconditional love and the deep respect they had for one another.
Tobi didn’t open the wallet—she’d made that mistake before.She’d gotten lectures from her husbands, their friends, and the local police about tampering with evidence more than once.She’d laughed when the officer lecturing her about thechain of custodysuddenly realized she’d stolen the phone, now considered evidence.The mortified look on his face sent her into gales of hysterical laughter that further annoyed the jerk.
After disconnecting the call, Tobi grinned at Lilly.
“Kent seemed pleased, despite all his muttering about not being able to let us out of his sight for a hot minute without us getting into mischief.You know… the usual blah, blah, blah about being trouble magnets.Kyle’s comments weren’t as tactful, and I warned him calling his mother the Mistress of Mayhem would go over like a lead balloon.I probably shouldn’t have warned him.It would have been fun to see you dress him down.Sometimes, he thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips.”She knew Kyle well enough to recognize his snark as a cover for concern, but it didn’t give him permission to call her the Diva of Danger.Damn, damn, and double damn.She and Lilly hadn’t been in the middle of anything interesting in months.Hell, they’d practically set a record for good behavior.Now that she thought about it, they were practically boring.
“Kyle said to tell you to drive safely, and he’ll know if you’re speeding.”Tobi winced when Lilly’s lips flattened, and her face turned an unattractive shade of crimson.
“Damn it, they put another tracker on my car, didn’t they?I swear those two are going to need a proctologist to retrieve the next one.”Swerving wildly across two lanes of traffic, Lilly took the next exit and pulled under a shade tree before releasing the truck latch and hopping out of the car.When she pulled what looked like a mini-metal detector from the trunk, Tobi started laughing.
“When did you get that?”Obviously, Lilly was tired of using the long-handled mirror she had the last time Tobi watched her look for one of the trackers her sons kept trying to hide in the frame of her car.Del and Dean West usually stood back, laughing at their sons’ wasted efforts.The two men told Tobi they’d learned a long time ago the best way to handle their wife was to wait until she asked for their help—clearly, their sons still hadn’t gotten the memo.A quick scan revealed two small magnetic trackers.After speaking briefly with a man leaning against his tractor-trailer rig, Lilly returned to the car.
“That ought to make them sit up and take notice.That truck is headed to Indiana.There are two race cars inside, and the driver said he’d be happy to slap the trackers on a couple of cars practicing on the speedway.I’ll teach them to whine about my driving.”Lilly put the car in gear and punched the gas, leaving enough rubber on the road to cut her new tires’ life in half as they rocketed up the ramp and back onto the Interstate.“How long until they call?Shall we wager?”
“Hell, no.You mop the floor with me every time I’m dumb enough to bet with you.I swear I’m taking you to Vegas.Your luck is uncanny.”
“It’s not luck, dear.It’s experience.When you’re as old as I am, you’ll be able to predict your children’s behavior… oh, well, maybe I should edit that statement.”
Tobi threw her head back and laughed.They both knew Tobi’s daughter, Kodi, was anything but predictable.Kameron and Kodi were both academically gifted and had been in accelerated programs since starting school at three years of age, but that was where their similarities ended.Tobi and everyone else who knew him could predict what Kameron would do months in advance.Kodi, on the other hand, was wild as the wind, and no one knew from one moment to the next what she might say or do.
Kent and Kyle alternated between blaming their mother and their wife for their daughter’s attitude, but everyone knew Kodi won the genetic lottery.She was a strategic planning master, often sitting in on her dad’s mission meetings, offering insight way beyond her years.Kodi was secretly learning to fly—God only knew how she’d talked her grandfathers into helping her pull it off.
“I don’t think they’ll need to call since we have our phones.No matter how many times I get Kameron to hack the system and delete their access, they always figure it out.”It was little more than an elaborate game of cat and mouse, but the bottom line was, she knew it was a safety issue and didn’t actually want to be disconnected from them for more than an hour or two.That didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy giving them a run for their money once in a while for the sport of it.
“They can track your phone, but I brought a burner phone today just to annoy them.My sons have forgotten their mama doesn’t take orders from them.Do you know they had the audacity to tell me it was time to trade in my convertible for something more appropriate for my age?Can you believe it?”
Tobi wasn’t surprised Kent and Kyle wanted their mom to drive something safer.What shocked her was they’d had the nerve to say it out loud… to her!Foolish men, they just guaranteed their mom is going to drive this pretty little Jag convertible until it falls apart.Less than a minute later, Tobi’s phone vibrated with an incoming message.
Kyle:Your phone is going one way, and mom’s car is going another.I’m assuming there is a reasonable explanation.
Tobi debated the best way to respond.He hadn’t actually asked a question, so it was tempting to simply send back an okay emoji.She might have a valid argument when he complained later, but it would be impossible to keep a straight face when he asked if she had failed to hear the unspoken question.
Tobi:On our way home.ETA 30.She was proud of herself.Damn, her diplomacy skills were on-point today.
Kent:Your phone is moving entirely too fast, Kitten.Tell the wild woman driving we’re a hot second away from calling it in.
Oh, hell no.She wasn’t going to be used as the messenger girl between the three of them.She loved them all and followed Del and Dean’s example anytime there was a conflict—they’d taught her the value of social distancing long before it was cliché.The two older men assured her silence was another hard-won lesson but well worth the effort.The past few years, Lilly and her sons had butted heads more frequently, and the trend had bothered Tobi until she’d read an article about role reversals as people age.
Smiling to herself, Tobi realized there was a silver lining she hadn’t considered.The day was fast approaching when she’d be old enough to turn the tables and give Kodi and Kameron a run for their money.When she stopped to consider the challenges of parenting gifted twins, Tobi suddenly understood the joy radiating from her mother-in-law’s stunningly beautiful face.Lilly must have sensed trouble brewing because she’d already slowed down before exiting onto the county road leading past her own house.Tobi laughed out loud when she saw Del and Dean sitting in their truck, waiting for their speed demon wife to fly by.