“Operator. What is your emergency?”
It was Kimberly Hannah. He knew all the people who worked dispatch.
He told her he’d found the suspects they’d been looking for and asked her to send two squad cars to the house next to his.
“Haney called in sick. Only Botha’s in the area and he just took off to deal with a brawl at the Kicking Horse, but I’ll get him over there as soon as possible,” she said. “Sit tight and wait for him, okay?”
She was scared for him. Their little county didn’t see many homicidal maniacs. But he couldn’t wait another second. If he let these men escape, it would endanger the whole community.
“Just tell him to hurry,” he said. “And call the others.” Then he hung up and dashed upstairs to get his gun.
Virgil’s eyelids felt like sandpaper against his eyeballs. The flight from Buffalo had been cramped and hot and sleepless. His head pounded as he managed to retrieve his carry-on from the overhead bin while wedged between all the other people standing in the aisle. That one bag was all he’d brought. He didn’t plan on staying in Los Angeles more than a day or two—just long enough to finish what he should’ve done four years ago.
With any luck, he’d be on a flight home by morning.
If he wasn’t lucky, he’d be going back in a box.
“Excuse me.”
A soft, female voice came from behind him. A woman wanted to get to the same bin he’d used. He stepped aside to accommodate her, but her bag was too heavy for her to lift, so he got it down for her.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him with enough appreciation to let him know she found him attractive, but he wasn’t interested. Since he’d found Peyton, he never was. His wife, son and his other loved ones were all that mattered to him.
With a curt nod, he put his back to her and turned on his cell, which rang almost as soon as he hit the Power button. “Yeah?”
“Rex is here with the kids. I just wanted you to know.”
It was Peyton. She’d dropped him off at the airport, then had to wait another hour before she could pick up Rex and Jake and Mia.
Head bent, he lowered his voice so he wouldn’t disturb the other passengers. “How are they?”
“The kids? Great. Excited. This is a party for them.”
“And Rex?”
She took a deep breath; he could hear it through the phone. “I think he needs a doctor.”
Virgil would’ve cursed if he’d had any space to himself. This wasn’t a good time for Rex to be ill. “It’s that bad, huh?”
“It’s that bad.”
“God, if anything happens to him…” Rex was the brother he’d never had. The only person he’d ever really trusted, other than Laurel and Peyton.
“He’ll be fine. I just… I wanted to tell you that I’m not letting him go back to Montana. Not if I can stop him. I’m going to take him to the hospital.”
Peyton didn’t need any additional worries. The pressure of everything already going on was bad enough. “Laurel tried to tell me,” he said.
“She was right. But if he won’t cooperate, there won’t be a lot I can do.”
Virgil imagined the concern on her face, feared what the stress of this was doing to her and the baby. “Pey, don’t let any of this upset you, okay?”
“How can I avoid that with you in L.A., heading straight back to the people who want to kill you?”
Hearing the tears in her voice, he began to knead his forehead. He wished he could be in two places at once.
“I don’t even know if you’ll survive,” she added.
“Have I ever let you down before?”
“You’ll come through if you can, Virgil. There’s no question about that. It’s just—”
“Quit thinking the worst,” he broke in. “I need you to have faith.”
There was a brief moment of silence during which she seemed to muster her strength, and he prayed she’d be able to hang on—and keep all the children safe. “Okay. I can do that. I’m with you. You know that, don’t you?”
“You’re always with me, babe. Just take it easy until I get back.”
“I understand.”
“Can I talk to Rex?”
“Hang on.”
Rex’s deeper voice came across the line a second later. “Hey, buddy.”
“You’re sick, huh?”
“Hell, no. I’m fine.”
“Let her take you to the hospital.”
“What? No way! I’m going back to Montana as soon as I can get a change of clothes and buy a ticket. I left all the shit I took to L.A. at some motel.”
They’d opened the plane door. The line was finally beginning to move. Virgil could feel the balmy evening air so distinctive to this part of the country waft into the aircraft.
Hefting his bag over one shoulder, he nodded at the flight attendant who wished him a good night. “You must’ve been out of your mind in L.A.,” he murmured to Rex.
“Sort of,” came the response.
“Listen, I really need you to do something.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to let Peyton take you to the emergency room and get you some help.”
“No. I just told you—”
“Rex, please. Will you do it? For me?” Virgil couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever had to plead with Rex about anything. They always understood each other. He knew about Jack, doubted he could’ve handled what had happened himself. So he gave Rex a lot of latitude and tried not to ask for much. But he was pleading with him now.
It obviously set Rex back on his heels, made him go silent.
“You still there?” Virgil asked at length.
He made a sound of frustration. “Yeah, I’m here. I’m trying to decide what the hell to do. I can’t leave Laurel alone. Not against Ink and whoever else he has with him.”
“I’m going to cut off Ink’s support and direction just as soon as possible. That way he’ll be left without reinforcements if he fails and no one to report to for praise or promotion. I doubt it’ll remove all his incentive, but if Laurel and the sheriff can take care of what’s happening in Pineview, we’ll make it through this. All of us. Peyton’s about to have a baby, one that’s been trying to come early. She can’t look after all three kids and worry about you, too, not if she goes into labor. So I need you to step up, and the way you can do that is to get yourself some help so I can rest assured that she and the kids are in good hands. You feel me?”