7 Brides for 7 Bodies Read Free Page B

once?” He swept his arm forward for Carlotta and Wes to precede him out the building.
    Carlotta moved self-consciously, hoping this wasn’t a ruse to place Wesley under arrest for something, like driving with a suspended license.
    He led them to a special parking lot for law enforcement vehicles. When they reached his dark sedan, he gestured. “Get in.”
    Wes gave her a questioning glance, but she only shrugged. Jack held open the front passenger side door for her. She slid inside, thinking it had been a while since she’d ridden shotgun with him. Detective Maria Marquez had most recently occupied this spot. A pang of grief for the woman barbed through her heart. She had been jealous of the camaraderie the beautiful woman shared with Jack, but she was as shocked and saddened as everyone else when Maria had been killed.
    It seemed as if Jack was destined to be alone.
    Wes climbed in the back seat, his expression sullen and closed.
    When Jack settled into the driver’s seat and turned over the ignition, Wes popped up. “Where the hell are we going?”
    Jack threw a frown over his shoulder. “You really should clean up your language.”
    “Fuck you.”
    “Nice,” Jack said blandly. “I told you to trust me. And sink down so everyone can’t see your fat head.”
    Wes flounced back in the seat, but did as he was told. Carlotta raised her eyebrows at Jack and he gave her a reassuring wink. He guided the car around the lot to a spot close to the building, and killed the engine. They sat in perplexed silence for a few minutes. When Carlotta tired of watching Jack play with the gadgets on his dashboard, she sighed and gave him a withering look. Then Jack lifted his hand and pointed to her right.
    She turned her head to see Wick and Green appear around the corner of the building about fifty feet away.
    And between them, handcuffed and dressed in a gray jumpsuit, was Randolph.
    A lump of emotion sprang to her throat.
    “This is total bullshit,” Wes said, oblivious to what was happening.
    “Wes.” Her voice vibrated. “Look.”
    He looked out the window, then sprang up in his seat. “Dad! It’s Dad!” He scrambled to open the door, which wasn’t possible, of course, because Jack had locked them in.
    “You can’t get out,” Jack said. “And he can’t see in. Be quiet and enjoy the moment.”
    They did. Carlotta had her nose pressed against the window, drinking in the sight of her father. He was still tall and fit, but not as robust and tan as she remembered. He obviously wasn’t getting in as much golf and tennis as he used to. And his hair had silvered around the temples and sideburns. He appeared to be healthy, though, and sure-footed. As the agents led him to a car, he tilted his face to look up at the sun, as if he might be afraid he’d never see it again.
    She glanced back and saw that Wesley had his face and both hands planted against the window, his mouth slightly ajar. “It’s really him,” he whispered. “He really is alive.”
    Carlotta smiled, then turned and reached for Jack’s hand to give it a grateful squeeze. He squeezed back.
    Randolph glanced all around, as if he were looking for someone...looking for them? His gaze passed over the Jack’s car, and for a few seconds, Carlotta felt as if he was looking directly at her. She held her breath.
    Suddenly, Wes had lunged over the front seat between them, his hands aimed for the steering wheel, his feet off the floor. The horn blasted into the air. “We’re here, Dad!” he shouted. “It’s Wes and Carlotta—we’re here!”
    Several ear-splitting seconds had passed before Jack could shove Wes back into the seat. “Stay there,” he bellowed.
    The agents had both drawn their weapons, and Randolph was riveted to their car, his eyes and body alert. Wick hustled him into the rear seat of their car, and Green barreled toward Jack’s sedan.
    “This should be fun,” Jack muttered. He glanced at Wesley. “If you try to draw attention to