Joy to the Wolves (Red Wolf #1) - Terry Spear Page 0,74

after a sale, the items arrive late. Especially with all the Christmas deliveries that are being made right now.”

“Just hurry it up.”

“I am.” Her shop phone rang, and Brooke saw Josh’s name on the caller ID. Before they could stop her, she quickly answered it, hoping they wouldn’t shoot her.

Her skin chilled, she was glad she might have a chance to get word to Josh that she was in trouble. Again.

If she had to protect herself, she would use the frying pan on at least one of them.

* * *

On the way to Ty’s house, Josh got a call from Jefferson at the bureau. “Hey, got some more news for you. The dead guy who was cut up by the window in the antique shop? His name was Pinky Struthers. He’s been in and out of lockups for years. Mostly for armed robbery.”

“Good work. Thanks, Jefferson.”

Josh called Brooke next to check on her. “Hey, Brooke, I’m making some headway in the Jingles case. Is everything going well there?”

“No. I don’t have any more sleigh bells in stock right now. I’m sorry.”

She sounded worried, and he immediately suspected the worst. She was in trouble. If she wasn’t and he was rushing to protect her when she didn’t need him to, they’d have a good laugh about it later. But he wasn’t taking the chance.

Josh spun his car around and headed back to Brooke’s shop. “How many are there?”

“Two. I had two in stock. Correct.”

“Males?” He wanted to kill them.

“Yes. Just the two.”

“Is the man who shot you there?” His heartbeat accelerating, he had to reach her in time before they could hurt her.

“No. They were brand new.”

“Armed?” He wondered if the other guy was out of the picture along with his dead partner.

“At least one.”

“Is anyone else in the shop?” He was hoping there were no other people in harm’s way.

“No.”

“Good. I’m on my way.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll have some in a couple of days. Bye.” She hung up on Josh.

He hated that she had to break the connection, but he knew the men would make her end the call before long, and he didn’t want them to believe she was giving the caller clues. He also hated that he hadn’t been there for her. Damn it.

His heart beating triple time, he floored the gas pedal, racing down the street while calling Adam. “Brooke’s got trouble at the shop. Two armed men. Not the same men who shot her. There’s no one else in the shop. No sirens. Unless I’m mistaken about this, but I don’t think so, she’s in trouble.”

“Better to be safe than sorry. I’m on my way.”

“I’ll meet you there.” Josh ground his teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He tried calling Ethan too. Because Ethan was DEA, he wasn’t involved in matters like this, but they were friends. All Josh got was his voicemail, which meant Ethan could be in a situation of his own right now.

Josh called the bureau for further backup, at the same time thinking of the best way to handle this. He damn well didn’t want the armed men to hurt Brooke. He was going to have to stay with her day and night. Were these men in league with the ones who had shot her? Or some random thugs looking to steal cash?

It seemed to take forever to reach the shop, and Adam drove up right behind him. Josh motioned for Adam to head around to the back door of the shop through the courtyard, then waited for him to have enough time to get there. Josh intended to be the distraction. He’d open the door to the shop that would jingle, while Adam opening the back door wouldn’t make a sound.

He had to give Adam time enough to jump the men while Josh got their attention. Then he worried the men had locked the front door. He carefully tried it. Not locked. Someone drove into the parking lot, and he turned to see if it was other police. It was. Good. But he still didn’t want Brooke in the line of fire.

If the armed men had really been on the ball, they would have put the Closed sign on the door and locked it. Josh opened the door, the bells jingling, and the two armed men turned to see who it was. Thankfully, Brooke was behind the counter, so she had a little protection if the shooting started.

Adam lunged forward and got the drop on one of the