Chapter 45
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
As they circled around to the back of the property, Nolan noticed a marked change in Dana’s mood. In a matter of minutes she’d become ebullient, giving Olive driving directions with glee. “Turn right up here,” she said, pointing, then added, “I can’t believe we got here in an hour and a half.”
“Just barely,” Olive said modestly.
“Give yourself some credit! You did it, and you earned that thousand dollars fair and square. Job well done.” She gave Olive’s arm a pat. “I couldn’t have asked for a better driver.”
“Thank you!” Olive’s tone had brightened as well. “You’re now my new best friend, you know! My husband is going to be so happy. This couldn’t have come at a better time, believe me. We really need the money.”
In the back seat, Nolan watched as the two women chattered with an easy familiarity. He had to admit to feeling a bit left out. Both of them were getting their own version of sunny skies ahead, while he felt a complete sense of dread. He could only imagine how many laws the twins had broken using his car since he last saw them. Was there any way he’d escape being implicated? Probably not. Of course, he had Dana’s recording, and she could vouch for his whereabouts as well. But was she reliable? No idea, but most likely he was going to find out very soon.
This whole thing made him physically sick.
As Olive pulled into the service drive, she said, “Oh look, someone’s here already.”
Nolan sat forward and saw his own car parked at the far end of the drive, his cousins sitting on the hood. Pete (he thought it was Pete) looked back as they pulled up behind the Camry, a frown on his face. Nolan leapt out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. “What the hell?” he said, marching toward them. Now he could see that Hunter was intent on staring at the screen of his laptop, obviously piloting the drone. “Seriously, you brought my car to a crime scene? You guys are unbelievable!”
“You have to move that car,” Pete hissed, gesturing toward Olive’s vehicle. “How are we gonna get away if you’re blocking us?”
Idiots, both of them.
Behind him, he heard Dana and Olive getting out of the car, chatting as if nothing was amiss. Why was he always the only one who worried?
Nolan said, “This lunacy has to end. Just stop it right now! Take your toy and go home.”
“No way! We’re about to become rich.”
They were going to become rich. Like that excused it. “That’s not your money. That’s not how you get money. What made you think you could kidnap someone?”
“Nolan, stop making such a big deal out of it.”
Dana continued her conversation with Olive. “I can Venmo you the money later after I get my phone, or if you can wait a bit, I can give it to you in cash.”
“This is getting interesting,” Olive said. “I think I’m going to wait for the cash.”
Nolan came around and grabbed the laptop out of his cousin’s hands. “You need to stop this. Go get your drone and get out of here.”
“Hey, give that back!” Hunter lunged at him, grabbing for it. When he couldn’t get the laptop out of Nolan’s hands, he punched him. Pete joined in the skirmish. With both of them coming at him, Nolan hugged the device to his chest and dropped to the ground in defensive mode, catching Hunter off balance and pulling him down as well. Pete tried to help his brother up; in the process, he was tripped by Nolan’s flailing legs and down he went.
Somehow, the three became intertwined on the ground, tussling like children, all of them trying to seize the laptop. It was like a cartoon fight, all fists and rolling.
Over the commotion, Nolan clearly heard Dana loudly say, “Men are so ridiculous.” A blanket statement about men. Really? How unfair of her to put him in the same category as his cousins. He’d been her defender all along, so it should have been obvious he was more than a cut above the twins. It would have been nice to get some credit for all his efforts.
That was the last thought he had before a fist struck him in the head and the world faded to black.