Tim growled in irritation as his cell phone kept ringing. Who the Hell kept calling?

“Hang on,” he told the girl under him. They had both been drinking during the raucous party and were so into what they were doing, she hadn't even heard his phone over the thumping music downstairs. Tim had been ignoring it but someone kept calling. The girl just giggled and moaned, rubbing her body against his, distracting him from finding his phone. He reached down to find his jeans on the floor and located his ringing phone. He couldn't focus on what he was doing with it constnatly ringing.

“Please tell me this is important,” Tim said as a greeting, without looking at the caller ID. He had been trying to score with this girl all night and they were just getting to the good part.

There was a brief pause. “Tiffany’s been kidnapped,” replied Bo Duke, in a tight voice.

Tim’s annoyance at being disturbed vanished and he tensed, his sexual desire gone instantly. The girl started tugging on his dog tags and licking his neck, trying to keep him in the mood.

“What?” Tim got up from the sofa, leaving the naked girl lying there. Now she looked annoyed and offended.

“Tiffany was kidnapped tonight.”

“And you’re just now calling me?” he demanded, reaching for his jeans. He glanced at the girl with a flash of brief disappointment. It had taken him most of the night to charm his way into her pants, which were laying on the floor, along with the rest of their clothes in a careless pile. He grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and removed the condom, cleaning himself up as he dressed quickly. She was frowning as she sat up, and realized the night’s agenda had just changed abruptly.

“We only found out about it a couple of hours ago when Honey was contacted. Tiffany never came home from work but her car is in the parking garage. We heard from the kidnapper but no ransom yet. The FBI is here now.”

“Who is it?” Tiffany and Jace had been at risk for being targets all of their lives, due to their family connections. Bo and Dan’s kids as well, given their line of work. Tim knew she had a large insurance policy and had undergone some special psychological training at dealing with kidnappers.

“A former syndicate player, name of Quirt McQuade. First criminal Luke and I ever helped catch. He ran a big crime syndicate in the south until then.”

“I remember hearing about him.” Tim pulled his t-shirt over his head. The girl, fully aware now that their fun was over, was dressing quickly while glaring at him.

“He didn’t send a ransom note yet, just said he had her, sent a picture as proof.”

“Do you need me up there?”

“Your dad is on the phone with the Superintendent right now to get you emergency leave for a few days. There should be a message at your dorm. Matt said he’d call too, if need be, for some extra weight in the influence area.”

“I’m on my way home then.”

“Actually, Tim, I need you to do something else, for me. I called instead of your folks for a favor.”

“Name it.”

There was a brief hesitation and then Bo said softly, “Bring my daughter with you.” His voice cracked on the last word.

Tim nodded, swallowing hard. He should have thought of her first. Aralyn was going to flip her lid when she heard. “Of course. She’s going to freak when she hears about this. It might take me a day or two to reach her, but I promise, Bo, I’ll find her.”

The girl glared at him as she pulled on her shoes.

“Why so long?”

“Because she might not be where she can get a cell signal. I just talked to her yesterday.”

Bo exhaled. “Where is she, Tim?”

Tim rubbed his jaw, as the girl stormed out of the room, fed up with him. “She’s out on the Trail, Bo. I don’t know exactly where.”

If she was near DeSalvo’s Martial Arts studio, she’d get the call faster, he knew. At least, his credit card statement had her there frequently.

“I’ll send the jet anywhere in the world to get her, Tim, but we need her home.”

“Bo, you think there’s a force on this planet that will stand between Aralyn and home the instant I get the words ‘Tiffany’s been kidnapped’ out of my mouth?”

Bo chuckled without humor. “You know she’s going to beat herself up over this.”

“How did it happen?”

“We don’t know. But she was leaving work when she was taken. It seems like McQuade may have been following her since he got paroled a couple months ago.”

“All right, let me get off the phone so I can go find my wayward cousin.”

“Bring my girl home, Tim. Matt’s en route from Japan but he has the second jet here on standby; just call me and tell me where to send it. It’ll be airborne within the hour.”

“I will, Bo. If I have to go look in every tree out there, I’ll find her.”

***

Timothy Mangan pounded on the door to DeSalvo’s Martial Arts studio in Franklin, North Carolina for the third time.

“DeSalvo!” he shouted. “Open up already!”

It was seven am. Tim had ridden all night when Aralyn failed to answer her phone the previous day. He had tried to be patient, tried to give her time to get to where there was cell signal, but Tim was only slightly more patient of a person than his absentee cousin. Finally, late that night, he couldn’t take the waiting anymore and hopped on his motorcycle. Tim Mangan wasn’t one to sit around.

It was damn cold, even with his layered clothing, and heavy leather jacket. He was tired, starving, and he was pissed. He wanted to talk to his cousin, now.

“DeSalvo!” he shouted again, pounding on the door. He didn’t have his lockpick set with him, to his annoyance and the door was too heavy to be kicked in.

There was the roar of a motorcycle behind him and he turned, hoping. Instead of his cousin it was a beat up, old red bike, and the guy getting off of it looked furious as he removed his helmet.

“Can I help you?” he demanded. He was Tim’s height, in his twenties, with blond hair shaved close, blue eyes, and he looked as cranky as Tim.

“You DeSalvo?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Tim Mangan, and I need to talk to Aralyn Duke. You’re going to tell me where to find her.” Tim knew his mother would be appalled by his lack of manners, but he was too hungry, tired and cold to care.

The guy’s eyes went cold. “Never heard of her.”

“Then how about I put your head through that door a few times until you remember her, Sparky. Tall, blonde, pretty, smart mouth and a lot of attitude. I’m her cousin and there’s a family emergency. She’s needed back home.”

The other guy studied him. “Told you, never heard of her.”

Tim knew he was lying. “Buddy, I am not in the mood for your bullshit. You tell me where she is, or we’re going to find out how strong that door is against your skull.”

The door opened behind him and Tim immediately moved out of position so that he couldn’t be attacked from behind.

“What’s going on out here?” a deep voice with a Scottish accent demanded.

Tim sized up the newcomer. Forties, broad, solid, all muscle, and powerful. Probably DeSalvo. And definitely the more dangerous of the two.

“This punk has been banging on your door, Mac. He wants to talk to some girl named Duke.”

Tim didn’t miss the man’s poker face take over. “Never heard of her.”

Tim’s temper boiled. “Listen to me, you sons-of-bitches, I’m her cousin, Tim Mangan, and I’m the one footing the bill for her little self-discovery journey down here—you charge my credit card every month for her martial arts lessons. There’s a family emergency in New York and I have to get her home ASAP because she’s not answering her phone. You need to tell me where she is, or where I can I can find her, before I call in the US Marshals and have them turn this town upside down to find her, and I promise you, you do not want to deal with her father right now!”

“Calm down,” the Scotsman said, studying him. “She’s mentioned you.”

There was another motorcycle roar and this time, Tim recognized the engine. Sure enough, a moment later, Aralyn was pulling into the parking lot and shut off the bike. She pulled off her helmet and sunglasses, surprise registering on her face, then a big smile crossed her face.

Tim wanted to ask what the Hell she had done to her hair, but didn’t. He’d leave that to Trixie. There were more important things to discuss with her.

“Tim!” She hopped off her bike and ran to her cousin, who grabbed her in a hug and squeezed her tightly, lifting her up. As soon as he set her down, her smile vanished. “What’s happened? Why are you here?”

The words that came out of his mouth froze her insides.

“Tiffany’s been kidnapped. You didn't answer your phone.”

She stared at him for about three seconds to see if he was joking, then she straightened up. “Let’s go. Richie, can you take care of my campsite? I have to go, like, now.”

The blond guy nodded.

Tim caught her by the arm. “Ari, the jet is on standby. All I have to do is tell your dad where to send it. We can be home by lunch.”

She was tempted. He could see the wheels turning behind those dark blue eyes. Luxury flight, versus thirteen hours of hard riding. But flying meant leaving her bike, and her freedom. But Tiffany needed her. He could see the internal debate behind her blue eyes.

“Getting soft, Timmy?” she taunted lightly. “We’ll ride.”

“Seriously?” he asked, his butt wincing at the thought of the long ride on his bike. “Six hours, tops, Ari. Thirteen to ride.”

“Thirteen?” she scoffed. “Who taught you to ride, Mangan?”

She wouldn’t budge, he knew her too well. Stubborn Duke, he thought.

“All right. I can ride, but I’ve got to eat. I rode all night from Annapolis and I’m starving.”

She nodded. “There’s a diner nearby. I need to charge my phone anyway. I realized this morning the battery was dead, so I came in to eat and charge it. Saw Duncan and Richie so I thought I’d stop by.”

“You wanted breakfast,” the Scotsman said, with a faint smile.

Aralyn grinned.

Tim’s eyes traveled between the two men. What was her relationship with them? The older one, the Scotsman, had the look that probably made women’s panties wet when he smiled at them. One ladies man always recognized another. The blond though, looked at Aralyn with clear sexual interest. Both of them, maybe? No. If Aralyn was sleeping with oneof these guys, it was Tall, Dark and Accented.

“Come on in. I’ll feed you both before you hit the road. Duncan MacCleod,” he held out one hand to Tim. “Sorry about the rude introduction a moment ago, we were protecting your cousin. This is my friend, Richie Ryan.”

“I appreciate that, actually,” Tim shook his hand, then the blond man’s. “Sorry I threatened you guys. When she didn’t answer her phone, I had to get down here to find her. I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t an emergency.”

“Okay, now we’re all friends. I’m starving,” Aralyn shooed them indoors. “Something quick please, Duncan, I’ve got to get home. Tiffany needs me. I’ve told you about her; she’s my best friend.”

Duncan nodded.

Not a talkative fellow, Tim thought. But still dangerous.

“And you need a shower,” Tim muttered.

Aralyn glared at him. “Duncan, can I use your shower?”

“Mi casa es su casa,” Duncan sighed. “You know where it is.”

That statement didn’t sit well with Tim. Aralyn was way too familiar with this guy. He made a note to himself to grill his cousin about these men later.

Tim followed them inside, sending a text message to his father. Target acquired. ETA 12 hours, plane refused. He knew it wouldn’t take them the full 13 hours. After all, his cousin was the daughter of a former NASCAR driver and her best friend was in trouble.

***

Honey Duke was curled up against her husband on the sofa. Trixie was nearby, talking softly on the phone. Two FBI agents were there, monitoring all phone lines with various computer gadgets set up.

Natala had arrived a little earlier with Dean and Cam for support. The guys had insisted on coming along. Tiffany was their friend too. Natala had had a very strong feeling she needed to be at the house this evening.

Leif Duke wandered restlessly. Jace Duke, Honey and Luke’s son, was in his room. The quiet football player had shut himself in his room and not come out. Jesse Mangan had been able to get a response from him periodically through the door.

“Anything new?” Luke asked hopefully as Trixie hung up the phone.

Trixie shook her head. Luke had been sidelined because the victim was his daughter. Dan and Bo had fought to stay on the case, but now the FBI was involved and there was a lot of head butting and pissing contests between the two federal agencies. Trixie had been on the phone with her old friend, Fenton Hardy, the private investigator. He had lost Aralyn’s trail several months before, but had kept in touch with Trixie. He couldn’t interfere with a federal kidnapping case though, but he had cast his investigative net to see what he could find on McQuade.

Trixie twisted her wedding ring. Tim had promised Bo that he would bring Aralyn home. But he hadn’t found her as of last night. Trixie’s heart ached. She at least knew her daughter was alive. Tiffany was her second daughter, and now, to have her missing too, taken against her will…it might as well be Aralyn that was taken, it hurt so much. Honey had suffered alongside of her all these months with Aralyn gone, now their second girl was missing. Both of their daughters, their beautiful, vibrant girls, missing, one in dire danger, the other intentionally hiding. It hurt so damn much!

Honey had barely spoken or eaten since they received the first phone call. Her beautiful hazel eyes were red rimmed and vacant. Matthew Wheeler had flown in from Japan as soon as he was called by Luke. The Clan had been in and out, communicating by phone and text so as to not overcrowd the house, or Honey and Luke and Jace. Leif had been the primary point person for the cousins, staying close to his mother and fielding texts and phone calls between family members.

A loud roar echoed through the neighborhood.

“Damn Johannson,” Luke muttered to no one in particular. One of the neighbors had recently purchased a Harley and delighted in riding it through the neighborhood at all hours.

Leif stepped over to the window. His blue eyes widened when he saw the flashing blue lights of the police at the end of the street, coming towards them. There were no sirens, but they were speeding.

“Mom, you better come here,” he said.

Natala looked up, and suddenly broke into a grin.

The flashing lights reflected on the walls of the living room and the loud, roaring engines came closer outside. Honey whimpered, clutching Luke’s arm.

Cam took one look at Natala and rose to his feet without thinking. His heart sang.

“It’s not about Tiff,” Leif said excitedly, “And it’s not Mr. Johannson’s bike!” The engines cut off and they could hear footsteps running up the walk.

Trixie saw Cam rise from his seat. Only one person in the world could provoke that kind of reaction from the young man. She bolted to the door as it was thrown open but Honey Duke was just a little faster.

Aralyn Duke barreled into the room, tossing her helmet to her kid brother and catching her two mothers in a tight hug. The two women burst into tears as they flung their arms around the tall girl.

“Oh, Trixie,” Honey sobbed, “one of our girls is h-h-home!”

“Told you all I’d find her,” Tim sauntered into the room with a lazy smile that hid his concern, worry and fatigue. He knew at some point very soon he’d have to face the music with his father, and family. But for now, it would wait. For now, the family needed this moment of joy and reunion.

He was followed by two New York state police officers. They stood by for a moment as the women wept, not releasing Aralyn from their grip.

“I’m so sorry, Mom, Honey,” Aralyn finally spoke. They both finally looked up at her and gasped. Her short blonde curls were a faded light blue with blonde roots growing out, and she had lost a lot of weight. Her jacket was dusty from travel, her hair flattened from the helmet, and her eyes were tired.

“You’re okay,” Trixie whispered, hanging onto her for dear life. “That’s all that matters right now. You’re okay and you’re here.”

“What on earth did you do to your hair?” Honey reached up touched a curl, keeping one arm around her, afraid to let go.

“I lost a bet,” Aralyn chuckled. “Sulan’s gonna have a fit.”

Honey nodded and touched her face, tears welling up again in her hazel eyes and streaming down her face, not letting going go of the girl she loved as much as her own.

Aralyn cupped the side of her second mother’s face gently. “They’ll find her, Honey. You know they will.”

“It’s been almost forty-eight hours,” Honey murmured.

Aralyn smiled softly at her, her blue eyes hiding their worry. “Dad and Dan are out there. They’ll find her. That’s what they do.”

Honey laid her head against Aralyn as she cried. Aralyn kept one arm around her, the other around her mother.

Finally, the women released her, and Aralyn was swept into a crushing hug by Luke that left her gasping for air.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured into her hair. His first daughter was missing but at least his second was finally home. Finally, something was going right. She hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Never you mind,” he whispered back. “We’ll talk about it later. All that matters is you’re home now.”

With one arm around her, he faced the state patrol officer. “Officers, I have to thank you for the escort, but I’m afraid to ask why they needed an escort.”

The older one, Officer Hall chuckled. “There have been reports coming in all day about a couple of nut jobs on bikes trying to break the sound barrier up I-95 from North Carolina. We finally tagged them once they got into New York. This young lady has quite the mouth on her, but her cousin here convinced us there was a family emergency. Once we verified their story with a US Marshal Daniel Mangan, we decided to escort them home—at legal speeds, mind you—and discuss the potential of a speeding ticket.”

“Feel free to give them two or three,” Luke said cheerfully. “‘Hell, give them a ticket for every law they broke in every state.”

“Funny, that’s exactly what Marshal Mangan said,” Officer Hall laughed. “You must be Marshal Luke Duke.”

Aralyn and Tim glowered at Luke.

“I am. Call me Luke.” They shook hands.

“I understand this one has been AWOL for a few months, and her cousin’s kidnapping is what brought her out of hiding?”

There was a lot of head nodding.

“Well, as I also understand it, young lady, your daddy is on his way here. Both of your daddies,” Officer Hall said sternly, faced the pair.

Cam was sure both Tim and Aralyn paled slightly.

“We’ll let you two go without any tickets this time, only for the fact this is legitimate family crisis and I understand the hurry to get here. But we will send your plates out to our force and if any of us ever, ever catch you two going one mile over the posted speed limit again, we will throw your butts in jail and take your licenses away. Is that clear?” There was no sign of jest in his voice.

“Yes, officer,” Aralyn and Tim spoke together, meekly.

“You two endangered a lot of lives out there today, and I could still change my mind.”

“Thank you, sir,” Aralyn said, unexpectedly.

“Mr. Duke, Mrs. Duke, if we can be of any assistance in the recovery of your daughter, please don’t hesitate to call. I know you have the Marshals Service and the FBI involved, but here’s my card in case. We’ll be praying for you.”

Moments later, they had departed as a black sedan came speeding down the street and whipped into the driveway with gusto and precision. Leif grinned, recognizing his father’s driving style.

“Now we got a party,” Leif muttered to Cam, who was staring at Aralyn in rapt devotion.

Tim knew what that meant. Sure enough, a moment later, Bo and Dan came running through the door.

Aralyn was swept up into a hug and lifted off the floor by her father. Aralyn wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and they hugged for a long time.

“Hi, Daddy,” she whispered, blinking back tears.

“Hi, Princess,” he murmured back.

“You just missed the state patrol officers that brought them home,” Luke said dryly.

“Hey, now, don’t I get credit for bringing her home?” Tim demanded playfully. He couldn’t read his father’s face. Dan simply clapped one hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’ve been on the road since last night without any sleep and almost got into a brawl trying to finding her!”

“He even made me shower first,” Aralyn said. “I was on the Trail for several days.”

“I didn’t want to have to ride upwind of her the whole way,” Tim grinned, waving his hand in front of his nose, earning him a dirty look from his cousin.

There were more hugs around the room. Aralyn found herself in Cam’s arms for a long, sweet hug.

“Thank for being here for my family, Cam. It means a lot,” she smiled up at him.

“Anything for you. Besides, Tiffany is my friend. I wanted to be here.” He ran one hand over the disarrayed curls, smashed down from the helmet, while keeping one arm around her securely. “What did you do to it?”

“I really did lose a bet,” she laughed. “It’s fading. Slowly.”

“It brings out your eyes,” he told her. God, how he wanted to kiss her. Too many eyes though, two pairs accompanied by mischievous grins. And there was still the matter of her. Something in his chest constricted. He had to talk to Aralyn, privately, and soon. But for now, it had to be shelved.

Aralyn looked up into his eyes, noting how easily she still fit against him. They needed to talk soon, she knew. She had done a lot of thinking over the last few months and a good chunk of it was centered around him.

“How can we use this to our advantage?” Leif muttered to his cousin.

Tim laughed and strode over to the couple momentarily lost in their own world.

“Before I need to tell you two get a room,” Tim started, causing Cam and Aralyn both to flush red immediately, “I’m going to suggest that someone feed us. I barely got her fed and into the shower before we were on the road, and I’m starving. We rode straight through, other than a couple of stops for gas.” To his cousin, he murmured, “Go sit with your mom and Honey for a bit.”

Aralyn nodded, and joined her mother and cousin on the sofa. They weren’t going to let her go for a while, she suspected. She was the strongest link to Tiffany they had. Trixie kept patting her arm and touching her hair. Honey held her other arm tightly, resting her head against Aralyn’s arm.

“Sulan is going to have a tantrum when he sees your hair,” Trixie said lightly. “You’ve been cutting it yourself, haven’t you?”

“Only once,” Aralyn said meekly. "I needed it low maitenence. But it looks more like yours when it's so short."

Trixie snorted.

“You’ve lost too much weight,” Honey fussed. “Moms is going to fatten you up the way she did Natala.”

“I won’t complain,” Aralyn said. “I gotta say, I’m so sick of camp and restaurant food. I’d give anything for some of Daisy’s fried chicken and Mom’s lemon meringue pie!”

“There’s both in the kitchen,” Luke said, smiling at his other ‘daughter’.

“I’ll get it,” Leif volunteered.

“No, you don’t, Curly, you’ll eat it all! I’ll get it!” Tim leapt to his feet and the cousins raced into the kitchen, leaving a room full of amused adults.

Aralyn looked at Bo. “Where are you with the case? What do we know?” she asked.

Despite the FBI agents’ protests, Bo filled her in.

“We’ve got McQuade’s location narrowed down to the Irvington neighborhood. We almost had his full location but he turned his phone off. The old buzzard has gotten smarter and is up to speed on technology it looks like.”

“He’s hiding out in that neighborhood? It’s mostly retirees, isn’t it?” she asked.

Bo nodded. “He’s older now, sweetheart, close to 80, if memory serves. He’d blend in easily enough. He can be a charmer. It wouldn’t take much for him to scam his way into some retiree’s place and never be stand out.”

“How’d he get out of prison?” she asked.

“Time served. He behaved, never gave them reason to keep him. But I guess revenge was on his mind. He was released a few months ago, disappeared. Best as we can figure, he was contactin’ old friends, findin’ resources.”

“How did he grab her? Tiffany would have fought.”

“He snuck up on her in the garage at Daisy’s. And we think that he was stalkin’ her. He definitely knew where the cameras in the garage were. He waited in the shadows, wore a mask, and came up behind her. She never knew he was there. He hit her in the head, from we saw on the surveillance footage.”

“She told me she felt like she was being watched recently,” Natala spoke up. “And I…I haven’t had a good feeling. I’ve been having visions about something coming towards one of the girl cousins, and I warned all of them to be careful. But I thought she’d be safe at work, with all those guards, and security. I even asked her to start carrying her gun. I thought she’d be the safest. I never saw this coming.”

Her blue eyes filled with tears and Dean put one arm around her.

Honey closed her eyes tightly. Aralyn squeezed her hand in comfort, and accepted a plate of warmed fried chicken and potatoes au gratin from her brother, who had reappeared. Tim had a similar heaping plate, and sat on the floor, digging in. He could tell his mother was on her way over by Dan’s guarded look.

Dan had finally hugged his son, as had Bo, but not much had been said. Trixie had hugged Tim so tightly he had almost choked, but he was happy. Trixie wasn’t holding it against him. Yet. He was pretty sure most of them had figured out he was more in involved in Aralyn’s disappearance than he had let on.

“Has he asked for a ransom yet?” Aralyn asked, between mouthfuls.

“No,” Bo sighed. “And don’t eat so fast. Most kidnappers want a ransom. But we suspect he’s dragging it out just to torture us.”

As if on cue, the door opened and Daisy and Dana Mangan came bustling through, followed by Lyris Crocken. Conversation was put on hold as Tim was smothered in hugs and kissed by his mother, before she moved to Aralyn, who gave a sheepish grin when Daisy made disapproving noises at Aralyn’s hacked and dyed hair. Dana hugged both her cousins but gave Aralyn the stink-eye and socked her in the arm, making Aralyn wince. They’d have words later, she knew.

Tim hesitated to hug Lyris - who had hugged Aralyn tightly but hung back from him - until she stepped up and wrapped her arms around him. He had only seen her once since their breakup in the spring, and it hadn’t gone well. It was entirely his fault, but he missed her so much.

She had added a piercing to her upper lip, her light blonde hair was shorter, some sort of funky bob that wasn’t even, and he could see streaks of bright pink and purple—what was it with the women in his life and the crazy colored hair lately? But she was still beautiful. Always beautiful. He hugged her tightly, inhaling the light, floral scent that she always wore. It still drove him crazy. He enjoyed the all-too-brief moment feel of her curvy body in his arms.

When she moved to pull away, he released her, with great reluctance. No words were exchanged, but she squeezed his hand, and he returned to his plate.

Cam offered his chair to Daisy, who took with a smile and a thank-you, and Tim sat at her feet, continuing to eat.

“What’s the proof she’s okay?” Aralyn asked once the conversation resumed, her mind whirling. “How do we know she’s alive?”

Luke picked up some photographs. Pictures of Tiffany, gagged and tied to a chair, eyes wide with terror, and a dated newspaper held up by a meaty hand. The background was dark, the flash was the only illumination.

Aralyn swallowed as she heard Trixie sniffle and Honey whimper. She nodded.

“Is there anything we can do?” she asked.

“Cam’s been of some help already. He’s quite the investigator,” Bo smiled at the young man. Aralyn looked at him and grinned. No one missed his shy smile in return. “He helped us track them to the Irvington community.”

“Duke, that’s more than enough,” one of the lurking FBI agents growled. “You shouldn’t be telling them all of this!”

“Shove it where the sun doesn’t shine, pal,” Aralyn said cheerfully. “Go make yourself useful and get some doughnuts while we figure out how to rescue my cousin, k?”

The majority of the room smothered their laughs as the FBI men bristled.

Cam’s heart purred contentedly. Aralyn was back all right.

***

Aralyn, Natala, Tim, Dean, Cam, Lyris and Leif finally relocated to Trixie’s house, leaving the adults some quiet time, as they waited for a ransom request, and so they could catch up. There wasn't much they could do until then. Honey kept touching Aralyn and hugging her. Aralyn promised both of her mothers she was back for good.

“What wouldn’t Dad say in front of Honey?” Aralyn asked as they settled around the kitchen table. Leif had texted everyone in the family to let them know she was back, then gone to find his twin. Dana had returned home to finish a report she was working on for a teacher that wouldn’t grant an extension, despite the family crisis, after letting Aralyn know in no uncertain terms they would talk later. Aralyn suspected all of her cousins and siblings had choice words for her. Leif had warned her Logan had called first dibs.

“Standard kidnapping stuff. The longer she’s missing, the less chance there is of finding her alive,” Dean said.

Aralyn rubbed her face, fatigue catching up to her. Natala was at the stove, making a large batch of hot cocoa, Duke-style. “Honey knows that, she was a Marshal. I feel like he’s holding back something important. I can guess how it went down though. Let me see. The FBI showed up and they’re pissing all over the Marshal’s boots and the Marshals are trying to ignore them but they ended up pissing back on the FBI.”

“Pretty much,” Cam said. “I did dig up some potential properties McQuade might be using but the whole Irvington community is retirees. They can’t go swarming in there without literally scaring some of them to death. But a systematic check of the neighborhood would tip their hand to McQuade.”

Natala sat a plate of warmed up pie in front of her along with a glass of milk. Aralyn flashed her a grateful smile. She was still hungry, even after stuffing herself at Honey’s. Duncan had cooked for her several times, but for her, home cooking was from the women in her family.

“Are they wasting time sending in small teams of commandos or something?” Lyris asked.

Cam shook his head. “I’m not sure. That’s where Bo had to draw the line at keeping us in the loop. Too much detail leaking out.”

“Luke has been pacing the place nonstop,” Dean added. “I thought he was going to punch those FBI knuckleheads when they told him to sit down.”

The group chuckled as Natala handed out pie to everyone, Cam skipping the offer because of his diabetes.

“I guess there isn’t much we can do,” Aralyn mused. Cam studied her. He could see the wheels turning and it made him slightly uneasy. “What else have I missed?”

Natala caught her up on the family’s latest happenings and the group toasted when Nat said it looked like Jim and Hallie were edging closer to over. Jim was spending more time with the kids, Hallie was working for Ben Riker, but she had a very strong feeling the marriage was stretching thinner and thinner.

“I never did like that bitch,” Lyris said. “She always made me feel like I was a stray puppy Tim brought home and she wanted to smack me with a rolled up newspaper.”

“She’d just as soon kick me out to the curb,” Nat said dryly. “I thought Brian was going to actually hit her when she called me a few nasty names.”

“She can go to hell,” Tim said with disgust. “When we first moved up here, we were about five. She and Jim weren’t married yet but they were just boning each other—she might have still been boning Riker too, I don’t know. Anyway, she was sulking and lurking all over the porch at Manor House that day, giving Trixie the evil eye because we had just moved up here. I guess she thought Trixie was going to leave her family and take Jim away or something. So she’s glaring at Trixie all day and Aralyn pulls me and Tiff aside—you remember what you said to us?”

Aralyn started laughing, her face going red. “Vaguely.”

Tim was laughing too. “Aralyn pulls us aside and says, ‘She glares at Mommy one more time I’m gonna slap her like a ho!’”

The group burst out laughing. “Where did you learn to speak like that?” Cam asked.

Aralyn shook her head. “The hotel we had stayed in had MTV, and Dad was channel flipping. He paused for a moment on some show – Yo MTV Raps or something, and that was the one phrase I managed to pick up!”

“Somehow I can just see that coming out of you,” Cam chuckled.

“Daisy overheard and was horrified,” Aralyn admitted, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. “She took us aside and explained that we should never say things like that, especially where we could be heard. Come to find out when we were older, that Hallie had had a thing for Dan when they teenagers, and Daisy had worried that Hallie might make a play for Dan when they moved back up here.”

“That thought makes me wanna puke,” Tim shook his head. “Like Dad would ever consider leaving Mom for that skanky bitch. He’d have to be brainwashed!”

“Wait—Hallie liked Dan as a teenager, but ended up with Jim, who had a thing for a Trixie when they were teenagers?” Lyris asked, looking both confused and fascinated.

Aralyn nodded.

“Boy, am I glad four of you are cousins,” Lyris said, looking around the room with a smile.

Tim snickered. "Riker is Honey's cousin."

Lyris was startled. "But Jim is her brother!"

"Adopted." Was a chorus of an answer.

"No blood tie. Not that I think that would stop Hallie," Tim snickered. Aralyn swatted his arm playfully. Tim added, "She just liked 'em rich."

Cam glanced at Aralyn, who was laughing with the group, but he could tell she was distracted. Planning. Or plotting. Either way, he felt uneasy. His ex-girlfriend was up to something.

Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!

Author’s Notes
- A huge yee-haa to the fabulous and lovely Ronda, for editing this and her suggestions which made it much better!
- Quirt McQuade was a former syndicate player in season one of The Dukes of Hazzard that Bo and Luke helped capture.
- Word Count, 6,068