His rugged charm and quiet determination reminded her of the old Jace, the man who hesitated at nothing to acquire what he wanted, especially if that something helped someone else.
As he finished, Wanda grew even paler. Her hands twisted in her lap, as if she didn’t know what to do with them.
“We need your help to find Dylan before the gang members do,” Jace added. “If he stole the jewels, and I am certain he did, he’s in extreme danger.”
But Wanda shook her head, her mouth compressed as if holding back secrets. Kara knew Jace would get nothing further out of her. Her motherly instinct to protect her son at all costs clashed with the desire to trust them. Wanda needed to be assured.
Kara joined her on the sofa, slid her hand over the woman’s trembling palm.
“Aunt Wanda, I should have seen Dylan’s desperation and given him a loan. I had promised him a large raise once I sold the Vandermeer jewels. I didn’t realize he couldn’t wait, because you are his entire world. I’m so sorry.”
Jace cut in, his voice direct. “Does Dylan have any friends upstate who might help him sell the jewels? Or relatives with connections to jewelers who wouldn’t question where the jewels came from?”
“No. I don’t know.” Wanda wrenched her hands out of Kara’s. “My Dylan is a good boy. He wouldn’t do anything wrong.”
Jace came closer, his manner and tone gentle. “Mrs. Moore, we need to find him, fast, before the bad guys do.”
Wanda’s gaze darted between Kara and Jace, her eyes reflecting a mix of fear and desperation. “I don’t understand. Dylan wouldn’t do something like that. He’s a good boy.”
Jace’s voice cut through the tension, firm but compassionate. “We know Dylan cared deeply about you, Mrs. Moore. We believe he might have taken the jewels to help you with moving out.”
“I would never ask him to do anything like that!”
“You didn’t have to. Sometimes children will do anything to help their parents,” Jace said quietly. “Even resort to crime.”
The woman’s face paled at the realization. Kara wondered at the resigned tone of his voice, as if Jace had more than a nodding acquaintance with this fact.
“Please, Aunt Wanda, help us. We want to help Dylan. The people who orchestrated the theft won’t give him a second chance.”
The woman looked stricken. “He always talked about going to Georgia. Or North Carolina—he likes the woods...”
Jace shook his head. “Tell me about your brother, Phil Pierce. He lives in the mountains of western North Carolina. Moved there in eighty-nine, retired from working as a radiation tech at a hospital, now owns and rents cabins there to tourists.”
Wanda paled. Kara felt utterly confused. “How do you know this, Jace?”
He made a brief dismissive gesture. “We want to help Dylan. You have to trust me on this. We’ve got to find him. The motorcycle gang wants these jewels back and they’re hunting him.”
“I don’t know,” she blurted. “How do you know about Phil? I haven’t spoken to him in years...”
“What about Dylan?”
She seemed to shrink into her skin. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
Why was he badgering her? And how had he found out that information? Jace was always friendly, but this was a hard-edged side of him she’d never seen. He was quiet, determined and intense. It contrasted severely with the insouciant biker who enjoyed freedom more than responsibility.
Wanda’s eyes filled with tears. “Please, if you find Dylan, don’t hurt him.”
Jace nodded. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he’s safe. Is there someplace you can stay until all this is sorted out? Someone you can stay with?”
“My parents,” Kara said quietly. “Please, Aunt Wanda.”
Wanda shook her head. “No, I won’t impose. I’ll go to my friend Sissy’s house in North Park, a couple of hours away. She’s pressured me to visit, but I couldn’t take time off work.” Wanda wiped her eyes. “Not that it matters now, anyway. With all the work I’ve missed at the factory, they fired me.”
The woman was hurting for money. As Kara thought over the contents of her bank account, and how she could help, Jace pulled out his wallet. He thumbed through several bills and placed them on the scratched coffee table.
“Here’s one thousand dollars. This will tide you over for a while. I’m sorry it cannot be more.”
Wanda shook her head. “I can’t...”
“Dylan would want you to have it,” Kara insisted, her voice filled with conviction, though she wondered where Jace had gotten the money. “He would want his mom to be okay. You’re his entire world, as much as he is yours.”
Wanda picked up the money, nodding in thanks. Her gaze darted over to Kara as she picked up her cell phone and texted.
They walked outside as Wanda told them goodbye. Kara studied the big Harley in the cracked driveway. “Jace, where did you get all that money? And why are you carrying that much in your wallet?”
“I like cash. Easier to deal in cash.”
“How did you know all that about my uncle? Jace, what’s going on here?”
“Nothing I want to talk about, Kara.”
“Nothing you can talk about or want to talk about?”
“Drop it.”
His voice was guarded and he avoided her gaze. Kara’s pulse raced. Was Jace also dealing in something illegal? He’d joined a criminal biker gang, and though he’d always been squeaky clean, almost like a Boy Scout, he’d changed.
Or maybe not something illegal, but the opposite. Was the biker persona all an act? Was Jace working for the police? It would explain a lot. Kara knew she had to keep quiet on this, for his sake.
