As soon as they arrived at the mall, Rick, Lynn, Glen, and Sher headed for the bridal shop while Brad and Hannah shopped for the things on their list.
In the bridal shop, Glen stayed close to the girls, as Rick stood outside the shop. Sher handed Lynn what seemed like the twentieth veil and was surprised when Lynn said, “This is it. It’s perfect.”Sher pumped the air with her fists in a display of victory. Lynn rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.
Rick was on the phone when they exited the shop. He hung up as they got closer and said to Glen, “I have to go, but I’ll meet you all back at Lynn’s.”
Sher noticed the look on their faces and knew that Rick hadn’t heard good news. She hoped it didn’t involve any of them. She prayed that what happened last night was the only bad thing that would happen, and they all would have a perfect wedding.
“How about we find Hannah and Brad and help with the rest of the shopping?” Lynn said enthusiastically. . She was ecstatic about finding the perfect veil for her wedding dress.
Glen called Brad to get their location and then guided the women toward the right shop. While he walked, he took Sher’s hand in his. These little touches always made her smile. She wondered if he truly knew just how much she loved him. She hoped he did.
When they got within a few feet of the shop that Hannah and Brad were in, there was a loud scream. It came from two shops down. Glen jerked around, placing his hand on his gun in the back waistband of his jeans.
While he was turned in the other direction from Sher and Lynn, a man grabbed Lynn’s arm and tried to pull her away from the group.
“Don’t say a word, or you die,” the stranger whispered in Lynn’s ear.
A crowd formed around them outside the shop. Sher was shoved to the side as a woman who pushed a stroller tried to get through the crowd. Sher looked for Lynn, and when she laid eyes on her, she saw a man jerking her toward an exit sign.
“Glen, quick! Someone’s trying to take Lynn,” she yelled, not sure if Glen could hear her above the crowd.
Sher tried to work her way through the crowd toward Lynn and her abductor, but she had a hard time getting through. She saw Brad exit out of the closest shop and sneak up behind the man holding Lynn. Sher pushed through and stood with Hannah. She wanted to make sure Hannah stayed safe, and hoped Brad got to Lynn in time. From where she stood, she could see Glen was also sneaking behind the crowd, from the opposite end of where Brad was.
Remembering her brother had applied for a concealed weapon permit and got approved, she prayed he had his gun on him now.
She lost sight of all four for a moment. As the crowd slowly began to catch on to what was happening, she heard screams and saw the chaos increasing around her. That was when she saw Brad put his gun into the man’s back. She couldn’t hear what Brad said to the man, who now stood stock-still in shock to see Glen approaching from the front, with his weapon pointed directly at him. The man slowly let loose of Lynn, and then got down on his knees.
Searching frantically for her friends, who finally burst through the crowd, Lynn stumbled to them, breathless, her arms reaching out to them. Hannah and Sher pulled her to them as they watched Glen and Brad hold the would-be kidnapper on the ground. Glen searched him for weapons and came up with none.
Mall security then ran up with guns drawn but saw the badge Glen held in front of himself, and the guys all holstered their weapons. Glen returned his gun to his waistband, but Brad kept his out, standing guard over the guy on the ground.
“I placed a call to the local precinct; they should be here soon,” one of the security men said.
Glen nodded then frowned. “I better call my old partner and warn him before he hears about this from someone else. The woman that man on the ground tried to kidnap is Officer David’s fiancée.”
Glen dialed Rick’s number and immediately heard the panic in Rick’s voice as he answered, “Glen, tell me Lynn’s all right.”
“Rick, she’s fine, Brad got the drop on the guy and he’s being cuffed as we speak. Lynn, of course, is a little shaken up, but she’s with Sher and Hannah, who will calm her down until you get here,” Glen said.
“That might be a while. I’m at the murder scene of a woman who works for the same department store as Lynn. What could she Lynn have gotten herself into this time? Please don’t say anything until I get to Lynn’s condo. Hopefully I’ll have more to the story by then. Thank Brad for me, and you, too, for helping Lynn. I don’t know what I’d do without her,” Rick said, his voice cracking slightly.
“No thanks needed; we’re family, and we protect our own. See you at Lynn’s.”
Sher and Hannah were comforting Lynn, who was standing so still that it looked like she would pass out any moment.
“Lynn, let’s go over to those benches and sit down a while,” Sher said.
She walked Lynn to the bench, followed by Hannah and Glen.
“Lynn, I phoned Rick, and he will meet us at your place as soon as he can,” Glen said.
“I’ll go get soft drinks for everyone. Hannah, can you help carry them please?” Brad asked.
As they both walked away, Sher heard Brad tell Hannah that this was exactly why he didn’t want her here. She didn’t hear the answer Hannah gave, but if it was anything like the look on Hannah’s face, she felt sorry for Brad. She knew her brother would do anything for any of them—he’d just proved that was true. She also knew his top priority was Hannah and their baby, and she couldn’t fault that.
Sher held her friend close while Glen stood watch. A policeman joined Glen and began to gather information about what had happened. Once the officer was satisfied, Glen shook his hand, asking to be notified of any developments.
Sher felt helpless. They didn’t even have the name of the guy being led away in cuffs, let alone a reason behind the attempted abductions of Lynn. How could they fight against something they knew nothing about?
She was positive that they all knew this wasn’t the end of it. She wondered to herself if this planned week was more important than their safety? It would probably be best if they gave in and agreed to let the men stay with them for protection. Were the women being too independent and stubborn? What if their stubbornness got one or more of them killed?