Donny came into her space, his dark eyes roaming across her body in a way that made her stomach turn. “Not that you aren’t a pretty lady. Too bad you feel the need to come in and judge everyone else.”

Yes, she totally judged assholes who beat their wives. She forced herself to stand still because while Bobby was a pathetic piece of crap, Donny was a predator. He was the truly dangerous one and he was close, that pistol at the ready.

“What do you think you’re getting out of this?” Mabel seemed to be trying to go for reason. “Bobby, you have to know that the sheriff is in love with Lila. You kill her and he won’t stop looking for you. For what it’s worth, neither will my husband. Oh, Dale will come after you in a scooter, but he’s surprisingly mean.”

Armie would be here soon. How long would it take to finish up the session? How much would Noelle want to do? A spark of terror ran through her.

God, would Armie show up with Noelle? Panic threatened. She couldn’t put Noelle in the line of fire.

“I’ll take you to Carrie. You should talk to her. Maybe you can work this out.” She wouldn’t, but she would do anything to draw this man away from a place where he could potentially hurt Noelle. If it had simply been Armie she was worried about, she would have settled in and let him do his job, but if Noelle was with him . . .

Mabel’s eyes went wide. “But, Lila . . .”

Bobby’s arm relaxed slightly and his face had softened. “You know where Carrie is? She didn’t just run? I knew you probably gave her some money and helped her out, but I didn’t know you took her somewhere.”

He was the weak link. He still wanted to find his wife. Bobby likely thought he was in love with her. His love would be the death of her if he had his way, but she would manipulate those feelings if it meant getting them out of here before putting Noelle on the line.

“I know exactly where she is.” She had him. If she played her cards right, she might be able to get them all out of this building. “I dropped her off. I can talk to her, get her to meet with you. This doesn’t have to end badly.”

When she got him to the car, she would try to figure a way out. The last thing she would do was take him to New Orleans. Armie would see her car was still here. He would see that the back door of the clinic had been jimmied and investigate. He would find the gasoline and make the right connections. God, she hoped the car they were in had GPS he could track.