by Barb Shuler
Edge of Danger
Shattered Lives Book Six
Barb Shuler
EDGE OF DANGER (Shattered Lives Series; Book 6)
© Copyright 2018 Barbara Shuler
Published by Barbara Shuler
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction which is only recommended for those 18 and older due to violence, strong language and adult content. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Cover Art Design by: Madhat Books
Edited by: Emily Maynard & Mindy Seal
Formatted by: Tattered Quill Designs
Other Books by Barb Shuler
Shattered Lives Series
My Own Nightmare
Somewhere I Belong
Shatter Me Whole
Sparks Of Deception
Living In Your Hell
The Cowboy Way Series
Wrangled By Love
A Rescue Series Novella
A Marshal’s Courage
Her Savior
Primal Darkness
Harmony Duets
Finding Harmony
Through The Eyes Of Madness
(Co-written with KA Graham)
Shifting Shadows
Anthologies
Dirty Fairy Tales - What Big Teeth
The Parlour: All Access - Ultimate Control
Coloring Books
Shaded With Love: A coloring Book for a Cause Volume 5
To the survivors, this one’s for you!
Acknowledgments
To my team - my beta readers, editors, formatter and the women that keep me in line, on time and somewhat sane, thank you!
Kelly Graham, Mindy Seal, Emily Maynard, Annie Anderson; I simply could not do what I do without any of you. This has been a wild ride and I hate this is the last book in this series, but never fear, there is more to come.
Shari J Ryan, my awesomesauce cover designer, thank you for making this cover just what I wanted. You, my friend, are a doll!
Underneath the stars, in the depths of darkness, being alone can help you find your inner peace.
Reader Warning
As with the other books in this series, there will be violence, adult language and possible triggers for some.
Beyond this page, shit gets very real
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
EDGE OF DANGER ~ PLAYLIST
READERS, THANK YOU!
About the Author
1
Mayday...
Derek
Gramps and the guys - Robert and Wayne - had only been gone for a few days when things started to get weird. Jacks and Drew had been asked to go to Dallas for a deposition, or at least that was the story we got. I had a feeling it was something else, but they’ve learned to not say certain things around me. A few clicks of my fingers on the keys and I’d know more than they did. All they would say was it had something to do with Kristol’s old case. They didn’t seem to be all that worried so we - Charlie and I - both decided to just let it go.
Lately, there had been a few complaints about strangers hanging around some of the popular spots in town, yet when the guys would investigate, they found nothing. We figured it was just people getting spooked.
It happened from time to time. Then there were the weird calls into the station. People wanting to talk to either Gramps or Robert. It was making my spidey sense tingle. But I pushed it back. I blamed it on watching too much of those TV shows, Criminal Minds and Blue Bloods. Lana had me watching one of them for hours each night. Don’t get me wrong, it was a damn good way to spend time with my girl, and let’s face it, these shows were great.
Today had started off pretty quiet, we’d only gotten a few calls, all little things. However, that soon changed.
I had been sitting at my desk, with my map pulled up that showed where everyone’s cell phones - or for a few like Lana and Kristol - where their FitBit said they were located. It was something I did a few times a day, with their permission, of course. Checking on our people was something that just made us all feel better. I smiled, seeing that Lana was with Kris and the kids at Jack’s house. Stella was heading back into town with Trace.
I knew that because she had been out serving a warrant for us. It was fitting, since the perp was a bail jumper. Dani Lynn was at the center, and Anna was here with us.
Everything seemed to be going well. Then… the call came in.
My cell rang and I grabbed it, noticing that it was Gramps calling from his SAT phone.
“Hey, old man, miss me already?” I joked as I answered.
Anna gave me a look and said, “Really?”
I grinned at her. But the lack of response from the other end soon made my grin fall. “Gramps?”
Nothing. I heard rustling and then a grunt of pain. “Gramps! Come on old man, that’s not funny.” My raised voice caught Charlie and Lieutenant Ridgewood’s attention. Charlie raised a brow.
I growled into the phone when all I heard was more pained grunts.
“Gramps! Come on, this isn’t funny!”
“What’s going on?” Charlie asked, moving to stand in front of my desk. I shrugged. I wasn’t about to tell him what I was hearing when Gramps’ voice came through the phone.
“Mayday.”
With that one word I lurched to my feet.
“Gramps?”
There were no more words. Nothing but the beeping of the phone keys. SOS... Fucking hell.
“Hold on, old-” The phone went silent. “Gramps?” I looked at my cell and cursed. I tried calling his phone back, but got nothing.
“Derek! What in the fuck is going on?” Charlie said. I dropped my cell onto my desk, grabbed the desk phone and hit a button.
“Something’s s happened. I don’t know what. Gramps just said ‘Mayday’ and the phone went dead.” The speaker blared and the phone rang once before Drew answered.
“We got a problem,” I said.
“What? I don’t have long. We’re waiting to head back inside to the uh, courtroom.”
“Gramps is in trouble. That’s all I know.”
“Fuck. What happened?”
“I don’t know. He called me, he sounded hurt. All he got out was ‘Mayday’ and the fucking phone disconnected.”
“Son of a bitch. Kid, find out what’s happening and get us info. Jacks and I will get this shit done as f
ast as we can. But it’ll be a while. Dammit. Does Dani Lynn know?”
“No.”
“Shit. Okay, you have to tell her, but do not let her go off half-cocked.” “Someone best put Stella in the jail if you tell her...” I heard Jacks say. I looked up. Both Anna and Charlie’s faces were drawn. Anna looked pale. I swallowed hard.
“I’ll tell her. I-”
“Shit. We gotta go, kid. Keep me posted. Be back as soon as this shit is over.”
“Kay.” I hung up and dropped to my chair. Charlie and Lt. Dan were talking as my fingers moved to my keyboard. I drew the larger map up and started my search for Gramp’s SAT phone. I had a signal for a moment, then it was gone. I slammed my hand down on the desk and hit the keys on my keyboard a little harder than I needed to. I sent a message to Hatcher.
I was so focused on the map that I wasn’t aware of anyone leaving the office until it was silent. I looked up and Anna was pacing the floor. Her hand rubbed the back of her neck. I sighed.
“Where is everyone?”
She looked over at me before speaking, “Shelby is in labor… Charlie just left to go to her. Daniel went back across the building. He was gonna look a few things over...” she paced the length of the office, then paced some more. I got up and moved to her, pulled her to me and hugged her tight. She sniffled. “Don’t-” I started but was cut off. “I’m okay. They know what they’re doing. Daddy and Gabe… they’re former Military. They have survival skills..”
“Anna, don’t. They’re gonna be okay. Don’t freak out, okay? I can’t have you going into labor too...”
“Working on that,” she said and moved back to her desk. Fuckidy fuck fuck! I’d have to tell Lana too… Fuuuck!
“I gotta go tell Ma. I’ll be back in a few. If you need me I have my cell and I’ll take this,” I said waving the handheld radio.
“Lana-”
“No, she’s with Kristol, let’s just- I’ll tell her, in a bit. Let’s not panic, yet.”
I clipped the handheld radio to my belt and bolted out of the building. I ran as fast as I could to my Jeep and climbed in. A few minutes later, I slammed to a stop in front of the center. I don’t think my feet actually touched the ground as I hurried up to the door, punched in the code, and made my way in.
“MA!” I hollered before I caught myself. I winced when Mama Jay scowled at me. Doc and Dani Lynn came from the back office and I moved towards them. “We got a problem.”
“What? You better have a damn good reason for running in here like a crazy fool.”
“Doc, we got a call. Shelby needs you. She’s in active labor. I’ll come with you,” Mama Jay said. Dani Lynn smiled, but it faded when she saw that my face hadn’t changed.
“Dani Lynn, can you come to assist as well?” Doc asked her and she nodded.
“Ma, we need to talk, now,” I pleaded.
“Talk and walk, kid.” She grabbed her bag, keys and waved to the door. We all moved out towards her SUV and Doc’s truck.
“Derek, what’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Doc said. We stopped and I shook my head.
“Shit. I got a call from Gramps. The only thing he said was ‘Mayday’ and then I lost the transmission. His SAT phone is off the grid.” I saw the instant change in Dani Lynn. Her body stiffened, her face flushed and the hand that held her keys in balled into a fist so tight her knuckles turned white. I tried to pry them from her hand before she hurt herself.
“It could be anything,” Doc said, but I saw the look he gave Dani Lynn. He didn’t believe that for one second.
“Come on, I’ll take you to Charlie’s, then we’ll come back and try to get a line on them again.” We loaded up quickly, and Doc followed us in his truck, along with Mama Jay. Dani Lynn tried to ease her breathing.
“Was there anything else?” she asked me. She was fighting back emotions that I knew were trying to take over. I saw her body shaking. I reached over and took her hand.
“No, Mama, nothing else. He’s with Robert and Wayne. I can’t see anything being so bad-”
“He called you and said ‘Mayday’. He wouldn’t just do that. Something is wrong... Bad wrong. Fucking knob swallowers! I need Drew... why did they have to fucking go to goddamn Dallas now? Some fishy shit is going on,” she cursed, her hand whacking against the dash. I knew this was serious. Things were bad... But she had said knob swallowers, I didn’t just hear that, or make it up. I managed to stop in front of Charlie’s a few minutes later, and I was still laughing. She was scowling at me, but I was just gonna laugh it out.
I was told to stay out here, which was good because my cell rang a minute later. “Landry.”
“Hatcher, got your message. What the news?”
“Nothing new. His SAT phone is out. Nothing is showing on the map. Neither Robert nor Wayne have their phones on, and even if they did, there’s no signal up there. They don’t have the damn tracking apps on.”
“Shit. Alright, let me run a few things on this end. I called in a favor for you. Walker and his team will be there by zero one-thirty. They’ll meet you at the station at zero-eight hundred.”
“Roger that. I’ll let everyone know. We’re in the middle of having a baby. Dani Lynn is about to have a stroke, and both Drew and Jacks were pulled to that court thing in Dallas.”
The silence on the other end of the phone said something that words wouldn’t. I could hear him typing but he wasn’t saying anything.
“Hatch?”
“You’re not going to like this…”
“For fuck’s sake! What now?”
“Drew and Jacks are trying to get a few men back behind bars. Some of the men from the compound were let go because there wasn’t enough evidence against them. They served the time allotted for their crimes and were set free. Mostly drugs. But I’ll be honest, none of this is sitting well.”
“Shit. Okay, I need to get moving. I have a feeling-”
“Yeah, that’s why I called in Walker once I got your message. Hang tight. If I learn anything, I’ll forward it.”
“Thanks, man. Later.”
After he hung up I leaned into the SUV and banged my forehead against the side window. Just what we needed. Some of the Jacobs clan back on the fucking streets. Shit! I needed to warn everyone, especially Kristol. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
2
I’m Part of The Team
Dani Lynn
I had Daddy’s office keys in my hand when I walked through the back door of the station. Charlie had fought with me about going out to the cabin and finding out what happened yesterday.
He’d won... then. I said I’d wait; well, I had.
The news that Derek had given us after his call with Hatcher, had only pushed my resolve to get there and find out what was going on for myself. We had no idea how long Jacks and Drew would be gone, and God only knew what was going to happen or what had already happened.
If the Jacobs clan was loose, no one was safe. They had it out for us all. They’ve proven that from day one, the fucking twisted ass mother fuckers. They should have buried them in a tar pit somewhere. Better yet, fed them to the hyenas at the zoo.
I ignored the men standing around, arguing about what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Yeah, I’m not doing that shit. This was serious. The only reason Daddy would have made a distress call was if things were - really bad. ‘Life in danger’ or ‘I’m dying, come get me’ kind of bad.
If there was one thing I knew, it was how my daddy worked.
Something was wrong… very wrong. He was a retired Army Ranger for fuck’s sake. He knew how to handle himself in any situation. He never needed anyone else.
Until now, that is. Also, what about Robert and Wayne? If Daddy was hurt, why hadn’t they called it in? The more I thought about it the sicker I felt.
I wasn’t waiting any longer, I’ve made my plan. It had already been about fifteen hours since the first distress call. There had been a second attempted call, but the damn call dropped and this time
Derek couldn’t get it back up. I pushed back the fear that tried to take over and took a deep breath.
I needed to stay strong.
Daddy needed me.
I moved into Daddy’s office and used the gold key in my hand to open his gun safe that no one was allowed into. I pulled the front panel towards me and pushed the hinged door to the left. I pushed the key back into my pocket and reached in to grab one of Daddy’s big guns. The Remington 870 rifle would go on my back last. I pulled my pack off and opened it up.
Stella walked in, a empty holster strapped to each thigh, which matched the one she had given me. The men in the lobby were still arguing. I could hear them when the door came open again.
Derek handed us both a handheld radio.
“You’re just gonna go out there and not have a plan?” He asked, his voice pitched low.
“I love ya, baby boy, I do, but don’t test me today. I just can’t deal. I have a plan. Stella and I know that land out there like the back of our hands. Just as well as your Gramps does.”
“Maybe better…” Stella grumbled.
“He wouldn’t have sent that distress call without a reason,” I continued. My mind couldn’t handle thinking of anything else right now. We had to get to them. They had to be alright.
