Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker: Off the Books Book 4)

by Nicole Edwards

  “They’ll find him,” Curtis said reassuringly.

  Him. Right. His old man was worried about Dante Greenwood while he was an afterthought for Travis.

  “You talk to Governor Greenwood?” Travis asked.

  “I did not, no. I tried but had to leave a message.”

  He turned in his chair, stared out the window to the front of the house. It was already dark out but not quite six o’clock.

  “What’s on your mind, boy?” Curtis asked, his tone sympathetic.

  “Nothin’,” he lied.

  “What’d I tell you about that?” his father said, his tone stern. “Lyin’ ain’t gonna solve the problem.”

  Travis felt the same wash of shame he’d felt when he was a kid and his father had caught him in a lie. He had a deep love and respect for his father, which meant being admonished by the man had the same effect it’d had as a child. Even at the ripe young age of forty-two.

  “If Dante was kidnapped,” he wondered aloud, “who texted me to send me over there? And why?”

  “You think she had somethin’ to do with it?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” he admitted. “I just need this to be over. I need them to find her so my life can get back on course. With her out there, I can’t…” Eat, sleep, work. Breathe. “There’s this feelin’ I’ve got. I don’t know what it is, but it…” Travis lowered his voice. “It scares me, Pop.”

  “It scares all of us, boy. But you’re doin’ what needs to be done. Spendin’ time with your family is most important right now. Be there for them and they’ll be there for you.”

  “Always the philosophical one.”

  Curtis chuckled, that deep, gruff laugh Travis had heard all his life.

  Someone spoke in the background before his father said, “Your mama wants to know if you’ll be goin’ to the Fantasy Festival next Saturday.”

  “Fantasy Festival? Who came up with that name? Y’all are aware that sounds kinky, right?”

  Another laugh. “Trust me, it’s not. Somethin’ about fairy lights and a winter wonderland for the kids. All the businesses on Main Street are participatin’.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard all about it. Kate can’t stop goin’ on and on. And the answer’s yes. Kylie intends to take the kids for the festivities. We’ll stay with ’em.”

  Curtis relayed that information to Travis’s mother, then said, “Kaden and Keegan’ll be there to help out. Sounds like Bristol’s helpin’ your cousin Violet with one of the booths, so she’ll be there.”

  There was more talking in the background, followed by, “Evidently your mother invited Jared and Hope. Sounds like Hope’s sisters’ll be taggin’ along.”

  Another pause, more talking.

  “Hey, Pop,” Travis interrupted, “why don’t you just put me on speaker?”

  He chuckled again. “I would, but I don’t know how to do all that fancy nonsense.”

  “Give the phone to Mom.”

  There was some rustling, then his mother said, “Hi, honey.”

  “Hey, Mom.” Travis smiled, unable to help himself. He seemed to do that whenever he talked to her.

  “I was tellin’ your dad that Wolfe’s comin’, too. Bringin’ his better…” Lorrie giggled. “I guess you can’t call ’em a half when they’re a third.”

  Travis grinned, feeling lighter with his mother’s laughter. “Rhys and Amy’ll be there?”

  “They will, yes. As will Lynx and Reagan.”

  “Any reason you’ve invited two towns to this festival?”

  “It’s for a good cause,” she said, although he suspected that was her go-to answer.

  When it came to these things, Lorrie was the town’s biggest supporter, usually wrangling up all the help needed whether it was for the church coat drive or the spring pet festival. Whatever the occasion, his mother had a way of bringing people together.

  “I’m sure it is,” he told her.

  “And don’t you worry,” she added, her voice softer. “We’ll all be lookin’ out for each other.”

  Travis didn’t respond to that because he wasn’t sure what to say. His throat constricted whenever he thought of what Juliet Prince was capable of, and he wondered if his life would ever be the same again. He didn’t like the fact he had to keep his kids locked up in the house, his wife, too.

  What if they never found her? Would he spend the rest of his days looking over his shoulder, expecting the worst?

  *

  Knowing there was nothing he could do by waiting around, Brantley took Reese back to HQ, hoping to get some good news from Luca.

  “Sorry we couldn’t get you a location on that call,” Luca said when Brantley stepped into the barn.

  “Yeah, well. That would’ve been too easy, right?” Brantley offered a curt nod to Charlie and Holly on his way to the desk Luca was sitting at. “Tell me you got somethin’ though?”

  “Well, the doorbell cams were a bust. We got a little movement, but nothin’ from your bad guy.”

  “What about Dante? Did you happen to catch who dropped him off?” Reese asked.

  “We caught a glimpse of a four-door compact comin’ through around eight thirty. They stopped in front of JJ’s and someone got out. But the cam we saw it on had a narrow scope. Can’t really see who it is.”

  The entire time Luca was talking, he was keying something into the computer, his fingers moving rapidly over the keys.

  “What’re you workin’ on?”

  “He’s helpin’ me,” came a female voice projected from a phone sitting on the desk.

  “Hello, JJ,” Brantley said cautiously. “How’re you feelin’?”

  “My back hurts a little,” she said, her tone far too sweet for the JJ he knew.

  “Your back?”

  “Yeah. You know, from the knife you put in it.”

  Brantley knew he would have to have a conversation with her at some point about Luca, but he couldn’t afford for it to be now.

  “Understood,” he said. “We’ll talk about it later. What else you got?”

  “You’re not gonna like it,” Luca said, his voice low.

  “He’s a no-good bastard,” JJ announced.

  For a second, Brantley thought she was talking about him, but he refrained from making a comment. Good thing, because she’d been talking about Dante.

  “He did this, B. Dante set this whole thing in motion.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  “Positive. For one, the call that came into the governor’s mansion came from the same burner phone that Dante called me on last night. I mean, seriously. What does he take me for?”

  “JJ, stay on track.”

  “Right.” She huffed. “But my first clue that somethin’ was wrong was when you said they called the governor’s mansion. Who calls that number? It’s a private line and I seriously doubt Gerard or Trina hand it out. They’ve both got cell phones.” She sighed. “Dante really is an idiot.”

  Brantley couldn’t argue with that.

  “If Gerard and Trina were thinkin’ clearly, they would’ve wondered the same thing,” JJ went on. “But I’m sure it’s natural to automatically worry about your kid, to give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially if someone claims they’re holdin’ him for ransom. What I wanna know is how much did he ask for? How much does Dante think his life’s worth to his parents?”

  “It started at a mil, then went up to two mil by the end of the call.”

  Luca whistled long and low. “He does think pretty highly of himself, huh?”

  “It’s easy for us to sit here and talk shit,” Reese inserted, “but we do have to consider the fact that Dante’s finger was left at JJ’s. While he might be desperate, I don’t see him as the type to chop off his own finger to prove a point.”

  “No,” JJ agreed, her tone smoothing out. “You’re right. He’s not.”

  “The Greenwoods did get proof of life,” Brantley explained. “We heard Dante’s voice. He doesn’t sound good. I’d say h
e’s in tremendous pain and likely needs medical attention.”

  “At least he’s not dead,” Charlie noted.

  “Serves him right,” JJ admonished.

  “JJ,” Brantley warned.

  “Did his co-conspirator turn on him, maybe?” Charlie asked, coming to stand beside them. “They have an argument?”

  Charlotte Miller, a.k.a. Charlie, was the newest member of the task force. She’d been referred to him by Baz, who’d had the pleasure of working with Charlie at some point over the years. Charlie had officially joined the task force the first week of December, and in the past few weeks, she was proving to be a valuable asset.

  “It’s possible,” Brantley told her. “Certainly more feasible than thinkin’ Dante would cut off his own finger.”

  “Our first priority is to get a bead on Dante before our four hours is up,” Reese stated. “But I think it’s important we figure out his motivation. It could be he was desperate for money and he came up with this plan. He obviously had help, and it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s greed got the best of them. Dante’ll be a small consolation if this person can get two mil out of it.”

  Brantley considered that, then turned his attention to the phone. “JJ, do you know if Dante was involved in anything?”

  “Like what?”

  “Anything that might put him in debt,” Reese chimed in.

  “Ah, that’s sweet of you, Reese. Thinkin’ he’d only rip off his own parents to pay off—”

  “The mob,” Brantley said, remembering Reese’s original theory.

  “Along those lines, maybe,” Reese agreed. “JJ? Can you think of anything?”

  “He’s spoiled,” she said, her tone irritated. “I’m pretty sure he lives above his means. And that’s with his parents payin’ for everything.”

  “What about gamblin’?” Luca asked.

  “Or maybe the stock market?” Holly offered.

  “Funny.” JJ huffed a laugh. “I remember him makin’ some dumb-ass comment about how he should invest in powder. Said he’d be rich. Idiot doesn’t even use powder.”

  Brantley glanced at Charlie, Reese, Holly, then Luca. They were all looking at him and based on their expressions they were thinking the same thing he was.

  “Hey … uh … JJ,” Luca said, his tone low and even. “Does Dante … uh … do you know if he does drugs?”

  “Drugs?” This time JJ snorted. “Guy couldn’t do drugs. He spends all his time with a sinus infection. It’s part of the reason I didn’t want to be around him this last go-round. Every time I saw him, he was sniffin’ and snortin’. It got…”

  They heard JJ inhale sharply.

  “Oh.” She sucked in more air. “Oh, my God! Dante’s a drug addict?”

  “Sounds like cocaine is his drug of choice,” Charlie said.

  Brantley agreed. It was known to do significant damage to the sinus cavity.

  “There’s a good chance he’s in debt to a dealer,” Luca said, looking up from his chair.

  Charlie exhaled heavily. “Great. Because that’s something we can easily narrow down.”

  “We could hack his email and his phone. The one you recovered at the scene,” Luca offered. “JJ, it’d be worth a look. See if we can find any communication between him and a dealer.”

  “We didn’t recover the phone,” Reese said. “I left it on the table. Alongside the finger.”

  Luca considered that. “Email, then. We can also see if he kept anything from his phone in the cloud. It’s possible he utilized the automated backup.”

  “What the fuck is a cloud?” Brantley asked, glancing from one face to another.

  Like the last time, Reese shook his head. Brantley was really getting tired of that response.

  JJ ignored his question, too. “I agree. We’ll have to do a scan, though. I doubt he’ll openly use phrases that would call attention to it.” She snorted, then muttered, “Then again, he’s provin’ to be a world-class idiot.”

  “Which do you want me to take, boss?” Luca asked her.

  There was no response on the phone.

  Brantley grinned, knowing JJ thought Luca was asking him. “JJ, he was talkin’ to you.”

  “Me?” she squeaked. “Oh. I … uh … I’ll take the email since I’ve already got a path in. The phone’ll be a bit trickier. I know how you like a challenge, Luca.”

  Luca grinned. “Your wish is my command.”

  Brantley wouldn’t lie, he felt a little bit useless, but at least they had a string to pull on.

  While they started on that, he stepped outside to make a call to the governor. Not exactly news he wanted to relay, but he’d promised to keep the family in the loop.

  *

  After Brantley and Reese left, Trey had politely excused himself to the kitchen, giving the Greenwoods a bit of privacy. He had taken a seat at the small dinette table, doing his best not to eavesdrop on the conversation taking place in the next room. Not an easy feat when the family was on edge and louder than they likely intended.

  He wasn’t sure why Brantley thought it a good idea to leave him behind. He had absolutely no experience in this sort of situation. He didn’t know what to say to possibly ease their fears and worries. He had no idea what he would do if they asked for a status update, either.

  But the one thing he’d learned about his brother: Brantley didn’t much care about his comfort level. At every turn, Trey found himself in an awkward situation, usually of Brantley’s design.

  At least this was keeping his mind from wandering to last night.

  It was still hard to believe it had only been hours and not days since he’d boldly gone back to his place with Magnus and spent hours indulging in the sinfully delicious man. Like this one, that wasn’t a situation Trey generally found himself in, either. He wasn’t a man-whore like so many would like to believe. He didn’t go around hopping from one man’s bed to the next. Nor did he invite them into his bed frequently.

  If anything, Trey figured he was a serial monogamist. He preferred to be in a relationship, to have someone to talk to, laugh with. It was rare for him to go without an exclusive commitment. And he knew that wasn’t a good thing. It didn’t make for an appealing quality. Not as far as most men he’d been with recently were concerned, anyway.

  Last night, he’d told Magnus that was all he wanted from him. One night of mind-blowing orgasms. With the light of day, they would move on, pretend it never happened. And while Magnus had slipped out like a thief in the night, here Trey was, violating his own rule. He shouldn’t be thinking about the sexy man or how good Magnus had felt moving beneath him while they both chased that elusive release.

  Realizing sweat was forming on his brow, Trey forced the thoughts away, cleared his throat, and sat up straight.

  He had damn good timing, because Corinne stepped into the room. She looked a bit worse for wear, tears streaking down her face.

  “I’m so sorry we left you in here,” she said softly. “Can I get you somethin’ to drink? We’ve got water, tea, sodas. I was gonna make some coffee.”

  “I’ll take coffee if you’re makin’ it,” he replied, keeping his voice low and even. “Thank you.”

  Trey’s phone buzzed on the table.

  He peered down, saw it was a text from Brantley: Tugging on a few strings to see where they lead. Will keep you updated.

  That told him nothing really. Certainly not enough to relay to the Greenwoods, which he hoped was not something he was supposed to do.

  Chapter Twenty

  Baz loved watching JJ work.

  It had been a fascination of his since the very beginning. With each case they handled together, he would learn more little details about her in the way she worked. The way she would move her fingers over the keys even without depressing them. As though she was typing up her thoughts as she had them. Or the way she would chew on her bottom lip while she toggled between screens. And every now and again, she would blow her hair back from her face, which rarely did an
y good because those stray strands would simply fall forward again.

  As he sipped coffee, Baz unabashedly admired her, listening to her mutter to herself as her fingers flew over the keyboard, this time with intent. He’d been listening to her for an hour, learning her true feelings for Luca Switzer, a man she clearly respected but secretly despised. Baz wanted to believe that was due to the man’s superior abilities—JJ’s words, not his—and not a previous relationship the two of them had.

  If only Baz had the right to care or be jealous of JJ and her past relationships, then he might just ask her. Unfortunately, he’d given up that right last night when he had…

  He shook off the thoughts of last night. It made him sick to his stomach to think about, to know he was capable of being with another woman when only one held his heart. It didn’t matter that he’d overindulged, that he’d drowned his sorrows in whiskey. That was no excuse.

  “Why would you do this, Dante?” JJ grumbled to herself.

  Forcing himself back to the present, Baz got to his feet. He grabbed JJ’s lukewarm coffee, poured it in the sink, and got her a fresh cup, adding milk and sugar, just as she preferred.

  He passed it back to her without a word, not wanting to intrude.

  She muttered a thanks but didn’t look up from her computer screen.

  “Most of his email correspondence is work related,” JJ said absently. “Probably be more beneficial to hack his social media accounts.”

  He listened as she worked through the problems, her eyes continuing to scan the screen. Although sitting idly wasn’t his favorite thing to do, Baz knew better than to offer to help.

  Baz had just sat down when his phone buzzed. It was lying on the kitchen island, right by JJ’s computer, so she was the first to see the name on the screen.

  “Is Molly the woman from last night?”

  Frowning, he picked up his phone, saw Molly Ryan was the caller.

  Problem was, Baz didn’t know a Molly.

  Answering anyway, he greeted with a clipped, “Hello.”

  “Hey,” a sugary-sweet voice sounded on the other end. “I was hoping you’d answer.”

  He had no idea who she was, but she sounded completely comfortable with him, so Baz had to assume he knew her. “Yeah, hey.”