by Katie Ashley
“So I guess you were ready to come back to the team?” Remy asked.
I laughed. “Well, duh, of course I was.”
“I’m not totally convinced your punishment has been long enough,” Dad said, the corners of his mouth twitching.
“Am I back on the team or not? If it’s no, I’m out of here. I mean, there’s a ghost tour or something I could be going on!”
Dad grinned and tugged my ponytail. “I’m just teasing you.”
“So what are we looking at?” I asked, as I eased down on the couch beside Colt and as far away from Wyatt as I could get.
“An ice-head named Otis Barnesly,” Dad replied. Colt handed me a Wanted flier with a mug-shot. I grimaced. With his Meth scarred face, thinning hair, and sunken in cheeks, it was obvious that Otis had seen better days. “He’s got charges of theft by taking, possession of an illegal substance, and dealing. Bond is set at 75K.”
“You’re involving me on a drug case?” I asked.
“Yes and no. On his many bond applications, Otis has listed several different addresses.”
“I get it. You need me to flash around some Wanted posters in the neighborhood.”
Dad nodded “We plan on sending you, the boys, and Wyatt out in the field to check the lesser hot spots he could be. Raye and I will be scoping out the places where he mostly likely is.” He motioned a map on the white board. “Fortunately, all the locations are within a four block radius over in Richmond Hill.”
Raye glanced at his watch. “Guess we better get a move-on.”
Since they were going into the more dangerous areas, Dad and Raye suited up in their bullet-proof vests that read “Agent” on the back. Remy and Colt snapped on belts complete with mace and handcuffs. My bounty hunting mace would be carefully concealed in my purse.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Wyatt suited up with a belt as well. It was a sure sign that he had moved up another step on his way to being a full-fledged member of the Apprehension Team. And I had missed it. My heart constricted in my chest, and I had to forcibly put one foot in front of the other to walk out the cars.
Wyatt hung around the backdoor for me, but I ignored him. Instead, I hopped into the front of the Durango Remy was driving.
When I leaned over to buckle my seat-belt, I found Remy staring at me. “What?”
“The dude’s in agony, Little Sis.”
“Really?” I squeaked.
“He’s been moping around the office all week. Every time the door opens, he runs to see if it’s you,” Colt chimed in from the backseat.
“Can’t you just kiss and make up?” Remy asked.
I shrugged. “I dunno.”
“You’re being such a girl about this,” Colt said, exasperatedly.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re being stubborn and stupid because in the past week he wasn’t begging you to come back and sending flowers and shit,” Colt said.
“I am not!” I snapped.
Remy shook his head. “You told the dude to leave you alone, Jules, and now you’re pissed that you got just what you wanted.”
Deep down, I hated that my brothers were able to see me so clearly. “You two can consider this conversation dropped. Got it?”
“Whatever,” Remy mumbled.
Ignoring him, I turned my head and stared out the window at the scenery flying by. We reassembled in the parking lot of an abandoned Texaco station. With all of us on the case, there weren’t enough wires and listening devices to go around. Pointing to the map, Raye said, “Remy, Colt, you guys will take this perimeter. Nathaniel and I will work here.”
Dad handed me a set of fliers and then one to Wyatt. “Okay, since you two won’t be wired, you can work together canvassing this street.”
Oh God. Wyatt and I were going to be all alone. I fought the sudden urge to puke. “Call us if you get any leads.”
As soon as Dad got back into the Range Rover and the boys drove off, Wyatt asked, “So are you just not ever gonna talk to me again?”
Ignoring him, I stopped a man with a mullet and some acid washed jeans. Flashing Otis’s mug-shot, I asked, “Have you seen him around anywhere?”
The man sized up the photo. “Nah, not for a while.”
I handed him one of the fliers. “If you do see him, can you give us a call at that number?”
The man bobbed his head. “Thanks,” I replied before starting on down the street.
Wyatt grabbed my arm. “You know I didn’t tell your dad about Emmett, so what’s your problem?”
I slung him away. “You mean you even have to ask?”
He threw up his hands. “Obviously since I’m a clueless assclown.”
“Fine. Here’s what my problem is. In the past week I was off the team, you never once came to see me. You didn’t tell me how stupid I was being or try to make me see that you were innocent. And you didn’t stand outside my window holding up a boom box and playing our song…you know, if we’d had one.”
“A boom box? What the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s a movie reference. Forget it.” I shook my head. “I’m saying that I thought we had something. And then you just gave me the cold shoulder. It…hurt.”
Wyatt’s dark eyes widened the size of dinner plates. “I gave you the cold shoulder? You accused me of being a liar and betraying you! How was that supposed to make me feel? You told me to leave you alone, so I did! And let’s not forget that you didn’t call me either.”
“Yeah, well you knew I sucked at the whole guy thing. You should have known I wouldn’t know what to do.”
A woman warily eyed our shouting match as she started by. I tried regaining my focus. “Excuse me, ma’am, but have you seen this guy?”
She glanced at the photo. “Yeah, I think he lives about a block down the street.”
“Thanks,” I replied, before whirling around. As I started power walking down the sidewalk, Wyatt jogged up behind me. “I wasn’t finished.”
“Well I am. We’re on a case right now, and that’s where our minds should be.”
“Dammit Jules, quit being so stubborn. You know how you feel about me!”
Shrugging, I said, “Maybe I was just confused. There were all the emotions about the case and Jackson and…”
Wyatt once again grabbed me. This time he pulled me to him and jerked my chin up. “So are we just going to pretend that kiss at Jackson’s party never happened?”
That night in the pool-house came flashing back and made me suddenly weak in the knees. I lowered my eyes and toed the ground with my boot. There was no way I could possibly look Wyatt in the eye right now. I was too embarrassed for being a stubborn jackass. Fighting the tears, I said, “Can we please just focus on this case?”
When Wyatt didn’t respond, I drew my head up. He wasn’t even looking at me. Instead, his gaze was focused on someone or something about a hundred yards away. Slowly I turned around. “Shit, it’s him!”
We both broke into a sprint at the same moment. We didn’t stop to question the fact that we weren’t wired, and we were only armed with mace. Or that Dad and Raye would kill us for approaching Otis. Instead, the adrenaline did the talking.
Just when we got within ten feet of him, Otis finally realized there were two people running toward him. He dropped his coffee cup and sprinted into a decrepit apartment complex. Wyatt and I kept on his tail.
I was reaching for my mace when he ran into one of the rooms and slammed the door. I pounded on it with my fist. “Open the door, Otis! There’s a warrant for your arrest! Our entire team is on the way to arrest you, so you better give up now!”
Wyatt whipped out his phone. “Raye, it’s me. Yeah, we got Otis down on Enterprise Avenue at the old Watershed Apartments. Okay, yeah, we’ll hang tight.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “They’re on the way.”
Crashing noises came from inside. “Think there’s a back door?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
Grimacing, I said, “He could totally run away before they get here.”
Wyatt’s eyes met mine for a second. “I have handcuffs on me.”
I nodded. “Let’s do this then.” With all the strength I had, I brought my boot hard against the door. It didn’t budge. “Shit.”
Wyatt pushed me aside and then grasped the frame on both sides with his hands. He crouched back before kicking his foot against the door. Hard. The lock popped, and the door swung open. He turned back to me and grinned. “Fuck yeah! I’ve always wanted to do that!”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s celebrate later, Chuck Norris,” I replied, before pulling out my mace and ducking inside.
The moment I entered the living room I knew we’d made a serious mistake. Across from us, Otis stood in the middle of the kitchen. Pots and pans littered the floor around him along with trash. He had obviously been looking for something. And then I knew what it was.
The silver barrel of a gun gleamed in the light as Otis raised his arm and pointed at me. Wyatt yelled, “NO!” and then shoved me out of the way. I slammed into the wall before crashing to the floor. The cracking sound of a gun firing caused me to jerk my head up just in time to see Wyatt pitch back and then collapse to the ground.
Oh. My. God! Wyatt had been shot! My scream pierced the silence. Otis and I both stared at each other. When he smirked at me, fury caused my fear to evaporate. I leapt to my feet in a single, fluid motion. Raising my arm, I lunged at him. “You asshole!” I cried, hosing him with enough mace to choke an elephant. He sank to the ground and started writhing and vomiting. I knew he wasn’t going anywhere soon.
Coughing and sputtering myself, I turned back to Wyatt. The sight of his crumpled form sent stinging tears to my eyes. He was hurt because of me. He had sacrificed his life to make sure I was safe. My body started jerking and trembling all over. But as much as I wanted to break down into hysterics, I forced myself to keep my head. With the mace fumes seeping through the air, I knew I needed to get him outside.
I grabbed him under the arms and started pulling him out onto the front stoop. I strained and grunted until I finally got him out into the fresh air. I scanned the area before shouting, “HELP! Somebody please help us!” I knew at any minute Dad and Raye would come pealing up, but would it be too late for Wyatt?
Dropping to my knees, I pulled his head into my lap. My eyes blurred from both the lingering mace and the tears from my overwrought emotions. As the waterworks dripped off my cheeks onto Wyatt’s shirt, I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening. Surely this was some warped nightmare I’d wake up from.
“Wyatt, I’m so sorry!” I kept saying over and over again as I kissed his forehead and his cheeks. “Please just hang on. Don't die. Please, please don't die!”
He moaned as one of his hands went to the place on his chest where he’d been shot. “Wyatt! Can you hear me!”
“Yeah,” he croaked as he opened his eyes. He stared up into my face before brushing the tears from my cheeks. Then he gave me his signature cocky grin. “Man, no one but a tweaker would shoot someone with a paintball gun!”
My eyes widened. For the first time, I realized Wyatt wasn’t bleeding. I tore at the bottom of his shirt before jerking it up where I could examine him. I ran my hand over his bare abdomen and up to his chest. There was a burned mark, but there wasn’t a wound. No blood spurting out. My breath wheezed out of me like a deflated balloon. He was going to be all right.
“Julesy, if I’d known getting shot would make you tear off my clothes, I would’ve done it sooner,” he joked.
I released his shirt and dumped him out of my lap. His head smacked onto the concrete. “Jesus! Do you have to be so violent?” he cried, as he rubbed his neck and up into his hairline.
“I thought you were going to die, and then you make some horndog remark!” I couldn’t keep the tears from spilling over my cheeks.
He propped himself up on his elbows. “I just got the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.”
My lip trembled. “That’s not what it looked like to me.”
“Aw, Julesy,” Wyatt said, leaning over and nuzzling my neck. I’m sure my hair smelled like mace, but he didn’t seem to mind.
I placed my hands on each side of his face. I pulled his head up to look at me. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t believe you when you said you didn’t tell Dad about Emmett.”
He nodded.
“And I’m sorry I’ve been a complete and total dumbass this past week. I should have talked to you the moment I found out what Bryn had done.”
Wyatt grinned. “Can you please stop talking and just kiss me already?”
I growled. “Always the horndog!” But then I gave him what we were both wanting and brought my lips to his. His mouth moved desperately against mine as our tongues entangled together.
Wyatt was sliding his hand over my butt when Dad appeared. “Oh hell!”
I jerked away from Wyatt as Remy and Colt snickered. Dad grimaced before running behind Raye into Otis’s apartment. There was a lot of scuffling and swearing before Dad and Raye dragged Otis outside.
“Jeez, Jules, did you douse him with an entire can of mace?” Colt asked, as he hacked and wheezed.
“I thought he’d killed Wyatt,” I replied.
As Raye led Otis to the van, Dad’s imposing figure loomed over Wyatt and me. “I let you back on the Apprehension Team, and this is how you repay me? You both could have been killed!”
“I know but—”
Dad gave a hard shake of his head. “No buts! When I get back from county lock-up, we’re going to have a serious talk!” He pointed his finger at Wyatt. “And that goes for you too!”
As Dad stalked off to the Land Rover, Wyatt let out a low whistle. “I kinda feel like Dead Man Walking right now.”
I giggled. “It’ll be bad, but trust me, Dad’s a teddy bear at heart.”
“I sure as hell hope you’re right,” he replied, as he started struggling to get up.
“Lemme help you, bro,” Remy said. He helped pulled Wyatt to his feet.
“Thanks.”
He grinned. “I’d be more worried about Dad seeing you guys lip-locked and dry humping than the actual busting the door in.”
Wyatt shot me a panicked look. “Seriously?”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “When are you going to learn to ignore my idiot brothers?”
He seemed a little relieved. “Okay then.”
Colt hung his head out of the Durango’s window. “Come on guys!” Remy walked ahead of us as Wyatt limped along.
When I started to open the car door, Wyatt stopped me. “So we’re all good now? You know, until your dad beats the crap out of me for touching you?”
I laughed. Even though I didn’t know what exactly the future held for me, I had a feeling things were looking up in a lot of ways. Wrapping my arms around Wyatt’s neck, I said, “Yeah, we’re all good.”
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I must thank God from whom all blessings flow. I also thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement and for believing in me when I couldn’t. To my church family for sticking by me in the darkest of times.
To Jamie Blair, Annie McElfresh, Emily Snow, and Hannah Wylie: I would be no where without your amazing support and love. You mean the world to me and my writing. As a writer, words are inadequate to say what you mean to me as critique partners as well as friends. Jules, along with my other novels, would certainly be a fractured shell without your invaluable help, support, suggestions, and enthusiasm.
Special thanks also to fellow critique partners Rachael Allen, Melanie Kramer Santiago, Jennifer Wood, and Rachel Simon for helping to make Jules amazing and for standing by me in the rough and rocky waters of publishing.
And to the ladies of Litbitches for your unending support, care, and encouragement over the years. I don’t know where I would be without a place to come to share the ups and the downs!!
About the Author
&
nbsp; Krista Ashe considers herself a Steel Magnolia raised in the fading twilight of the Southern story-telling tradition. Armed with a BA in English, a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English Education, she spent the last eleven and a half years teaching middle and high school English before becoming a full-time writer.
She is the in-real-life persona of the pen name Katie Ashley—the New York Times Best Selling author of The Proposition. She resides outside of Atlanta with her two spoiled dogs, Duke and Chance, and her out-numbered cat, Sam.
You can find her on Twitter at KristaAshe or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/steelmagnolia79
