“I love you, too, Tar.”
Tarius closed his eyes and drifted, eager to wake up and face the world tomorrow, on his first day as a very-happily married man.
THIRTEEN
The next afternoon,Branson had just logged out of his work computer and was debating eating his packed lunch at his desk, or braving questions about the gold wedding band on his ring finger from other employees in the company’s break room, when his mobile rang. Paxton’s office number. Noon here; nine there.
He snatched his phone up. “It’s Branson.”
“Yes, it’s Owen Paxton, but I’m sure you know that.” Even from thousands of miles away, his voice had a dark edge to it that unsettled Branson. “Jeuel and I have an emergency hearing with the family court judge at ten o’clock this morning.”
Branson had been around enough lawyers in his life to hear what Paxton hadn’t said. And it made his insides churn. “Emergency hearing on what grounds? What happened?”
“Someone made a threat against the halfway house where Jeuel and Trei are staying.”
“What?!” Anger and fear collided at once, leaving his face flaming and his guts rolling. He cleared his throat, aware of how loud he’d been, and that he wasn’t alone in cubicle row. “What kind of threat?”
Paxton grunted. “At six-oh-four this morning, the house phone rang, and the house manager received what he believesto be a credible bomb threat. They evacuated the house to a nearby constabulary precinct for safety, so officers could search the home for any explosive devices.”
A bomb threat. Fucking insane. “Did they find anything?”
“They found a small white box on the property, near the fence, as if someone chucked it over and ran. It contained a single .38 caliber bullet, a brand not common here in Sonora, but which is known to be popular among the organization that targeted Charles Alder and his family.”
Branson closed his eyes, his empty hand clenching the knee of his trousers. “So, it was directed at Jeuel.”
“Investigators believe so, yes, which is why we’ve been granted the emergency hearing. Jeuel may no longer be safe here, and he needs to be someplace far away, where his father’s remaining enemies have no reach.”
“So, his enemies don’t know about Uty—Alder’s past here in Sansbury?”
“As far as we are aware, no. Our provincial attorney’s office is keeping their investigation close to the chest. No one was in the room during Alder’s confession to Jeuel, and only a small handful of people know about you, Branson, and they are all men our Chief Constable trusts.”
“Okay, good. How’s Jeuel handling this?”
“He’s shaken up. He wants to call you, but we’re limiting outside communication right now. If the hearing goes our way, we could be on a train heading to you by late this evening.”
Branson’s heart leapt with joy and shock. “That soon?”
“That soon. I received an email from Mr. Cross last evening. Congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thank you.” He smiled at his shiny gold band. “We still haven’t moved into the larger apartment, but we’ve got the lease squared away. We’ll figure something out in the meantime. Iabsolutely want Jeuel here where he’s safe. Trei, too. He’s Jeuel’s family.”
“Good to hear. I’ll call you as soon as the judge makes his decision. It could be quickly, or it could take hours or a day, I don’t know.”
“If the decision takes too long, I’m off work at two-thirty your time. Tell Jeuel he can call me, if he needs to hear a friendly voice.”
“I’ll pass along the message, I promise. And I have to go. I need to swing by the precinct and speak with Jeuel before we head over to the courthouse.”
“I understand. I hope I hear from you soon.”
“So do I. Positive thoughts, all right?”
“Definitely.”
Branson stared at his phone for a while after ending the call, his stomach too upset to even consider eating lunch now. He typed off a text to Tarius, filling him in on the call with Paxton, and that they might have houseguests a bit sooner than expected. Then he logged back on and continued working, as much to distract himself from the court hearing he had no influence over, as to maybe get off work thirty minutes early.
Tarius replied twenty minutes later:It’ll go your way, I know it. We’ll figure out sleeping arrangements until we get the new apartment.
Branson texted back:Thank you for being so amazing.
