“Anyway, the judge wants to make sure this is taken seriously. Especially since the vandalism has escalated from fence posts and a scaffold being knocked down to her barn being burned to the ground yesterday.”
Jackson sat up straighter. “Anyone hurt?”
“Minor cuts and bruises on Ms. Everett. Her uncle called me while she was being seen at the hospital. Asked me to get her a protective detail and send a team out to investigate.”
“She pointing fingers at anyone?”
Hargrove stood up and tapped on top of the beautiful woman’s picture. “Don’t know. But you can ask when she gets here. I assigned Jennings and Gleason to her protective detail overnight. They’re bringing her in first thing this morning so she can swear out a statement. Get your team together and figure this thing out.” He walked toward the door confident his orders would be followed. And they would be. Jackson might give his boss shit, but he always got the job done.
He looked at the picture of one Ms. Aja Everett again. He ran his finger slowly over the high cheekbones that turned her eyes into barely opened slits as her wide grin smiled back at him. “Why would anyone want to harm you?”
* * *
“So what’s the plan for this case?”
Jackson glared at Colton Adams over the rim of his coffee cup. It was still early—pitch-black-sky early—and Jackson hadn’t slept enough to keep a civil tongue in his head where Colton was concerned.
“We need to figure out who’s trying to hurt Aja Everett.” He summarized the events as he knew them for his team.
Colton stretched out in his chair facing Jackson’s desk, crossing his legs and appearing the picture of comfort. “What do we know about the victim?”
“Her uncle is a friend of Hargrove’s. He gave me the highlight notes her uncle supplied.” Jackson pulled a file off his desk and handed it to Colton. “But he’s her uncle, so I’m running a thorough background check of my own. Only a few details came in yet. The rest will be forthcoming.”
Colton scanned through the information before returning his attention to Jackson. “The file says she’s got two employees who did time. You looking at them for this?”
“I’m lookin’ at everyone. A bold son of a bitch tried to blow up a woman on her own land yesterday. I’m looking at anyone who had motive and opportunity. Including the ex-cons she’s got working for her. They are potential victims and suspects. It’s up to us to figure out which.”
“With only the three of us?” That question came from Storm Cordero. He was the newest member of their group. Team-centered, always there to offer help, and eager to learn, Storm had quickly become the glue that held this set together. He was also the buffer that kept two bristly personalities like Jackson and Colton from sparking to the point of combustion.
“I tried to get more manpower”—Jackson sipped another mouthful of his coffee before continuing—“but that’s a no-go. We’ll have Blaze Gleason and Kade Jennings here at the office to follow leads, get warrants, and interview the townsfolk. Since yesterday, they’ve been out on protection detail with the victim. They should be bringing her in for an official statement in an hour. So that leaves the three of us on the ground at the ranch.”
Colton and Storm nodded in unison.
“Good, consider yourselves briefed,” Jackson said. “Let’s get this investigation underway.” He sent up a silent prayer for quick resolution of this case while his colleagues filed out of his office. He flipped the file Colton had left on his desk and stared at the happy image of the confident woman in the picture. The idea of that beautiful smile slipping off her face because of fear weighed on him.
Maybe it was that he’d assumed her complaint wasn’t a valid one the moment he discovered she was a VIP. Maybe it was the news that her property had been destroyed and she’d narrowly missed the danger. Or maybe it was the realization he didn’t believe the fearless woman full of life in that photograph should ever deserve to be afraid to walk on her land. Whatever it was, Jackson was determined to keep her safe. The best way for him to do that was to put himself between Aja Everett and whoever was after her.
* * *
Aja sat in the back seat of the large, black SUV and focused on the scenery rushing by on the highway. The landscape was slowly turning from dirt road to paved city expressways as the vehicle ate up miles beneath its tires. By her count, they had another sixty minutes remaining of the ninety-minute trip from her small town of Fresh Springs to the big city of Austin.
Her ringing phone caught her notice, drawing her back into her unpleasant reality. She took a breath, recognizing the ringtone and dreading the conversation she knew she’d be forced to have.
“Morning, Uncle Ricky.” She fought to keep her voice level and light, hoping to avoid her uncle’s intense protective streak.
“Morning, Aja. Did you reach Austin yet?”
“No, sir. We’re about an hour out.”
“Major Hargrove tells me he’s putting his best man on this. So you just g’on in there, tell ’im what’s happening, and let him find out who’s responsible for all this trouble on the ranch.”
She pressed back into the soft cushion of the seat, letting her head fall against the headrest for support.
“Uncle Ricky. I already know who’s responsible for the vandalism on the ranch.”
“Hmmm,” he harrumphed. “We both have our theories about that.”
“Brooklyn and Seneca had nothing to do with this.”
