Alex nodded. “I am that.”
“Good luck, brother.”
Brock moved on until he saw Sonny’s broad shoulders and head above the mass of people.
“Sonny, over here.” Brock waved until he got the man’s attention. Sonny didn’t have any trouble making his way through the crowd that parted for the big bear of a man, making it easy for Claire, April, Kevin, and Hannah to follow.
“Follow me up the side here,” Brock said. “I have clearance for us to get up close.” They got to the front of the stage where VIP chairs had been set up behind the barrier. People were already taking their seats, including Jake, Arden, Wolf, and Caroline. Brock noted Kyle’s absence—the man was not about to relax until the festival was over.
The Taylor family divided up into two rows, Hannah, April, and Kevin sitting in front of Brock, Claire, and Sonny. They’d barely sat down when the announcer came out to a round of applause and named off the finalists. The judges took their places in chairs on the stage and the final round began.
Brianna was third to perform, right after she and the other finalists accompanied Twila for her performance. She already looked like a superstar to Brock’s eyes. The woman stood with poise and confidence, the opposite of the shy, insecure woman he’d listened to the first time. You’d never know anything was wrong in her life, the way she smiled and started right in.
Brianna Taylor, world-class fiddle player. I was right about you. Brock’s heart swelled with pride for his woman.My fiancéehe reminded himself.
Beside Brock, Sonny watched in wonder as he listened to the first song. Brianna played a riff and his face broke into a huge smile. “There she goes throwing in a little of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto into the middle of a Bluegrass song. No way.” He shook his head. “Hope the audience caught that.”
“You really know your music,” Brock said.
Sonny gave him the biggest smile he’d seen out of the man yet. “And Brianna knows my favorites.”
She finished her set with ‘Riversong for a Badger’ and the crowd went wild. She took her seat at the side of the stage with the other hopefuls. As the banjo player took her place at the mic, Brock’s cell buzzed with a message from Kyle:
Need you at Sgt. Williams’ office now. Spooky got through.
Shit. Brock looked over at Jake. He and Wolf were already standing up, having gotten the same message. He excused himself and stood up, too. Sonny gave him a worried look but Brock waved him off. “Work call. If I don’t get back in time, cheer Brianna’s win extra-loud for me.” Sonny smiled and nodded at that and Brock, Jake, and Wolf left, headed for the closest Watchdog SUV and the police substation a few minutes away.
* * *
“What’ve we got?” Brock asked as he jogged into Williams’ office. He was surprised to see Gina Smith, aka Spooky, there with Kyle and Williams. Brock had only met the woman in passing at Watchdog, as her home base was with their parent company in Los Angeles. She’d brought her dog, Fleur, with her. Apparently, the two were practically inseparable.
“Brock, Jake.” She nodded at the two men, her chin-length bob swaying with her head movements. “And you must be Wolf.” She extended her hand and Wolf shook it. “I’ve heard good things.”
“Likewise,” Wolf said. “Tex speaks highly of you.”
She nodded again. “He helped get me in to talk to Glass. The man is scared. I only needed the carrot and not the stick I was expecting to use. Here’s what I’ve got.” Gina set a recorder on Williams’ desk and hit play.
Jerold’s voice rose from the device. “…Business took a downturn, so I had to do something. I was contacted and made a deal with a supplier. Ran coke, heroin, pills, all through transporting the cars.”
Gina’s voice joined his in the recording. “And did Brian Taylor work for you?”
“Brian worked for me, sure. He was my distribution guy locally.”
“Through his parents’ dispensary?”
“Maybe. Yeah, I don’t know where. I don’twantto know where.”
Gina paused the recording. “He’s lying there. Someone scares him more than I do.”
Williams grunted. “I can tell you who scares Glass more than you.” He tapped the recorder. “Does Boulder have a copy of this?”
Gina shook her head. “They wouldn’t let me record anything. Searched me and everything. And of course I obeyed, didn’t I?” She smiled. “I’ll make sureyouhave a copy,” she added.
“I appreciate it. Fucking gangs outta Denver, that’s who scares him more than you. I know they’ve expanded north. I’ve been telling Boulder this for a year. They tell me I’m watching too many crime shows on Netflix. They think I’m Andy Griffith. Fuck ‘em. The gangs are moving in on us with their damn drug trade and shaking down the local dispensaries.”
Fuck. Brock thought back to his conversation with Brianna’s father earlier. Before he could speak up, Gina hit play again and Jerold’s voice continued.
“So long as Brian was moving product, that’s all that mattered to me.” He paused. “Then this week, everything went to shit, of course. My luck.”
