“I understand.”
“Do you?” Beryl stared up at her handsome, fearless, take-no-prisoners little brother and softened.
“I get that you’re worried,” Jett said. “I just don’t want you to get in trouble and have to use a Defender on the top cop of the local law enforcement his first month here.”
“Good point. I’ll do my best. Hate to have to mindwipe the new sheriff on our first encounter together.”
“Exactly.”
A loud ding sounded from Jett’s smartphone. “Got him!” He showed Beryl a display of a crude map of the area with a green dot moving along a road headed north.
Beryl looked around. She wanted to hop into the nearest conveyance and follow, but they had to wait for Wyatt and the sheriff of Alienn. Under normal circumstances, neither of them would likely be happy to learn Jett had put a tracking device on Jake.
As Beryl was trying to think of a logical reason why Jett would do such a thing, Wyatt pulled up in his personal vehicle, not the sheriff’s cruiser he usually drove. He motioned for them to get inside. Beryl called shotgun and Jett hopped into the back, squeezing himself between two children’s car seats. Luckily, Jett didn’t complain.
Before any explanations could be rendered, Wyatt said, “I have an idea about where this mystery kidnapper might be taking Jake. I sent a message to Sheriff Hollister to meet us.”
“Where did you get this idea?” Beryl asked, locking eyes with Jett as Wyatt pulled away from the curb and started driving north.
“I got the drop-off location from the two banditos who tried to take Jake. I had a friend of mine check into the ownership records of that location and found out that person owns three other places. From there, I deduced a possible second location that this mystery man might take Jake, based on proximity and ease of access. I thought we’d check it out. Unless you have a better idea, that is.”
Jett leaned forward and pushed his phone into the front seat so Wyatt could see it. He pointed to the little green dot still headed north.
“Is that tracking software?” Wyatt asked, sounding as incredulous as Beryl felt.
“Perhaps.” Jett didn’t elaborate. Beryl didn’t want to explain, either.
Wyatt shook his head. “So, in theory, what are you tracking?”
Jett said, “I can neither confirm nor deny that there may be a tracking device attached to the collar of the jacket that Jake’s wearing.”
Wyatt made a noise like a small laugh hidden by a cough. He looked at Beryl, squinting as if silently asking, “Is he for real?”
Beryl nodded, shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I’m afraid so.”
“Is this hypothetical tracking device on its way toward Wolf Track Road, by chance?”
Jett pulled his phone back and swiped the screen a few times before grinning. “Yep. It sure is.”
Wyatt accelerated the vehicle and Beryl was pressed back in her seat for a second. She appreciated Wyatt’s determination to get to Jake as soon as possible.
“Is Sheriff Chance Hollister human?” Jett asked.
Wyatt looked at Jett in his rearview mirror and nodded. “He is. Is there some reason you think someone offworld is involved?”
“I don’t have any facts. It’s just that the guy that snatched Jake didn’t seem human to me. I could be totally wrong. It’s really more of a gut feeling than anything. The guy was tall for a human and the way he moved was—” Jett stopped talking as if he was trying to explain something difficult to describe.
“Was what?” Beryl asked, compelled to fill the awkward silence.
“The way he moved was not humanlike. It almost seemed more animalistic predator, for lack of a better description.”
Wyatt said, “Is that what you saw, Beryl?”
Beryl cast her memory back, but she had not been focused on whoever took Jake. “Honestly, I only saw Jake. He looked like he was unconscious. I wish I’d paid more attention, but…” she trailed off, wishing she had a very detailed description of Jake’s kidnapper to share. She did not.
“It’s understandable,” Jett said. He reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing as if to comfort her. She knew Jett loved her. She knew he would do anything to help her…and Jake.
A pinging noise sounded from Jett’s phone. “Hey. The tracker has stopped moving,” he said. “It’s at 29 Wolf Track Road.”
