“Brantley, I’m not askin’ for permission. I want it done. I figured I’d give you an opportunity to head it up since you claim you’re handlin’ the investigation. But if it’s too much for you…”
His cousin sighed. “Where are you?”
“At the resort.”
“Okay. Give me half an hour. Reese and I’ll stop by to chat. And before you get all up in arms, I think a reward’s a good idea. I just want to talk it out. Is Gage there with you?”
“No.”
“Should he be?” Brantley asked.
Travis wasn’t sure it was his place to decide that. And since Gage seemed to be content keeping his distance, he figured he could return the favor. “No.”
Another sigh. “All right. Half an hour.”
“See you then.”
After disconnecting, Travis found himself typing up a text to Gage. He kept it short and sweet:Meeting with Brantley and Reese. Offering reward. If you want to be part of the convo, meet in my office, half an hour.
Travis never did get a response.
As promised, Brantley arrived thirty minutes later with Reese in tow. They took their sweet time getting up to his office, probably stopping to chat with his brothers along the way. He half expected to see a line of people behind them when they finally knocked on his door, but there were no stragglers.
And there was no Gage.
“Come in.” Travis leaned back, trying to appear relaxed and not letting on that his stomach was twisted in knots. He’d thought coming to work would allow him to stop thinking about Kylie for a little while. That didn’t seem to be the case.
Both men walked in, their eyes scanning the room as though they were expecting someone else.
“Have a seat,” he said politely, although he didn’t expect them to be there long.
They sat, neither of them saying anything.
Travis wasn’t sure why they’d gone mute, but he didn’t really need their input, and he certainly didn’t need small talk.
“Like I told you on the phone, I want to offer a reward for any information that leads to the capture and arrest of Juliet Prince in relation to my wife’s murder.”
He probably shouldn’t have tacked on the last part so harshly, but it was all he could do to spit the words out.
“I know I mentioned to you that the governor discussed disbandin’ the task force,” Brantley said. “I just want to make sure you understood that happened. We no longer have jurisdiction over anything. In fact, we’ve gone private. The task force is under the umbrella of Sniper 1 Security.”
Travis wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything, but he nodded.
“We’ve got a large team of their agents down here assistin’ with the search. Includin’ RT and Hunter.”
For some damn reason, that loosened the knot in his chest.
Yes, Travis had been holed up in his house, and his warped and twisted thoughts had led him to think that no one was out there doing anything to find the bitch. Despite the fact he’d blamed them more than once—at least in his head—he should’ve known Brantley and Reese wouldn’t stop looking.
“We are pursuin’ several leads. I just want you to understand, we’re actively workin’ this. In fact, it’s theonlything we’re workin’ on.”
Travis swallowed a hot ball of emotion and nodded.
Brantley glanced at Reese, then back to Travis. Silence hung between them as though Brantley thought Travis might have something to say. If he thought he could get words out, perhaps he would, but it was taking everything in him to sit there.
Brantley nodded. “You mentioned a reward. How much are you thinkin’?”
Travis reached for his water, took a drink. “Whatever’s appropriate. Money’s no object.”
