“JJ, run a trace on Cindy’s cell phone,” Brantley barked as the mission became clear. “And send me the coordinates for the land you mentioned before.”
“Which one?” she prompted. “Z found one, too.”
“The one closest,” he decided, figuring it made more sense to check that out first.
“It’s half an hour from here,” she informed him even as she took a seat and placed her laptop in her lap.
“Then we should get goin’.” Brantley glanced at RT. “You happen to have a chopper handy?”
RT’s gaze slid to his husband briefly before returning to Brantley. “I can get one. Give me a few,” he said before he turned and walked out of the office. It was clear by his body language that he wanted to console Z, but he was smart enough to realize time was of the essence.
“A chopper won’t hold all of us, so we’ll start that way,” Baz said.
“Good idea.” Brantley watched Reese, waiting to see if he wanted to insert anything. He was more than willing to let him and his brother lead this investigation, but he knew exactly what shock and fear could do to a man. They were worried about their mother, rightfully so.
“I don’t wanna wait for a chopper,” Reese inserted, meeting Brantley’s gaze. “Let’s just go.”
Brantley nodded. “Okay then.”
Leaving JJ behind to work, Brantley followed Reese toward the elevators. Evan, Baz, and Slade were sticking close, none of them speaking as they made their way to the parking garage. Deck stayed behind to talk to Z about God only knew what, and while he wished Deck would get with the program, Brantley didn’t have time to worry about his insubordination. He liked Deck, he did, but the guy seemed to have one foot out the door at all times.
“South on I-35,” Baz instructed as they walked to their vehicles. “That’s all we know right this second.”
“It’s a start.” Brantley considered offering to let Reese drive but realized it wasn’t a good idea. The man looked lost in his head, his thoughts likely scattered as he tried to piece it together as Brantley had been doing.
“Hold up!” someone shouted from behind them.
Brantley turned to see Z and RT strolling toward them, both carrying two motorcycle helmets each, with Deck walking behind them, carrying one of his own.
“I can’t get a chopper right now,” RT informed them as he passed one of the helmets to Brantley. “But this’ll be faster.”
Brantley glanced at Reese, noticed the man was taking the helmet Z thrust in his direction. He didn’t hesitate, so Brantley didn’t either.
“We’ll take Tesha with us,” Baz offered, veering toward them rather than the SUV.
Reese passed over her leash, and for a second, Brantley wasn’t sure the man even realized he’d had the dog with him.
“Connect your phone to the helmet’s Bluetooth,” Z instructed as Baz led Tesha away. “That way, you can make a call if necessary. It’ll also automatically read any text messages you receive.”
Well, wasn’t that just fancy?
“When we get there, we’ll switch to comms. You have yours?”
“Always.”
Without hesitation, Brantley pulled out his phone. It took only a moment with minimal instruction from Z to get the two linked.
“You ever ridden one of these things before?” RT asked as they headed for a row of Ducatis and Yamahas parked along one of the interior walls.
“I have,” he confirmed, not bothering to add that there weren’t many vehicles in existence that he hadn’t driven at some point in his lifetime.
“Good.” RT reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. “This one’s Conner’s. You break it, you buy it.”
Chuckling, Brantley took the key then buckled the helmet securely before straddling the sleek, matte black Yamaha YZF-R1 while Reese moved to another. He had no idea who that one belonged to, but likely it was one of the Trexlers or Kogans since this was their thing.
He felt the power of the bike the moment he started it. He welcomed the rush of riding and secretly wondered if this would be the deciding factor in whether or not he got one for himself.
With a glance in Reese’s direction, he waited for him to settle on his bike. Their eyes met briefly. Brantley nodded, letting him know he was here and he was ready.
