“That your car parked out back?” Brantley asked when the interrogation ended.
Atticus frowned, black eyebrows lowering over his eyes. “Car?” His hands went to his pockets. He rummaged in them for a second, then threw his hands up as though accepting defeat. “Son of a bitch. He stole my truck.”
“Gunmetal gray? Shiny rims?” Reese said.
Atticus’s eyes widened. “Yes.”
Reese jerked his chin toward the door. “Saw it back at the bait shop. They haven’t gotten far.”
Brantley wasn’t sure if he was supposed to find this amusing or worrisome, but he couldn’t contain his smile. This had been an odd case from the jump. Looked as though it wasn’t over yet.
***
Reese wouldn’t lie. He found the factthat his mother had taken a baseball bat to this man’s skull kinda funny. Then he had to wonder whether or not he was losing his mind becausehis mother had taken a baseball bat to this man’s skull.
For fuck’s sake, what was going on here?
He’d honestly expected to find his mom curled in a ball, scared for her life. Instead, it appeared she was on the run with a wanted man, and she’d been the one to secure their freedom by takingthis guyout. Was it her idea to steal the truck, too? Were they now a modern-day version of Bonnie and Clyde?
Honest to God, he hated where his thoughts were drifting. This was not how he’d expected this day to go.
“When did they leave?” RT asked, pulling Reese from his wandering thoughts.
“Depends,” Atticus chirped. “What time is it?”
Reese glanced at his watch when Z said, “Three forty-five.”
“Then I guess it’s been about half an hour.” He flinched and rubbed the spot on the back of his head.
“You should probably get that checked out,” Brantley said, clearly done with this as he marched out the front door.
Reese found him standing on the front porch, his phone in his hand as he spoke into it. He was explaining to JJ what was going on.
“So the question is,” she said, “did they head south to Austin or north to Dallas?”
Thatwasthe question, Reese figured.
He met Brantley’s inquisitive gaze and gave a subtle shrug. He honestly had no fucking idea. He was still confused about his mother clubbing this guy upside the head. What was she thinking?
“We were hopin’ you’d tell us,” Brantley told JJ.
“Might help if you’d get me the license plate of the truck they stole. I might be able to track it.”
Well, why the hell hadn’t they thought of that?
He rattled off the series of numbers and letters he’d memorized earlier, earning a confused look from Brantley.
“I saw it at the bait shop. Seemed outta place. Habit to memorize the license plate.”
“Good job, Tavoularis,” JJ said from the phone.
“Yeah.” Brantley’s smile was slow and sexy. “Good job, Tavoularis.”
The sound of tires crunching gravel had Reese pulling his gun out of its holster at his back. He moved to the edge of the porch and peered around the side of the cabin.
“It’s Baz,” he announced, re-holstering his weapon.
For the next few minutes, while JJ searched for Atticus’s truck, Reese filled the others in on what happened. Once they were all in the know, they took some time to search the cabin. It was neat as a pin, and there was nothing that would tell them where Toby had gone or whether Cindy was his accomplice or his hostage.
