“I will,” he assured her.
JJ typed something in her phone, then turned it to show him.
Brantley and Reese are on their way with Sheriff Endsley.
Baz mouthed, “Where?”
JJ typed again.
She’s at Whataburger.
Assuming she was referring to one close to Coyote Ridge, he figured it wouldn’t take long for Brantley and Reese to get there.
At least, he hoped it wouldn’t.
***
“We won’t, Sheriff.” Reese laughed. “Fine. I’llmake surehedoesn’t.”
Brantley cut his gaze to Reese and frowned. Reese shook his head, still grinning.
He wasn’t sure how the guy looked so damn chipper at three o’clock in the damn morning. One second, Brantley had been fast asleep. The next, they’d been racing out the door because JJ knew where Molly and Sonny were.
He knew this wasn’t a dream because he’d had the mind to tell Reese to call the sheriff. If he’d been asleep, Brantley would’ve dealt with the problem on his own. Since killing these assholes would only land him in prison for the rest of his life, he figured it was safer to get the cops there to arrest them. So, while Brantley drove, Reese made the call.
“See you in a few,” Reese said before ending the call and setting his phone in the cup holder. “He’s on his way. Deputy Downs is comin’, too.”
Brantley liked Dwayne Downs. He was one of the few deputies who seemed like he could get the job done. If he’d thought it was a possibility, Brantley would’ve hired the guy for the task force. Not only was he physically intimidating, but he could negotiate better than anyone Brantley had ever met. Those two combinations made a damn fine investigator. However, Dwayne had a real shot at becoming the next sheriff, and Brantley wasn’t selfish enough to take that away from the community. They could use a guy like Dwayne protecting their town.
Their phones buzzed at the same time. Brantley ignored his while Reese picked his up.
“JJ said Sonny is leavin’. Accordin’ to Molly, he’s gonna keep an eye on her.”
“If Jeff’s not there when we get there, we need to corner him,” Brantley told Reese.
“I agree.”
Brantley’s head snapped toward Reese. “Seriously?”
“What?”
“Pinch me. There’s a good chance I’m dreamin’.”
“Why? Because I agreed with you?”
Brantley laughed. “Yeah. That and you’re willin’ to defy the sheriff’s orders.”
“Exigent circumstances.”
“I’m pretty sure that only applies to LEOs. Last I checked, we weren’t law enforcement.”
“Maybe you are dreamin’,” Reese countered. “The Brantley I know wouldn’t argue when he’d won.”
Brantley laughed. “True.”
He slowed as they reached the city limits, not wanting to get pulled over before they had a chance to get to their destination.
“How do you wanna do this?”
