“I don’t have to show you shit,” the guy snapped, aiming his gun in his direction. “I said don’t move.”
Oh, man. Reese glanced at the other officers, and he realized someone had put the hothead in charge. The others looked out of their element. Like they weren’t sure why they needed to go in offensively when they didn’t know what they were dealing with.
“I haven’t moved,” Brantley told him. “You’re the one movin’. Show me the warrant, and I’ll have Baz come out peacefully. There’s no reason for guns. Like I said, I have a handful of employees in there. Four women, one who’s pregnant, and four men, including Sebastian. We don’t want any trouble. Just show me the warrant, and we can take care of this without the theatrics.”
“Show him the warrant,” the hothead bit out.
The officer closest to them walked over and retrieved the paper from the officer who appeared to be in charge. He returned, weapon holstered, and handed it to Brantley.
Reese leaned in and read what was definitely an arrest warrant.
“Put your guns down,” Brantley said, relaxing his stance, likely to put the officers at ease. “You know who we are, so you know it’s uncalled for. This is a task force that Governor Greenwood created. We’ve worked with your department on numerous occasions.”
The other officers looked at the guy in charge.
“Evan Vaughn is one of my employees,” Brantley explained. “You probably recognize the name? A former Round Rock PD homicide detective.”
The lead guy frowned.
“He’s here, too.”
It took a moment, but the lead officer finally stood down, holstering his weapon. The others followed suit.
“Would you like me to bring him out for you?” Brantley offered. “It’ll be easier that way.”
“If he runs…”
“He won’t. His girlfriend’s pregnant. He won’t do anything to jeopardize her safety,” Reese assured him, still holding his hands in front of him. “I’ll stay right here while he gets him.”
The officer nodded.
While Brantley headed for the barn, Reese remained where he was, still holding his hands up. The cops had settled for the most part, including the hothead. He wasn’t sure what had prompted them to make a hostile approach, but he understood to some degree. They were walking into a situation they couldn’t map out ahead of time. Reese had done that on a few occasions, and it was unnerving, to say the least.
A minute later, Brantley came out of the barn with Baz beside him. Knowing him, Brantley had instructed Evan to keep everyone—including JJ—inside until the officers took care of their business.
“Sebastian Buchanan?” The officer asked as Baz approached.
“Yes.”
“Put your hands up.”
Baz stopped walking and put his hands up. “What’s this about?”
“Place them on your head.”
He followed their instructions to the letter, turning away so the officer could position his hands behind his back while Brantley stood out of the way. Reese didn’t move, nor did Tesha, while they handcuffed Baz and read him his rights.
“What am I bein’ arrested for?” Baz asked.
“Murder.”
Baz frowned, glancing between them. “Murder? What the fuck? Who did I kill?”
“Molly Ryan and Sonny Gilmore.”
Jesus.
“We’ll get this sorted out,” Brantley told Baz.
