“You armed?”Brantley asked him.
Atticus nodded.It had become second nature ever since he’d gone through training in Dallas.
“Good.Now eat.We’ve got some recon to do and we’re burnin’ daylight.”
An hour later—because apparently Brantley wasn’t in as much of a hurry as he had sounded—the five of them were walking out of the restaurant.Atticus had managed to eat, but he’d been wary of how much, not wanting to chance getting sick.As it was, the temperature had just broken eighty degrees Fahrenheit, and it was going to climb a bit more before the day was out.Not bad, but he would’ve appreciated some cooler weather.
“Give us twenty minutes,” Reese told Brantley as he was loading Tesha into the truck.“We’ll keep you updated.”
Atticus nodded, then waited until Archer got in the truck before opening the driver’s door.He had expected Brantley to insist on driving, but he never did.And since he was already sitting in the passenger seat, Atticus figured he would be.
“You want me to key an address into my phone’s navigation?”he asked Brantley.
“What I want you to do is start the truck.”
“Oh.Right.”Atticus grinned, then inserted the key and started the truck.
Brantley adjusted the air vents.“Waste some time drivin’ around here, then head west on 290.We’ll come in the back way if we don’t hear anything from Reese.”
Nodding, Atticus put the truck in reverse and backed out of the spot.
For the next twenty minutes, he navigated through downtown Johnson City, being mindful of traffic laws.There weren’t many people out on a Monday, but there were enough that he had to stop a couple of times and wait for them to cross the street.
When he finally got on the highway and headed west, he could feel his anxiety ratcheting up a notch or two.He was excited, but also fearful he would do something to fuck this up.Since he was partnering up with the big boss, the idea of screwing it all up was making his stomach churn.
“Relax,” Brantley said.“It’s not rocket science.We’re gonna go in, do some recon, and come right back out.”
Unless Kylie’s there, Atticus thought.Then they’d have to alter their plans to save the girl.
He really hoped they got to save the girl today.
“Hey, boss.I think we’ve got aproblem.”
Martin waited for the guy to elaborate.When he didn’t, he did his best not to grind his molars to dust.
“And what problem would that be, Able?”he asked, somehow managing to keep his tone civil.
“Those guys that were askin’ around about you are still here.”
“Still here, where?”
“Well, right now, they’re turnin’ on Flat Creek Road again.”
“Have they done anything newsworthy?’
“Uh… What’s that mean?”
Martin ground his teeth until he thought one would crack.“Have they done anything I should be worried about?”
“Like what?”
Oh, Jesus Christ.“For fuck’s sake, Able.Have they gone to the house?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, then, I suggest you keep an eye on them.”
“What if they go to the house?”
