“Agreed,” she said with a wince.
“What?” he asked, suspicion in his voice.
“Okay,” she said, “I’m not at all happy to hear that you’re hurt emotionally by it all, after four years.”
“First, some of this information is seconds old to me, and, second, I told you,” he said in exasperation, “that I no longer care in any way, shape, or form.”
“You can say the words,” she said, “but it’s your reactions that count.”
“It’s emotions that count,” he said, “and I can tell you that I’m not feeling anything except anger toward him and her.”
“But we’re never angry for the reason we think we are,” she said.
He glared at her. “Who are you quoting from some damn place? Really? You’ll throw that New Age bullshit at me?”
At that, she burst out laughing, and he could feel his own sense of humor lighten up. It still pissed him off that his brother had been in his married life to that extent. But, as Caleb realized just how much his brother’s and Sarah’s lives were entwined, Caleb realized the two of them were probably better off together. At least then they couldn’t go around hurting anybody else. He thought about it for a long moment as he kept driving.
She finally said, “I’ve got the area on the GPS, and these dirt roads just keep going around and around.”
“Yeah, most of them won’t even show up on GPS either,” he said.
She looked at him. “What’s the problem? You’re looking serious.”
“No,” he said. “I’m just realizing how that stuff with my brother was just games to them. She went out with me to make him jealous. But, once I realized she was pregnant, I was bound and beholden to do the right thing,” he said in a mocking tone, “and she probably didn’t know how to get out of it at that point.”
“I think you’re quite right,” she said. “Remember. She’s pretty damn young.”
“She’s only young emotionally,” he said. “She’s just a couple years younger than you.”
When she kept staring, he looked at her in surprise. “Isn’t she?”
He watched as she tilted her head, thinking about it, and then slowly nodded. “She is. Funny how I never put that together.”
“That’s because she’s immature,” he said.
“Yep, got it.” She looked up at the road ahead and said, “Should be a Y up ahead. Take the right.”
He followed her instructions, and they slowly went around the massive property.
“I’m not really seeing any ins or outs,” she said.
“Oh, they’re there,” he said. “I won’t be going in through the established roads anyway.”
“And how are you planning on getting in, and why are you planning on going anywhere close to that place?” she asked quietly.
“Well, I have to see if the dog is there, don’t I?”
She took a long slow deep breath.
He grinned. “Remember? It’s what I do.”
“I’m trying to forget that right now,” she said.
“Well, you can try, but with me comes that kind of job.”
“I got it,” she said slowly.
“So good,” he said. “I’m coming after this dog. If it’s here, I’ll be taking the dog away.”
“What if it’s happy there?”
“With an asshole for an owner? I don’t think so. The dog has spent its time here chained up and probably beaten to make it hate humanity, so that, when it gets a chance, it’ll go after whatever it was that they want it to go after.”
“Do they deliberately turn these dogs into killers?”
“Sure they do,” he said. “Lots of people do. They don’t care about the animal itself. They just care about making sure that the animal does what they want it to do.”
“Was it any better in the military?”
“Yes,” he said immediately. “Lots of people don’t understand, but the dogs are well-trained, and they are well looked after. They have regular vet visits, training, break times, and they also learn to bond with people, so they know who they are protecting,” he said. “Guys like this bastard, they’ll put Beowulf on a chain, and they’ll just keep beating him, making his life miserable.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, “we have to rescue him.”
“Yep, we sure do,” he said. “Now if only I could figure out a plan to make that happen.”
They kept driving for another twenty minutes. “It’s a huge property,” she said, amazed.
“Yeah, and I want background on who owns it too,” he muttered, pulling off the road for a second. “Let me see my phone.” She handed it over, and he texted Badger. Nothing quite like making legal hell happen for some of these guys.
By the time they had completely circumvented the property and headed back to the cantina, they were late for their meeting with the tipster.
“Do you think he’ll wait?”
“He’ll wait because he wants the money,” he said. “Although we spent longer than I planned to getting back here.”
Chapter 8
They pulled up to the cantina. “Do you want me to come in with you?” Laysha asked Caleb.
“Better if you don’t,” he said. “I won’t know who I’m meeting, and I don’t really want them to see you.”
“Oh, I doubt that’s an issue,” she said. “I would suspect that I’ve already been made.”
He looked around and nodded. “That’s quite possible. Which makes me even less happy.”
“Go in, take care of business,” she said, “and then let’s go home.”
“On it,” he said. “Make sure you keep the dogs with you.”
“Will do.” She sat and waited, hating as the door closed behind him because places like this could get rough. And once he was inside, he could get surrounded, and they’d beat the crap out of him, if not worse. She sat on pins and needles, until the door opened, and he stepped back out again. She slowly released her pent-up breath when he got back into the truck.
“Okay,” she said. “How bad was it?”
“Nobody was there,” he said. “Except for the bartender, who I talked to, but he wouldn’t accept the envelope. In fact, he said, Hell no. Didn’t know anything about it and didn’t want any part of it.”
“So that’s good?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said. “I’ll drive around to the back to make sure nobody’s sitting there and waiting.”
“But surely that person would have called to let you know to come to a different drop spot, wouldn’t he?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Fact of the matter is, nobody called. So we’re sitting here, not sure who and what to look for.”
“Right.” She didn’t know what to say to that. But, as they sat in the parking lot, Graynor started to growl. “Well, he’s not happy,” she murmured, looking around. She didn’t see where the danger was coming from. She studied the dog and said, “He’s looking behind the cantina.”