“Oh, Reese.”
“Billy died instantly. I wasn’t even hurt.” He sighed into the quiet. “I checked to be sure he was dead, but his head was split open. There was no doubt. I climbed out of the car and walked away. No one ever knew I was even there. Billy’s death was the real reason I changed.”
Kenzie slid her arms around his neck and held him. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Reese blew out a shaky breath. “I shouldn’t have been drinking in the first place.”
“The tire blew. That wasn’t your fault.”
“I know. I tried to stop Billy from driving, but he wouldn’t listen. In the end, his death made me realize how tenuous life can be. And it made me want to make the most out of mine.”
Kenzie’s thoughts went to the danger he and his brothers would be facing. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Reese. Asking you to go in after Griff—”
Reese caught her chin and softly kissed her. “You aren’t asking me to do anything. Your son is in danger. We can’t bring in the police or they’ll kill him. We’re doing what we have to do.”
Noises sounded in the hall. There was a two-and-one rap on the door the instant before it opened and Chase and Brandon strode back into the living room. She noticed they both kept their gun hands free, and each carried a big plastic bag he tossed up onto the sofa.
“Let’s get dressed and do a little recon,” Chase said. “DeMarco’s given you until tomorrow morning. We need to have Griff safe before the deadline.”
Reese started pulling stuff out of the bag. He dragged out a pair of camouflage cargo pants and a long-sleeved camo T-shirt. Kenzie didn’t have to be a soldier to know the swamp wasn’t a friendly place for exposed skin.
He grabbed a couple more items and disappeared into the bedroom. Kenzie followed, giving Chase and Bran privacy to change. She was wearing her skinny jeans with a navy blue T-shirt and black sneakers, her hair pulled into a ponytail. It would have to do.
When she and Reese returned to the living room, Kenzie stood transfixed as she watched the men in action, moving with the same ease of purpose she had noticed in Reese.
Brandon crossed to the hall closet, reached in, and pulled out a couple of canvas bags the men had apparently brought with them. One was big and bulky, another long and narrow with a zipper that ran full length. Bran tossed it up onto the sofa, unzipped it, and pulled out an assault rifle.
“AR-15,” he announced. “Converted to full auto.” He handed it to Chase, then pulled what looked like another assault rifle out of the bag. “Pneu-Dart G2 X-Caliber. Gas-based remote delivery projector. Otherwise known as a tranq gun.”
His blue eyes flashed to Chase, then to her. “I figured my brother wouldn’t be happy if I just ended the bastards.”
Chase’s mouth edged up. “No. At least not unless we have to.”
Bran turned to Reese. “You’re the man when it comes to handguns. You’re carrying your Nighthawk, right?”
“That’s right.” Reese’s mouth curved into a sexy smile. “You got a good look at it when I walked in this morning.”
Brandon grinned.
Reese slid the gun out of the holster at his waist, checked the load, then slid it back in with an ease Kenzie still found unsettling. “Where did you learn to handle a gun the way you do?”
“High school. Not that I’m proud of it.”
“Maybe not,” Chase said. “But at fifty feet, you’re the best pistol shot I’ve ever seen.” Chase fetched a canvas bag from behind the sofa, pulled it open, and tossed Reese a second weapon.
“Beretta nine mil,” he said. “That .380 I loaned you makes a good ankle gun, but for what we’re getting into, you need a backup weapon with some muscle.”
Reese nodded. “Thanks.” He checked the pistol, made sure the magazine was full, then shoved it into his waistband at the back of his cargo pants.
Chase held up a square black plastic case. “Satellite phone.” He smiled. “‘Don’t leave home without one,’” he said, parroting the American Express ad. “And last but not least, there’s a little toy out in the SUV your brother was determined to buy.”
“What is it?” Reese asked.
Bran flashed a cocky smile. “A drone.”
Reese actually grinned. “I like it.”
“All right, fine,” Chase said, sounding like a typical big brother. “If you two are ready to try out your new toys, let’s go see what’s out there.”
THIRTY-FOUR
The afternoon was nearly gone when Reese drove out of Shreveport in the black Ford pickup, Kenzie riding nervously in the seat beside him. Chase drove in the SUV with Brandon. Better to have two vehicles in case something went wrong.
Which undoubtedly it would. That was just the way the world worked. They had discussed asking Hawk to help, but his sights were set on Jeremy Bolt. They needed him to bring Bolt in, needed a way to prove Bolt had killed Lee Haines.
None of them wanted to return Griff to a home where his mother faced years in prison.
As they left the city, Reese turned onto US 71 and drove southeast about forty minutes toward the area known as Loggy Bayou. They passed through rural farm country before turning down a dirt road leading east into the bayou.
Reese glanced over at Kenzie. With no cell service, she was using maps she had previously downloaded to find the safest route in and out, giving him directions along a lane on the opposite side of the stream that wound through the woods beside the cabin. Which meant they could travel the road without running into one of the kidnappers heading back to the city. Plus the terrain along the riverbank was highly overgrown, shielding the vehicles as they got closer to their objective.
Behind him, Chase had dropped back a little so one vehicle could provide cover for the other. Reese wished Kenzie had stayed at the hotel, but he hadn’t even suggested it.
No way was she staying behind while he went after her son. “I can help you,” she’d said. “I can do what I do best—take care of the detail work. That will free all of you up to go in after Griff.”
She was right. The maps she was using were invaluable. She was also monitoring the sat phone Brandon had brought with him. Once they got there, they would be using handheld two-way radios, which Kenzie would monitor to make sure everyone stayed connected. Though Reese worried about her, she was a real asset. He had to stay focused on that.
“The cabin’s about half a mile ahead,” Kenzie said.
Reese slowed as she relayed the message to Chase. At a quarter of a mile, he pulled off the dirt road and backed into a thick copse of trees while Chase backed the SUV out of sight a little farther away.