“Mom?”
“Griff! Oh, God, Griff, are you okay? They didn’t hurt you?”
“Reese came to get me. I’m okay.”
“I’m here waiting for you. I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
Griff handed back the radio as Bran and Chase walked up.
“You must be Griff,” Chase said. “Nice to meet you. This is Brandon. We’re Reese’s brothers.”
Griff’s eyes teared. He wiped them with the back of his hand. “Thanks for helping Reese.”
Bran smiled. “That’s what brothers do.”
Reese glanced back at the cabin. “What’s the situation inside?”
Chase’s gaze followed Reese’s. “Location’s secure. Two men wounded. Nothing fatal. Unless you want to bring the police into this, we can call for an ambulance from the road.”
“You think DeMarco will come after us?”
“I doubt it. For him, this was always just business. His plan didn’t work. He’ll reassess the situation and come at it from a different angle. Arthur Haines is the guy with the problem now.”
And his son, Daniel. Reese didn’t like to think what DeMarco might do to Daniel Haines and his family to get his casinos approved.
He looked at Griff. “We need to get across the creek. You up for a swim?”
Griff glanced around. “Where are the other two guys? Are they dead?”
“No. Bran shot them with tranquilizer darts. We need to be gone before they wake up.”
“Don’t we have to call the police?”
“Not right now. Come on, we can talk about this later. Let’s go.” Setting a hand on Griff’s shoulder, he blocked the boy’s view of the carnage as he urged him toward the crossing Brandon had marked. The scant sliver of moon had slipped behind the clouds, making the crossing even more difficult. Bran led the way. When they reached the bank of the stream, Reese turned to Griff, who was eyeing the thick, swampy foliage with obvious apprehension.
“Hop on my back and I’ll carry you across.”
Griff didn’t move. It was clear the boy was torn. He was a strong kid. He didn’t want to go into the swamp, but he wanted to prove himself to Reese.
“I’m dressed for this,” Reese added, giving him an excuse. “You’re barefoot and in your pajamas.” He turned his back. “Get on and let’s go.”
Griff finally hopped on and Reese pulled the kid’s legs around his waist. “Hang on tight.” Griff clung to his neck as Reese followed Bran into the murky water. Chase followed, keeping watch behind them.
They were entering the deepest part of the stream when something heavy splashed down from the bank into the creek. Bran’s flashlight shined through the mossy, low-hanging branches into a pair of eyes just above the surface of the water moving rapidly toward them.
“Gator!” Bran shouted, pulling his knife as he stepped forward to deal with the threat. Reese increased his pace, moving past Bran into the lead, making his way toward the muddy bank on the opposite side of stream. Loud splashing and cursing split the quiet. Then dead silence.
“Wow,” Griff said, straining to see into the darkness. “Your brother killed that big gator with a knife!”
Reese couldn’t stop a laugh. “Yeah, Bran can be pretty impressive at times.”
Griff sighed. “I wish I had a brother.”
Reese’s thoughts sidetracked to Kenzie. He wondered what it would be like to have a child, the family he had wanted but thought he would never have. It was the wrong time to consider it. Kenzie was still the prime suspect in her ex-husband’s murder. And what would she say when she found out he had killed a man?
The clouds parted as he sloshed up onshore to find her waiting at the top of the muddy bank. Griff slipped off his back and raced toward her.
“Mom! Mom!”
Kenzie caught him in her arms, lifted him off the ground, and just hung on. Reese knew she was fighting not to cry.
“I was so scared,” Griff said. His feet back on the ground, he pulled away to look up at her. “I told myself you and Reese would come, and you did.” For an instant, his golden-brown eyes filled with tears. “Reese even brought his brothers.” He sniffed and steadied himself. “Bran killed an alligator with his knife, Mom. You should have seen it. You think someday I could have a brother?”
For an instant, Kenzie’s eyes locked with Reese’s. She looked back down at her son. “I don’t know. Maybe someday.”
But Reese could hear the uncertainty in her voice. After everything he had told her about himself, maybe she didn’t want to be with him. Tonight he had killed a man. He should have felt remorse but all he felt was relief that Griff was safe and a sense that justice had been served.
But Griff had seen it and that had to be traumatic. As they headed back to the truck, Reese noticed the boy’s buoyant mood had faded, sliding into something darker as the events of the night began to sink in. He’d seen a man’s brains blown out right in front of him. He’d need counseling at the very least.
Reese paused to dump the water out of his worn cowboy boots and pull them back on. They collected the gear in their makeshift camp and headed for the vehicles.
Seated in the pickup between Kenzie and Reese, Griff fell asleep before they had reached the highway, his head in his mother’s lap. As soon as they were in cell range, Kenzie phoned her grandmother. Chase would be using his disposable to call 9-1-1 and anonymously report the shooting.
After a stop at the Holiday Inn to pick up the bags they’d left behind, Chase and Bran headed for the airport to catch the jet. Preferring not to leave the rented pickup in Shreveport, a possible connection to the dead man at the cabin, Reese drove back to Dallas in the truck. Griff and Kenzie had both stubbornly insisted on going with him.
It was four o’clock in the morning by the time they reached the city.
Unfortunately, a black-and-white patrol car sat waiting in front of the town house when they arrived. Ten minutes after they walked inside, Detective Heath Ford and two uniformed police officers showed up at the door with a warrant for Kenzie’s arrest.
THIRTY-SIX
Kenzie looked at Reese, fresh fear clawing at her insides. Griff had fallen asleep on the ride back to Dallas and Reese had carried him upstairs. Gran had taken over while Griff showered and got ready for bed, though it was almost morning. Fortunately, Griff hadn’t seen the patrol car or heard the police arrive.
“What’s the charge?” Reese asked as Detective Ford bulled his way into the living room, the officers close behind.