Chapter One
Saturday, January 9, 2021
Brantley Walker expected today to be a long day, starting off with a visit from Ryan Trexler and Hunter Kogan, the men in charge of running Sniper 1 Security, the largest private security firm in the state.
They were here at Brantley’s request, and since this was somewhat of a job interview for the soon-to-be disbanded Off the Books Task Force, he figured it needed to run smoothly, hence the reason he was already three hours into his day and it was just now oh-eight-hundred.
He walked into the kitchen as Reese was pouring a cup of coffee.
“You only got seven miles in this mornin’. Somethin’ wrong with you today?”
Brantley could hear the teasing tone, and he appreciated it. If Reese knew Brantley was stressed about this meeting, he wasn’t calling him on it, but he was certainly doing his best to distract him. For a moment, Brantley’s brain flipped back to a few hours ago when Reese had woken him up with that sexy mouth doing sinful things. Needless to say, it’d been one hell of a way to start the day.
“Too much shit to do,” he said, forcing a smile and accepting the cup Reese passed over.
“I just got a text. RT and Hunter’ll be here in a few.” Reese’s tone was calm and collected as usual. “We’ll have plenty of time to introduce them to the team, even have time for questions. Then what’s left? We get to spend the afternoon at the park with the rest of the town?”
Brantley nodded, staring into his coffee mug. “Yeah.”
And that would be the second half of his ridiculously long day.
After he fielded questions from JJ, Baz, Trey, and Charlie regarding the fact they were no longer state employees, Brantley was going to spend the afternoon at the fantasy festival. Coyote Ridge’s first one of the year.
Despite the name, it wasn’t in the least bit kinky, he’d been told. It was a new festival added to the calendar this year, one meant to kick off 2021 with carnival games and rides designed specifically for the children of Coyote Ridge.
As for why Brantley was looking forward to it … well, it certainly wasn’t for the games and rides. No, his reasons were a bit more selfish: he was simply looking forward to some downtime with Reese and if it meant congregating with the rest of the town, so be it.
He just wasn’t sure he could get in the spirit of it today. Ever since they learned that Juliet Prince was involved in the false kidnapping scheme that resulted in JJ’s house being blown to smithereens a week ago, he hadn’t been sleeping much. It didn’t help that they had no idea where the woman was or her next move, but something in his gut said they needed to be hypervigilant.
Brantley’s watch buzzed at the same time Reese’s did, which meant only one thing.
“Looks like they’re right on time,” Reese said. “Why don’t you go out and greet ’em. I’ll head to the barn, start the coffee.”
Brantley nodded because he would take any direction offered. This was foreign territory for him. He had never applied for a job in his life. Well, unless BUD/S, which stood for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL counted. But this wasn’t an endurance test that would allow his body and mind to prove his worthiness. This would require some schmoozing on his part and Brantley would be the first to admit, it wasn’t his strong suit.
With Tesha, their four-legged partner, leading the way, Brantley went to greet their guests.
Stepping out onto the front porch, he steeled his spine, geared up for convincing these men that absorbing the Off the Books Task Force was the best thing to do for everyone involved. Granted, he knew they were already leaning in that direction based on what RT had told him, but they’d driven two hundred miles from Dallas to Coyote Ridge on a Saturday, no less, to seal the deal.
“How was the trip?” Brantley asked, holding out his hand to RT after the man deposited his helmet on the handlebar of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R.
“Perfect way to spend a Saturday mornin’,” RT said with a wide grin, shaking Brantley’s hand in return.
“I told Reese I was still thinkin’ about gettin’ one of those.” Brantley nodded at the sportbike.
“Worth the investment,” RT replied. “You’re more than welcome to try it out if you’d like.”
Brantley grinned. “I might just take you up on that later.”
The other man strolled around, running one hand over his short hair, the other pulling off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of scrutinizing white-gray eyes.
“Brantley Walker, I’d like to introduce you to Hunter Kogan. Hunter, Brantley.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hunter said, gripping his hand firmly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Brantley joked.
Hunter chuckled. “Likewise.” He nodded his head toward RT. “Especially if it comes from this one.”
RT rolled his eyes. “Anyone who knows me knows I only speak the truth. So when I say y’all are both assholes, you can bet it’s true.”
Brantley laughed, feeling some of the tension dissipate.
“Reese is out in the barn startin’ a pot of coffee. Y’all ready to check it out?”
Hunter’s worried gaze flipped between them. “No one said anything about spendin’ the day with animals.”
“I guess I could clarify. Converted barn. No animals.” Brantley glanced down at Tesha who was sitting at his feet, staring up at them, tongue lolling out of her mouth. “Well, except this girl.”
Hunter turned his attention on the dog. “She in trainin’? Or can I pet her?”
“Very early stages, so she’d much prefer you did.”
Hunter held out a hand, let Tesha sniff. When she gave him a slightly hesitant but approving lick, he reached down and patted her head.
“Is the rest of the team here?” RT asked, glancing around.
Brantley motioned for them to follow. “On their way. I asked ’em to be here by nine. Figured I’d give you a few minutes to look around before they arrived.”
“You tell them yet?”
“No. I just told Reese last night, in fact. I didn’t want to jump the gun.”
RT glanced at the house, then the barn. “Reese mentioned you moved your offices to the main house?”
“We converted a couple of the bedrooms on the second floor,” Brantley confirmed. “Added an exterior entrance. Gives us a little more room.”
“Probably doesn’t help with work-life balance,” Hunter noted. “Havin’ an office in the house.”
Brantley chuckled. “I didn’t realize there was such a thing.”
“Only in the movies,” RT joked.
Brantley keyed in the code to unlock the doors to the barn then stepped back out of the way to allow RT and Hunter to precede him.
“Wow. This is impressive,” RT said as he scanned the interior of the barn.
Brantley glanced around, trying to see it from their viewpoint. He’d spent so much time and effort on this place, he sometimes forgot what it had once been.
Aside from the architectural design—the pitch of the roof, the Y-shaped posts that held up the rafters, and the enormous sliding door—it didn’t resemble much of a barn on the inside anymore. The exterior walls had been insulated and an additional layer of wood, which he’d white-washed, added on the interior for energy efficiency. A solid, electronically controlled door had been installed for security. The original dirt floor had been covered with concrete, then stained and sealed. The hayloft had been converted, losing the original ladder and gaining a staircase. To the right of the door, a conference room had been added, and behind that, along the wall, there was a small kitchenette, a bathroom, and a storage area.