“I’m sorry, I can’t—”
Brantley’s cell phone rang. He held up his finger for the man to wait, then answered with a gruff, “Walker.”
“You’ve got exactly twenty minutes,” the deep voice said.
“Who is this?”
“Nice to make your acquaintance, Brantley Walker. My name’s Max Adorite.”
Leaving the balding man and his various excuses behind him, Brantley walked back out to the parking lot, moving toward the car where Reese was currently standing.
“What happens in twenty minutes?” Brantley asked, mouthing to Reese that Max was on the phone as he put it on speaker.
“One of two things, I figure.”
Brantley scanned the parking lot.
“Options, I assume?”
“You’re as good as Travis says you are.”
He sighed heavily, ensuring Max heard his frustration.
“If you look across the parking lot, you’ll see a late-model Ford truck.”
Brantley was already looking at the truck, noting the driver was still in it but it was now backed into a spot at the back of the lot.
“In twenty minutes, the fine gentleman in that truck is gonna go inside room 114 and he’s gonna deal with some business. For him to do so, it would be ideal for you and your friends to head on over to the Starbucks, where there are security cameras. Those cameras are gonna record you and your friends buyin’ coffee.”
Brantley looked at Reese. “Or?”
“Or you’ve got nineteen minutes now to go to room 114 and do whatever you feel is necessary with the heinous bitch who’s inside at this very moment.”
Max Adorite was giving them the choice of apprehending Juliet Prince or providing them with an alibi.
“It’s your choice, Brantley.”
“Does Travis know about this?”
“At this very moment, Travis and his husband are at the resort where they are bein’ caught on camera going about their daily lives, runnin’ their business. He’s well aware of the options and he informed me to leave the decision-makin’ to you. Like I said, your choice. Eighteen minutes and counting.”
The call ended, leaving Brantley to look at Reese.
He wished he could pretend it was a no-brainer, that they needed to storm that motel room and call the police. But the truth was, that wasn’t Brantley’s first thought.
However, he was leaving the final decision-making up to Reese because, when it came down to it, Reese’s conscience was clearer.
Neither of them said anything for a moment, then Reese pulled out his phone, dialed.
“Hey, Baz…”
Brantley waited, holding his breath.
“Meet us over at Starbucks in fifteen. Let’s regroup.”
Exhaling heavily, Brantley avoided looking at room 114 or the older-model Ford truck with the not-so-kind-looking gentleman behind the wheel. Instead, he walked around to the driver’s side, slid into the car.
A minute later, they were backing out of the parking lot, Reese making the same call to Trey.
*
Juliet was beginning to enjoy her time in this small port city.
It was too bad she had to leave. If it weren’t for the fact she’d felt as though someone was watching her, this would’ve been the perfect place to settle in for a while. Well, mainly for the reason that it wasn’t too crowded. Aside from that, it was a dump. And maybe also, despite the fact most of the people were desperately lower class, they were polite to her, which made them easier to tolerate. She could almost see herself interacting with them for a little while. Until she could get her new identity established, at least. At that point, she wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this.
Although the news story about the reward for her capture had died down somewhat, she knew there were still people out there willing to jump at the chance to get their grubby hands on that money. For them, the story would never die. Which meant she had to keep moving, preferably somewhere that didn’t get the local news.
Until that time, a few days in one spot was all she could afford. This was already day five, and she knew she was pushing her luck every extra minute she was here. She’d originally intended to be in Mexico by now, figuring they wouldn’t care much about what was going on in the US, certainly not in some Podunk little town. She could sip margaritas for a while before venturing back to the States to finish her business with Travis Walker once and for all. Only she knew she couldn’t simply walk in through a checkpoint.
But the good news was, just a little while ago, she’d finally found someone willing to fly her into Mexico, no questions asked. It had been pure luck she’d been having lunch at the only restaurant in town when she overheard a man on the phone. At first she hadn’t understood him because he spoke in Spanish, but then he had started talking in heavily accented English. If it wasn’t for the fact he was talking about a charter plane, she never would’ve approached him. He was not the sort she would talk to on a good day. He was obviously not American, and all those tattoos … they’d given her the creeps.
But Juliet had sucked it up out of necessity.
Of course, he’d been more than willing to do her bidding when she’d offered him money. Juliet had seen the gleam in his eyes. The guy was lowlife scum, probably worked for one of the cartels and would take any tiny crumb she threw his way, so she’d made him an offer she knew he wouldn’t refuse. Two thousand dollars to fly her over the border. He hadn’t even batted an eyelash before saying yes, only asking for half up-front, the other half when he picked her up to take her to the airport.
As much as she despised the idea of being anywhere near the guy, it worked in her favor and that was all that mattered. She just needed a few months off the grid, some time to catch her breath. At that point, she would pick up where she left off. Eventually Travis Walker would move on with his life, forget she was a threat. At that point, she’d have him right where she wanted him.
A knock sounded on her motel room door as she was tossing the rest of her stuff into her bag. She wanted to leave a few things behind, to let the people looking for her know that she had been here, right under their noses. Juliet was beginning to enjoy this cat and mouse game as much as she enjoyed this little town.
“Señorita, we must go,” the muffled voice said through the door.
Juliet smiled. That was her ride to the airport.
She glanced around the room one last time, hand on the knob.
Yes, she had everything she needed for now.
She opened the door and stepped back, ensuring she didn’t accidentally touch the loathsome man. Pointing to her bag, she instructed him to get it as she put her sunglasses on her nose. No sense risking someone recognizing her now.
“Of course, señorita,” the man said, his tone harder than it had been before.
There was a niggling at the back of her neck, a warning that she probably should’ve heeded before she allowed him to come into the room.
By the time she realized there was a threat, it was too late.
She didn’t even have enough time for one last thought before the bullet hit her right between the eyes.
No one ever even heard the shot.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Friday, March 5, 2021
“I still can’t believe that was a dead end,” JJ bitched, leaning against one of the empty desks, arms crossed over her chest.