Alibi by Nicole Edwards

Chapter Four

Reese was surprised by how much heenjoyed spending the day at the park.

He hadn’t been thrilled with the idea when he’d suggested it to Brantley after being encouraged by Iris, but he was glad she’d roped him into it. They’d managed to win probably two dozen stuffed animals, all of which were donated to various kids they encountered, including two of Travis’s who’d been catching a nap, snuggled up together in an oversized wagon and draped with blankets.

They’d spent the first half hour greeting people as though they were long-lost friends, when in reality, they’d probably said hello a couple of times during the past week. After all, Coyote Ridge was a small town and people tended to congregate like family.

Several people had asked about their recent case, hearing about it on the news since it had touched so close to home with JJ’s house blowing up. They shared what they could, obviously leaving out the part where they had tied it to the woman responsible for kidnapping Travis’s daughter back in September.

It wasn’t that Reese didn’t think people should be aware, or more accurately keep an eye out, but he knew any and all talk would get back to Travis and his family. Today was about enjoying time outside, together, friends and family. No sense ruining a perfectly good day.

“We’re still goin’ for best outta seven,” Brantley reminded him when the game attendant took a step back.

Oh, yeah. There was no way he was going to forget that bet. And since he only needed to win one more round to be the ultimate champion, Reese figured he needed to focus.

“You ready to lose your ass?” Brantley cajoled.

“I’m always rea—” Reese’s phone rang, interrupting the game. He would’ve ignored the call, but he recognized the ringtone as his brother’s.

He set the toy gun down and took a step back.

Brantley stood tall, watching him closely.

“Hey, what’s up, Z? I thought for sure you’d come down here with RT to enjoy—”

“We’ve got a problem, Reese,” Z said, his voice a bit too high, his words coming way faster than usual.

Reese’s body tensed and he could tell Brantley recognized it.

He moved farther from the crowd, lowered the phone, and hit the speaker button. “What’s the problem?”

“Remember the software we’re runnin’? The one we set to look for Juliet Prince?”

“Yeah.” A cold chill slithered down his spine as he held Brantley’s gaze.

“We got a hit from one of the toll road cameras down near you. Problem is, the report’s delayed.”

“By how long?” Brantley asked.

“The time stamp on the photo is eleven seventeen this mornin’.”

Brantley looked at his watch. “It’s almost fifteen hundred, Z. That’s more than three hours.”

“I know.” Z’s tone was filled with apology. “We don’t know what caused the delay, but I’ve spent the past half hour havin’ a couple of my guys verify it.” Z exhaled heavily. “It’s legit. Juliet Prince was just a few miles from where you are now.”

“Son of a bitch,” Brantley grumbled.

Instinct had Reese scanning the area, as though he might find Juliet Prince lingering nearby.

“Trust me, I know,” Z said. “But I had to be sure. I didn’t wanna get you all worked up if it wasn’t real.”

Reese remained where he was, breathing steady, trying to determine what they should do. Did they alert Travis and Gage? Tell Curtis? Bring the sheriff into it?

“How positive are you, Z?” Brantley asked.

“Ninety-eight point seven percent. Which is about as good as it gets. Like I said, we’ve confirmed. I called RT and Hunter, told them to turn around and head back. The more eyes lookin’ out, the better.”

“You said it was on the toll road. You show her exiting?” Reese asked.

“The booth camera snapped her pic as she was exiting Highway 79,” Z explained. “We’ve got a call into TXDOT, requesting the make, model, and plate of the vehicle. Our software doesn’t look for that. It might take some time.”

“Fuck.” Brantley brushed his hand over his buzzed hair.

Reese knew what he was thinking: If Juliet Prince took the Highway 79 exit, it wasn’t a damn coincidence. It was the exit one would take to get to Coyote Ridge.

“What do you need from us, Reese?” Z offered.

“Unless you can hack all these cams and see if you can find her, there’s not much you can do.”

Z chuckled. “I’m not a miracle worker, but I’ll see what I can do. I’ll keep you updated, but I expect you to do the same.”

“Will do.” Reese disconnected the call. “You think she’s here?”

“It’s damn sure not a coincidence,” Brantley grumbled, turning as he scanned the area around them.

“What’s her end goal?” Reese wondered aloud.

“She’s a crazy bitch. Who fuckin’ knows what she’s thinkin’?”

Reese calmed himself, took a deep breath. “How do you wanna handle it?”

Brantley continued to look around, shielding his eyes from the sun. “There’re too many people here. We have no idea what she looks like.”

“I can get the photo,” Reese told him.

“Even if we have that, we have no idea what she looks like now. She’s a lot of things, but she’s not an idiot. If she’s brave enough to interact with these people, she’ll be wearin’ a disguise.”

Reese figured that, too, but he was hoping Brantley would talk through this, come up with a plan that would allow them to take the bitch down before something bad happened.

As it was, he knew everyone was getting lax the longer they were out here. Earlier he’d seen Kylie wandering around with her sister. Neither Gage nor Travis had been with her, nor had Jessie’s husband, Braydon.

“I’ll let the team know,” Reese said, pulling up a group text. At the very least, they’d have four additional sets of eyes keeping a look out.

His message read: Advised Juliet Prince seen exiting toll road nearly four hours ago. BOLO.

“We need to find Sheriff Endsley,” Brantley finally decided. “We need to let him know what’s goin’ on.”

“What about Travis and Gage?”

“They’re my first stop. You find the sheriff,” Brantley said as he started across the park at a quick jog.

“You heard him, Tesha. Let’s go, girl.”

Reese didn’t waste time, making a beeline to one of the deputy’s cars he’d seen parked nearby. Unfortunately, there was no one in or by it, so he had to continue his hunt until he found the sheriff chatting with Curtis on a bench on the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue, just outside the festival’s entrance.

He didn’t bother apologizing for the interruption, despite the fact it left him feeling awkward.

“Sheriff, there’s a potential situation we think you should be aware of,” he said, talking fast. “We don’t have visual confirmation as of now, but we do have reason to believe Juliet Prince, the woman who kidnapped”—he nodded toward Curtis—“his granddaughter, may be in the vicinity.”

Both men were on their feet immediately. The joviality he’d witnessed when he approached disappeared, replaced by what looked to be equal amounts concern and rage.

He went on to explain the conversation he’d had with Z as they walked across the park, heading toward the spot Curtis said he’d last seen Travis and Gage with the kids.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any idea what she looks like, and with so many people, it’d be virtually impossible to spot her if she doesn’t want us to.”

Sheriff Endsley was on his radio, informing his deputies of the potential threat and putting them on high alert.

Reese’s heart was pounding, his blood humming beneath his skin. He hadn’t felt this sort of adrenaline rush in quite some time and he welcomed it.

As they walked, Reese continued to scan their surroundings. He tried to put himself in Juliet’s shoes, tried to think how she might. He knew she was cunning and evil. She’d had no qualms snatching a six-year-old from a group field trip. And she’d been the brains behind the explosion at JJ’s house, luring Travis there shortly before the thing had gone off.

In short, Reese wouldn’t put anything past her.

*

Gage sat on a bench, watching thekids chase one another around the swings, over to the monkey bars, back to the walking beams, then around their little obstacle course again. They’d been at it for an hour, the longest the kids had been focused on one single thing since they got there.

While he hadn’t expected this to be an easy feat—taking the kids to the park on a normal day wasn’t that—Gage hadn’t considered just how much work it would be. Not only had they spent two hours tending to five kids who wanted to do everything there was to do, they were now letting them get out some of the pent-up energy as they took a break from the festivities. Now they were watching their own kids, plus they were keeping an eye on others as Travis’s brothers and sisters-in-law stopped by. Their kids would start playing, refusing to leave, and at that point, it was easier to agree to keep an eye on them.

The good thing was, they’d gotten help from Kaden and Keegan, as well as Ethan and Beau, who were attempting to corral their eighteen-month-old triplets with Lorrie’s and Arlene’s help. Since the ladies were still smiling, Gage figured they had at least another hour in them.

Besides keeping an eye on them while they played, they’d also been dealing with the basic biological functions: hungry, thirsty, needed to go potty, and the occasional “I’m bored.” It was a never-ending cycle, and he was starting to wonder how in the world Kylie made it look so easy.

He spotted Travis and Kade returning from the emergency bathroom break. When Kade broke off to join the others, Gage’s attention remained on his husband, watching the man move closer with the grace of a jungle cat.

It was true, Gage had never seen a more impressive man in his life. There was something about Travis Walker that, to this day, made his blood heat in his veins. The way he carried himself, the way he spoke, that sparkle he’d get in those steel-blue eyes. Even after all these years, after all the ups and downs, the babies they’d brought into the world, the arguments they’d had over stupid shit, Gage’s body still stirred whenever he saw Travis or Kylie. Both of them together … yeah, that was potential for spontaneous combustion.

His thoughts briefly wandered to last night when Travis had cornered him in the shower. Gage had been finishing up when the sexy man stripped down and joined him where they proceeded to waste a considerable amount of water taking one another to the pinnacle and then over.

Travis had always had an extremely high sex drive, but in the past few weeks, ever since he broke down, admitting he was obsessed with finding the woman responsible for kidnapping their daughter and needed help in moving forward, he’d seemed to replace one need with another. There hadn’t been a day since that they hadn’t indulged at least once, usually twice, and on occasion a few times more than that. Travis was spontaneous about it, too. Whether in the shower, in Travis’s office at home, or at the resort, and once or twice they’d even enjoyed some oral indulgence in the SUV.

Not that Gage was complaining. He enjoyed the time he had with Kylie and Travis, especially when they could find some stolen moments, whether it was two of them or all three at the same time. He looked forward to those, but he knew right now he was feeding Travis’s need for distraction by giving in when the man gave him that come-hither look.

Good thing was, they were safe from that here at the park.

“You good?” Travis asked, joining him on the bench.

“Yep.”

Travis kicked his long legs out in front of him, crossed his ankles, and exhaled. “Nice day.”

That it was. Lots of sun, not much wind, and no rain in the forecast. The temperatures were inching closer to sixty than forty, which meant the kids weren’t battling cold-weather gear. Couldn’t ask for much better than that.

“You think the kids’ll sleep all night?” Travis asked, the question drawing Gage’s attention to the playground.

“You can bet on it. They might actually—”

Gage’s words were cut off when he saw Travis’s cousin Brantley running toward them. It wasn’t a jog but a full-out sprint, his expression one that had the hair on the back of Gage’s neck standing on end.

Brantley slowed upon his approach, his eyes meeting Gage’s then shifting to Travis.

“What’s wrong?” Travis asked, his voice cold and dark as he got to his feet.

“It’s…” Brantley inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. “We just got a call from Z. At our request, they’ve been runnin’ an algorithm that does some form of advanced facial recognition on any camera with a live feed. As of this mornin’, one of the cameras on the toll road caught an image of Juliet Prince.”

Gage’s heart slammed against his sternum, but he managed to stand. “How do you know for sure it’s her?”

“Sniper 1 Security validated it. They’ve confirmed with ninety-eight point seven percent certainty it is her.”

“Where is she now?” Travis demanded, his good mood definitely gone.

Gage gripped Travis’s wrist, urging him to relax. The last thing they needed was for Travis to go off the rails before they even understood what they were dealing with.

“She was seen taking the Highway 79 toll exit shortly after eleven hundred this mornin’.”

“Eleven o’clock?” Travis snapped. “That was fourhours ago. Why the fuck are we just hearin’ about it now?”

Because that wasn’t important, Gage spoke over him. “Have you seen her since? Any cameras catch her?” Gage kept his tone even. No sense getting Travis in a panic when there was no way to prove she was nearby.

“We have not,” Brantley stated, his gaze bouncing back and forth between them. “Where’s Kylie and the kids?”

Gage motioned to the playground. “The kids’re fine. We’ve got a lot of eyes on them.”

“And Kylie?” Brantley repeated.

“She texted me a few minutes ago,” he replied, “said she was gonna grab coffee with her sister.”

Brantley nodded, his eyes calm, his expression stony. He was the polar opposite of Travis, who was already shifting and moving, looking around.

“Get the kids,” Travis commanded Kaden, who happened to be nearby, watching a couple of the rugrats playing in the sandbox. “And don’t let ’em outta your sight.”

“I got it,” Kaden said, meeting Gage’s eyes briefly, a silent confirmation that he wouldn’t let on that Travis’s grip was slipping, something they’d all dealt with over the past few months.

“We need to stay calm,” Gage told Travis. “We have no reason to believe she’s here today.”

Travis’s look told Gage he was an idiot.

Before Gage could stop him, Travis pulled out his cell phone and was dialing.

“Who’re you callin’?” he asked.

When Travis didn’t answer, Gage shot a frustrated look at Brantley. Why did the man insist on doing this? Couldn’t he see what this sort of overreaction did to Travis? It turned him into a—

“Where are you?” Travis barked into the phone.

Gage saw Reese, Curtis, and Sheriff Endsley moving their way at a fast clip, and for a moment, he felt the same flare of panic he was sure Travis felt.

Maybe this wasn’t an overreaction.

Without stopping to chat, Curtis went to help gather the little ones.

Turning to Travis, Gage tried to get his attention.

“You need—” Travis cut himself off, lowered his voice. “I think it’d be best if you came back to the park,” he said into the phone.

Gage could only imagine Kylie’s reaction. She’d been just as worried as Gage about Travis’s panicked state for the past few months. Like Gage, she had learned to deal with it, had placated Travis by giving in when he insisted they stick close, but he knew she’d grown tired of being bossed around and kept on what she referred to as a short leash.

“It’s important,” Travis said, his voice a little calmer. “We’re with Brantley, Reese, and Sheriff Endsley. No. No, the kids are fine. Everyone’s fine.” Travis nodded, as though she could see him. “All right. We’ll stay here.”

When Travis disconnected, he turned back around. “She’s on her way back. They’re up the block at the bakery.”

Reese pulled out his phone, turned the screen toward Gage. “Z sent the image they have.”

Gage took the phone, pivoted to block the glare on the screen, and stared at the image of the woman behind the wheel of a car.

As much as he wanted to believe Travis was reacting irrationally, that he’d been expecting the sky to fall for no reason, the picture sent a wave of cold fear over him.

It was her. Despite the grainy image from being magnified, there was no mistaking the woman Gage still saw in his nightmares. He’d looked at her picture far too many times since that horrific day, wondering if they would ever find her, if she’d ever be brought to justice for what she’d done.

But what he didn’t understand was why she would come back?

Exhaling and maintaining his composure, Gage handed the phone to Travis, who glared at it.

“Do you know where she is now?” Gage asked, the question directed at Reese and Brantley. “Are we certain she came here?”

Reese was the one to answer. “No, we aren’t. That photo was taken at eleven seventeen. My brother didn’t get the notification right away, but as soon as he did, he had his team verify it.”

Gage glanced at his watch. It was fifteen after three, which meant Juliet Prince could be there now. Hell, she could’ve been there watching them for most of the afternoon.

Instinct had him turning, scanning everyone around him. His gaze skipped over men, his focus on women. He quickly dismissed any he knew but found it didn’t matter. There were too many people. Moms, dads, grandparents, and kids, all gathered to enjoy the first festival of the year.

As it sank in, Gage realized this was the perfect opportunity for that crazy bitch to snatch another kid.