Sheriff

“The outside is different but has the menu changed?”

“Yeah. Joe Clancy runs the place now with his wife, Sue Ellen.” He pushed a menu over. “We’ll talk after we order.”

A server came over with water and sweet tea, took their requests then disappeared back inside.

Julianne drew designs in the condensation that collected on the side of her glass. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had Texas sweet tea.”

Six years, two weeks and three days, but who was counting?

She finished her water first, then tried the tea. “It’s sweeter than I remember.”

“You don’t have tea where you live now?”

“I got out of the habit of drinking it.” She pushed her glass aside, sidestepping his not-so-subtle question. “So tell me. What’s the story behind the prison break?”

He held her gaze. “I arrested Nathan Otwell for drug running, human trafficking and prostitution. The judge agreed to hold him without bail because of the overwhelming evidence against him.”

“Evidence? Like what?”

“I tracked him to an abandoned cabin where he was holding five people hostage, getting ready to sell them to the highest bidder.” To this day, Brody would never forget the scene he’d stumbled upon. “Because of my testimony, Otwell was being transported from our small jail here to the maximum security prison over in Cadworth County.”

“Nathan Otwell,” Julianne repeated, her expression incredulous. “I don’t know what to say. The guy who escaped was huge and bald, I didn’t recognize him as Nate. I can’t believe it.”

“Sure you can,” Brody countered in an even tone. “You never liked him in the first place, even before Lilly ran away. You were convinced Lilly’s disappearance was the result of foul play just because she and Nate were seeing each other.” He paused, then shrugged. “You were right about Nate, though. In the time I was gone in the army, he reverted back to his criminal ways.”

She surprised him by reaching over to put her hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry, Brody. I know how much you believed in him. That must have been difficult for you.”

For a moment he wished they could go back six years, to the time before their last argument had torn them irrevocably apart. But he knew better than most there was no going back.

He needed to keep moving forward. No matter how difficult.

“It was worse for the people he abused and sold into slavery.” He didn’t try to hide the bitterness in his tone. “They’re the real victims here. And I can’t imagine what they’re going to think now that he’s escaped.”

“I know.” Her gaze was sympathetic.

“I’m not going to let him get away with it. I need to find Nate, Julianne. I need your help.” He gazed down at the dog lying beneath the table at her feet. “Yours and Thunder’s.”

The dog perked up when he heard his name, his tail thumping on the ground as if in acknowledgment.

“I have to get Max’s approval,” she warned. “But since I’m an eyewitness to the shooting of the van driver, I’m sure he’ll agree. From what you’re telling me, we need to get Nate and his accomplice back into custody as soon as possible.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me, yet. First we need to get into the Dupree compound and hopefully rescue our missing FBI agent. Once we’ve done that, we’ll focus on picking up Nate’s trail. Hopefully he won’t have gotten too far, especially with the roadblocks and other measures you’ve put into place.”

“Agreed.” He paused, as the server brought their food. They ate in silence for several minutes, enjoying their Tex-Mex meal when Thunder unexpectedly shot to his feet.

“What is it, boy?” Julianne pulled her gun from the holster on her waist and glanced around the parking lot as if searching for whatever had gotten the dog’s attention.

“Does he do this often?” Brody put a hand on his firearm, too, but didn’t see anything out of place.

For all they knew, Thunder had scented a squirrel. Or some other animal.

But even as the thought filtered through his mind, he rejected the idea. He might not know much about K-9 officers, but he knew they were trained not to be distracted from their duty. And Thunder’s duty included protecting Julianne.

“Sometimes, but I don’t see anything amiss, do you?”

“No.” Brody couldn’t deny that having the dog standing on all fours, ready to attack, was unnerving. “Maybe we should take the food to go.”

“Works for me.” Julianne finally glanced over at him. “We’ll be early, but that’s okay.”

He waved to get the server’s attention and pulled out his wallet to pay for the meal. The outside patio was mostly deserted, patrons favoring the air-conditioned inside rather than the hot and humid outside tables.

A low growl rumbled from Thunder’s throat.

“He senses danger,” Julianne said in a low tone.

Brody nodded and tossed cash on the table. “Forget the leftovers, let’s get out of here.”

She nodded and fell into step beside him. They’d taken a few steps toward her black SUV when Thunder abruptly stopped and backed up a step. He growled low in his throat and pushed at Julianne with his nose, as if to move her out of the way.

“What is it?” The moment Julianne said the words, Brody saw a figure wearing black running away from the parking lot, toward the back of the restaurant.

Reacting instinctively, he grabbed Julianne’s arm. “We have to get out of here now!”

They’d gotten a good ten yards from the SUV when a loud explosion rocked the earth, sending them tumbling to the pavement.

He rolled over, raking his gaze over the scene. The FBI vehicle was on fire. Restaurant patrons leaving the building screamed and ran away from the restaurant.

Where was the guy dressed in black?

“Thunder! Heel!” Julianne’s panicked voice had him searching frantically for the dog.

Thunder came running from behind the back of the building heading straight for Julianne. Brody was relieved the dog was all right, and wondered if the guy once again had a getaway vehicle to flee the scene.

“What do you have there, boy?” Julianne asked, struggling to her feet.

It took Brody a minute to realize there was a bit of fabric caught in the dog’s mouth.

Thunder had been close enough to get a piece of the perp, but once again, the guy had evaded capture.

Grimly, Brody knew that this was only the beginning. They’d see this assailant again. There was no mistaking the fact that he and Julianne had been the main target of this guy’s attack.

All trails leading back to Nate’s jailbreak.

THREE (#u8b98e535-f6bc-5dea-a90d-4eb880a83c60)

Julianne swept her gaze over the area, grappling with their near miss.