Page 11 of Austin (The K9 Files #29)

Austin and Rox returned to the house in silence, and he had a lot to contemplate. Nothing was adding up, but then it never did until you got answers. As he found out in the military, sometimes the answers came, and sometimes they didn’t.

Sometimes you had to accept on pure faith that you would never get there, and, as hard as that was, it did happen.

But something was going on here that went deeper than that…

and was uglier. They didn’t see anything suspicious at they went over Cowboy’s last day on the ranch with Rox.

That didn’t sit right with Austin though.

He would go back later on his own to see if he could find out what was going on, to see if he found anything in terms of a trail.

It had already been weeks, so it’s not as if there would be anything obvious.

Therefore, he would be looking for what was hard to find.

He planned to go back out tonight and just needed to get permission to take a horse.

If not, he would take a ride up the road and maybe park his truck off to the side and walk in the pastures.

He just needed to ensure he didn’t get shot in the process.

Jake was handy with his gun, and, when he was pissed off and upset, he wasn’t slow on pulling the trigger, with good reason.

When it came to protecting animals on the ranch, you had to have that instinct.

Back at the house, dinner was quiet, as everybody was fairly subdued. The conversation was friendly and polite but fairly nondescript. There was a lot of eyeing around, hoping somebody else would break the silence, and, when nobody did, it basically went back to just a quiet dinner.

Austin’s phone buzzed as soon as the meal was over.

He got up, quickly took his plate to the kitchen, then pulled out his phone to check the text, stopping in his tracks to stare at it.

“Something wrong?” Jake asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ll let you know in a bit.

I’m heading out to meet somebody.” And, with that, not letting them know who he just got a text from or where he was going, he walked out to his truck.

He could see both Jake and Rox standing out on the front step, watching him.

He hopped into his truck, backed around, then headed down the long driveway to the main road.

He took a left, going in the opposite direction of town.

He knew they would see his taillights and would start discussing what he was doing, wondering where he was going and why. He didn’t necessarily feel the need to fill them in at this point in time. Honestly, he was still trying to figure out what Chris wanted and why he had texted.

As he drove down the road, he pulled onto a side street and then headed down to a small pub that was open late.

At least he thought it was still open late.

It always had been before. It was also one of the places he used to visit with Chris once in a while, when he just needed to get away.

He pulled up and walked into the pub, only to see several men glaring at him, with no friendly faces to be seen.

“We don’t like strangers around here,” one of the men called out.

“Guess it’s a good thing I’m not a stranger,” Austin replied, with a wave of his hand.

He walked up to the bar and was relieved when he saw somebody he did know.

The bartender took one look at him and raised his eyebrows. “Good God,” he said, as he came around and gave him a big hug. “What the hell, man? We haven’t seen you in about five years,” he muttered, still shaking his hand. “Not since you got rid of that wife of yours.”

“More or less,” he replied, with half a nod. “I can’t say it was exactly the way I thought my life would go.”

“It never is when women are involved,” the bartender stated.

Austin chuckled, as he remembered the usual anti-women connotation and banter here. “Apparently the change was good for us.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that you’re back with her.”

“No, God no,” Austin said, “but we can at least be in the same room and be friendly.”

“That’s a step forward,” he noted, then frowned. “Maybe, but you know what happens when you give them too much leeway.”

Austin just nodded and smiled. “Chris been in?” he asked, as he looked around.

“No, not yet, he usually comes in around this time. Have you seen him yet?”

“No, but he texted me to meet him here. Seems like old times.”

“Wouldn’t it though,” the bartended agreed, with a nod. “You guys used to be pretty close.”

“We were close. He was on the outs with his family so much, and this was just a place for us to chill and to have a beer without having all that over us.”

“Yeah, that poor kid.”

“Is he still a poor kid though?” he asked curiously. “It’s been five years.”

“You wouldn’t know it in his case. It feels as if something got stunted along the way,” the bartender suggested.

“In a bad way?”

The bartender just looked at him, didn’t say anything, and gave an ever-so-slight shrug that didn’t mean anything good.

When the door opened, and Chris walked in with a couple buddies, Austin didn’t like the look of his friends.

Something was wrong with their vibe. There was that slouch of arrogance to them, just something that shouted how they had a hate on for the world, and it looked as if Chris felt he belonged with them.

Chris walked up, saw him, and, instead of giving him a hug or any other friendly greeting, just nodded. “We can talk over here,” he said, as he pointed off to the side.

Austin followed him, and his buddies tagged along. He held out his hand and said, “I’m Austin.”

The men just looked at his hand, snorted, and walked ahead of him. Austin frowned over at Chris.

Chris just shrugged and explained, “They don’t really like strangers.”

“Interesting,” Austin murmured and followed him to the table at the far end.

He wasn’t sure what the hell was going on here, but Austin already recognized the one guy ahead of him, the one with the stubby nose, was the one who had been driving the souped-up truck, while joy-riding on Jake’s property.

Chris had been in the vehicle too, but Austin wasn’t sure about the third one, the skinny younger guy.

Austin studied them both, knowing he would try and take photos before he left, but he had to do it without them knowing.

He needed to get a little more information on what was going on here.

It was hardly about Cowboy at this point, yet it still could be, in a way.

As he sat down, he lifted a hand and ordered himself a beer, politely asking the others if they wanted one.

They all just nodded, and, when four beers arrived at the table, he picked his up and took a healthy slug.

Then he looked over at Chris. “So, what’s going on? ”

Chris hesitated, then looked at his buddies, before asking Austin, “What the hell are you doing back?”

“I came in for a job,” he replied, with a small smile. “You just never really know when you’ll end up in a position of needing to do something, so never say never.”

“You shouldn’t have come back,” Chris replied, “and this is about the only warning I can give you to ensure you get out and stay out.”

Austin frowned and asked, “Yeah, and why is that?”

Stubby spoke up. “Because that shit’s not happening here anymore. We’re not into the old boys’ club,” he spat in a sour tone, “and we don’t like strangers.”

“I’m not a stranger,” Austin repeated, “so I don’t qualify.”

“Anybody who hasn’t been here in five years is a stranger, and, if you were smart enough to leave in the first place, you should have been smart enough to stay away.”

Austin eyed Stubby carefully, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

As far as a shakedown went, this one was lame, and it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him.

“What have you got against my being here?” he asked curiously.

“I told you. I’m here for work, so what difference does that make to you? ”

“If you stick around, you may not like your reception,” he added, with a smirk.

“Now why is that?” Austin asked.

Stubby glared at him and said, “Stop talking. We don’t fucking like talkers.”

“Really?” Austin replied in a calm tone. “Can’t say that I ever encountered this attitude when I was here before.”

“That’s the thing. Times have changed,” he stated, “and you aren’t welcome.”

“I’ve heard that a time or two in my life,” he noted, looking at him, “but it was usually from people I knew, not from complete strangers trying to act tough.”

At that, Stubby stiffened and glared at him, and then silence fell over the small room. Harry, the bartender, came over immediately and waved at him. “Hey, Austin.”

Austin glanced his way and could see the concern in his eyes. Austin smiled at him. “It’s all good. I’m just here saying hi to Chris. After all, no matter where we are now,… he is still my brother-in-law.”

Chris stiffened at that, and the other men turned to glare at Chris.

“What the fuck?” Stubby asked.

Chris shook his head. “He is not exactly that. They’ve been separated for so damn long, it’s not like he’s family or anything.”

“We’re not divorced, so you are family,” Austin declared, looking at Chris with a hard glance. “Whether you like it or not, or want to admit it or not,… we are family.”

Stubby got up and walked out. The other man, Skinny, stared from Chris to Austin and to his buddy who just left. Then Skinny got up and followed suit.

“No family allowed, huh ?” Austin asked, turning to look at Chris. “Interesting friends you’ve got there.”

Chris flushed and glared at him. “I don’t want you ruining things here, man.”

“I wasn’t aware I was ruining anything,” he noted.

“I’m not sure what there is to ruin. I know that was you out on the land last night.

I’m not sure what the hell you think joy-riding out there will do for you.

So, you bust a few fences, let a few cattle loose, pretty petty stuff, so what the hell? ”

Chris glared at him. “You don’t know anything.”

“No, I sure don’t, but you should remember one thing about me, Chris. I really don’t like having shit go on around me that I don’t understand.”

Chris shook his head. “Look. You don’t want to get involved. I’m not really even a part of this,” he added, “but you need to watch your back.”

“You know, when you say it like that,… it sounds like a threat.”

“No, it’s not a threat,” he countered, trying for some bravado.

“Is this against your father, your sister, your mother, or what? Because you know that’ll never wash with me.”

At that he glared at him and added, “You don’t know anything.”

“No, I don’t know. You’re right about that.

I just came back into town yesterday. All of a sudden, there’s a ruckus on the ranch, and I see you out joy-riding.

Next thing I know, I’m hearing all kinds of threats, not to mention what you tried to pull here with this shit about I better get out of town .

” Austin shook his head. “What the hell? Since when is this place so completely anti-people?”

“Since I don’t have anything to do with them,” he smirked, glaring at him. He tossed back the rest of his beer and added, “If you’re smart, you won’t either.”

“I’ve never been not smart,” Austin clarified. “As I told you,… I’m here for a job, and I intend to complete it.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t give a shit what the job is,” Chris said. “So you better get the hell out of town, and this is the only warning you’ll get.” As he stood up to leave, he caught sight of Austin’s pant legs, and the shiny prosthetic sticking out of one.

Austin smiled at Chris’s reaction. “One of the things I’m here for is to retrieve a stolen War Dog. The War Department sent me to find him.”

At that, Chris stiffened and muttered, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I think you know,” Austin said, “but it sure as hell better not be anything to do with me and the job that I’m here for because that’s an entirely different story.”

“What? Hang on a minute.… You’re here for a fucking dog?”

“I’m here for a fucking War Dog ,” Austin confirmed, with a nod, “and, if I need to be here for other shit while I’m at it, you can bet I’ll be right in the middle of it.”

Chris shook his head. “Man, have you ever screwed yourself up.… I don’t know what the hell you’re still sniffing around my sister for because she made it pretty damn clear you weren’t wanted here.”

“She absolutely did,” he agreed. “And you’re right.

I would be pretty foolish to go back down that pathway again.

But it’s got nothing to do with you whether I do or I don’t.

It’s my business, and no one has a say in it, including you.

Besides, I’m here for something completely unrelated and didn’t come here to see your sister at all, but again that is my business. ”

“ Right ,” Chris replied in a jeering tone.

“But what I’m seeing is somebody with a big-man act, something stuck up his ass, causing problems that he seems to think some criminal activity will make better.”

“Nothing criminal about it,” Chris spat. “This is all about getting even.”

And, with that, Chris stormed out the door of the pub.