Page 28 of Austin (The K9 Files #29)
R ox raced with her father to the truck, as he roared at her, “Get back in the house.”
“No,” she snapped, “I’m not going back. I’m coming to help figure out what the hell is going on here. You want me to look after this place? I need to know just what you’re signing me up for.”
“It sure as hell wasn’t supposed to be this crap,” he cried out, as they both climbed inside the truck, Cowboy jumping into the back seat, and he shifted it into gear and pulled back out and raced down the long driveway.
He kept to one of the side roads, heading back to where the cache of weapons had been found.
“Do you really think it’s Chris?” she asked him.
“I sure as hell hope not. That’ll break your mama’s heart.”
“I think it’s already broken,” Rox noted. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you the last time Chris acted out, but Mom hasn’t been quite the same since.”
He shot her a hard look and snapped, “And I ain’t talking.”
“You might not be talking, but you’re also not helping things by not talking.”
“What the hell?” he muttered. “Is nobody listening to me anymore?”
“We listen, and then we make decisions on our own. Right now, whatever is going on with you and Mom is a problem.”
“That is because you’re living too close.”
“Maybe,” she replied, “but, unless you’re kicking me off the ranch, I am staying right here.”
“I won’t kick you off the place,” he muttered. “Don’t be ridiculous, but you also can’t stick your nose into what’s not your business.”
“Depends whether it’s not my business or should become my business,” she clarified. “I don’t know what’s going on at this ranch. I really hope it’s all minor, but it doesn’t feel minor at all.”
“Of course it doesn’t feel minor,” he snapped. “Divorces are never minor.”
She stopped, her breath catching in the back of her throat. “You and Mom?”
“Maybe,” he conceded. “We’re definitely struggling. I don’t want to see it come to that, and I sure as hell hope we can get past it, but, at the moment, things are a little dicey.”
“Jesus Christ.” She moaned, as she sagged into the passenger seat.
“Yeah, so you feel better now for knowing?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” she muttered. “Been there, done that.”
“It didn’t work out so well for you, did it?”
“Maybe not, but maybe it will now.”
He turned, giving her a sharp look. “Are you guys making up?”
“Let’s just say that we’re talking.”
“That would be a godsend if you did,” he muttered. “I have to admit it’s been pretty stressful since you guys split.”
“Maybe,” she agreed, “but that was my problem, not yours. Your problem was to keep Mom happy.”
“Sure, and how am I supposed to do that when her son has been stealing from me every time I turn around?” When Rox turned to stare at him in shock, he nodded. “You want to handle this place when I’m gone, then you’ve got to handle that brother of yours.”
“What the hell is his problem?” she asked.
“You already know his problem. He wants the property.”
“But he never did before all this. I don’t remember his ever caring.”
“That doesn’t mean that he didn’t care. I think he was just biding his time, but finding out the truth was a whole different story.”
“Finding out what truth? Chris was decent up until Austin left, and then things just fell apart.”
“As did everything else around here,” Jake growled. “We’re going up here,” he said, pointing out the road. As they got closer and took another turn off the highway, she hung on for dear life as he blasted through to the area where the weapons had been found.
“Did you bring a weapon with you?” she asked.
He snorted. “I brought two.”
“Good,” she muttered. “I’ve just got my handgun.”
“Be prepared to use it,” Jake spat. “Things could get ugly, and, if you die, God help you.”
“Why is that?” she asked, amusement in her tone.
“Because I’ll have to go back into hell to find you and to drag your sorry ass out. Your mama will kill me if I don’t bring you home in one piece.”
She smiled at him. “Ah, Dad, I know you love me.”
He gave her a sharp look. “What the hell? What is wrong with everybody around here?” He shook his head, “Of course I love you. Nothing will ever change that.”
“No,” she muttered, her tone light and more serene than she could have expected, “but, every once in a while, we forget it and need to be reminded.”
He just shook his head, as he hit the brakes, pulling off to the side. Then he grabbed his rifle and barked, “Let’s go.”
The two of them were out of the truck and running toward where the cache had been.
She’d barely even gotten a look before because it had been nighttime, so getting out here right now in daylight was interesting.
There wasn’t a soul around as far as she could see.
At the same time, not a single bird sang.
Absolutely nothing could be heard except the silence of an early morning.
She and Jake stilled, taking a quieter approach now. She muttered, “It’s too quiet.”
“It absolutely is too quiet,” Jake confirmed. “I don’t like anything about it.”
A hushed whistle came from one side, and she frowned as she turned to look in that direction. “That sounds like Austin.”
Jake raised one eyebrow at her. “At least you know his whistles.”
“I do, and I also know that one was a warning.” She pulled her father quietly off to the side. “He’s seeing something we aren’t.”
“Maybe, but we can’t just stay here and hide,” Jake stated. “That just isn’t my style.”
“No, but my style isn’t getting my ass shot up either,” Rox added, “so a little bit of caution would be good.”
“Yeah, well, caution is one thing,” Jake noted, “and being foolhardy is stupid, so get down.”
As she ducked down, he stepped out and roared, “What the hell do you want with my land and my family?”
When the bullet came, it picked him up off his feet and flattened him to the ground. Instantly gunfire lit the air, and chaos was all around.
She raced over to her father’s side. The bullet was probably intended for his head, but nobody quite understood the size of the man, and he took it in the shoulder.
As he stared up at her in shock, she whispered, “Get over to the truck. You’re shot in the shoulder, nowhere else, so let’s ensure it stays that way. ”
But he was already stumbling to his feet, swearing a blue streak.
“I’ll go help Austin,” she said, trying to calm down her father.
“I’m coming too,” he roared, as he got into place, tucked in behind her.
The fact that he would even let her take the lead was something else, but it also confirmed that he was hurt just enough to realize he needed help.
As they came up to a hollow, she heard voices, and sure enough one was Austin, calm as ever. Yet, as she peered around the bush, she saw him standing there, his hands over his head, a weapon held against him. She didn’t recognize the other man at all.
“What the hell are you doing here?” the stranger asked Austin.
“We heard a racket and headed out here, particularly after yesterday’s find,” Austin replied. “We figured there might be more.”
“You should have just stayed inside. We came to get the rest of our stuff before you decided to get nosy and to steal more of it.”
“We didn’t steal anything,” Austin stated casually. “You and I both know Texas law, and, if it’s on our property, we get to keep it.”
“It wouldn’t have been so bad if you just kept it, but you didn’t, did you? You brought in the cops.”
Austin laughed. “What do you expect? I don’t even know who the hell you are.”
“So, it really doesn’t matter to me one bit. I can pop a stranger just as well as I can pop a friend.”
“And that takes a special talent,” Austin noted. “Somebody who just doesn’t give a shit for either side. You’re not here alone, so these guys you’re paying to be with you, do they know that you would throw them to the wolves just as easily?”
“I don’t think they give a shit. As long as they get their money, I would say they’re good.”
“Right, it’s all about mercenaries. How many caches do you have out here?”
“Not telling you about them on the slim chance that you get out of this,” he replied. “The last thing I need is for you to be coming back after us.”
“I can tell you without a doubt that you can count on Jake coming after you.”
“Not likely. I already popped him one,” he said, with a snort. “He’s not going anywhere. And that’ll make somebody out there very happy.”
“You mean Chris? I don’t think he would go that far,” Austin declared, shaking his head. “He might be a confused and disturbed man, but I don’t think killing his family was part of his plan.”
“Well then, you don’t really know him, do you?” The man cackled with reckless laughter. “Because believe me that he wanted his father, his stepfather,” he corrected, “to not see the light of day again.”
“Interesting. I wouldn’t have thought Chris was that angry.”
“You really don’t know him then, do you? Now turn around and walk.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll shoot you right here then.”
“So, what’s the difference?” Austin asked. “I would much rather face my killer than have a bullet in the back. That’s the coward’s way.”
“Are you calling me a coward?”
“Sure, I am,” he confirmed, with a snort. “If you’re planning on shooting me in the back, I can call you anything I want.”
“I didn’t say I would shoot you at all,” he stated, “but, if that’s what you want, I’m all for it.”
“No, you aren’t,” Austin argued.
She couldn’t believe that Austin was antagonizing the shooter, and she wasn’t at all sure that she could get close enough to do anything, and then she saw Cowboy coming up through the brush, Charlie standing there too.
Charlie nickered and walked forward ever-so-slightly, and she wanted to call out to him and tell him to stop.
The gunman looked over at the horse and nodded. “Interesting choice of horses.”
“One of the old guys. Charlie’s always been good to me,” Austin stated. “I don’t have a problem bringing him out when he wants to go for a run.”