Shallow Creek

Marcus explained that he’d picked up Serge packing bags for himself and Taryn, and she’d been so out of it that she’d have followed the big bald bastard anywhere.  A nurse met them at that point and led Taryn off for a check-up before they decided what kind of treatment she qualified for.  Marcus had called ahead and organized the appointment.

Brendan thanked Marcus for helping his sister, and for the text earlier, claiming it had almost saved a life.  In truth, all the text said was that Marcus had found Taryn and she was safe, but Grant didn’t know that.  After exchanging a brotherly hug, Marcus excused himself and headed back to his office to tackle the mountain of paperwork caused by all the excitement in Shallow Creek.

At that point, finally left alone for more than a few seconds, Kim had asked Brendan to take her the hell away from Shallow Creek.  He spent the night sleeping on her couch, but kept his promise now as they sped away from the small town.

Brendan’s cell phone rang, so he hit the button to transmit the call through the hands-free system in his truck.

“Mr. Rhodes,” Special Agent Tyler Norman said.  Brendan hadn’t even known the guy’s first name until the day before, when the agent had given him his card.  “I just got word that a text was sent from someone at the cabin to your brother’s phone when he was driving off with Special Agent Spee.”

“And what did it say?” Brendan asked, not wanting to reengage in this crazy situation, but unable to help himself.

“‘Kill her.’”

“Whose phone was it?” Kim asked.

“Belonged to one of the dead guys, if Mr. Rhodes’ story holds true.”

“I’m guessing Tyson didn’t shoot that text out,” Brendan said.

“He says he only left your sister-in-law alone for a minute while he looked for a way to cinch a bandage for her.”

“But she was shot,” Kim said.

“For all her other faults, your sister is one tough lady,” Brendan pointed out.

Kim nodded sullenly.  “It’s just so crazy that she was the one pulling most of the strings.”

“It was such a crazy notion that we all missed it,” Norman said.

A thought occurred to Brendan, something else he’d missed.  “Whatever happened to Scott Fisher?  He was Casey’s informant, right?”

Norman sighed.  “We just found his body rotting in a dumpster outside a derelict warehouse across town.”

Kim gasped, but Brendan felt little loss.  The son of a bitch and his crew had beaten his ass while the jackass snitched for the DEA.  Maybe Scott had to prove his commitment to Grant and Michelle’s cause, but that didn’t matter to Brendan’s bruised body.  In the end, apparently his secret didn’t stay secret enough.  Brendan wondered if that was why Spee broke her cover, because his brother had already burned Scott.  Or maybe her breaking cover directly led to his death.

He’d never know.

“I need both of you to stay in town for a while, so we can sort all this mess out and close the case file for good.”

“No can do, sir,” Brendan replied.  “We’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“Not acceptable,” Norman snapped.  “Get your asses back here now.”

“If you want us, come and get us.”

“But the Torres—”

Brendan ended the call and thumbed his ringer off.  They rolled on in silence, eating up the highway and watching nothing in particular.  Brendan took Kim’s hand in his own.  She looked over with tears in her eyes, but smiled weakly before staring out her window.

There was a lot for the two of them to work through; that much was obvious.  But they’d already cruised right through a mountain of treacherous terrain that would’ve crushed a lot of relationships.  Brendan leaned back against the headrest and took a deep breath, watching the painted lines on the road stream by.  He and Kim had a long journey ahead, but they stood a better chance of reaching their destination if they stuck together.

Note from the Author

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