Alibi (Brantley Walker: Off the Books Book 5)

by Nicole Edwards

  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.

  Chapter Five

  Travis’s worst fears had come true. The woman who’d turned his entire world upside down and inside out was coming back to finish what she started.

  Worse, his entire family—not just his wife, husband, and kids—was here, all vulnerable. His mother, his father, brothers and cousins, their significant others, nieces, nephews. They were all in the vicinity and they had no idea that this crazy bitch was here.

  Despite what anyone told him, Travis knew everyone he cared about was a potential target. Juliet Prince believed Travis to be directly responsible for the dissolution of her marriage. Her ex-husband had met his new wife during one of their visits to Alluring Indulgence Resort. From what Travis had learned, Nicholas Prince had indulged in a swinger lifestyle with Juliet but had traded her in for a newer model—one Nicholas happened to meet during one of those encounters at the resort. The man had also sought sole custody of his and Juliet’s daughter, insisting Juliet was unfit to care for her in her current state.

  Travis couldn’t argue with the latter point, and he was sure that was what had tipped Juliet into crazy land. Now she had a vendetta against Travis, who she claimed was personally responsible for all of it. Which was the very reason she’d kidnapped Kate, hoping to strike a death blow to Travis. It had worked, no doubt about it. Those two days Kate had been missing had nearly leveled him and his family. Having to watch Kylie and Gage suffer had been almost as brutal as not knowing where his little girl was.

  Bottom line was, she had to be stopped before she could do any more damage.

  “I’ve put my deputies on alert,” Sheriff Endsley told them. “Unfortunately, we don’t know what she’s drivin’, but we’re keepin’ an eye out for out-of-state plates and rentals. We’ll run a cursory check if we come across somethin’.”

  Travis refrained from telling them it wasn’t nearly enough. He could see by the look on the sheriff’s face that he already knew. But Jeff was right. They had nothing more than an image of the bitch’s face behind the wheel of what was possibly a blue car at some point today. The photo was snapped through the windshield, giving them nothing else to go on. Where she’d gone after that picture was taken was anyone’s guess, although Travis’s gut was telling him she wasn’t far.

  “Daddy-O, why do we hafta leave?”

  Pulled from his thoughts, Travis peered down to see Kade standing at his side, tugging on his shirt. Those blue-gray eyes so much like his own were pleading and intense.

  Travis absolutely detested Juliet for doing this to his family, for targeting them, for making Travis a nervous wreck. And most importantly for making his kids look at him like that.

  “We’re not leavin’ yet,” Gage said, drawing Kade’s attention. “We just wanted y’all to take a break. Have a drink and a snack.”

  While Gage and Kaden began distributing snacks to curious munchkins, Travis focused his attention on others. He watched interactions between husbands and wives, moms, dads, kids. Nowhere did he see a lone woman slinking through the throng of people.

  Not that he expected it to be easy.

  Where was she? He knew she was out here. She had to be. Today was the perfect day and this was the perfect place for her to make a move. The question was, who would she target?

  And while he searched for Juliet, Travis scanned the area for Kylie, knowing his heart wouldn’t return to its normal beat until he laid eyes on her.

  Five minutes passed, then ten, then fifteen.

  Didn’t Kylie know he was going to have a heart attack? At the very least a panic attack? He hated not knowing where any of them were at any given moment.

  “I’m sure she’s fine,” Gage said quietly. “Probably finishin’ up her coffee with Jess, enjoyin’ her last bit of peace and quiet before joinin’ the fray.”

  Sure. Probably. But the rationality didn’t help to slow the rapid beat of his heart.

  Travis reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone but stopped suddenly when the air was rent with a horrific sound. The revving of an engine, the eerie screech of tires, followed by a sickening crash, then a crescendo of screams and shouts.

  All eyes shifted to Main Street, instinctively following the sound. The same place the masses were headed, many pulling out cell phones, some making calls, others turning on cameras.

  Without thinking, Travis took off running.

  He wasn’t sure who was behind him, and in that moment, he didn’t care. He probably should’ve thought about his children, ensured someone had remained back to keep an eye on them, but something in his chest was ripping open, and he was merely trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his throat.

  “Call 911!” someone yelled.

  “Oh, my God! It hit her! The car! It hit her!”

  It took only a few seconds to make it to the scene, another to navigate through the crowd. He tried to be gentle, nudging people out of the way, desperate to—

  “Help! Please! Someone help my sister!”

  That statement sent a flash of ice-cold fear through Travis’s bloodstream. He recognized the voice.

  When he broke through the last of the crowd, he came up short, all the air in his lungs slamming out of him at the sight of his wife’s crumpled body on the concrete. Behind her was a small SUV, the backend smashed in, clearly having been hit by another car. And if the scene told him anything, it was that his wife had been pinned between that vehicle and the one responsible for the damage.

  “It went that way!” someone was yelling, pointing in the opposite direction.

  “Travis!” Jessie sobbed uncontrollably. “Oh, God, Travis! She … she’s…”

  Stumbling forward, Travis fell to his knees. She wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be dead.

  “Kylie. Kylie, baby.” His voice was so rough, little more than a rasp of sound as he gathered her in his arms, rocking her against him.

  He knew he shouldn’t move her in the event of a spinal injury, but Travis’s brain wasn’t processing what he should or shouldn’t do. It merely relayed what he had to do and that was hold her close, ensure she knew he was there.

  “Oh, God,” he whispered. “It’s gonna be all right. Open your eyes, Kylie. Open ’em for me, darlin’.”

  There was blood. So much blood. Her face was bruised and bloody, her arm contorted at the wrong angle.

  “Oh, shit! No!”

  He heard Gage’s voice, then felt his presence when he fell down at Travis’s side, cradling Kylie’s head. Across from them, Jessie was on her knees, sobbing and trembling as she held Kylie’s other hand.

  “It came outta nowhere,” Jessie said, her voice hysterical. She waved her free hand. “Kylie stepped out
… then it was there…” Tears streamed down her face. “Help her,” Jessie pleaded. “Please … please help her.”

  “The ambulance is on its way,” someone called out. “Is there a doctor here? A nurse?”

  Travis was unable to move. His entire world felt as though it was caving in and he was at the center, suffocating beneath the weight.

  Instinct had Travis cradling Kylie tighter to him, rocking her gently as the rage and the fear coalesced inside him, churning into a storm that would soon erupt, a storm so powerful it would plow down anyone in its path.

  “Kylie,” he rasped. “Open your eyes, baby.”

  She didn’t move, didn’t respond in any way.

  A sob tore from his chest. He was absolutely helpless.

  Then someone else was there, kneeling down, touching Kylie, urging everyone to move back.

  “She’s got a pulse, but it’s weak.”

  Who was this guy? And who was he talking to?

  “We’ve got to clear this road for the ambulance. ETA is two minutes.”

  Two minutes? That was a fucking eternity. Travis huffed in a breath, pushed it out. He didn’t move as someone rallied help, got the others to clear the area, giving them room. Gage remained at his side, the two of them holding Kylie, protecting her from everyone around them.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Gage whispered, his voice rough with tears. “Hang on, Kylie. Help’s comin’.”

  It took tremendous effort to swallow past the lump in his throat, but Travis managed even as the tears choked him. His wife looked so battered and broken.

  From a few feet away, he could hear the sheriff asking witnesses to tell him what happened. Every so often, he would get bits and pieces.

  “The car came from down there…”

  “The engine revved…”

  “…crossing the street.”

  “…no time to react.”

  “I think it was aimin’ for her.”

  “…crashed into that car after it hit her.”

  “Blue Mustang…”

  “A woman behind the wheel.”

  “Travis, they need you to move back,” someone said, gently touching his shoulder.

  “They’re gonna take her, son,” his father said, that familiar voice near his ear. “They need you to let her go.”

  With gentle movements, he eased her back to the ground, fire burning in his lungs as he released her. He didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want to leave her.

  “Come on, Trav,” Curtis said. “It’s all right. They’ll take good care of her.”

  It wasn’t all right. None of it was.

  He was aware of someone tugging on his arm, pulling him to his feet. He was pushed and pulled out of the way, making room for the EMTs to do their job.

  Again there were bits and pieces of conversation that drifted into his ears, barely heard over the pounding of his own heart.

  “Pulse thready…”

  “Secure her head.”

  “Call ahead, tell them to have a trauma team ready.”

  “Fractured … broken … unconscious.”

  “Only one of you can go,” someone said firmly.

  Travis managed to focus, saw the EMT was talking to him and Gage.

  Because he had no idea what good he would do in the back of that ambulance, Travis nodded to Gage, urging him to go with her. Gage didn’t say a word, walking off immediately, as though not to hold things up any longer.

  As the sirens split the air, the ambulance taking his wife to the hospital, Travis was consumed by cold.

  “Come on, boy,” Curtis stated firmly. “I’ll drive you.”

  Travis looked at his father. “Where are…?”

  “Iris and Frank are with your mother and Arlene. They’ve got the kids. They’re takin’ ’em back to my house.”

  Iris and Frank. His aunt and uncle. Brantley’s parents. They would help. His mom would have help.

  Good. That was good. “Someone should…”

  Curtis’s big, firm hand slid over his shoulder, a gentle, calming touch. “Two deputies are with them, Travis. As are Kaden, Keegan, Jared, and Hope.”

  Travis found his feet were moving as he let his father lead him to the Escalade still parked at the bed-and-breakfast.

  He was vaguely aware of his father speaking every so often, but his mind was already miles ahead of them, in the back of that ambulance.

  *

  Juliet’s heart was pounding so hard she thought it would burst right out of her chest. Adrenaline-laced fear made her hyperalert, her foot on the gas as she sought a safe place.

  She’d hit her with her car. Kylie.

  Everything that had happened was still a blur, but Juliet recalled seeing Travis’s wife as she walked down the street, laughing at something the other woman said. Juliet had felt the rage boil up. How could that bitch be so happy? How could they go on with their lives like nothing had ever happened? Like Juliet hadn’t lost every damn thing she’d ever had?

  And then it hit her. This was her chance. It wasn’t coincidence that Kylie had been put directly in her path. It was a sign from God.

  The next thing Juliet knew, she was backing her car out of the spot. Once she put it in drive, she slammed her foot on the gas pedal, aiming the car for Kylie just as she stepped out into the street.

  Her timing had been impeccable. Another sign, she figured.

  It had happened so fast, she hadn’t had time to really process it, even after she’d rammed the other car, pinning Kylie between the two. Juliet’s fight-or-flight instinct had kicked in and she’d managed to untangle the car from the wreckage and speed away. It surprised her she hadn’t taken anyone else down in the process.

  Now as she parked her wrecked car behind the cheap motel she’d gotten a room in earlier, Juliet knew she had to make a run for it. Only she couldn’t drive that car, which pained her. She had come to love that Mustang. Unfortunately, it was too noticeable. Someone would see it. There had been police at that park. Surely they weren’t far behind.

  Leaving all her stuff in the room because she kept on her what was crucial, Juliet headed for the little office where she’d paid for the room. She remembered seeing a set of keys hanging in the office.

  Luck was on her side because there was no one there when she stepped inside. The bells over the door jingled, and fearing it would alert someone, she darted through the open door, grabbed the key ring from the hook, and turned and headed back out.

  “Can I help you?” a woman called from behind her.

  Juliet shook her head, not looking back as the glass door closed.

  She pressed the button on the key fob, and a horn honked. She smiled. Once more luck was on her side.

  A few seconds later, she’d secured a getaway car. The older Chevy Cruze wasn’t in the best shape, but she prayed the engine would last long enough to get her someplace safe.

  At the very least, it would get her out of the immediate vicinity until the heat died down.

  *

  JJ was standing still, watching as people continued to congregate around the scene of the accident.

  She was still trying to wrap her head around what had happened, although deep inside she knew.

  Baz was currently talking to one of the deputies, informing him they had seen the blue Mustang pulling into the parking space earlier. They’d been watching as Kylie was loaded into the ambulance when someone mentioned what they’d witnessed. In that moment, JJ had looked at Baz, her gut churning.

  No one had confirmed that the woman driving the car was Juliet Prince, but she figured it was a safe assumption. After all, like Brantley and Reese, JJ didn’t believe in coincidence, and they had just been alerted that the woman was seen exiting the highway only a couple of miles down the road.

  “Brantley wants us to come to the hospital,” Baz relayed when he joined her.

  JJ frowned. “Why?” Realizing she sounded bitchy, she clarified. “I mean, I don’t have a problem with it, but won’t we be mo
re helpful if we start searchin’?”

  “A BOLO’s been issued,” Baz informed her.

  JJ knew that was police speak for a be on the lookout notification. It would alert other departments so they could assist in locating the vehicle.

  Glancing back at Kylie’s sister and the other family members who remained—most had already left for the hospital—JJ recalled the day she’d found her brother. It hadn’t been a traumatic incident like this. She’d found him in his bedroom on his bed. She hadn’t realized he was dead at the time, rather noticing he looked peaceful in sleep. Of course, she’d yelled at him because that was what she’d done back then. It had been the last time she’d ever spoken to him, but unfortunately, he hadn’t heard her.

  Swallowing back the emotions she preferred not to dredge up, JJ turned to Baz. “Whatever Brantley needs.”

  With a hand on her back, he guided her toward his truck just as he’d done so many times. She’d always thought of it as a possessive gesture, one she found oddly intriguing. When he’d done it before, it had made her feel good knowing he wanted her that way. Now it just felt awkward.

  Once they were in the truck and on the road, Baz turned something on just beneath his dash.

  When radio calls sounded, she looked at him. “Is that a police scanner?”

  He nodded, then turned it up.

  JJ’s eyes widened when she heard what they were saying. Someone had located a ’65 blue Mustang with front end damage at a motel just down the road.

  “That’s half a mile from here,” she told Baz. “Turn around.”

  “JJ…”

  “Turn around, Baz,” she demanded. “We can’t do anything at the hospital that’ll benefit anyone. At least this way there’s a chance we might find that bitch.”

  “In case you don’t remember, we don’t have badges anymore.”

  “So?” She glared at him. “I’ve never had a badge before and it hasn’t stopped me. Just turn around.”

  He grunted, but then pulled a U-ey, heading east rather than west toward the hospital.

  The radio had gone silent, but JJ held out hope that they’d found Juliet Prince and were taking her into custody.

  She fought the urge to push her foot to the floor on the pretend gas pedal that would get them to their destination faster. But as they approached the single-story motel with its rust-stained stucco and threadbare shingles, she leaned toward the windshield, as though that would help her see better. In the parking lot, she noticed a single police car and two officers speaking to a very animated young woman.