Alibi (Brantley Walker Off the Books #5) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,14

calm,” Gage told Travis. “We have no reason to believe she’s here today.”

Travis’s look told Gage he was an idiot.

Before Gage could stop him, Travis pulled out his cell phone and was dialing.

“Who’re you callin’?” he asked.

When Travis didn’t answer, Gage shot a frustrated look at Brantley. Why did the man insist on doing this? Couldn’t he see what this sort of overreaction did to Travis? It turned him into a—

“Where are you?” Travis barked into the phone.

Gage saw Reese, Curtis, and Sheriff Endsley moving their way at a fast clip, and for a moment, he felt the same flare of panic he was sure Travis felt.

Maybe this wasn’t an overreaction.

Without stopping to chat, Curtis went to help gather the little ones.

Turning to Travis, Gage tried to get his attention.

“You need—” Travis cut himself off, lowered his voice. “I think it’d be best if you came back to the park,” he said into the phone.

Gage could only imagine Kylie’s reaction. She’d been just as worried as Gage about Travis’s panicked state for the past few months. Like Gage, she had learned to deal with it, had placated Travis by giving in when he insisted they stick close, but he knew she’d grown tired of being bossed around and kept on what she referred to as a short leash.

“It’s important,” Travis said, his voice a little calmer. “We’re with Brantley, Reese, and Sheriff Endsley. No. No, the kids are fine. Everyone’s fine.” Travis nodded, as though she could see him. “All right. We’ll stay here.”

When Travis disconnected, he turned back around. “She’s on her way back. They’re up the block at the bakery.”

Reese pulled out his phone, turned the screen toward Gage. “Z sent the image they have.”

Gage took the phone, pivoted to block the glare on the screen, and stared at the image of the woman behind the wheel of a car.

As much as he wanted to believe Travis was reacting irrationally, that he’d been expecting the sky to fall for no reason, the picture sent a wave of cold fear over him.

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