Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,71
her arms around his waist, leaned into him. “I can’t stand this, Ben. I keep thinking of Sam. We’ve got to find him.”
His arms went around her. “I know.” But Bridger had evaporated into thin air, and unless something turned up soon, they were going nowhere. Ben stood there with Claire’s head on his shoulder, trying to think of something encouraging to say, something at least half-true, coming up with nothing.
The sound of his phone ringing felt like a reprieve. Claire stepped back as he pulled the phone out of the pocket of his jeans and checked the caller ID. “Sol.”
Ben pressed the phone against his ear. “Tell me you’ve got something.”
“You are so gonna love me.”
He looked over at Claire, saw the hope in her pretty green eyes.
“You know those candy wrappers you called me about?”
“Yeah, what about them?”
“The Catahoula Candy company keeps digital sales records. I found several shipments from Egansville to Troy Bridger’s address in Los Angeles. A box around Christmas, another in June. I figure gifts—Christmas, maybe Bridger’s birthday.”
“Who sent them?”
“A woman named Agnes Bragg. She paid cash, Ice. There’s a very good chance she lives somewhere near Egansville. Even better news. When I ran a background check, guess what I found? Agnes Bragg has six brothers. One of them is named Troy.”
Adrenaline jolted through him. “Troy Bragg.”
“My money’s on it. This family is off the grid, though. Way off. Not the kind of folks you’ll find on Facebook.”
“You get an address for Agnes or any of the other Braggs?”
“They share a P.O. box in Egansville. That’s it. Like I said, they’re off the grid.”
“We’re on our way first thing in the morning. Keep digging, Sol. We’ve almost got him.”
“We’re gonna nail the bastard. Good luck, Ice.”
Ben hung up the phone, turned to see Claire staring anxiously into his face.
“Troy Bragg?” she said. “That’s his real name?”
“Looks like. Six brothers and a sister. They live somewhere near Egansville.”
Excited, Claire grabbed her iPad and turned it on, brought up Google Maps. “The town’s less than a hundred and fifty miles away. Maybe we should drive there tonight.”
He’d already considered it. But there was nothing they could do till morning and both of them were beat. “Better to get some sleep, get an early start tomorrow.”
“We’re going to get him, Ben.”
He drew her close. “Yeah, we are.” At least they had a chance. Ben softly kissed her. “Want to celebrate?”
“Why don’t we celebrate when we find Sam?” She ran her fingers through his hair, went up on her toes and pressed her soft lips over his. “In the meantime, why don’t we just go to bed?”
Ben kissed her long and deep. “Good idea,” he said.
But even afterward, with Claire curled sweetly in his arms, his mind remained on Sam and he couldn’t fall asleep.
* * *
“Get the hell out of bed, you lazy little bastard.”
Lying on his sleeping mat, Sam’s eyes cracked open. Pepper scrambled out of the way as Sam dodged the heavy leather boot swinging toward him and rolled to his feet.
“Leave him alone, Troy,” Aggie said. She was Troy’s sister, Sam knew, older than Troy, with a big butt and bigger boobs, and long brown hair streaked with gray. Troy had told her he had brought Sam home so that she’d have a kid, like she’d always wanted.
“Sam didn’t get much sleep last night,” Aggie said, “what with you boys gettin’ in so late from huntin’.”
“Too damn bad. He’s already missed breakfast, Aggie. Kid’s gotta learn to carry his weight around here. Skinner’s gonna show him which plants he can eat. Sam’s got a lot to learn if he wants to stay alive in the bayou.”
Sam’s mouth went dry. Living in the swamps was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to be home in California where he could ride his skateboard and play baseball with his friends. Where he could play video games and go to the movies like regular kids.
A shiver ran down his back as he remembered the hunting trip yesterday with Troy and his brothers Scully and Mace. He’d never forget the big brown-spotted snake nearly as long as Sam was tall, slithering across the trail in front of them. A water moccasin, Troy had said. Troy said if it bit you, it could kill you.
Sam hated snakes. He hadn’t known how much they scared him until yesterday.
His eyes burned. He should have run away that night at the chicken fights. He should have headed out into the desert instead of