Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,80
happened to mention that you could use some help and the next thing I knew, he was driving his rental car from Dallas to Egansville.”
“Happened to mention?”
Sol chuckled. “The map and aerials told the tale. Getting your kid out of that bayou isn’t going to be easy.”
Ben felt the pull of a smile. “I really do love you, kid.”
Sol laughed. “It’s a seven-hour drive from Dallas. Brodie left last night. I’m surprised he isn’t already there.”
A rat-a-tat sounded at the door. “I think maybe he is. Thanks, Sol, you’re the best.” Ben hung up and went to the door. On the other side of the peephole, tall and rangy, dark-haired and pretty-boy handsome, Tyler Brodie looked more like a college kid than a former marine.
Ben felt a sweep of relief as he opened the door. “Man, am I glad to see you.”
Brodie yawned. “I got in about two and needed some shut-eye. Old guy in the office rolled out of bed to rent me a cabin. I’m in number eight, right next door.”
“Come on in.”
Brodie sniffed the air. “Coffee. Smells great. I could sure use a cup.”
“You got it.” Ben walked to the counter, poured a mug and handed it to Ty. He took a sip just as Claire opened the bathroom door and stepped out in a skimpy white towel.
“Oh, my God—Ty!” Her hold on the towel went tighter. “What in the world are you doing here?”
Ty grinned. Ben didn’t miss the way his eyes ran over Claire’s half-naked body. “Just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by.”
Claire laughed.
“Why don’t we go outside so the lady can get dressed?” Ben suggested, nudging Brodie firmly toward the door.
“Yeah. Sure. Good to see you, Claire.” They walked out on the porch and Ben closed the door.
“Sol told me she was with you,” Brodie said. “I...umm...didn’t realize the two of you were involved.”
“We’re not involved. We’re working together to find my son.”
He glanced back at the closed cabin door. “Nice work if you can get it.” Clearly he hadn’t missed the one unmade bed. Ben tried not to think of Claire bent over the mattress and him hard inside her, but his blood moved south just the same.
“I wish to hell she was back in Houston,” he said, “but this is one woman who doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“I could tell the boy meant a lot to her.”
Ben nodded, glad to move on to a different subject. “You sure you want in on this? I counted fifteen members of the Bayou Patriots prowling around in that camp. Could be more by tonight. Good chance the guy’s there who shot me in El Paso. To say nothing of alligators, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. It’s not going to be any walk in the park.”
Ty glanced off toward the lake and the low-lying swamps around it. “Just makes things interesting. I was in Texas for my uncle’s funeral. I’m damned glad to get away from all the gloom.”
“Sol mentioned the funeral. Sorry about your uncle.”
He shrugged his wide shoulders. Ty was lean and lanky, but his body was rock-solid hard. “Uncle Jim was sick a long time. In a way it was a relief. My dad passed some years back, but my mom was there with her second husband. The rest of the family was there—aunts, uncles, my three cousins down from Alaska. I needed a diversion.”
Ben followed Ty’s gaze out over the lake toward the bayou. “May be way more than that, but I’m damn glad to have you.”
“Bad news is I didn’t bring my weapon. It was too much trouble to get through airport security, and I didn’t think I’d need it. Sol says you wouldn’t have come out here without guns enough for at least the two of us.”
He thought of the stash beneath the bed. “Weapons aren’t a problem. Unfortunately, we can’t just go in there blasting away. We trespass on their property they’ve got a right to defend themselves.”
“One of them shot you. Another one stole your kid. They come after us, threaten us, the game changes.”
“That’s right. I’m not taking another bullet. But we have to be careful. We start shooting, Sam might end up dead.”
Just then the cabin door swung open. “I’m dressed,” Claire said brightly, looking fresh and pretty in khaki cargo pants and a white shirt, her dark hair pulled back, the way she usually wore it. “You guys can come on in.”