last night and Miss Ellie the day before, the town’s had enough death.”
“Will you have trouble in town without a law enforcement presence or has the sheriff provided you with a deputy?”
“… Hell, I don’t know. Ennis doesn’t have much trouble except on weekends when the ranch hands blow off steam.”
“It’s Friday, Ty, the weekend’s begun. Have the mayor call the sheriff and request a deputy until you find Duke. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when there isn’t law and order controlling a town.”
Silence.
“Ty?”
His phone rang in his hand. Logan cursed and swiped to answer. They needed more cell towers in this neck of the woods. “When you find Duke, you need to encourage him to pick up a couple of satellite phones for his office. Being out of cell range in this day and age should be against the law.”
“Rog…I’ll…”
Silence.
“Ty?”
The call had dropped again, so Logan tossed the phone on his seat and tried to think like Duke. Where would he have gone? To Logan’s way of thinking, considering everything happening with Chance Bear, why leave at all? Duke’s warning about Chance the night before hadn’t stopped rattling around in his brain. And with Duke missing, it thundered harder as he puzzled over his disappearance.
What were the chances a man with Duke’s experience would disappear without a trace?
The soldier in him never stopped calculating. He was hardwired to look for the enemy. Duke set out to fish like he always did, but no one could find him. Not even his truck. If he’d drowned, they’d have found his truck. If he’d run out of gas, the same. His truck was the key. It should be somewhere, but it wasn’t. Either he drove to a new fishing hole and they couldn’t find it or foul play was involved. In his opinion, those were the only two explanations that fit. But who would have it out for the man?
“Chance shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
“Kenzie is trying to defy him, which means she’s defying his father, but he’ll recover once the grief wears off. And when he does, this will get uglier.”
Duke’s warning boomed in his head. He glanced at his cell phone and cursed, then punched the accelerator. He couldn’t protect Skylar from her half brother if he was an hour away and out of cell range. They’d have to finish searching for the police chief without him. He wasn’t a soldier anymore. Wasn’t the one standing between innocence and terror. His priorities had changed. They lay in Ennis with a green-eyed bar owner who filled him with peace. Duke would understand that better than anyone.
“Keep your gun close.”
Logan reached over and opened his glove box, then pulled out his 9mm and stuffed it in the back of his jeans.
“I’ll keep her safe, Duke.”
Twelve
First And Ten
JOSH HIT THE bar at five like we’d planned before school. Jake’s game started at seven, but the bleachers filled to capacity by six after the middle school game, so we had to leave soon if we wanted seats. I glanced at the clock then pulled out my cell phone. I hadn’t heard from Logan since he left, nor had anyone else heard if Duke had been found. The longer the day burned away without a word, the tighter my stomach grew with fear something bad had happened to Duke.
I swiped the number Logan gave me before he left. As it rang, I noted a flutter in my stomach at the thought of speaking with him. My life had been spiraling for close to twenty-four hours, but now it was out of control for the best reasons, thanks to Logan and Kenzie.
“Storm here.” I couldn’t help a smile pulling against my mouth when Logan’s deep voice vibrated in my ear.
“James here,” I responded in kind, using my last name like he had.
He didn’t reply immediately, so I looked at my phone. The call had dropped, which meant he was at least an hour outside of town where the cell towers were limited. That meant he wouldn’t be here in time to ride to the game with Josh and me. I swiped his number again, hoping he would answer, but it went to voice mail, so I left instructions where to find Josh and me and headed to my office to grab my purse and coat. When I entered, I found Josh staring at the small bed Logan and I had made love on. A blush rushed up my cheeks in response. There was no way Josh could