Page 66 of Homicide in Water Creek

Maverick had barely finished the sentence when King’s personal cell phone rang. He grabbed it, noting the number was unknown. “Sheriff King,” he said, his voice gruff.

“King, it’s Jacks. What are you doing right now?”

He slumped into the chair, his shoulders drooping as he let out a breath. “Well, I’m looking for you, baby,” he said, his voice playful, since he had no idea what kind of situation she was in. “We found your phone and your brace, but couldn’t find you.”

“That’s my fault,” a voice said, and King sucked in a breath as he put the call on speaker, motioning for the other men to join him.

“Palatino Parenti?”

“Seems my reputation precedes me in Water Creek,” the man said, and King rolled his eyes.

“What do you want with my granddaughter?” Jackson asked.

“The same thing I want with you. Your land.”

“Granddaddy!” Jacks said, cutting in over Parenti. “You know we’ve been talking about selling,” she said. King looked at Jackson and nodded exaggeratedly, mouthing, “go along with it.”

“We have, but I thought you wanted the land,” Jackson said slowly, glancing at King, who gave him a thumbs up.

“I did too until I found out how much it was worth. Listen, I’ve worked out a deal with Mr. Parenti, but we need to meet to sign the paperwork.”

“If I sign this paperwork, will you release my granddaughter unharmed?” Jackson asked, Keene’s strong hand gripping his shoulder.

“As soon as the ink is dry, the funds will be transferred to your account, and the deeds will be transferred to me. You’ll have 72 hours to vacate the property.”

“That’s not very long to pack up a lifetime of memories,” Jackson said, and Parenti laughed.

“I assure you, you’ll have enough money to hire a team of movers.”

“King,” Jacks said quickly. “Would you grab a clean pair of chinos and my brace from the barn?”

King swallowed, grabbed a pen, and wrote "Jordan" for Maverick to read. He nodded.

“There should be four pairs at the back of the barn. Wait, maybe at the front of the barn. I can’t remember. Just check both places.”

“No problem, Jacks,” he said, writing “four guards” on the paper. Maverick nodded again. “Where do we meet you?”

“My men are on their way to get you,” Parenti said. “I want the two old men and the sheriff, no weapons, in that car. They’ll bring you to us. If anyone else shows up, and I mean anyone, you’re all dead. Does everyone understand?”

“We hear you, Parenti. None of us here wants to see that happen. We’ll cooperate, but you can’t have the contracts ready already? It’s only been a few hours.”

“You have a lot to learn about me, Sheriff King. Be ready when my men arrive.”

The line went dead, and everyone looked at each other for a moment before chaos erupted. Maverick whistled, bringing everyone to a halt.

“We don’t have time to argue. I’ve got to go before anyone realizes I’m here. I’ll grab Devyn, alert Wellspring deputies that we’ll need backup, and then meet you at the ranch.”

King grabbed his arm. “Wait, how do you know they’re taking us to the ranch?”

“Jacks was sending you a message about the men and their location. She said to check both the back and front of the barn. She’s telling you there will be two men at each door, and she’s on the ranch. All we have to do is figure out which ranch. Devyn and I will do that while we wait for your car to arrive. Keep him talking and give us time to make a plan once we assess the situation. Understood?”

“I’ll trust you,” King agreed. “Grab Devyn’s tactical gear. You may need it.” They shook hands before Maverick took off for the back room.

“We’re just supposed to follow the orders of some guy we don’t even know?” Keene asked, anger lacing his words.

“He has Jacks, Granddaddy. We are absolutely going to follow his orders because I know Palatino Parenti’s business practices, and we don’t want to risk crossing him.”

“What’s the plan once we’re in the room with them?” Jackson asked.