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Chapter 12
Brady dialed Riley’s number, and Cassie picked up on the first ring.
“Hey there. Riley’s washing the truck. Can he call you back or is it urgent?” she asked.
“No, he can call me back, but I need to talk to him pretty quick. I don’t want to interrupt him when he’s in the middle of getting wet and sandy.”
“Ha, ha! Well, there’s lots of wet, not sure about the sandy part. But it sounds important. Let me get him.”
“Thanks, Cassie.”
Brady could hear Cassie mumbling something to Riley. His former teammate grabbed the phone after whispering, “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, Riley, it’s kind of fucked up. And I didn’t want to bother you, but I’m getting prepared for a trip.”
“When are you thinking, Brady?”
Brady’s sighed. “Today. I think it’s got to be today.”
“What’s the story then? You still haven’t heard from her, is that what you’re saying?”
“Yep. And Sergio, my contact there, hasn’t been able to locate her at the place where she told me she would be staying. He’s on his way over to the clinic, which Maggie specifically told me she was not staying at. So I’m confused, I’ve been told a couple of things, and I just got to go down there and see for myself.”
“Okay, so that means Emma comes over here?”
“Well, you said you didn’t want to take care of chickens. But somebody’s going to have to. And I don’t have anybody that I can give access to this property when I’m not around. You and Cassie are about the only two I would trust. So I want to ask you if you wouldn’t mind bringing your family over to my place. That way Tate won’t interfere with your farm animals—”
“I’m supposed to let my chickens and roosters and dogs die so I can go over and take care of yours? Is that what you’re fucking saying?”
“Riley, calm down. It’s Maggie I’m worried about. I don’t give a shit about the animals. It’s Maggie. But we also have ten baby chicks in Emma’s bathtub. I could bring them over to your place, but who’s going to take care of my sixty chickens? I can set the watering to go automatic, but that means Tate’s going to have to go over and stay with you. Now you’ve got the pug. I just don’t see how it will work. I think it would be better if you came over to my place. I’ve got plenty of space, there’s tons of things for the kids to do, and it’s all fenced. It’s all safe, alarmed. I think Emma would be safer here. And I know, Riley, you would do everything in your power to look after everyone. But I’ve got it all set up and wired like Fort Knox.”
“I’m going to have to check with the boss on this before I go sticking my shoe into my mouth. I know better than to say yes. I sure as hell don’t want to do this, Brady. See if you can find another way. I’ll be happy to check on your animals for you or find somebody—”
“That’s a non-starter, Riley. I don’t want anyone over here I haven’t already vetted.”
“Well, what if I get one of our former teammates? You know we got several in your area. What if I got one of them to come over?”
“Okay, you talk to Cassie. I’m going to try to get hold of Sergio after he checks at the clinic, and we’ll circle back and make a decision. But I got to get out of here today.”
“Are you flying or driving?”
“I don’t think I have the time to drive, Riley.”
“How are you going to get your long guns then? How are you going to bring in the ammo? They’re going to stop you at customs, Brady.”
“Look, you’re my first call. I’m going to work it out somehow. It’s not an option that I’m going to go to jail because I can’t bring my weapons in. But somehow I’m going to get it done. I’m going to work on that, and you try to talk your wife into moving over to my place. I’ll agree to add whoever you want, anybody that I know, to the team. But I need to have somebody staying at my place. If things go south, somebody could come after me.”
“And so why the fuck would I put my wife and kids in that spot then?”
“Because it’s still the safest place on the planet right now. I mean that, Riley. And I don’t know who else to ask. If I thought I was putting you in any kind of danger, I wouldn’t make this call.”
“Well, fuck me then. This is going to be a tough conversation. Give me an hour. Can you give me an hour?”
“Of course I can. We’ll touch base. And thanks.”
The next person he called was Charlie.
“What’s the update, Brady?” she asked him. “I don’t have a lot of time this morning, but you wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t important.”
