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“The BOLO is out, but no one has seen him yet,” I say, going over a file in front of me.
I turn it over for Luke to study. He frowns as his gaze wanders across the printed lines, settling on a couple of traffic cam photos from a year ago—the most recent images we have of the guy since he deactivated all of his social media accounts. “What about online?” he asks.
“Nothing. But I’ve got Marcus working with one of our digital forensics experts. We should be able to dig something up.”
“Just make sure the IPs are covered,” Luke says. “Remember what happened to our competition.”
“We still operate under the radar with our tracking software, we’re cool,” I assure him.
He leans back into his chair, arms crossed as he exhales deeply. “She’s interesting.”
“And then some,” I sigh. “Way more responsive than I’d anticipated.”
“You were together last night.”
I nod slowly. “Couldn’t really help myself. And it was completely mutual.”
“Do you like her?”
I nod again. “Avery is different, Luke. Completely different from any other woman we’ve ever met.”
“That I can agree with. You know, there are some people who just exude this inextinguishable kind of energy, no matter how bad things get for them. I’m willing to bet Avery is one of them. She strikes me as incredibly resilient. Of course, one needs to be resilient to live with an abusive narcissist for so long.”
“But she’s got her priorities straight. She made sure her kids were safe.”
“I think we can both agree that she deserves better,” Luke says. He likes her too and I can’t blame him. What’s not to like about this woman? She’s fucking gorgeous—a petite blonde with soft, blue eyes and creamy skin, generous curves and enough character to stand out in any room with absolutely no effort. She’s smart and devoted to her children. Granted, she’s been a victim of abuse for far too long, but I think she’s finally finding herself. And I also think I want to be there when she truly comes into her own. It’s only a matter of time. “What’s the plan with Daniel, assuming we can’t nail him down via the legal methods?”
“How far are you willing to go?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. “You know I can’t cross certain lines with my badge.”
“Technically speaking, neither can I,” Luke replies with a subtle shake of his head. “But I had to ask, if only to make sure that we’re all on the same page.”
“Given the evidence and court records alone, the legal way should be valid.”
“I sure hope so. You know how iffy the suits are on domestic violence, in general.”
“Yeah, I know but this guy is dangerous.”
“Then make sure you’ve got your weapon on you at all times, Sheriff, even off duty,” Luke says. “If he tries anything, you may be justified.”
I don’t like the prospect. It’s making my stomach churn. “Listen, Luke, I haven’t killed anyone since the Navy, and that was government sanctioned.”
“This could also be sanctioned if Daniel gets close enough to pose a threat to Avery and the girls.”
“We’re skating a thin and dangerous line here.”
I really don’t want to go down that road. The law is the law. There’s a reason why the entire code is in place, why we have a police force and a justice system. I believe in it with my very heart and soul, and I don’t want to end up in a situation where I’m forced to make a decision that could end with me sacrificing such an important part of myself. Avery is a special woman, and we will do what we can to keep Daniel away from her without risking our lives or our careers.
“Tell you what, Luke,” I add after thinking about it further. “Let’s reach out to the feds, just in case, and advise them of the situation. They might at least be able to share some of their state and local resources with us, if only to help us track the fucker down sooner rather than later. All we have to do is point the authorities in the right direction. I’ll make the arrest myself. I’ll make sure he’s locked up before he can even think about coming after Avery again.”
“What does Fallon think?” Luke asks. “I suppose you’ve discussed it with him.”
The three of us are the founding partners of Wolfhound Security, and we’ve made a habit of consulting one another whenever we’re about to use company resources for personal matters. Avery’s situation qualifies as such, considering that she’s technically not a client. She’s a woman I picked up from the side of a snowy road. I’m still amazed by the lengths that each of us is already willing to go to in order to keep her and her daughters safe.
My brother, however, is usually the last one to soften in such matters. He is the strict partner, the one with an iron fist who doesn’t want any kind of legal trouble. It has more to do with preserving our wild cards for a future all-out war against our parents—we swore to one another that one day, we would take the Cassidy’s down and rid this county of their wretched influence. The decades of financial trickery and abuse will end with us. Until then, we must tread carefully.
“Fallon is busy fixing Avery’s car,” I say. “He does agree that we should stick to the legal channels, but he’s the one with the better ties to the FBI. I’m sure he’ll make a few calls to help us get to Daniel faster. All we need is access to certain security video feeds that Quantico manages across the state, video feeds that we can’t access without a warrant.”
“Couldn’t we try to get a warrant, first?” Luke asks.
