Kylie pulled up short, her attention swinging to the drive as a big black Chevrolet came toward them.
“It’s Brantley,” he told her as he got to his feet.
“Does he know somethin’?” she asked, her voice thin and reedy but filled with hopeful anticipation.
“I don’t know, baby. Let’s go find out.”
Taking her hand, he led her down the steps as Brantley was pulling to a stop behind Gage’s truck. Travis watched as his cousin exited the vehicle, pulling off his aviators and sliding them into the neck of his T-shirt.
“Hey,” Brantley greeted, his face pinched with concern as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Any news?”
A wave of disappointment rocked his foundation. Here Travis had been thinking Brantley had come by to tell them something. Trying to hide his despondency, Travis shook his head, locking on Brantley’s gaze. “Not yet.”
“Well, I might have somethin’.”
Kylie’s breath hitched, her hand squeezing Travis’s as hope slammed into them both.
“Because there was nothin’ to go on and JJ’s not one to sit idly by, she started lookin’ into your business dealings,” Brantley explained, his voice level and even.
Travis didn’t ask what that meant. At this point, he didn’t fucking care if she’d hacked his fucking financials. If it would bring Kate home safe and sound, he’d give her access to whatever she wanted.
Brantley pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, then passed it over.
“Do you recognize them?”
Taking the phone, Travis kept it down so Kylie could see it, too. On the screen was a man and a woman, both dressed to the nines with that forced air of happiness worn by unhappy couples surrounding them. They looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place either of them.
“It’s possible,” he answered. “Why?”
“That’s Nicholas Prince and his ex-wife, Juliet. He’s a casino mogul in Mississippi. They’ve both been to your resort, though when they came, I don’t know.”
“And this means what?” Kylie asked, staring up at Brantley as though he held the key to their happiness.
The screen door squeaked behind them, drawing Travis’s attention over his shoulder. Gage appeared, his eyes instantly scanning the scene as he made his way down to where they were.
Travis passed him the phone, nodded toward the image on the screen.
“That’s Nicholas Prince,” Gage stated. “He and his wife visited the resort last year.”
“Correct,” Brantley noted, then nodded toward the phone. “That woman bears an eerie resemblance to the grainy image of the woman we suspect might have Kate.”
Gage leaned in closer to the phone, narrowed his eyes. “I agree.”
All eyes shifted back to Brantley.
“From what JJ was able to dig up, Nicholas and Juliet have since parted ways. Sounds like he might’ve met a younger version while he was visiting AI, realigned his priorities. She got the shit end of the deal, left with nothing. He’s now married to the new woman and, as of recently, has acquired full custody of his and Juliet’s five-year-old daughter.”
Travis didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to put the pieces of that puzzle together. “And you think she might have my daughter?”
“I do,” Brantley concurred, taking the phone back from Gage when he passed it over.
“Do you think…?” Kylie gasped.
Travis knew where her thoughts had gone.
“Do I think she took Kate out of revenge?” Brantley nodded. “Partly, yes. However, based on what we have to go on, I don’t think Kate’s in any immediate danger.”
“Because you think she took our daughter not only out of revenge but as a replacement for her own,” Gage mused.
“Correct.”
While Brantley tapped on his phone again, the sound of tires on gravel drew their attention. Travis noticed Reese pulling the red Walker Demolition dually up the driveway.
“JJ doesn’t have a current address for the woman, but she has located several homes Nicholas Prince owns, including one here in Austin.”
When Brantley paused, Travis looked his way.
“With your go-ahead, I’d like to pay the man a visit, see if he can tell us where she’s at.”
“Do you know where he is?” Gage inquired.
“No. JJ’s lookin’ into that. As soon as she has contact info, I’ll send it your way. But even if he’s not here in Austin, that doesn’t mean she’s not. It’s possible Juliet’s hidin’ out there, lyin’ low if her ex is off galavantin’ elsewhere. And if not, someone at the estate might know somethin’.”
“It’s a good place to start,” Gage said.
Brantley held Travis’s stare. “Wherever you need me … all you have to do is say the word.”
Travis saw the determination in his cousin’s steel-blue eyes. It was the same look he saw in every pair of eyes he’d made contact with in the past twenty-four hours. Everyone he knew was willing to do what was necessary to bring Kate home.
“We have to find her,” Kylie whispered. “I…” Kylie let out a pained sob and Travis pulled her into his side, wrapped his arms around her, and nodded to Brantley.
