“What do we know?” Brantley asked, stepping in as though he was born to lead.
The fact that he said “we” was telling. When it came to the Walker family, that was what they were. A collective unit, a whole.
“Not a fuck of a lot,” Travis grumbled.
“We’re doin’ everything we can right now,” Jeff said, marching over as though he feared they were going to go rogue.
The sheriff knew them well.
“With all due respect, sir,” Brantley said, addressing the sheriff, “it’s not nearly enough. Until Kate’s back where she belongs, it’ll never be enough.”
Everyone in the room went silent, hearing the clipped edge on Brantley’s tone. It was in that moment Travis saw the Navy SEAL, the man who was used to walking into the action, not sitting on the sidelines waiting for it to find him. The difference between them was that Brantley could do so with a level head while Travis tended to lean toward explosive.
“But I’d like to hear what ‘everything’ entails,” Brantley continued when the sheriff didn’t say anything.
Jeff glanced at Travis. He nodded his head, urging the sheriff to relay the details. To his credit, Jeff started from the beginning, disseminating every pertinent detail from the point where they believed Kate to have gone missing until now.
“I hate to insinuate this,” Brantley stated, turning his attention to Travis. “But do you think this could be personal?”
Gage muttered a curse, and Travis exhaled slowly. “Anything’s possible. I’ve made a lot of friends over the years, but I’ve made just as many enemies.”
Travis wouldn’t pretend he was a saint. He’d called in many favors and he hadn’t hesitated to reach out to those who could get shit done. He had friends in both high and low places. Everyone from the governor of Texas to a mob boss up in Dallas. And during times like this, he wouldn’t hesitate to call in every fucking favor he’d ever garnered.
“But no ransom calls?” Reese inquired, his eyes narrowed.
Travis shook his head. “Not yet.”
Brantley nodded. “Unless you have somethin’ else for me to do, I’m gonna head over to the capitol, see what shit storm I can stir up there.”
“I’ll go with you,” Reese said. “I’ve got a couple of friends in APD and my brother can call in a few favors. There’ll be no shit storm. We’ll do a sweep of the building, check their security feeds, see if we can determine anything.”
“We’ve already asked for security feeds,” Jeff told them. “At best, we’re looking at tomorrow morning.”
“Not good enough,” Brantley said, his face expressionless. “I’ve got ways of gettin’ things done.”
Travis was stunned speechless. At the moment, he couldn’t think beyond his own fear, much less come up with a plan to do what was necessary to bring Kate home. Considering he was always the first to lead the pack, it pained him to feel so helpless.
“We’ve got you,” Brantley said softly, putting a hand on Travis’s shoulder. “Just keep us updated and we’ll do the same.”
Travis nodded.
“I really think you need to let law enforcement handle this,” Jeff intervened, although there wasn’t much conviction in his tone.
“We won’t get in their way,” Reese assured him.
Before Jeff could say more, Travis put a hand out to silence him.
“Check in often,” Travis told them.
Both men nodded, then turned and left the same way they’d come in.
“Travis, I’m not sure this—”
“How many missin’ kids’ cases have you handled?” Gage bit out, his voice low, his fury evident.
Jeff’s eyes widened, sorrow replacing his frustration. “More than I wanted.”
Travis knew that could’ve meant one or one hundred. And while he trusted Jeff to do what he could, Travis knew law enforcement had its limits. They would do things by the book, one step at a time. And that was fine for many things, but when it came to missing children … fuck the book.
“Let them do their thing,” Curtis said, his hand on Travis’s shoulder once more. “We’ll work it from here.”
His father had a way of calming him, even during a time when calm wasn’t in his dictionary.
The door opened, Mack strolling in, Jessie not far behind. More people arrived, the house filling with those who wanted to help, everyone attempting to get an update, to find out what they could do.
Travis appreciated everyone, but he couldn’t think, could hardly breathe. His heart was lodged securely in his throat as he thought about his little girl. He embraced the pain, gave himself some time to breathe through it because the time would come when he had to shove it down and take matters into his own hands.
After all, Travis had learned long ago … if you wanted shit done, you had to do it yourself.
Then again, he got the feeling Brantley might be the next best thing.
Chapter Eight
Brantley wasted no time getting them down to the capitol. Not an easy feat on a Tuesday afternoon, the city flooded with people going about their regular routine. Traffic was a bitch, the streets clogged as businessmen and women headed home for the day.
