“Good boy.” Julianne rubbed his silky ears and slipped him a treat. “Good boy, Thunder.”
Dan made a rude noise under his breath, but drew on gloves then picked up the bullet fragment and dropped it in a specimen bag. “How many shots did he take at you?”
Julianne lifted a brow. “Just the one.”
“Hmm.” Deputy Hanson took the evidence back to his squad car.
She decided not to waste time worrying about Hanson’s opinion of her abilities. Glancing at her watch, she realized roughly ninety minutes had gone by, and she was feeling dehydrated and hungry. Which meant Thunder needed to eat and drink, too. The hour was close to dinnertime and she hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast.
“Max? What’s the ETA on the chopper?”
“Two hours, maybe less. They’re coming in from Houston and Dylan has found a small airstrip not far from here for them to use. He sent us a secure email with the location. He’s still working on an aerial view of the compound.”
She wondered how Dylan was holding up back at headquarters while his fiancée, Zara, was training at Quantico to become a part of their team. “We need to take care of the animals. How about I meet you at the chopper in ninety minutes?”
“Sounds good.” Max turned and walked with Opal through the woods. No doubt he’d left his vehicle near the cabin he’d investigated before the gunfire rang out.
Julianne headed in the opposite direction, but then halted when Brody came along. “I’ve got things to do before the jump.”
“I know, but we also need to talk about the prison break. I thought we could grab a bite to eat at Rusty’s...they have outside tables now, which would work out well for Thunder.”
Rusty’s was their old hangout, and the last place she wanted to go was tripping down memory lane. But Thunder needed to eat and so did she, so she pushed the past back where it belonged and nodded stiffly.
“Fine, I’ll meet you there.”
Brody hesitated. She could tell he wanted them to drive together, but too bad, he’d have to get over it.
She needed some time alone before facing him again. Being home for the first time in six years was bad enough, but seeing Brody again?
That was something else entirely.
* * *
Brody tried to look at Rusty’s through Julianne’s eyes, noticing the changes that had been made to the bar/restaurant over the past few years.
The place had been painted a deep forest green with white trim. The tables outside were covered by green-and-white umbrellas to shade customers from the relentless sun. Patrons actually came here for the food, which hadn’t been the case when they were young.
Rusty’s had blossomed under new management, and he thought for sure Julianne would notice and approve of the changes.
She was late, and he wondered if she’d stood him up. Not her style, but then again, things hadn’t ended well between them.
He saw her drive up in a black SUV with a very small K-9 logo on the back. She slid out from behind the wheel followed by Thunder who jumped gracefully to the ground. The years they’d spent apart disappeared as if they’d never happened. She was still as stunning as ever. And he found himself wishing things had turned out differently for them.
After opening the back, she set one dog dish on the ground and filled it with water. After he drank his fill, she fed him from her hand, which he found curious. Only when the dog was cared for did she cross over to where he was waiting.
“The outside is different but has the menu changed?”
“Yeah. Joe Clancy runs the place now with his wife, Sue Ellen.” He pushed a menu over. “We’ll talk after we order.”
A server came over with water and sweet tea, took their requests then disappeared back inside.
Julianne drew designs in the condensation that collected on the side of her glass. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had Texas sweet tea.”
Six years, two weeks and three days, but who was counting?
She finished her water first, then tried the tea. “It’s sweeter than I remember.”
“You don’t have tea where you live now?”
“I got out of the habit of drinking it.” She pushed her glass aside, sidestepping his not-so-subtle question. “So tell me. What’s the story behind the prison break?”
He held her gaze. “I arrested Nathan Otwell for drug running, human trafficking and prostitution. The judge agreed to hold him without bail because of the overwhelming evidence against him.”
“Evidence? Like what?”
“I tracked him to an abandoned cabin where he was holding five people hostage, getting ready to sell them to the highest bidder.” To this day, Brody would never forget the scene he’d stumbled upon. “Because of my testimony, Otwell was being transported from our small jail here to the maximum security prison over in Cadworth County.”
“Nathan Otwell,” Julianne repeated, her expression incredulous. “I don’t know what to say. The guy who escaped was huge and bald, I didn’t recognize him as Nate. I can’t believe it.”
“Sure you can,” Brody countered in an even tone. “You never liked him in the first place, even before Lilly ran away. You were convinced Lilly’s disappearance was the result of foul play just because she and Nate were seeing each other.” He paused, then shrugged. “You were right about Nate, though. In the time I was gone in the army, he reverted back to his criminal ways.”
She surprised him by reaching over to put her hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry, Brody. I know how much you believed in him. That must have been difficult for you.”
For a moment he wished they could go back six years, to the time before their last argument had torn them irrevocably apart. But he knew better than most there was no going back.
He needed to keep moving forward. No matter how difficult.
“It was worse for the people he abused and sold into slavery.” He didn’t try to hide the bitterness in his tone. “They’re the real victims here. And I can’t imagine what they’re going to think now that he’s escaped.”
“I know.” Her gaze was sympathetic.
“I’m not going to let him get away with it. I need to find Nate, Julianne. I need your help.” He gazed down at the dog lying beneath the table at her feet. “Yours and Thunder’s.”
The dog perked up when he heard his name, his tail thumping on the ground as if in acknowledgment.
“I have to get Max’s approval,” she warned. “But since I’m an eyewitness to the shooting of the van driver, I’m sure he’ll agree. From what you’re telling me, we need to get Nate and his accomplice back into custody as soon as possible.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me, yet. First we need to get into the Dupree compound and hopefully rescue our missing FBI agent. Once we’ve done that, we’ll focus on picking up Nate’s trail. Hopefully he won’t have gotten too far, especially with the roadblocks and other measures you’ve put into place.”
“Agreed.” He paused, as the server brought their food. They ate in silence for several minutes, enjoying their Tex-Mex meal when Thunder unexpectedly shot to his feet.
“What is it, boy?” Julianne pulled her gun from the holster on her waist and glanced around the parking lot as if searching for whatever had gotten the dog’s attention.
“Does