Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 131364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Pascal had been waiting with one of the clan’s vehicles—after handing it over, the senior wing commander had flown back to the Canyon on the wing because he needed some time in the air.
Now Bram got into the passenger seat of Adam’s vehicle and said, “You need John Hendricks’s memories stripped?”
Adam had given Bram a call en route, told him only that he needed an assist. The other man had asked no further questions. That he’d figured out WindHaven had Hendricks wasn’t the issue—the entire town probably knew the falcons had Hendricks. You didn’t touch a WindHaven fledgling and live to tell the tale.
It was his assumption about memories that surprised Adam. “I thought I’d ask you in person, see if it bothered you. No foul if it does—I can—”
“Let’s go.” Bram had obviously started the day dressed in what seemed to be the J Corps uniform of black or gray suits with white shirts, but though he still wore the gray pants, his jacket was missing in action and his white shirt smudged with dust, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows in rough folds.
Adam drove on through the stillness of the night, taking the other man at his word. “We’ll give him back if necessary.” He’d made that call on the road. “We were in hell with Malia gone for such a short time—I’ll never withhold him if seeing him face justice in a courtroom will bring peace to people who’ve been in the same hell a lot longer.”
Bram tapped his finger on the window ledge. “You can’t talk to them because they don’t know you, but Tim Xiao—the head of the task force—can and did; he told them there was a strong possibility Hendricks had become lost in the desert while attempting to escape apprehension, and chances were that he was dead.
“All they wanted was proof of death. None mourned the loss of a trial—they already see how he has all the media coverage while their girls are relegated to being footnotes. Giving him a trial would be everything he ever wanted.”
Adam’s talons pushed out in a rage born of the grief of three families he’d never met. “We can make sure his remains are found in the desert.” He picked up speed. “Xiao a J like you?”
Bram shook his head. “No, he’s human and dangerously smart…but he’s been half–in love with Eleri for years, so he’s willing to swallow the report about Hendricks having stumbled off into the desert.”
…half–in love.
All this time, Adam had just assumed Eleri was his because of the mating bond, that she’d never felt that kind of pull to any other man. That was one hell of an assumption.
“Eleri’s not in love with him,” Bram said, as if reading Adam’s thoughts. “I don’t think she even realizes.”
Adam forced his talons back in, forced the subject away. If Eleri had felt the pull, she’d have acted on it. Adam’s mate had a spine of titanium.
His phone rang on the car’s system, Detective Beaufort’s name flashing on the screen. “Beaufort,” he said, answering the call. “You’re on speaker. Bram’s with me.”
“The chief’s woken up.” Open relief in his deep voice. “Best piece of news I’ve had on this nightmare of a day.”
“He remember anything about what happened to him?”
“Says he knows Hendricks came to his door, but that’s it. Total blank from then on. Aside from that little bit of memory loss, he’s his old self.”
Adam frowned. “Why would Hendricks do anything to him? Just because he was the most experienced member of the Raintree Enforcement team?”
“No, Chief says he was probably worried about the vehicle Jacques found. Chief surprised Hendricks at his place about a year ago. He wanted to drop off a pie after Mrs. Cross made too many and didn’t bother to call ahead. I remember him dropping off two pies at the station, too.
“Hendricks’s back garage was open at the time, and the chief commented on the truck. Said Hendricks told him it was an uncle’s and he was fixing it up so the uncle could sell it. You know Chief Cross has a steel-trap mind. He would’ve remembered the vehicle soon as he looked at Jacques’s file that morning.”
“Hendricks could’ve got out of it with a little fancy footwork with Jacques and anyone else,” Bram said, entering the conversation for the first time. “Cop to hiding it in the desert because he didn’t want to pay the registration and insurance on the vehicle—he’d have got a slap on the wrist at most. No reason for anyone to investigate further.”
“I guess he panicked,” Beaufort said. “Couldn’t be sure there was no victim DNA in it—but instead of lying his way to a lesser offence and paying up what he owed, he shot Jacques and made sure the vehicle would be processed.”