Page 11 of Lone Star Protector

He’d been so caught in looking for the human piece of shit snake that he hadn’t noticed the actual snake. Good thing it hadn’t bitten one of them, and he continued walking, this time volleying some glances at the ground. At least if they encountered a rattlesnake, it’d give them some warning.

“Bodie?” someone called out.

That caused Nash, Caroline, and Ruby to freeze. Because it wasn’t Jordana’s voice. This was a man. And it wasn’t someone’s voice that Nash recognized.

“Bodie?” the guy repeated. “Hey, man. Is that you?”

Nash didn’t answer. Instead, he got them moving again, closing in on the sound of their visitor.

Who the hell was this? Bodie’s accomplice maybe? Or someone that Bodie had sent after Caroline? Either way, Nash was going to shut him down.

After trudging along another couple of minutes, Nash finally spotted the man. Definitely not Bodie. This guy was shorter, about five-ten, and he had fashionably messy dark blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had sort of a celebrity vibe about him, what with his stubble and clothes. Black jeans and olive green tee that looked tailored made.

And no visible weapon.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t armed though.

Nash was only about ten feet away from the guy when he must have heard the approaching footsteps. He pivoted in that direction. Instant alarm shot over his face, and he reached in the back waist of his pants. No doubt to draw a weapon.

“Don’t,” Nash immediately warned him. “Put your hands in the air so I can see them.”

The guy didn’t comply right away, not until he’d given all three of them a long look. He must have realized he was seriously outnumbered and outgunned because his hands went up.

“You’re Bodie’s brother?” the man asked.

Nash ignored his question and went with one of his own. It would be the first of many things he wanted to know. “Who the hell are you?”

“Eddie,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “Eddie Mulcrone. Is Bodie with you?” But then, he immediately shook his head. “No, Bodie wouldn’t be with any of you lot. I know who you are,” he spat out, tipping his head to Caroline and Ruby. “Did you kill him? Did you bastards kill Bodie?’

There was a lot of info in that handful of remarks. Something key was missing though. “How do know Bodie?”

Despite it being an obvious question to Nash, apparently this Eddie hadn’t seen it coming because he looked somewhat nonplussed. “We did time together, but I got out last year. Bodie’s like a brother to me,” he tacked onto that. “Not like you. You turned your back on him. I didn’t.”

“Great,” Nash muttered. “Another fan of a chicken shit felon. I’m guessing that means you also know his wife?”

Eddie’s mouth tightened. “Yeah, I know Jordana. Can’t say I like her much, but since Bodie married her and all, I tolerate her.”

That was more than Nash could do. He had no intentions of tolerating his sister-in-law.

“Why are you out in these woods?” Nash asked, and then he added the most important question of all. “Were you here to try to kill Caroline?”

“No,” Eddie was quick to say. “I was here to leave something for Bodie…” He stopped and must have realized he was about to admit to a crime. “I, uh, was going to convince him to turn himself in.”

“Sure you were,” Nash remarked, and Caroline and Ruby gave similar responses. “Is Bodie supposed to meet you here?”

Eddie shook his head. Too fast. Too firm of a response. “No. I was supposed to leave him this.” He lowered his hand toward his pocket, but Nash stopped him by moving into a shooting stance. “Don’t get all trigger happy. It’s just a phone and some money, that’s all.”

“So, aiding and abetting an escaped felon,” Nash concluded.

“No,” Eddie practically shouted. “It’s not like that. Yeah, I brought the stuff, but I was going to hang around and wait for Bodie to show up. Then, I was going to convince him to turn himself in.” He shifted his narrowed eyes to Caroline. “I was going to make him understand that she and her mother will try to kill him and cover it up.”

Nash wondered how Bodie had managed to brainwash this dipshit and Jordana. Then again, Bodie had always been the charmer. On the surface anyway. And he’d likely used that charm eighteen years ago to convince Caroline to go out with him. But the charm was just a veneer, and beneath, he was twisted and dangerous.

“Ruby, could you text Detective Malley and let him know we’re about to escort Eddie to him so the two of them can have a chat,” Nash said.

Eddie cursed a blue streak. “You’re taking me to the fuckin’ cops? Why? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Put your hands on top of your head,” Nash ordered, and knowing that Ruby and Caroline would cover him, he went to frisk the man. No gun. But a knife that Nash confiscated and slid into his own pocket. “Move.”

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