Page 17 of Evening Shadows

“Almost ten,” she said in retort like Cody reminded her. She hated to admit that Bev did, which was why Sam had tried to be around when she knew Bev planned to go about town doing who knew what. She frowned in disappointment. “I’m sad to say that she sometimes does.” Trying to justify her friend’s behavior, she added, “So do many people, whether right or wrong.”

Sam hoped Bev would be cooperative—for Cody’s sake. It’d be a toss-up for sure. No matter her friend’s desire, HIS would take over to find and rescue Cody.

She hoped Devon found something quickly that pointed them in the right direction. They’d already lost time, and the longer Cody remained with his kidnappers, the chance of rescue diminished. With a sinking heart, she admitted that they might be too late.

Even working with a smaller team, Alpha team had more than enough men to follow any leads. And with the practice Ken had them doing to build a more cohesive team and mock rescues, she had no doubt they could handle this.

Ken cleared his throat and asked cautiously, “Did you tell Beverly that Jesse and I are coming?”

Sam fiddled with a strand of her hair that escaped her ponytail to think of the situation with a potential to explode. “Well,” she took a breath before finishing, “no.”

Jesse chuckled. “This will be interesting since she threatened to have Ken and I arrested the next time we came near her.”

“Or,” Ken added, “shoot us on sight if that didn’t keep us away.”

“Does she have any weapons in the house that you know of?” Jesse asked, and when she didn’t hear a chuckle to accompany the question, she knew he was serious and maybe even a bit worried.

Sam’s breath caught at the impact of what he’d asked. “Yes.” With a heavy sigh, she had to disarm her friend as soon as they arrived, or things could turn ugly.

7

Why had he pushed to come on this op? Being out of action, he didn’t know what the hell he could do. Sure, the desire to rescue Adam’s son took precedence, but the statement he’d overheard from Sam filled him with dread. Since she spoke with Beverly at the time, he could only imagine she was referring to him and Jesse. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. But shit, ten years was a long time to find them accountable for an ambush that no one could have predicted. Sure, he’d expected that from Beverly because she still blamed them, but what of Sam? They’d started rebuilding their friendship, and they had an obvious connection, an attraction even. His only hope was that she’d just repeated what Beverly had said to her. Any other possibility simply didn’t sit right.

By the time the plane landed in Georgia, darkness had set in, and the team had an information overflow from Devon about Beverly. Unfortunately, none of it looked promising to providing intel on Cody’s location. However, they’d follow up each lead and ask questions until they found something usable.

His men split up into pairs, with Franks and Cowboy disappearing in one direction while Stone and Doc went in another, all dropping most of their gear in the waiting SUVs instead of fully donning it so as not to alarm whomever they questioned. He, Jesse, and Sam, however, loaded up in full gear in case they encountered something at their destination and headed directly to Beverly’s house to question her and search for clues.

Each time Sam put on her gear, his gut churned with worry. Not a typical worrier, he knew his feelings for her led his need to protect. While he’d tried to keep her from other ops or took an overprotective stance while on them, this was different. Beverly was her friend so he couldn’t argue with her involvement in the attempt to bring the boy home. No. They would bring him home no matter what it took.

When they arrived at Beverly’s single-story brick home, Sam asked them to wait near the SUV until she told Beverly they’d traveled with her. He’d loved Adam—Beverly’s husband—like a brother, and his heart had suffered when he’d lost him and Lance on a covert op. They’d been true friends. He’d never warmed up to Beverly, probably because she’d been standoffish. After Adam died, she’d turned into a raving lunatic. He and Jesse, and the rest of the Ranger team, held to taking care of their own, and Beverly was their own. She, however, hated the sight of them. He only hoped that by seeing them again, it wouldn’t trigger something in her that delayed Cody’s rescue.

While they waited, he and Jesse exited the SUV and leaned against it, surveying the area around them, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Although they didn’t know the neighborhood, some things, like a vehicle watching the house, were common out-of-place things. Yet, they found nothing that caught their eye.

“What’d you think?” Jesse asked.

“You mean if she’ll shoot us?”

“Among other things.”

Now might be the right time to mention that possibility, but Ken needed to learn more, so he’d be on extra alert. He couldn’t wrap his head around the woman thinking such a thing. “Yeah, something doesn’t seem right.”

“That’s an understatement,” Jesse agreed.

“I hope she’ll work with us. For Cody’s sake.” He couldn’t imagine any parent not, but if Beverly still held a grudge against the two of them and couldn’t see beyond it, they’d have to allow the team to work it. Which, if that was what they had to do, he’d order it, and the two of them would work in the background at another location. Maybe another Ranger’s nearby home.

“While Sam didn’t say it, I’m worried Beverly could hide answers to the investigation with the two of us here.”

With a sigh, Ken silently agreed. It was too late to change their decision for him and Jesse to be on the case. It seemed vital they were here, leading and setting up a command post. “I’m thinking we’ll let Sam take the lead in questioning. Once we figure out Beverly’s mindset, we can jump in when needed. Otherwise….” Ken shrugged.

Jesse nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Waiting for clearance to enter Beverly’s home, his mind continued turning things over. It still baffled him why this particular kidnapping happened. He had an inkling that Beverly either wasn’t telling them the truth or was holding back. There had to be something they were missing. Knowing Beverly didn’t want them near her or her son—as she’d strongly stated years ago—he could understand her hesitancy to work with them but not Sam. She’d called on Sam without the presumption they’d come with her. No matter who she expected to ride to the rescue, her son’s life hung in the balance. They had no idea what ordeal he might be facing, and they needed every bit of information to bring him home.

Ken turned to Jesse, his heartbeat quickening. He should tell Jesse what he’d overheard. But, only hearing one side of the conversation might have Sam’s loyalty questioned without the true meaning of the words. Of course, “kill” was not something to be misunderstood. But there were too many unanswered questions.

Instead, he asked, “Are you taking the lead?” He had mixed feelings about which one of them should be in the role, but, dammit, he wanted to lead. He needed to do it. He’d had too many times sitting on the sidelines; inactivity had nearly killed him. Not physically, but in spirit. Each time the team went out with Grits, he’d envisioned every possible scenario—both good and bad. When they couldn’t receive regular updates, he’d about gone nuts. Leading this team was who he was, and he kicked himself for almost walking away from it. Without it, he felt like his identity had been stripped and he’d been beaten with a baseball bat.

Jesse gave him an emotionless expression. Every member of the team had mastered the ability to display the blankness since it was instrumental in interviews. It sucked when one member used it against the other though. Jesse raised an eyebrow in question. “You’re the field team leader. You make the call.”

---