Page 7 of Deadly Revenge

“No problem. Riding to the accident scene gave Alex time to fill me in on the security measures you have planned for this Saturday’s Founders Day picnic.” And gave him an opportunity to see Jenna Hart again.

Nathan sat in one of the wingback chairs across from Alex’s desk. “I’m not sure they’re adequate after reading your email. Are you certain someone’s going to try and take out Harrison Carter at the rally? Or could this be one of Carter’s stunts to get publicity?”

Max settled in the other chair. “We discussed that possibility, but Carter doesn’t want the fact that he’s been threatened to get out—he wants a big crowd at the rally. As for being certain whoever it is will try Saturday, there’s no way to know. The picnic seems like it could be a likely target—small police force. No offense intended.”

“None taken, plus the park where the picnic takes place is easily accessed,” Nathan added.

Alex nodded. “If I were going after our former mayor, it would be here—I’m two deputies short, and one of my best detectives is just past her introductory period. She’s still new to the job.”

His heart kicked up at the reference to Jenna.Focus.“How about your K-9 officer?” Alex had pulled him into a rescue operation for the K-9 officer and his dog a couple of months ago. What was the girl’s name who was involved ... “And the lovely Dani—how is she?”

“They’re great. Mark and Gem are in Kentucky at the dog trials along with my grandparents, and Dani and her grandmother are with them. She even took her dog. Something about seeing if Lizi might be trained as a rescue dog.”

“I heard Chattanooga PD used Dani’s drawing skills to help find a robbery suspect,” Max said as he took out a notepad and pen.

“They did,” Alex said. “She’s looking into taking a class on facial reconstruction, and with her sculpting talent, she’ll be good.”

“I’m glad she’s settling in.”

“What’s your plan, Max?” Nathan asked.

“As soon as we finish here, I’ll go to the park and see what we need,” Max replied.

“I’ll let the park director know you’re coming.” The police chief made himself a note.

Alex pulled out a pad. “Can you tell me how many officers we’ll need for Saturday? I’d like to assign positions.”

“I won’t know until I see the park and draw the layout,” Max said. “Then I’ll email it to the logistics team to identify points of weakness and where we might need more manpower. Once I hear back, I’ll email everything to you.”

“Sounds good,” Alex said. “I’ve called a briefing for this afternoon to discuss security at the picnic and go over what we know about the Slaters’ accident.”

“Do I need to be here?”

“Not necessarily. At this point I’ll only be advising my deputies that we are beefing up security. Once you have your report, I’d appreciate you filling everyone in.”

“Sounds good to me.” Alex and Nathan were easy to work with, something he didn’t always find to be true when working with local law enforcement. Sometimes a sheriff or chief of police resented it when TBI stepped into a case. He made a few notes and then looked up, smiling. “Didn’t I hear you two set your wedding date?”

Nathan grinned. “Yep. Two weeks and Alex Stone will be Alexis Landry.”

Alex grinned. “It was supposed to be this Sunday, but after Carter decided to hold his political rally, we postponed it a week.”

“Postponed it? Wasn’t that a lot of trouble?” Max had been involved with part of the wedding planning with his ex-fiancée, and doing something like moving the date would have been a logistical nightmare.

“Not so much,” Alex said. “It’s going to be really casual. We’re having the ceremony at a friend’s place on Eagle Ridge—Mae Richmond—and she and Gram are taking care of the food.”

When things were simple to start with, he guessed making changes wasn’t too hard. Max shifted in his chair. Talk of their wedding brought his ex-fiancée to mind. Shannon would’ve had a hard time rolling with the change. She liked events to be executed with precision. He straightened his shoulders and stood.

“In case I haven’t told you, congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Both spoke at the same time.

“There you go—you’re already on the same page.” They all chuckled, and then Max added, “Thanks for working with me. I’ll text you both when I finish at the park.”

After the meeting with Nathan Landry and Alex, Max spent the next two hours wandering around the Pearl Springs Park, making notes and sketching the layout. It was a nice place with kids playing on the swings and slides.

He stopped at the steps leading up to a treehouse. For a second, he was tempted to climb up in it. On the other side, a spiral slide served as the exit. Today two young boys used the slide to climb up to the treehouse. He waved and smiled when they caught him watching them.

He wished he had kids. He was a good uncle to his brother’s kids. But uncle wasn’t all he wanted to be. He wanted to be a dad. And husband ...

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