Page 10 of K-9 Confidential

Zeus set his head against his master’s leg.

Then silence.

Heavy breathing reached her ears as her father handed off his weapon to one of the other men. He wiped his head and hands with the same work towel he’d used while fixing his tractor. As though it’d never happened.

“Was that really necessary?” Granger didn’t understand the rules here, that he didn’t have any authority or rights. Vaughn police were controlled by Henry Acker. The mayor was controlled by Henry Acker. Anything and everything that happened in this town went through him, and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change that.

“He’s alive, which is more than he deserves.” Henry motioned for two of the other soldiers to clean up the mess he’d made, and they collected Johnny’s body and hauled him out of sight. “Now, Charlie, considering you brought Agent Morais onto my property, I’m starting to think you’re not here to apologize for making me think I lost two daughters in that pipeline explosion. When you broke into my house last night, you accused me of having something to do with Erin’s death. Is that what this is, Charlie Grace?” He motioned to Granger. “You here to have Agent Morais bring me in?”

First and middle-named. It’d always been a warning for when she’d crossed a line as a kid. Only now it seemed to have a much stronger effect, despite her years of emotional and physical distance. “Erin wanted out, Dad. She’d been trying to leave for years, but you just wouldn’t let her. You wouldn’t let any of us. Sage had to die to get away, I had to fake my death and run, and Erin—”

“Erin died in a hunting accident. Just like the coroner said.” A slip of her father’s eyes gave her the answer she craved, and her heart squeezed too tight in her chest. He scrubbed at the same spot on his hands, a little too hard.

“A coroner who would write whatever you told him to write in his report.” The zip ties were cutting deeper due to the tension in her hands and arms. “Because that’s how it works around here, doesn’t it? Everyone here worships you. Every word out of your mouth is gospel. No matter how many lives have to be sacrificed, nobody is allowed to question you for the good of the cause.”

“I keep them safe. They know that, and they reward me with their service.” Her father shoved the towel back into his jeans and headed for the barn, leaving her and Granger zip-tied in the middle of the most dangerous place on earth. “Let them go. See if they can make it to the town border alive.”

Bastard.

But she wasn’t finished. After all these years, she finally had the courage to stand up for herself, for her sisters. “You brainwash them, just like you brainwashed your own daughters, and look what happened. Two of them are dead, and the other is the target of a drug cartel. Because of you and your extremist bullshit.”

“Drug cartel?” Henry Acker turned to face her, years of age, any hint of grief he’d shown and some color melting away. In front of her was the man she’d wanted to love her more than anything—to choose her over his cause—who had come up short every chance he got. “Don’t come back, Charlie. There’s nothing left here for you.”

“I’m not leaving until I find out what happened to my sister.” She squared her shoulders, feeling stronger than ever. Maybe it had everything to do with Granger at her side or the fact she really had nothing left to lose, but she would take it. All of it. “You don’t scare me anymore, Dad. I’m going to find out the truth. In the end, you’re going to pay for everything you did to us.”

“You’ve been warned, Charlie,” Henry said. “Get them out of my town.”

* * *

His head poundedharder than it should.

Sundown was in less than twenty minutes.

Henry Acker walked into his barn without another glance in their direction. The Acker patriarch had set the rules. Breaking them would bring a rain of hell on earth. Granger had witnessed it firsthand. But he’d gotten what they’d come for. Confirmation. Henry Acker had paused at the mention ofSangre por Sangre. Might as well told them right then and there he knew exactly what the cartel wanted with Charlie.

“Let’s go, princess.” Another one of Acker’s soldiers shoved Charlie forward, but she managed to stay on her own two feet.

“I told you. I’m not going anywhere.” Charlie broke out of the zip ties as if the plastic was mere sewing thread. And hell if that wasn’t one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen. She turned on the soldier at her back and rammed her fist into his face. No, wait. That was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

The man hit the ground. Out cold.

Granger wrenched his wrists down as hard as he could and snapped the zip ties loose. He turned on the escort behind him and knocked the soldier out cold. Rubbing at his wrists, he stared into the barn. Hell, they were in the middle of enemy territory. “An abduction, a beating and a death threat all in one day. You sure know how to show a fellow a good time. Hadn’t expected to meet the parents so soon though.”

“It could’ve been a lot worse.” Johnny obviously hadn’t known who he was dealing with when he’d dragged Charlie into town. She turned that dark gaze on him. “He could’ve strip-searched you like the first boy who dared ask me on a date. Get their feet.”

They dragged each soldier away from the front of the barn and behind a wall of bailed hay. Not ideal but the best option they had.

“Guess I should be grateful.” His laugh took him by surprise. “All right. So we’re in the middle of a hostile town with twenty minutes until the sun goes down. What now?”

“We make those twenty minutes count.” Charlie charged for the side of the barn, leading him straight past the structure and toward a house an eighth of a mile up the drive.

The Acker family home was everything he’d imagined, but nothing like he’d expected. Vaughn, New Mexico, wasn’t exactly the type of place people from renovation shows visited. Not when a single man controlled the import and export of every grain of rice, wheat and piece of fruit. Jobs here consisted of farming the land, livestock raising and the occasional trade. The nearest dentist or physicians were in the next town over. Henry Acker and the townspeople didn’t trust anyone outside these borders. More likely to take care of any ailments themselves and utilize natural remedies they’d made or stockpiled over the years. But the Acker home itself could’ve starred in one of those design shows.

Clean white horizontal siding gave the impression of a large home, but the structure couldn’t have been more than two-thousand square feet. Dark shutters highlighted large windows from the covered porch. Old brick steps—handlaid from the looks of it—were still in perfect condition. As though the place had been built yesterday. An equally well-built redbrick chimney stretched up along one side of the house. Despite the constant threat the people of this town believed was coming, Henry Acker had done a fine job taking care of his home.

Understanding hit as Charlie hiked up the steps.

“You’re not serious about going in there.” Granger pulled up short. Zeus ran into his leg, unable to stop his mass quick enough. Happened more often than not. “Your father ordered us to leave. Not to mention anyone could be inside.”

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