Page 78 of Snow in Texas

He’d amassed a file. At the moment, he had no grounds for picking up Derek and his boys on federal charges. But lots of small local infractions were being overlooked. The club had some sort of inroad with the cops, he’d long since realized. But Camden seemed straight-laced and no-nonsense. With his arsenal of notations, perhaps Riley could –

“What the shit is this?” Camden asked, gray brows scaling his forehead.

“I’m sorry…what?”

The chief turned the file toward him on the desk, contents fanned out.

Riley almost puked right then and there. His carefully-taken notes and few surveillance photos were gone. In their place were the types of photos no grown man ever wanted to be caught in possession of.

“Is this some kinda joke?” Camden asked.

Yeah,on him. He did puke then, all over his shoes.

Twenty-Nine

Two days later, Fox headed south for Odessa. The call came in to Candy’s cell at eleven-fifteen that night. Riley and his boys were picked up by PD with their hands full of ill-gotten scripts. With Agent Riley in hot water, and his brother in lockup, Fox returned, smugness coloring his normally implacable features.

The day after that, a four-man crew left for Knoxville.

~*~

Jenny

They still hadn’t told anyone. It was starting to make her crazy, the waiting. But she didn’t like the idea of sending her brother and her man off together on a road trip right after she’d dropped the baby bomb on Candy.

“Darla made sandwiches for y’all to take,” she said, standing over Colin as he crouched on the floor of his dorm and crammed clothes haphazardly into his backpack. “Peanut butter, I think.” She was making small talk to try to keep the swelling knot of dread at bay in her belly. It wasn’t working.

“Okay.” A handful of long-sleeved shirts, sleeves trailing, was shoved down into the bag. “How cold’s it gonna be up there?”

“It can get kinda chilly this time of year. And the weather changes suddenly. Be sure to take layers.”

“Yeah.”

“And don’t forget your phone charger. You don’t want to have to bum one.”

He paused and sat back on his heels, head lifting. He smiled at her. “You know, this isn’t my first field trip…”

“Call me ‘Mom,’ and die.”

He chuckled. “I’ve traveled all over the country, baby. I can handle riding up to Knoxville.”

“But see, that’s the thing about relationships. It’s in the fine print that I have to make sure you pack extra socks and remember your toothbrush.”

His normally sharp grin softened into an expression that melted her insides. “You’re worried about me.”

“Well duh. You’re kind of an idiot,” she said, and felt her own sappy, stupid smile curve her lips. She sat down on the edge of his bed. “Are you gonna be okay seeing Mercy again?”

He shrugged and glanced away, resumed packing. “Not like it’s a social visit. It’s work. We’ll make do.”

“You want to know what I think?”

“About me and him? Not really.”

“I think this is a good opportunity for you guys to make a fresh start.”

“Did you not hear me say ‘not really’?”

“Hey.” When he sighed and made eye contact, she said, “Think of it as a fatherhood exercise. Letting go of some of that stubbornness.”

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