Brody (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Book 3)

a mouse who’d convinced him to take a plea bargain, promising he’d get a slap on the wrist. Oh, yeah, he needed to pay, too.
Scanning the horizon, there was nothing except trees tangled with brush and weeds as far as he could see. The night before, he’d walked until he was ready to drop before stumbling upon this abandoned garage space. The stench of oil and gasoline lingered in the air, stale yet pungent, even though it was apparent the place hadn’t been used in years. But it had one advantage that made it perfect. It was close to Shiloh Springs, and that’s what mattered. Too bad he didn’t know how to hotwire a car, or he’d have made it here a heck of a lot sooner.
In the end, none of that mattered, though. Today was looking up. Soon he’d have everything he wanted.
Money.
Freedom.
But, more than either of those things, the one thing driving him forward was finally in his grasp—vengeance.
Beth made her way to the kitchen after her shower. Her hair was still damp, and she’d borrowed a set of clothes from Nica, not wanting to put on the clothes from the night before. She absently ran a comb through it, working out the tangles as she walked down the steps, following the scent of fresh-brewed coffee like it was a siren’s song. Which in all honesty, it was. She’d didn’t function well without at least two full cups every morning.
“Good morning, Beth. Did you get any sleep at all?” Ms. Patti leaned against the countertop by the stove, a mug of coffee in her hand, which she passed to Beth. She inhaled deeply before taking the first sip, closing her eyes as the warmth from the liquid nirvana flooded her senses. How was it possible Ms. Patti was not only the best cook she knew, but apparently also was the queen of caffeine?
“I managed to get a couple hours. I kept jerking awake at every sound. Has there been any news? Have they caught Evan?”
“Not yet, hon. Rafe’s at the sheriff’s station, got there early. I talked to him a couple hours ago. Everyone is looking for Evan. He can’t hide for long.”
“I’m sorry I brought all my problems to your doorstep.”
“Nonsense.” Ms. Patti slapped two pieces of toast only a plate loaded with scrambled eggs and bacon. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Evan gets all the blame here, so you stop that line of thinking right now.” She motioned Beth to the table, and plopped the plate in front of her when she sat.
“My head tells me that, Ms. Patti. Except, none of you would be dealing with him if he wasn’t obsessed with me. Or rather, the money he thinks I have. Why can’t he understand? I couldn’t keep the money. After everything he and Trevor did, it was dirty—blood money.”
Ms. Patti lowered into the chair across from Beth. “Honey, you did nothing wrong. Nothing. Neither did your sister. I’ve gotten to know you both in the last few months. You’d never have kept that money anyway. Tell me honestly, if you’d know the Crowley County Bond wasn’t simply a family keepsake, but was in fact worth a lot of money, what would you have done?”
Beth took another sip of her coffee, savoring the sweetness before answering. “We’d have done exactly what we did, donate it back to Crowley County.”
“Precisely.” Ms. Patti reached across and squeezed her hand.
“I checked in on Jamie before my shower. She was sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake her. I don’t know what or even how much I should be telling her. She’s so little, I’m not even sure she comprehends why we’re not living with her daddy, and why he isn’t around anymore.”
“It’s a tough situation to be in, hon. Not something most people have to deal with telling their children. My guess is to play it by ear. If she asks questions, explain it in the simplest, easiest way you can, but until then, it might be better to let her be surrounded by people who love her.”
Beth set the coffee mug on the tabletop, wrapping her hands around it to ward off the sudden chill sweeping through her. “I can’t imagine Evan ever hurting Jamie. Me, I can take care of myself, but she’s so little.” She heard the crack in her voice, and paused, working on gaining a modicum of composure. “Ms. Patti, I’m terrified he’s going to take my baby to hurt me.”
“Not going to happen. Brody, Rafe, all of us aren’t going to allow Evan within a mile of you or your daughter. I give you my word, he’s going to get caught.” Ms. Patti gave her a steely-eyed glare, and stood up, her bearing intimidating for all her tiny stature. “I’ve got the right to protect myself and my property. That applies to anybody within these walls. If he steps foot on Boudreau land, I’d consider that a threat.”
“Ms. Patti, you can’t—”
“Trust me, I can. I’ve taken out any number of varmints on my property, and shooting troublemakers intent on doing harm to me and mine, I’ve got no problem taking out another one. Besides,” she grinned, her expression deliciously wicked, “I’ve got a brand-new shotgun I’ve been itching to try out.”
Before Beth could think of anything to say, she heard the clump of running feet down the stairs, right before Jamie sprinted into the kitchen, her hair pulled up into two ponytails, a small pair of bib overalls with a bright yellow T-shirt underneath. Nica trailed close behind, wiping her eyes. Beth winced at the obvious dark circles under her friend’s eyes. She’d obviously taken her job as guard dog seriously. Catching Beth’s eyes, she winked and headed for the coffee maker.
“Good morning, Mommy!” Jamie threw herself into Beth’s embrace, smacking a kiss against her cheek. “Guess what? Nica gave me these clothes. Aren’t they something? She said they was hers when she was little, like me.”
“She’s right, Jamie.” Ms.