Page 52 of Counter Attack

“Trevor Martin, a known drug dealer around here,” Nathan whispered, gripping the camera. He wished it was the dealer’s neck. How did the teens get mixed up with the likes of him?

The group’s voices reached them, and Nathan pointed the camera at the one he thought was the leader and pressed the button, snapping several shots individually and then all the players together. He was anxious to see what the boys’ parents would have to say about their kids’ activities.

“Are you crazy?” The leader’s voice carried in the night air. There was barely a hint of a European accent. “This is a setup waiting to happen.”

“Hardly. This is the perfect place to meet—isolated, and I’ve made sure we won’t be disturbed.” The local drug dealer rubbed his thumb and fingers together. “Besides, it’s not like I can bring them to you.”

So the dealer was the one who set up the meeting. Nathan would like to know who he was paying off to look the other way. Beside him, Alexis took in a quick breath. “What?” he whispered. She was looking over her shoulder and he followed her gaze.

Kayla?

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Alex gritted her teeth. It would be a miracle if Kayla didn’t get them caught. “What are you doing here?” Alex whispered. “I thought you were going home.”

“I was, but I was worried about you so I followed you. What are you doing here?”

Alex looked over her shoulder to see if there’d been any change at the field house. The drug dealers were still talking. “It’s a long story. Just try to stay out of sight and be quiet.”

A car door slammed, and they all turned toward the field house. The SUV circled and drove toward the main road while the Jeep stayed behind. Alex watched while Nathan snapped several more photos as the drug dealer held out his hand, and whatever he said was lost.

It was evident what he’d said when each of the teens counted out cash in his hand. He turned to go and called over his shoulder, “Meet me here tomorrow night at ten to pick up your next supply.”

“You sure there won’t be no cops?”

Nathan leaned closer to Alex. “The kid is Jonathan Kennedy’s son.”

“The attorney?”

He nodded grimly.

“You don’t have to worry about any cops. I’ve got that taken care of.”

Another of the boys spoke up. “Want us to drop you off somewhere?”

He shook his head. “Somebody’s picking me up in a few minutes. You boys better get home before you’re grounded—it’s a school night.”

The teens left first, and once they were out of sight, the drug dealer walked toward the main drag. A few minutes later, a white Lexus picked him up. Alex strained to see the driver. “Can you tell who’s in the Lexus?”

“No, but maybe the camera can.”

Alex released a sigh of relief as she unmuted her phone. “We pulled it off.”

“What did we pull off?” Then Kayla frowned and pointed at J.R. “What’shedoing here?”

“It’s a long story,” Alex said.

Nathan crossed his arms. “And you shouldn’t have followed us. You’re not trained to investigate.”

“I didn’t mean to investigate. Like I told Alex, I was worried about her, and when she got out at the school, I don’t know, I wanted to know what was going on.”

Nathan sighed, and before he could say anything else, Alex held up her hand. “Don’t do it again. If those men had seen you or heard you, it would have blown it for us as well.”

J.R. cleared his throat. “Think I’ll head back to my car. If I hear anything you need to know, I’ll give you a call.”

“Thanks for the information.” Nathan tilted his head toward Kayla. “Can we drop you off? My truck is parked over by the buses.”

“I’m good. My car is parked that way at the railroad crossing.” She pointed down the track.

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