Page 31 of Stilettos & Whiskey
“I’ll let your father and Sergeant Bergman know. We’ll be at the ranch in ten.”
“Copy.” I switched to our walkie-talkie system and keyed my mic. “Guys, the Evans booby-trapped their compound, but Grandpa Reynolds triggered the bombs before anyone was injured. I advised them of our situation, and Mom’s en route.”
“Copy,” Lucas growled.
A flash of movement on the drone’s monitor drew my attention to the roadway. What the heck? A vintage white Cadillac with bull horns on the hood turned down our private road. I keyed the radio mic, “Guys, we have more company coming and I think he’s that shyster lawyer on TV. You know, the one who always says he’ll duke it out for his clients.”
“He can wait. I’ll deal with him later,” Lucas replied.
“Copy.” Hmmm. It seemed Logan’s “come to Jesus” meeting with Papa Garza hadn’t worked. I put the front-gate surveillance camera up on the main screen. This should be fun.
The Cadillac came to a stop at the gate. A white male in his late fifties got out. He was wearing a white business suit, white cowboy hat and what looked like alligator boots.
I grinned. Even his eyes and hair were white, and he reminded me of J. R. Ewing from that old TV show Mom had me hooked on.
He pushed the buzzer.
“State your business,” I said in my most official voice.
“I’m Jim Bob Duke and I need to talk with Alexander or Tess Stone.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
Jim Bob glared at the camera. “I’m Jim Bob Duke, the lawyer. You know, when you need help in a legal fight, I’llDukeit out for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll take that as a no. You need to make an appointment. They’re very busy people.”
“Now see here, little lady, it’s very important that I talk to them today.”
Little lady? Seriously? “Not happening. Leave now or you will be arrested for trespassing.”
“You can’t do that!” Jim Bob blustered.
Frank’s patrol car pulled in behind him.
“Yeah, I can. Leave now or that nice officer will arrest you.”
In his bad ass mode, Frank approached the lawyer. “You heard her. Leave or go to jail.”
Jim Bob glared at Frank. “I’ll see you all in court.” He got back in his car and drove off.
“Heard you had some excitement,” Frank said.
I hit the button to open the main gate. “We did. They’re booking the prisoners now.”
“Sergeant Bergman sent me to help out.” Frank watched the Cadillac until it turned onto the highway. “Leave the gate open. The task force is heading this way.”
“Copy.”
“Oh, and we’re gonna need a lot more coffee too.”
I frowned. “Exactly how many people are coming?”
“A lot.” Frank got in his patrol car and drove to the training center.
My eyes widened in alarm as a caravan of vehicles drove through the gates. Most were marked police cars, but some weren’t. Trying to keep track of all the people gave me the headache from hell.
The door to the command center opened. Grandpa looked around in disbelief. “Where are your brothers?”
