Page 4 of All Bets are Off

“Yeah, so we can not talk like we haven’t been talking for the past couple of months,” I say.

“For Chrissake, Logan. We talk. You sound like you’re my fucking wife or something.”

I’d get mad if I didn’t just think the same damn thing myself. Concentrating on his previous statement, I say, “You’re taking a case I didn’t even know about until just now. What happened to the three of us discussing new cases before we dole them out?”

“You’re acting really paranoid, here. What’s the big deal?”

Narrowing my eyes, I say, “Don’t think I don’t know what this is. You’re running.Again.”

Dropping my arm, West gives me a glare that would make anyone else back off, but I’m not anyone else.

I stand there for a good twenty seconds before turning my back on him and walking downstairs and out the front door.

Outside in the driveway, Jase stands beside his car talking to Colt, Sean, and Kasey. Seeing my face, they stop their conversation.

“What’s wrong?” Jase asks me, but I don’t stop to talk to him.

Why would Jase tell West something I revealed in private, and why he would assign West a case without talking with me about it first? Both questions burn in my brain as I stride the length of the large house, heading toward the sand dunes in the distance. A long walk on the beach might help me calm down. I don’t want to be around when West leaves, anyway.

Colt catches up to me. “Hey. Where are you going?”

Slowing my gait, I glace at Colt’s concerned face. Tall and blond, he could pass for West’s younger brother, something I’m pretty sure drives West crazy.

“For a walk. I need some time alone.” Glancing over my shoulder, I see West, suitcase in hand, stopping where Jase and the others stand. When he looks my way, I turn to face the beach again.

“You guys get into a fight?” Colt asks, matching his steps to mine.

“You could say that.”

As I reach the end of the house, a car drives by, turning around at the end of the road. Living on a hill with only one neighbor down the driveway through the woods, occasionally someone gets the wrong road or comes up here because it offers a great view of the ocean, although there are no trespassing signs posted at the bottom of the drive. So, I don’t really think anything of it. A second later, an unmistakable noise pierces the air just before a weight hits me like a ton of bricks and I go down, landing on my side at the end of the paved driveway. Over the sound of tires squealing, I hear West shout my name. Fear, familiar and sour in my throat, takes over, my heart beginning to pound in my chest.Heat, sand, and sweat.And I have to work hard to push down the panic.

“Logan!”

West is there beside me, and, instinctively, I reach for him.

Eyes focusing, confusion pours over me when I see West isn’t in uniform.

No miles of endless sand. No unbearable heat. No sounds of combat. Only the ocean crashing onto the shore behind the nearby dunes and the taste of salt in the air.

“You okay?” West asks.

I nod. “For a second there…” I take a deep breath and let it out, not wanting to say the wordsI almost had a PTSD episode.They’ve been rare, but West and I both have had mild ones. In our line of work, anything worse could mean death in a tight situation. Shaking off those thoughts, I ask, “What happened?”

“Someone shot at you,” Jase says tersely as West helps me to my feet. My arm hurts where I hit the ground. Looking past the open security gates toward the road, I see Kasey and Sean standing in the quiet street.

“You get the plates?” West asks Jase.

“A partial read. Maybe Kasey or Sean got them. You okay, Logan? Colt?”

“I’m good,” Colt says.

Realizing he likely saved my life by tackling me to the ground, I smile at him. “Thanks.”

“Dark sedan, tags partially covered,” Kasey says, jogging up to us with Sean at her heels.

“Unlikely spot for a random drive-by,” West says.

“Check the cameras.” Jase nods to Sean, who starts for the house.

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