“I know.”
“So let’s keep it that way,” he said. “Give me a few minutes and Reese and I’ll head over.”
“I’m with my mother,” Dante said quickly.
“At the governor’s mansion?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
Fan-fucking-tastic. “Okay, fine. We’ll come there. It’ll be about thirty. Maybe forty-five. Keep your phone nearby.”
“Thanks, Brantley. Please help … my sister. You’ve got to find my sister.”
“I will,” he assured him, dragging his ass out of bed.
Reese was sitting up, watching him intently as Brantley disconnected the call, tossed the phone on the bed.
“Dante’s sister went out last night, didn’t come home. They can’t get in touch with her. Let’s get dressed. Head over there.”
Brantley marched to the bathroom. In order to wash the rest of the sleep from his brain, he opted for a quick shower. Ten minutes later, alternating in the bathroom, they’d both shaved, showered, and dressed, then headed out the door. He snatched his truck keys on the way.
Reese was silent, taking cues from him, getting into the passenger seat.
Brantley’s truck started with a rumble, followed by the scrape of rubber on gravel as he reversed onto the grass, then swung around and headed down his driveway. Neither of them spoke, nor did they bother with the radio, opting for silence as Brantley navigated through the small town on his way to the toll road that would take him into Austin.
Because it was Sunday and there weren’t too many cars on the road this early, it took only forty minutes to wind his way downtown. He pulled up to the governor’s mansion in what was likely record time, but probably felt like an eternity to the anxious family waiting inside. At the gates, Brantley flashed his ID at the guard, who gave him a bland smile before waving him through.
Unlike many visitors who traipsed across these grounds, Brantley and Reese weren’t there to admire the Greek Revival style architecture, the six twenty-nine-foot Ionic columns lining the front porch, the floor-to-ceiling windows, or even the priceless art and antique collections that were housed within the governor’s mansion. Nope, today they would be using the back entrance to gain access to the house, since only visitors and tour groups came in through the front doors.
He parked his truck and let his gaze scan his surroundings. He couldn’t count the number of residences he’d visited over the years during his time as a SEAL, hunting down a target, or on some sort of protection or extraction mission in which one official or another had pissed off the wrong people. He prayed that wasn’t the case here and that Corinne Greenwood had decided to make it a late night and perhaps her phone had simply died.
Taking a deep breath, Brantley resigned himself to this new mission.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was thinking that this could be something else entirely. They were currently investigating the disappearance of Corinne’s childhood friend and now they were looking into Corinne’s whereabouts? Coincidence? He didn’t think so.
He shot a quick look at Reese before he knocked on the back door. The door flew open and a petite woman stared up at him, her face wrought with concern.
“Oh, thank God!” Trina exclaimed, greeting him when he stepped into the house.
Brantley accepted Dante’s mother’s panicked hug, taking a step back when she released him. “Katrina Greenwood, I’d like you to meet my partner, Reese Tavoularis. Reese, Trina.”
Reese held out his hand, Trina taking it firmly within both of hers. “Thank you. Thank you for coming to help.”
“Hey,” Dante said, thrusting out a hand in Brantley’s direction. “Thanks for comin’.”
Brantley looked at the hand, up at Dante’s face. The only reason he shook it was because Trina was there. Had she not been, he probably would’ve simply punched Dante in the face, which would’ve been nothing less than he deserved.
Stepping back, Brantley turned his full attention to Trina. Though he did his best to hide it, he couldn’t deny it felt a bit awkward to be here. Not only in the governor’s mansion but around Dante and his mother. Yeah, it was true, Dante had been his friend throughout his younger years, but there had been tension between them ever since the black-eye incident with JJ. None of that mattered now, he reminded himself. This was about Corinne, not Brantley’s comfort level.
“Dante said you could help us,” Trina said, her voice pitched a little high.
“Considerin’ I’m on the governor’s task force…” Brantley glanced at Dante, curious as to why the governor hadn’t been the one to call.
Obviously understanding, Dante nodded. “We haven’t told my dad yet. Until we know for sure she’s missing…”
He didn’t like the sound of that. If they truly believed Corinne was missing, they needed to call in the cavalry.
“Is this somethin’ she does often?” he asked, curious as to why they might hold off.
