Alibi Read online

  Contents

  BW5: ePub Title Page

  By Nicole Edwards

  BW5: Copyright

  BW5: Dedication

  BW5: Note to Reader

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  About Nicole Edwards

  BW5: Acknowledgments

  Nicole Edwards on Smashwords

  Alibi

  A SERIES CROSSOVER NOVEL

  BRANTLEY WALKER: OFF THE BOOKS, 5/

  THE WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE, 10

  NICOLE EDWARDS

  BY NICOLE EDWARDS

  THE WALKERS

  ALLURING INDULGENCE

  Kaleb

  Zane

  Travis

  Holidays with The Walker Brothers

  Ethan

  Braydon

  Sawyer

  Brendon

  THE WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE

  Curtis

  Jared (a crossover novel)

  Hard to Hold

  Hard to Handle

  Beau

  Rex

  A Coyote Ridge Christmas

  Mack

  Kaden & Keegan

  Alibi (a crossover novel)

  BRANTLEY WALKER: OFF THE BOOKS

  All In

  Without A Trace

  Hide & Seek

  Deadly Coincidence

  Alibi (a crossover novel)

  AUSTIN ARROWS

  Rush

  Kaufman

  CLUB DESTINY

  Conviction

  Temptation

  Addicted

  Seduction

  Infatuation

  Captivated

  Devotion

  Perception

  Entrusted

  Adored

  Distraction

  DEAD HEAT RANCH

  Boots Optional

  Betting on Grace

  Overnight Love

  Jared (a crossover novel)

  DEVIL’S BEND

  Chasing Dreams

  Vanishing Dreams

  MISPLACED HALOS

  Protected in Darkness

  Salvation in Darkness

  Bound in Darkness

  OFFICE INTRIGUE

  Office Intrigue

  Intrigued Out of The Office

  Their Rebellious Submissive

  Their Famous Dominant

  Their Ruthless Sadist

  Their Naughty Student

  Their Fairy Princess

  Owned

  PIER 70

  Reckless

  Fearless

  Speechless

  Harmless

  Clueless

  SNIPER 1 SECURITY

  Wait for Morning

  Never Say Never

  Tomorrow’s Too Late

  SOUTHERN BOY MAFIA/DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND

  Beautifully Brutal

  Without Regret

  Beautifully Loyal

  Without Restraint

  STANDALONE NOVELS

  Unhinged Trilogy

  A Million Tiny Pieces

  Inked on Paper

  Bad Reputation

  Bad Business

  NAUGHTY HOLIDAY EDITIONS

  2015

  2016

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Nicole Edwards Limited

  This is a self-published title.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. For information, contact Nicole Edwards Limited, PO Box 1086, Pflugerville, TX 78660

  Nicole Edwards Limited, Nicole Edwards Limited logo, Because Naughty can be oh so Nice, and Club Destiny series title are registered trademarks of SL Independent Publishing, LLC.

  ALIBI

  A Series Crossover Novel

  Brantley Walker: Off the Books, 5

  The Walkers of Coyote Ridge, 10

  Nicole Edwards

  COVER DETAILS:

  Image: © Wander Aguiar Photography

  Model: Lucas

  Design: © Nicole Edwards Limited

  INTERIOR DETAILS:

  Formatting: Nicole Edwards Limited

  Editing: Blue Otter Editing

  IDENTIFIERS:

  ISBN: (ebook) 978-1-64418-044-0 | (paperback) 978-1-64418-045-7 | (audio) 978-1-64418-046-4

  BISAC: FICTION / Romance / General

  DEDICATION

  To Travis Walker

  I wish we could all be as true to ourselves as you are.

  Dear reader,

  Up to this point in my writing career, with 72 books now published, I’ve written a myriad of storylines, ones that have made me laugh, made me cry, even made me want to stomp my feet and yank out my hair. I have not, however, written anything like this. This book … this one completely undid me. I did not expect it, even questioned it when I realized what was happening, but I’ve always done my best to be true to my characters, so I had to follow through.

  I can honestly say, I truly hope not to live the experience again because it stole a part of me I wasn’t ready to give up. With that said, I do hope you enjoy, if not so much the journey, then the love, support, and kindness the Walker family shows one another during such a heart-wrenching time.

  Thanks for reading!

  Nicole Edwards

  Chapter One

  Saturday, January 9, 2021

  Brantley Walker expected today to be a long day, starting off with a visit from Ryan Trexler and Hunter Kogan, the men in charge of running Sniper 1 Security, the largest private security firm in the state.

  They were here at Brantley’s request, and since this was somewhat of a job interview for the soon-to-be disbanded Off the Books Task Force, he figured it needed to run smoothly, hence the reason he was already three hours into his day and it was just now oh-eight-hundred.

  He walked into the kitchen as Reese was pouring a cup of coffee.

  “You only got seven miles in this mornin’. Somethin’ wrong with you today?”

  Brantley could hear the teasing tone, and he appreciated it. If Reese knew Brantley was stressed about this meeting, he wasn’t calling him on it, but he was certainly doing his best to distract him. For a moment, Brantley’s brain flipped back to a few hours ago when Reese had woken him up with that sexy mouth doing sinful things. Needless to say, it’d been one hell of a way to start the day.

  “Too much shit to do,” he said, forcing a smile and accepting the cup Reese passed over.

  “I just got a text. RT and Hunter’ll be here in a few.” Reese’s tone was calm and collected as usual. “We’ll have plenty
of time to introduce them to the team, even have time for questions. Then what’s left? We get to spend the afternoon at the park with the rest of the town?”

  Brantley nodded, staring into his coffee mug. “Yeah.”

  And that would be the second half of his ridiculously long day.

  After he fielded questions from JJ, Baz, Trey, and Charlie regarding the fact they were no longer state employees, Brantley was going to spend the afternoon at the fantasy festival. Coyote Ridge’s first one of the year.

  Despite the name, it wasn’t in the least bit kinky, he’d been told. It was a new festival added to the calendar this year, one meant to kick off 2021 with carnival games and rides designed specifically for the children of Coyote Ridge.

  As for why Brantley was looking forward to it … well, it certainly wasn’t for the games and rides. No, his reasons were a bit more selfish: he was simply looking forward to some downtime with Reese and if it meant congregating with the rest of the town, so be it.

  He just wasn’t sure he could get in the spirit of it today. Ever since they learned that Juliet Prince was involved in the false kidnapping scheme that resulted in JJ’s house being blown to smithereens a week ago, he hadn’t been sleeping much. It didn’t help that they had no idea where the woman was or her next move, but something in his gut said they needed to be hypervigilant.

  Brantley’s watch buzzed at the same time Reese’s did, which meant only one thing.

  “Looks like they’re right on time,” Reese said. “Why don’t you go out and greet ’em. I’ll head to the barn, start the coffee.”

  Brantley nodded because he would take any direction offered. This was foreign territory for him. He had never applied for a job in his life. Well, unless BUD/S, which stood for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL counted. But this wasn’t an endurance test that would allow his body and mind to prove his worthiness. This would require some schmoozing on his part and Brantley would be the first to admit, it wasn’t his strong suit.

  With Tesha, their four-legged partner, leading the way, Brantley went to greet their guests.

  Stepping out onto the front porch, he steeled his spine, geared up for convincing these men that absorbing the Off the Books Task Force was the best thing to do for everyone involved. Granted, he knew they were already leaning in that direction based on what RT had told him, but they’d driven two hundred miles from Dallas to Coyote Ridge on a Saturday, no less, to seal the deal.

  “How was the trip?” Brantley asked, holding out his hand to RT after the man deposited his helmet on the handlebar of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R.

  “Perfect way to spend a Saturday mornin’,” RT said with a wide grin, shaking Brantley’s hand in return.

  “I told Reese I was still thinkin’ about gettin’ one of those.” Brantley nodded at the sportbike.

  “Worth the investment,” RT replied. “You’re more than welcome to try it out if you’d like.”

  Brantley grinned. “I might just take you up on that later.”

  The other man strolled around, running one hand over his short hair, the other pulling off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of scrutinizing white-gray eyes.

  “Brantley Walker, I’d like to introduce you to Hunter Kogan. Hunter, Brantley.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Hunter said, gripping his hand firmly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Don’t believe everything you hear,” Brantley joked.

  Hunter chuckled. “Likewise.” He nodded his head toward RT. “Especially if it comes from this one.”

  RT rolled his eyes. “Anyone who knows me knows I only speak the truth. So when I say y’all are both assholes, you can bet it’s true.”

  Brantley laughed, feeling some of the tension dissipate.

  “Reese is out in the barn startin’ a pot of coffee. Y’all ready to check it out?”

  Hunter’s worried gaze flipped between them. “No one said anything about spendin’ the day with animals.”

  “I guess I could clarify. Converted barn. No animals.” Brantley glanced down at Tesha who was sitting at his feet, staring up at them, tongue lolling out of her mouth. “Well, except this girl.”

  Hunter turned his attention on the dog. “She in trainin’? Or can I pet her?”

  “Very early stages, so she’d much prefer you did.”

  Hunter held out a hand, let Tesha sniff. When she gave him a slightly hesitant but approving lick, he reached down and patted her head.

  “Is the rest of the team here?” RT asked, glancing around.

  Brantley motioned for them to follow. “On their way. I asked ’em to be here by nine. Figured I’d give you a few minutes to look around before they arrived.”

  “You tell them yet?”

  “No. I just told Reese last night, in fact. I didn’t want to jump the gun.”

  RT glanced at the house, then the barn. “Reese mentioned you moved your offices to the main house?”

  “We converted a couple of the bedrooms on the second floor,” Brantley confirmed. “Added an exterior entrance. Gives us a little more room.”

  “Probably doesn’t help with work-life balance,” Hunter noted. “Havin’ an office in the house.”

  Brantley chuckled. “I didn’t realize there was such a thing.”

  “Only in the movies,” RT joked.

  Brantley keyed in the code to unlock the doors to the barn then stepped back out of the way to allow RT and Hunter to precede him.

  “Wow. This is impressive,” RT said as he scanned the interior of the barn.

  Brantley glanced around, trying to see it from their viewpoint. He’d spent so much time and effort on this place, he sometimes forgot what it had once been.

  Aside from the architectural design—the pitch of the roof, the Y-shaped posts that held up the rafters, and the enormous sliding door—it didn’t resemble much of a barn on the inside anymore. The exterior walls had been insulated and an additional layer of wood, which he’d white-washed, added on the interior for energy efficiency. A solid, electronically controlled door had been installed for security. The original dirt floor had been covered with concrete, then stained and sealed. The hayloft had been converted, losing the original ladder and gaining a staircase. To the right of the door, a conference room had been added, and behind that, along the wall, there was a small kitchenette, a bathroom, and a storage area.

  “You did this yourself?” Hunter asked, taking it all in.

  “I had some help,” he admitted. “The barn was here when I bought the property. Needed a little bit of work on the exterior, but not much. Replaced some wood, slapped on a coat of paint, added some security. Reese and I built the staircase.”

  “Impressive.”

  “Thanks. Honestly, I hadn’t had this in mind when I did it. I was just playin’ around out here, passin’ time while I recovered and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Thought maybe it’d be a man cave of sorts, figured it was smart to safeguard it. Then once the governor proposed the task force, I knew it would be a good base of operations.”

  “Since you don’t have walk-in clients, I can see that,” Hunter acknowledged.

  Reese appeared, setting four empty coffee cups and a steaming carafe on the first desk he came to before formally greeting RT and Hunter.

  “Help yourself,” Reese said. “Need cream or sugar?”

  “This is perfect,” RT said, pouring a cup before resuming his exploration of the space.

  When RT stopped at the base of the staircase, Brantley moved closer.

  “That was an afterthought,” he explained. “When the team started to grow, we had to add on. Put in the staircase to utilize the loft square footage. Added the conference room.”

  RT moved deeper into the room. “You’ve got what? Three thousand square feet in here?”

  “A little more with the loft, but yeah.”

  “Even with all this, you’ve got some extra room for growth.”

  “We do.”

&nbs
p; “I’m curious about this,” Hunter said, motioning toward the row of whiteboards mounted on the wall.

  “Those are our evidence boards. We start one with each case. It allows us to see the visual breakdown of what we know and how it all relates.”

  “Is that what this one is?” Hunter motioned toward the board at the end, which had various images taped to it as well as writing that connected a few dots.

  “Yeah. We’ve been lookin’ into a social media scam, tryin’ to figure out who’s behind it.”

  “I’ve heard about that,” RT said, stepping closer to the board. “They infiltrate the virtual community groups on Facebook and whatnot. Pretend to be a member, get to know the others.”

  “Yep,” Brantley confirmed. “And in at least one instance that we know of, they’ve attempted to kidnap a kid.”

  “Seriously?” Hunter’s voice had deepened. “That’s bullshit.”

  “Yeah, well, unfortunately, that’s humanity for you.”

  “You plan to continue lookin’ into it?”

  Brantley met RT’s gaze. “Was hopin’ to.”

  “I think you should.” RT glanced at Hunter. “You know what’d work great for them?”

  Hunter nodded. “It definitely would.”

  Lost, Brantley stared at the pair, wondered if they were going to share with the class.

  “Oh, sorry.” RT smiled, looked back at the wall, and motioned with his hands. “We’ve been workin’ on a display screen that would allow us to do somethin’ similar. Ours is a bit more complex bein’ that we’re trackin’ multiple clients at a time. It’s digital and live, meaning it changes all the time as our agents update details. But it would work brilliantly for this, too.”

  “Display screen?” Reese asked.

  “It’s touch screen, like a tablet, only on a grander scale. You’d only need one because you could archive each case in a folder, open them as you need it. We’ve got software that would allow you to write notes, pin things in whatever order, show the images just like you would see them on an evidence board.”

  “JJ would go apeshit,” Brantley said with a laugh.

  “You said you’ve got a team of six now?” Hunter asked, perching on the corner of an empty desk as he sipped his coffee.