Ultimate Cowboy by Rita Herron Read Free Book Online Page A

asked as he followed Julie through the hall and outside to her dark sedan.
    “We pick up coffee, find a place to park, look inconspicuous and wait.”
    Brody caught her arm as they made it to the car. “I... Thanks for letting me come along.” He wanted to say so much more. Tell her she didn’t have to put herself in danger to save strangers.That she should be taking care of sick animals, not carrying a gun and putting herself in the line of fire.
    But she shrugged off his touch as if she was annoyed to have him along, then climbed in the car and started the engine. By the time he fastened his seat belt she’d pulled into traffic, a thick silence falling between them.
    He couldn’t stand the quiet. Couldn’t stand knowing thatshe rode these streets alone looking for criminals.
    That she could get herself killed.
    Then he reminded himself that he hadn’t seen her in seven years. She might be involved with someone else now, might even be married.
    A quick check to her ring finger though and he didn’t spot a ring.
    Julie pulled through a doughnut shop, ordered two coffees and an assortment of doughnuts,then handed him his coffee. For the next two hours, they staked out a convenience store. The conversation was stilted, the air filed with tension every time they watched someone enter the store.
    A black teen wearing a hoodie entered, a white kid beside him, and Brody sat up straighter, watching through Julie’s extra set of binoculars as they combed through the store.
    “Think they’re canvassingit?” he finally asked.
    Julie sighed. “Maybe.”
    The boys approached an older man, passed him a few bucks, then the guy bought a six-pack of beer, and carried it outside. The kids bought a bag of chips and pretzels, then met the older guy on the curb and raced off with the beer.
    “You going to bust them?” Brody asked.
    Julie shook her head. “Not worth it. Besides we can’t draw attentionto the fact that we’re here.”
    Right. They were waiting for the bigger fish.
    Nerves climbed his neck. “How do you do this all the time?” he asked.
    “This is not all I do,” she said, her eyes still trained on the store.
    He’d seen enough TV crime shows to know that was true. But he didn’t like the images that flashed through his head.
    Julie’s cell phone buzzed, and she grabbedit, speaking low into the mouthpiece. “Right. We’ll be right there.”
    “What?” Brody asked as she cut the connection, then swung the car around and headed south.
    “They hit a store a couple of blocks from here. Hang on.” She pressed the accelerator, and Brody’s pulse clamored as she sped around traffic. Was this it?
    After all these years, was he finally going to see his brother again?
    “It’s not good,” Julie said as she swung around the corner, tires squealing. “One of the locals moved too soon and freaked the boys. The younger one, Tray, escaped, but Kyle has a hostage.”
    Brody choked back an obscenity, then Julie threw the car up on the curb and reached for her gun.
    His heart hammered double time as he climbed out with her. “Julie?”
    Her gaze met his, herbeautiful eyes tortured but focused. “I promise you, Brody, I’ll do everything I can to make sure Will’s not hurt.”
    He had trusted her with his heart years ago, trusted in their love. But this was his brother’s life.
    He didn’t want her getting hurt, either.
    “Brody, trust me,” she whispered in a raw voice.
    Pain wrenched through him, but he gave a clipped nod, then they bothclimbed out. The two officers on the scene, Officers Damon Lewis and Jamie Fenton, introduced themselves.
    “We saw the robbery in progress and started to go in, but the other kid must have spotted us and told the boy with the gun. Suddenly all hell broke loose,” Officer Fenton said.
    “How many are inside?” Julie asked.
    “Just the perp and the cashier,” Officer Lewis supplied. “A younggirl about the kids’ age. She’s scared out of her mind.”
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