Joe had been a ghost. Moving in and out without so much as a trace. He’d never missed a target. Never failed a mission.
These days, Joe spent his time between the tiny bar he owned with his brother, Jake; the ranch he shared with Amanda; and the shooting range at Martin Tactical, where he, on occasion, provided instruction.
“What happened here?”
Grateful to have a distraction, Caleb focused on the business at hand.
“Alec called and asked if I could give Samantha a ride home. I arrived to pick her up around four o’clock this morning. I entered the bar and found her playing cards with some of the regular guys. The owner, Rosanna, was behind the bar, as usual. I stopped to chat with her for a few minutes, mainly to give Samantha time to react to my presence.”
Caleb couldn’t help but smile, remembering her indignation when he hauled her out of there. The woman had fire in her blood. That wild Irish temper was quick to heat, quick to burn.
“I removed her from the throng with little incident. We argued in the parking lot, just outside the entrance. Maybe three or four minutes after we came outside, shots were fired. First shot grazed my arm and we took cover. Several more rounds were fired before we were able to get to the truck and hightail it out.”
“Sam okay?”
Caleb thought of Samantha and Alec once again. “She’s fine,” he grumbled.
“What about you?”
“What’re you? My mother?”
Joe cocked a brow but remained silent.
“It’s just a scratch.” Caleb tugged on his sleeve to show the angry red welt that marred his arm. “See? Barely broke the skin. Samantha’s a little banged up, but thankfully nothing serious.”
Even the bottle she’d fallen on hadn’t done that much damage. Just bled a lot. No need to worry Joe, who would, in turn, worry Amanda.
“What do we know?”
Joe knelt to investigate the ground at the base of the tree where they stood. The ground showed obvious signs someone had been there recently, and with the bullet casings Caleb had found, there was no doubt they were in the right place.
“Unfortunately, not much. Shooter was here.” Caleb pointed to the ground where they stood. “Weather was warm and mild last night.”
“Wind?”
Caleb shook his head. “Not so much as a breeze.”
“Hmm.” Joe looked toward the parking lot. “Seventy-five meters, no wind. Automatic weapon, based on the casings you’ve got there. Hell, Mandy could’ve made those shots. As well as more than half the population of Austin. Could’ve been anybody.”
“That’s what I figured. There aren’t any tire markings. Whoever it was walked in from the parking lot and walked out the same way.”
Joe jerked his head in the direction of the lot, and Caleb fell in beside him. “You remember the vehicles?”
“A handful of motorcycles that’ll match to the patrons of the bar.” Caleb stood at the edge of the gravel, looking over the lot and imagining it from last night. “Couple of late-model pickups, no cars to speak of. I’ll get the info over to Brandon and have him look into it. I don’t expect it’ll be much.”
“Mandy and Alec are working a lead that Matteo’s in Austin for some charity gig. Timing seems more than a coincidence, wouldn’t you think? With any luck, we’ll have him by the end of the weekend.”
The sooner the better.
Joe kept walking, his gaze scanning the lot. He wouldn’t miss a thing. It was one of the reasons he’d called Joe to meet him here. Other than being newly married to his sister, Caleb had history with this man. Most of it covered in violence and blood.
Joe had been there, had seen Caleb at his worst. Caleb had sliced open Joe’s side as he’d pulled him out of that Columbian jungle a lifetime ago. Joe had dragged him to safety and gone back to take out the target that had gotten Caleb’s team killed.
Caleb had hated him for it. Hated the fact he’d been separated from his men while they’d lain dead or dying. He still didn’t know what Joe had been doing in the jungle that day, but that was standard protocol for men like them. Information came on a need to know basis and they were trained not to ask questions.
As angry as he’d been, Caleb had the utmost respect for the man he now called brother. Over the last few months, they’d reached an accord, of sorts, and had struck a friendship.
It helped that Joe made his sister happier than Caleb had ever seen her.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing Jake and Cooper.” Caleb nodded toward the two men standing next to Joe’s truck. “Who’s opening the bar?”
Joe shrugged as if he didn’t care whether or not the bar stayed closed. “Jake wanted to come and I wasn’t about to tell him no. He was pissed when he heard what happened.”