Dangerous Wyoming Rescue - Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Travis watched Luke lean close to Booth. "The cop needs to see Brittney, or he'll consider her missing and investigate."
Booth cursed. "Go wake her up."
After ambling to one of the RVs, Luke worked the dial on a padlock.
Was Cassidy's daughter bolted away like a criminal? Working his jaw back and forth, Travis scanned the perimeter.
Despite the afternoon heat, a fire burned inside an old oil drum. A biker dumped the contents of a garbage can atop the blaze. It wasn't rubbish, but rather hundreds of OTC medication boxes. Flames consumed the cardboard, sending sparks skyward.
Evidence?
A second after Luke opened the RV's door, Brittney appeared on the stairs. Even from where Travis stood, he could see the sores on the younger woman's arms—the kind found on meth addicts.
Shading her eyes with her hand, Brittney scanned the crowd. "Mom?" Arms open, she rushed toward Cassidy.
Booth whistled. Brittney skidded to a stop, only feet from her mother. Booth asked, "You happy? You know your daughter's alive. The cops don't need to investigate because she clearly ain't missing."
"Cassidy and her daughter need a minute alone," said Travis.
"Brittney don't want that, do you?"
Eyes on the ground, Brittney shook her head.
"Anything else you want to say?" Booth asked.
"You don't need to worry about me, Mom. I'm fine. You need to leave. Now."
"I don't believe you, baby."
"I'm not your baby. And Mom?" Cassidy's daughter lifted her gaze. "Don't ever come back."
Grabbing Cassidy's arm, Travis forced her to turn away. "Let's go," he said through gritted teeth.
Leave without Brittney? It would be easier for Cassidy to cut away a piece of her heart. "Are you crazy?"
"Making a fuss won't help your daughter. Or you." Tightening his grip, Travis walked faster. "Staying is dangerous."
Hot tears leaked down her cheeks. "Travis, I can't leave without my child."
"Keep walking. We're being watched."
Tall trees lined both sides of the road, their boughs blocking out the sun. Cassidy recalled how Luke and Rex appeared out of nowhere. Undoubtedly, Travis was right. They walked without comment until her sedan came into view. Steam no longer rose from the engine.
"Will your car make it back to town?"
"If I add water, sure." From the floorboard Cassidy removed an old plastic milk jug she kept filled for such occasions.
Travis held out his hand. She passed him the container. With the raised hood giving them a touch of privacy, Travis said under his breath, "I don't think that Brittney can leave, even if she wanted."
"But Travis—"
"We will get her, and soon," he cut her off. "But doing that is going to take some out-of-the-box thinking."
Clearly, he didn't intend to just walk away from this. "Do you have a plan?"
"There's an agency in Pleasant Pines. They're sort of a private security group." With the work done on the car, he slammed the hood shut. "A friend of mine works for them. I'm going to see if he'll help us."
Cassidy had gotten her hopes up before, only to be disappointed later. Then again, if she didn't want help, why had she bothered going to the sheriff in the first place? "Travis, what are you talking about?"
"Rocky Mountain Justice."