Renegade (Tin Star K9 Series Book 1) by Jodi Burnett (literature books to read .txt) 📗

Colt breathed in her fresh lavender scent before he pulled out onto the roadway. “I didn’t know you carried a 9mm?”

“Yeah. I have my concealed carry license.” Renegade stood in the backseat with his face peering out between them. He panted happily while his eyes shifted back and forth between their conversation. Colt reached up and stroked his muzzle and received a slobbery kiss in return.

“Are you carrying right now?” Colt shot a glance at Caitlyn.

She shook her head and rubbed her palm down her leg. “No, don’t worry. There’s a gun safe installed in the center console of my truck. I usually keep my gun secured inside there when I’m out and about.”

“Why bother with the concealed carry, then? It’s not gonna do you much good locked in your truck.”

“I take it with me when I think I might need it.”

Colt turned onto the ranch drive and meandered up the winding road. When they arrived, John and Dylan were sitting on the front porch drinking a beer.

“Will you open your windows? I need to leave Ren out here. He and Dylan have been irritating each other lately, and I don’t want to have to deal with it right now.”

Colt tucked that snippet of information away for the time being. As far as he knew, Renegade hadn’t always reacted to Dylan aggressively. “Sure.” He dropped all four windows down by several inches.

Neither John nor Dylan stood when he and Caitlyn climbed out of the jeep. They made their way over to the bottom of the steps. “Good afternoon, Mr. Reed, Dylan. I’m here because some recent evidence came to light in the Wendy Gessler case, and the sheriff has ordered me to confiscate all firearms from this property.”

Dylan shot to his feet. “Like hell. We can’t give you all the guns on the ranch. What happens if a pack of wolves or a mountain lion comes down and attacks my herd? We have to be able to defend our livelihood.”

“I understand your concern, Dylan, but I have a warrant and I have to follow orders. The sheriff told me to come and collect all your firearms, so that’s what I’ve got to do.”

“Yeah, well, the sheriff is an idiot. He knows nothing about running a ranch.”

Colt placed a boot on the second step and leaned forward on his knee. “I understand where you’re coming from, Dylan, and I’ll return your guns as soon as possible. We just need to run them through ballistics.”

Caitlyn ran past Colt up the steps and turned at the top to glower down at him. “You told me the killer shot Wendy with a 9mm. Why then, do you need all the guns? That makes no sense. I can’t believe you found a judge who would issue such a warrant.”

Colt glanced away and released a pent-up breath. He hated having to be the one upsetting Caitlyn’s family. Turning back to face Caitlyn, he nodded. “I’m surprised by the warrant too.” In fact, it had stunned him until he remembered the “good old boys’ club” that the sheriff was a part of and knew it hadn’t been hard for him to convince his lifelong pal, the judge, to issue the request. “But Judge Merrick wrote it up. Tackett believes that if Dylan is the perpetrator, he could be a threat to society. Therefore, he ordered the confiscation of all firearms from the premises.” Colt shifted his gaze to Dylan. “I’m sorry about this. Hopefully, it will all be over soon.”

John rose to his feet. “Well then, Deputy, I guess you better come in and start collecting. Dylan, you best go get your .45.” Dylan stormed into the house. Caitlyn followed him, but John focused on Colt. “Do you think my son killed that girl?”

Colt held the older man’s gaze and swallowed. “It’s a possibility, sir. I’m doing everything I can to find out what happened that night. The truth will win out, one way or the other.” John nodded and turned to go inside, leaving Colt to follow behind. Caitlyn led him to the gun safe in her father’s office where Dylan removed the rifles, one at a time. He opened each barrel to show Colt the guns were unloaded. There were six rifles total, along with Dylan’s handgun. Caitlyn videotaped the entire confiscation on her phone. She also documented each gun by its serial number. Colt, Dylan, and John carried the firearms out to the deputy’s Jeep, followed by Caitlyn and her video camera.

Colt secured the weapons, then turned to Caitlyn. “Your 9mm isn’t here, is it?”

“No, like I told you, it’s locked up in my truck.”

“Fine, will you give it to me when I drive you back there?” Colt laid the rifles carefully on a blanket in the back of his Jeep.

“Why do you want my gun? Am I a suspect now, too?” Caitlyn crossed her arms in a huff.

“No, but we’ll need to have it tested, anyway. It won’t be a problem to get a separate warrant if you want me to.” Colt closed the hatch of his SUV.

“Damn straight I do. You can’t just take my gun!”

Colt clenched his jaw to keep from saying anything that would make Caitlyn angrier and made his way over to John and Dylan. He stuck out his hand and shook John’s, then offered it to Dylan.

Dylan stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before he gripped it hard. “Take good care of my rifles. We need them back as soon as possible.”

Colt nodded and turned to leave. He and Caitlyn got into the Jeep, and Caitlyn checked if Ren was doing all right. He seemed to sense her agitation, and he licked her face. They made their way back down to the highway and her truck. During the drive, both he and Caitlyn chose the company of their own thoughts.

Eventually, Colt spoke. “Something interesting happened today.” He waited for Caitlyn to look at him. “After you and