Hot Pursuit

Prologue The Knight brothers always did things their own way. Honoring their father's passing with a pre-dawn plunge into the creek behind their property made complete sense to them. It was the only time the old man had ever seemed happy—fishing in the stream with his army buddies when they came through Jupiter Point. Robert Knight had been a respected figure in town and a strict disciplinarian with his family. Sitting around a stuffy room with a bunch of other people who love-hated the man held no appeal. His children would honor him in their own damn way. Will Knight, as the oldest of the four brothers, went first. From their favorite spot on the flat rocks above the gully, he dove through the ghostly morning mist into the rippling water. Ice closed over his head, a violent shock to his system. Just like murder was. He broke the surface, gasping. Murder. Dad had been murdered. And no one knew who had done it. But someone must know. That was the thought that kept him up at night. Someone knew. "Still alive down there?" Tobias called to him, softer than he normally would because of the early morning hush of the surrounding woods. "Give me a minute, don't know yet." Half panting, half laughing, he kicked his feet against the current to stay in place. "Come on, you wusses. Am I the only one man enough to take the plunge?" "Nothing manly about hypothermia," Ben said. He was crouched on the rock, ready to tip over into a dive. "Something important might get frostbite." Aiden, the youngest brother, still only eight, laughed like a drunken hyena. His spiky blond hair and wide eyes made Will's heart ache. What was going to happen to Aiden? Their father had been found dead six weeks ago. Will had stepped out of his Constitutional Law class to receive the news in a phone call from Tobias, the second oldest brother. After delivering that bombshell, Tobias had added, "Mom's a mess. How soon can you get here?" Will had immediately flown home from his law school in Arizona. The police had quickly determined Dad's death to be murder. Shortly after that, Mom had left, saying she needed some time to deal with the situation. Their sixteen-year old sister Cassie had insisted on going with her. A mess. The whole situation was a mess. A godawful, gut-wrenching mess. Tobias cannonballed into the creek. Tobias was a big guy, the strongest of them all, and he made a gigantic splash that nearly swamped Will. When he surfaced, water streamed off his dark hair as he gave a wild "whoop." He paddled over to Will, who was busy spitting water out of his mouth. "I got news," he said. "What, that you're a jackass?" Will swiped a bit of river debris off his neck. "I've known that for twenty years." "You say jackass, I say badass." Tobias smirked as he treaded water. On a normal day, Will might continue the back and forth. It was what they did, as Knight brothers. But today wasn't normal, no matter how much they tried to pretend. Everything was changing. Will felt it in the current swirling at his feet, the mist hovering in the air. "Okay, badass, what's your news?" "I'm joining up. Saw the recruiter yesterday. Army, like Dad. I figure, I don't know. It's the best place for me right now." Will's stomach dropped. He didn't want Tobias to leave, but his brother was right. He'd always been the wildest, the angriest of them all. He was a force to be reckoned with, the one most likely to clash with Dad. If Tobias didn't get a handle on his volcanic emotions, he might head down a bad path, and fast. "Good move," he finally said. "What is?" Ben's head popped up near them, sleek as a honey badger's. While Will and Tobias had been talking, he'd slipped into the water. Probably while making some kind of funny face to amuse Aiden. He was eighteen, soon to graduate high school, a mixture of bravado and vulnerability. "Tobias has boot camp in his future. Better practice your 'Sir, yes sir', bro." Ben blinked water out of his eyes. "Shut the f**k up." Will frowned at him, surprised by his rattled tone. "What's wrong?" "This friend of Dad's called me up, he runs an Air Force ROTC program at State. He thinks I should join. I could be a pilot." Ben had been obsessed with flying since he was a kid. Will couldn't imagine anything more perfect for him than the Air Force. "But I told him I wasn't sure. I should stick around here. What if Mom doesn't come back, what about the investigation, what about—" "No," Will interrupted firmly. "Do it. Go. It's what Dad would want. Mom too, if she could get her head clear." His two brothers stared at him. "I got this. I'm not going back to law school. I need to be here. For whatever happens. For everything you said. The police investigation, Cassie, Mom—" From the bank of the creek, Aiden whistled and waved at them. When they looked in his direction, he performed a goofy little dance before launching himself off the rock. He was still airborne when Will finished his sentence. "For Aiden." Their youngest brother hit the water with a splash like an exclamation point. Or like a clash of cymbals, separating before and after. It would be eleven years before all four Knight brothers found themselves in the same place at the same time again. Jupiter Point. Home. Where all the same questions still burned.