Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Shay opened the door with a big smile.
I loved him. We hadn’t exchanged those words yet, but I fucking loved him. His big heart, every dirty-blond hair on his head, the vivid color of his greenish-blue eyes, his fantastic body, each tattoo, every mark and scar, his bravery, his wicked sense of humor.
“Hey, you two!”
“Hey, sweetheart.” Reese grinned and pressed a kiss to Shay’s forehead. “I’m afraid we’ve already messed up—we didn’t bring wine or anything.”
“There’s certainly no need for that.” The voice came from Melanie as she joined Shay in the hallway with a smile that reminded me of his. Her hair was darker, but it was clear they were related. “It’s great to finally meet you guys. Come on in.”
I took a steadying breath and kissed Shay’s temple on the way in. “How you doin’, pup?” I asked quietly.
“I’m amazing—you’re here.” He flashed me a carefree grin and turned to his aunt. “Aunt Mel, meet River and Reese. Reese is the one with the tattoo on his neck.”
I smirked faintly.
Reese was better at coming off as if he had no troubles, and he shook Melanie’s hand. “Tattoo On His Neck is my middle name. Thank you for invitin’ us.”
Melanie laughed softly. “My pleasure—the food arrived just before you did, so I suggest we dig in before the boys eat it all.”
The boys would be TJ and Levi, Shay’s brothers. One hormonal teenager and one book-loving preteen.
I shook Melanie’s hand too. “Good to meet you.”
“You too, River.” Her smile was warm—I liked that. Maybe I could relax after all.
Reese Tenley
2023
Halfway to Bakersfield, we drove down a long dirt road toward a run-down farm. We were surrounded by fields and desertscape, with the closest neighbor some ten minutes away. An old friend owned the land, so we didn’t have to worry about intruders.
The more I thought about it, the dumber I felt. The signs were fuckin’ everywhere. This old friend who owned the property—he was just gonna do a “couple more gigs” for Hillcroft, then retire as a PMC and turn this place into a cattle ranch.
How many times had we spoken those words? How many times had we heard them? Elliott and Tariq had semi-retired almost a decade ago but completed their last mission less than twelve months ago. Now Tariq was dead, and Elliott had been pulled back in. Darius had lasted, what, five years? Five years of retirement, and then he’d rescued his hubby Gray from human trafficking, after which they’d “helped out” at least twice. Last year when Crew was taken, and right now… Same with River and me. Emerson and Danny too. Coach, William, Griffin, James, Dante, Arden in his own way… We all got sucked back in at some point.
I slowed down as we reached the farm, and I drove over to the barn we’d prepared for our stay.
We had another car here too.
The sun wouldn’t be up for another few hours, so we’d be careful with the lights. We had no running water, but we had power.
I killed the engine and jumped out of the truck, and Luiz yelled something incoherent, the sound muffled by the duct tape.
River went over to open the barn doors.
“Leave the lights off,” I reminded him. We didn’t need any nosy fuckers back on the main road thinking someone had moved in.
He pulled out a flashlight instead.
Time to get our guest settled in uncomfortably.
I yanked Luiz out of the back seat, and he got loud again. Or he tried. With zero coordination skills, he jumped and stumbled as I dragged him along. Come morning, I’d remove every trace of his arrival in the dry dirt.
The barn looked like anyone would expect. Six stalls for horses that hadn’t been around in decades, a hayloft I wouldn’t trust to hold my weight, concrete floor, and more dust and spider webs than I’d prefer.
We knew how to live it up.
River righted the thick plastic we’d rolled out across the center of the floor, where a chair waited for Luiz, and into one of the stalls.
We secured him to the chair by removing the old duct tape and applying new. Each foot taped to a leg, hands cuffed around the back, more tape because it was like lube—you could never use too much of it. And I was too exhausted to take risks that would result in me chasing after the piece of shit.
“You go get some rest,” I told River quietly.
We’d set up a four-person tent in one of the stalls, partly to leave fewer traces behind. This was a place we couldn’t torch at the end of our stay, so we had to be careful. No straying off the plastic.
“I’ll be up in an hour,” Riv replied.
I inclined my head, knowing there was no use in arguing. Call it our twin curse—he couldn’t sleep well without me nearby, and I couldn’t shake the anxiety if he didn’t eat properly. Unfortunately, we’d failed at both since the moment Shay had been taken from us, so we were running on fumes and empty stomachs.