Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I’d just finished giving Jacob a riding lesson when Rogue raced into the barn. I felt his tension before he spoke. Something was terribly wrong.
“The guy is back, the one that was watching the place before. Madison saw him, and he’s got someone else with him up in the hills.”
One of our guards had seen someone prowling around a few days before. How the hell anyone had tracked one of our clients out here that fast, I didn’t know. “Are we going after them?”
Rogue frowned. “I don’t know. I guess that’s up to us with Grant gone.”
“Then the answer is yes, but I want you to take Jacob back to the house and stay there with him.”
“I’m as capable of taking this guy out as you are,” my brother insisted.
“You’re a damn fine shot, Ri, but you haven’t had years in the marines to hone your skills, and we need questions answered, not a body on our hands.”
“I’m not—”
“Keeping Jacob safe is the most important thing to Grant.” Did he really want to risk our brother’s wrath?
“I’ll be fine in the house,” Jacob insisted. “I’ll stay there and—”
Rogue and I both said hell no to that.
“For one thing, Grant would murder us if we left you alone. And you shouldn’t be on your own. You never signed up for this.”
Rogue nodded. “I got you into this. I’m going to keep you safe.”
“Y’all get to the house. I’ll meet up with Madison and Colton. Where’s TJ?” I might not want to deal with the man, but I knew he’d be an asset in a fight.
“He’s already out there with them,” Rogue said.
I was glad to hear it. Everyone at the ranch was trained to defend themselves, but none of them had anything like TJ’s skills.
The sound of a rifle firing startled all of us.
I grabbed a gun I’d stashed on a high shelf. “Never mind going to the house. Just stay here.”
I was gone before Rogue could protest. I jumped on an ATV and drove so fast I was lucky I didn’t break my neck, especially as I bounced over ditches and headed uphill.
When I got to the fence line, I saw TJ, Colton, and Madison all with weapons aimed toward the nearby trees. The only cover was the truck they were crouched behind. I pulled my ATV parallel, slid out of the seat, and pulled my weapon as I shielded myself as much as possible. TJ moved over to kneel beside me.
“Who fired?”
“I did.”
“What the fuck? We need to know who they are, not kill them.”
“It was a warning. They were getting closer.”
This wasn’t the time to argue. He’d done what he had, and now we had to deal with it.
“How many?”
“Two that have shown themselves. The blond they saw before and another man. His face is covered, but he’s larger, probably six three, and bulky.”
We waited, watching for movement. I didn’t catch sight of the blond man, but I made out the other one as he moved toward us through the trees.
“He’s older. At least forty.”
“How do you know?”
The way he moves. He’s military, and he was trained long before me.
“You can tell just from watching him?”
I hated how much I liked the awe in his voice.
The older man raised his weapon and fired. The shot pinged off the side of the truck. If it had been an inch or two higher, it would have hit Colton.
“Fuck. That was no warning.”
TJ took aim.
“We want him alive if possible.”
“I’ll do what I can.” The shots came too fast. The man was clearly trying to kill us. The blond man fired too, but either he was still giving warnings or he was a terrible shot.
I positioned myself to take the kill shot, but TJ got there before me.
The man dropped to the ground, dead before impact.
I turned to his accomplice, ready to end him too, but he was gone. I studied the woods, looking for movement, but there was nothing to see or hear. It was like the blond man had vanished into thin air. I’d once known a man who could do that. He was with our unit for several years. We called him Ghost. I hadn’t thought anyone else had that level of skill.
Colton started to speak, but I put my finger to my lips. We needed to wait a few moments before we went after the body, and we needed to be prepared for the ghostlike man to return with reinforcements.
After several minutes with no sign of the blond man or anyone else, I decided it was time to risk retrieving the body.
I motioned for Colton and Madison to wait, and TJ came with me.
He bent down and checked for a pulse, though I was sure there wasn’t one. TJ picked the man up under the arms, and I took his feet.