Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
JB’s money was on Katie being held within the main house, but all the other outbuildings had to be secured before they dared to venture into the house. They couldn’t risk leaving their backs exposed.
“Wyatt Earp has the security system on lockdown. You’re good to move, Doc Holliday,” Cole said firmly.
“Thanks, Wyatt,” JB murmured. He pushed up onto the balls of his feet and ran as quickly as he could in a crouched position. Clinging to the shadows at the edge of the land that was ringed with oak and pine trees, JB let his gaze sweep over everything.
Bright security lights were on outside the llama barn and stable, but the shed and gift shop were dark. The guest house behind the main house had on a couple of lights, but they looked as if they were mainly to make it appear like someone was there.
During the day, Rowe’s team had confirmed that Dillinger’s wife and mistress were not in Texas. He had no kids to worry about. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have other guests staying on the property. JB had no interest in hurting innocent people, but that was hard to remember when the man had threatened his ranch and kidnapped his little sister.
The main owner’s space looked like it was something lifted out of Beverly Hills or Malibu rather than Texas. The lawn looked ridiculously lush, a perfectly manicured carpet of dark green. There were expertly landscaped flower beds and shaped topiary shrubs that cast long black shades. Of course, this meant that JB had plenty of hiding places as he crept close to the guest house.
Behind the main building, a large rectangular pool shimmered in low lights down in the blue water. A few more landscape lights surrounded the pool area, but it wasn’t necessary. The main house was a beacon against the night. Most of the windows were aglow, and there were shadows that moved here and there in front of the windows. Dillinger was definitely expecting them.
“Zorro and Jesse James are entering the llama barn,” Rowe warned.
It was some relief to know that Owen had been teamed up with Rowe. The former Ranger was cool and collected, even if he was clearly insane. He would keep Owen safe. His foreman had plenty of experience handling crazy and dangerous situations on the ranch with a level head, but JB hated the idea of him heading into something where these men were aiming to kill.
Rowe could be a one-man wrecking crew with no problem, but the goal was to keep everyone alive tonight.
“Butch Cassidy and Sundance are entering the stable,” Garrett added.
“Sundance,” Benjamin repeated under his breath. “You people and your weird code names.”
A smile tried to form on JB’s lips at Ben’s comment. At one time, he would have agreed, but JB had to admit that they helped to take some of the edge off the moment. Gave them a little more breathing room.
From his conversations with Noah, it was clear that every time they went on one of these code-name adventures, the guys were outnumbered and likely outgunned. The code names were empowering. How could Rowe not feel invincible when he was calling himself Zorro?
And yeah, maybe JB liked being Doc Holliday to Cole’s Wyatt Earp.
“Shit!” Benjamin suddenly hissed in his ear, and then the feed went silent.
Garrett’s low chuckle came back a couple of seconds later, and JB could breathe again. “Sundance popped his cherry. One down.”
“Holy fuck,” Ben swore again. “He came out of nowhere.”
“Cut the chatter,” Noah said sharply, pulling their focus to the job. “Pull the dart and stash the body. Get moving. We’re on the house in three minutes.”
A chill ran through JB at the sound of Noah’s voice in that particular tone. He’d heard it plenty of times when they were working assignments throughout Afghanistan and other regions of the world while in the Army. Noah was in full squad leader mode. It was take-no-prisoners, take-no-shit mode. Noah could joke with the best of them, but all that fell away when lives were on the line.
It was that kind of command that Benjamin needed right now. Ben was barely twenty-five and had spent his entire life on one ranch or another. When he’d demanded to go with them tonight, JB couldn’t say that he’d really hesitated. The young man had a good head on his shoulders and didn’t freak when shit got out of control. It also didn’t hurt that he was an amazing marksman, but JB doubted he’d ever pointed a gun at a human being, let alone pulled the trigger. Garrett was a good guy, though JB was secretly glad that they didn’t have a flamethrower with them. He’d keep an eye on Ben.
“Wild Bill and the Kid have cleared the shed. Two down. Darts retrieved,” Noah reported softly.