by L. Wilder
Reece gave him a scolding look, then whispered, “Jed is going to help him.”
“Jed? How the fuck is Jed gonna help him?”
“T-Bone,” I warned.
“I was a medic in the Army,” Jed informed him.
“And that was how long ago?” T-Bone snapped.
“I’ll admit … it’s been awhile, but there are some things a man doesn’t forget, T-Bone. And I’m not completely out of practice. The nearest hospital is two hours away, so people around these parts come to me when they need a doctor. Since I’ve retired, I’ve delivered more babies than I can count, set broken bones and stitched up wounds. That doesn’t even count the cattle I’ve tended to.”
I looked over at Riggs lying on the table. Reece was whispering to him, but I found it doubtful that he was actually hearing anything she said. I understood T-Bone’s concerns. Our brother looked like he was hanging on by a thread, and I found myself saying, “This is bit more serious than setting a broken bone or delivering a baby, Jed.”
“Maybe so, but trust me when I say, I’ve dealt with worse under harsher conditions.” A confident smile spread across his face, “Besides, I’ve always liked a challenge.”
It wasn’t like we had any other option, so I asked, “What do you need me to do?”
“Put some water on to boil and grab me some towels.”
“And me? How can I help?” T-Bone offered.
“Go back and lay down. I’ll tend to your wound as soon as I finish with Riggs.”
T-Bone hesitated, but eventually nodded and headed back into the living room. I gathered up some towels and put on some water to boil while Jed removed Riggs’s clothes. He was completely out of it as Jed checked his pulse once more. I could hear the concern in his voice when Jed looked over to me and said, “We’re losing him.”
He’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Gunner returned with Jed’s wife, Sue Ellen. She was calm and steady as she walked over with Jed’s medical bag and said, “Where do you need me?”
“Pull up a chair and sit down.” Jed started riffling through his bag, and as he pulled out an IV kit and other supplies, he told her, “We’re running out of time, so we need to move fast.”
To my relief, Jed was right when he said that there were some things a man never forgets. As soon as he inserted the IV line into Sue Ellen’s arm, his entire demeanor changed. His every move was precise, like it was something he’d done a thousand times before. In no time, he’d completed the first transfusion and was preparing to remove the bullets from his shoulder and abdomen. I was in complete awe as I watched him shift from one wound to the next, taking every precaution to ensure that he’d done everything he could to repair the damage the bullets had caused. There were several touch and go moments, especially when Jed had removed the bullets from Riggs’s abdomen. Jed informed us that none of his major organs were hit, but his blood loss was significant and Jed worried that Sue Ellen’s donation wouldn’t be enough. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing he was concerned about.
The kitchen wasn’t exactly sterile, so the strong possibility of infection setting in was a huge concern. We’d have to monitor him closely until Mack, the club’s doctor, arrived with the antibiotics. Once Jed had done everything he could for Riggs, he gave us the okay to move him into one of the bedrooms while he tended to T-Bone’s wound. By sunrise, we’d cleaned up the mess, and the pandemonium of the night had turned into an eerie calm. We were all gathered in the living room, trying to make sense of everything that had happened, when my burner started ringing. I looked down at the screen and saw that it was Gus. As soon as I answered, he said, “How’s it going over there?”
“Things are starting to settle down … at least for the moment.”
“Riggs?”
“Jed did everything he could, but Prez … he don’t look good. What if he doesn’t have the strength to pull through this?”
“You gotta remember, Riggs has a lot to live for. No way he’s gonna give up without a hell of a fight,” he assured me. “Just give him some time.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see.” He paused for a moment, then said, “I know you boys went through a lot last night, but we need to think about our next move. Your location has been compromised, and whether we like it or not, it’s only a matter of time before he sends someone else to finish the job his hired men started.”
He was right. Reece and Tate’s lives were still in danger, and they would have to be moved to a safer location. I just had no idea where. “What are you thinking we should do?”
“I’ve already spoken with Cotton. He’s expecting us to be in Washington with Reece and Tate by late tomorrow night.”
“And what about Riggs? He’s in no condition to travel, especially not a run like that. From the looks of him, it’ll be a while before we can move him.”
“I already thought of that. Shadow and Blaze will stay behind with Mack to keep an eye on things.”
“You know … Reece won’t be happy about leaving him. When we tell her, she’s liable to pitch one hell of a fit, and if Riggs was able, he’d probably do the same.”
“I’m sure she won’t be happy about it, but she doesn’t have a choice. I told Riggs that we’d keep her and their son safe, and I plan on doing everything in my power to keep my word—no matter what the cost.”
2
Riley
Helping my father raise and breed horses was my greatest joy. From the time I could walk, I spent every waking moment out at the stables—not only because I was crazy about the horses, but because my father was there. I loved my father dearly, but seeing the way he handled the horses, how he cared for them and talked to them like they actually understood what he was saying, made me love him even more. I also loved the fact that he was sharing the splendor of these beautiful creatures with me. There were so many wonderful things about breeding horses, but nothing tickled me more than a pregnant mare. Nothing compared to the hope and excitement that came after seeing a fetus on an ultrasound. I would spend months anticipating the delivery, and when the moment finally came, my heart would nearly leap out of my chest when I saw the new foal stand and nurse for the first time. It was one of nature’s greatest gifts, and almost as rewarding as the smile it brought to my father’s face.
While our life on the farm had its advantages, it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. It took a great deal of hard work—lots of blood, sweat, and tears—to keep a farm like ours going. The day was never truly done, and when things didn’t go as planned, they could be both emotionally and financially crippling. Like all horse breeders, we’d encountered many misfortunes over the years, but some more tragic than others. We’d dealt with countless failed in vitros, many difficult, life-threatening pregnancies, and stillborns. Each time they were hard to accept, but we always found a way to move forward. Unfortunately, the same didn’t hold true when we lost my mother. I was nineteen and in the middle of my first year of college when we got the news that Mom had stage-three breast cancer. I was devastated by the thought of losing her. Not only was she beautiful, she was kindhearted and always put everyone else’s needs before her own. Mom loved each of us without question or condition, making us all love her even more. Hunter, my older brother, and I adored her, and my father worshipped her. When she’d started to get worse, I decided to move back home. I wanted to spend every second possible with her and had even made plans to put school on hold so I’d be there if she needed me, but she was totally against it. She’d wanted me to graduate on time, so I continued taking my classes, commuting back and forth each day. It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it to have that extra time with her. As time went on and Mom’s health had worsened, my father was determined to save her, and over the next three years, he’d take her to see every specialist he could find. They’d tried every treatment known to man, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough. The cancer had won out, and we were all heartbroken, especially my father.
The first year after her death was the hardest, but by the second, we’d finally started to recover. We all turned our focus to the farm and eventually managed to find our way back to our old routines. Things were just starting to get back to normal when lightning struck our barn, causing it to catch fire. The blaze quickly grew out of control, and before we could put out the flames, we not only lost our barn, but we also lost Prancer, one of our very best stallions. I thought our days of raising and breeding horses were over, but I was wrong.
Just days after the fire, my father started rebuilding the barn, making it even bigger and better than before. He made plans to start the breeding process with one of our other stallions, Casper’s Run, thinking that he would sire many beautiful, healthy foals. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Casper was never the same after the fire. After several months with no foals being born, my father had to accept the fact that he was no longer able to reproduce. That’s when he decided it was time to buy a new stallion, but not just any stallion. He wanted to buy Requiem—a three-year-old chestnut stallion who was known in Australia for being a phenomenal show horse. His sire potential was off the charts, but buying a horse like him would take an unbelievable amount of money. I didn’t know all the ins and outs of the financial side of the farm. Dad kept that to himself, but it didn’t take a numbers wizard to see that it was a huge risk to buy such an expensive stallion.
I can still remember the day I finally decided to voice my concern to my brother. It was a day I would never forget. My greatest joy would become my greatest disappointment—the day I realized my father wasn’t the man I’d always thought him to be.
When I got out to the stables, I found Hunter humming to the melody coming through his headphones as he cleaned out one of the stalls. He was wearing his typical Wrangler jeans with a dark-colored t-shirt and a Cubs baseball hat, and he was completely oblivious that I’d walked up behind him. Hoping to get his attention, I picked up one of his old gloves and tossed it at him. When it hit him in the side of the head, he turned towards me with a startled jolt. With his pitchfork pointed right at me, he shouted, “What the hell, Riley?”
I waited for him to remove his headphones before I said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to spook ya, big brother.”
“You didn’t spook me, smart one.”
“Really? So, you make a habit of jumping a mile high whenever someone tosses a glove in your direction?” I asked with sarcasm.
His dark-blue eyes narrowed as he grumbled, “How ’bout you get off my ass and just tell me what you want.”
“Did you know that Dad was planning on buying a new stallion?”
“Yeah. He mentioned something about it.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What do you think about it?”
“I’m guessing from the look on your face that you aren’t exactly keen on the idea.”
“No. Actually, I’m not.”
He turned his attention back to the messy stall, and as he scooped up a pitchfork full of straw, he asked, “And why’s that? We haven’t bred a foal in months. We need a new stallion around here.”
“I agree, but Requiem isn’t just any stallion, Hunter. That horse is going to cost us fortune, and we haven’t sold a foal in over six months! God only knows what Dad spent on rebuilding this barn, and Mom’s medical bills were astronomical!”
“Yeah, well, there’s this thing called ‘insurance,’ Riley. Ever heard of it?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of it, smart-ass, but if I had my guess, I’d say that the insurance didn’t cover half of the cost of that barn. And Mom’s last few treatments were considered experimental, so insurance wouldn’t cover it. Add in the costs of the funeral and my college tuition and …”
“Just give it a rest, Riley. You don’t have a clue about what really goes on around here. You’re too wrapped in your big, fancy college degree to even care. You focus on your studies and stop worrying about how we do things around here,” he huffed.
I might’ve been younger than Hunter, but I wasn’t just some naïve kid who had her head in the clouds. I’d been helping out at the farm since I could walk, and through the years I’d learned how things worked. I was also a few months away from getting my finance degree. I knew the kind of money a strong, healthy foal like one of ours could bring, but I also knew how much it cost to breed them. The in vitro, the veterinarian’s fees, our farmhands’ salaries—just basic feeding and maintenance costs could be substantial. There were times when we should’ve been just breaking even, but in the past couple of years, we were spending money like we were making it hand over fist. The barn expansion, the extra hired hands, and now the purchase of a million-dollar horse. Things just weren’t adding up. I knew something wasn’t right, and I could feel it in my gut. I placed my hands on my hips as I huffed, “Okay. Then enlighten me, big brother, because I know for a fact that things aren’t adding up.”
“Dad has always taken care of everything. Stop asking questions that you shouldn’t even be asking, and just let him handle it.”
“Why don’t you just tell her?” a voice called out behind me. When I turned around, I spotted Travis, one of our horse trainers and my brother’s best friend, walking in our direction. I glanced over at him and groaned when I saw the snarky expression on his face. He’d been working at the farm for years and acted like he knew more than anyone, especially me. I couldn’t understand why my brother chose him to be his best friend. To me, they seemed like polar opposites. While my brother was all about making a good impression and being the best he could be, Travis was the black sheep of his family. If there was trouble to be found, he’d find it, especially if there was a girl involved. I always thought of him as a selfish asshole, but Hunter saw another side to him—a side I’d never had the pleasure of seeing and doubted that I ever would. Travis only cared about Travis, and I hoped that my brother would figure it out.
Hunter gave him a warning look as he asked, “And what do you know about it anyway?”
“I know plenty, Hunter. It’s not like your dad has been trying to hide it,” Travis argued. “I’ve seen what’s been going on.”
“I haven’t seen anything,” I added.
“That’s because your always at school when …”
“Travis!” Hunter clenched his fist at his side and shouted, “It’s nothing, Riley. Just go back to the house and get ready for class.”
“It’s clearly something. I just don’t get why you won’t tell me what it is.”
“Not now. Just go inside and get ready, Riley,” Hunter demanded.
“It’s not like y’all are going to be able to hide it forever, so you might as well tell her.”
Hunter’s expression softened, and for a split second, I actually thought he might spill the beans, but all hopes of that died when my father came walking into the barn. His tone was foreboding as he said, “Travis, I didn’t realize you were working today.”
“I wanted to get an early start,” he answered with a nervous smile. “How you making it this morning?”
“I’d be better if I could get the tractor up and running.” Then he turned to my brother. “I’m gonna need a hand if you’re done cleaning out the stalls.”
“Yeah, I’m done,” he answered and leaned his pitchfork against the wall. “Do you need me to grab your tool bag?”
“It’s out in the shed. Travis … why don’t you give him a hand?”
“Sure thing.”
When they all started outside, I quickly asked, “Is there anything you need me to do?”
“You can go get ready for class like your brother told you to.”
My stomach twisted into a knot when I realized that he’d heard some, if not all, of our conversation. I gave him a quick nod, and before I started back towards the house, I replied, “Yes, sir.”
“And Riley?”
“Um-hmm?”
His voice was full of warning as he growled, “If you have a question about this fa
rm or how I run it, you come ask me about it … not your brother. You got me?”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
I knew my father well enough to know that he was saying one thing but meant something else altogether. He didn’t want me asking questions of any kind—not to my brother and especially not to him. If I wanted to know what was really going on, I would have to find out on my own, and that’s exactly what I intended to do. I went back into the house, and after I got changed, I headed out to my car. Before I drove off, I waved to the guys, making them think that I was headed to campus, but it was all for show. I had no intention of going anywhere. I backed out of the driveway and started down the main road. After driving about a mile, I pulled behind an old, abandoned house that was just down the road and parked. I grabbed my phone and got out of the car. Hoping I’d go unnoticed, I trudged through the cornfield back towards our house. It took some careful maneuvering, but I was able to make it over to the old treehouse my father had built me when I was a kid. It was just a few yards away from the barn, but I managed to get inside without anyone seeing me. When I looked out the small, side window, I had a clear view of the house and the stables. I had no idea what I was expecting to see, but I certainly never thought I’d find out that my father had been deceiving me for years.
I’d been sitting up in that damn treehouse for over an hour, and I hadn’t seen anything that looked suspicious. My father and Hunter were working on the tractor while the farmhands tended to the mares. I thought it was just going to be another typical day until I saw a black SUV with dark-tinted windows coming down our drive. Like they’d done it many times before, they pulled up to the back of the barn and waited as my father made his way over to them. As soon as he approached the vehicle, the driver lowered his window. “You got the goods?”
“I do, and I also have a few new options your boss might be interested in.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“You got it.”