by Donna Grant
There was an ominous feel to the coming night. Dusk settled over the land with heavy clouds on the horizon and the sound of distant thunder. The horses were agitated, stomping in their stalls, while others in the pasture stared off into the distance.
Clayton put away the paint and pulled the black beanie on his head to cover his hair. With his black shirt and pants, he’d be near impossible to see in the dark. He slid a pistol into the holster on his hip and tucked the knife into his boot. Then he looked at the scope that would help him see across the distance.
“You should bring the rifle that goes with that,” Shane said from behind him.
Clayton looked at him in the mirror and turned around to face him. “I do this alone.”
“Because I’m too old to keep up?”
“Because I can be in and out without any of them knowing I was even there.”
Shane leaned against the doorway as he blew out a breath. “They’re expecting you.”
“They expect me to come in with the authorities.”
“No.” Shane jerked his chin to him. “They’re expecting this. They know you’re a SEAL, though I doubt they know all you can do. Shit, I don’t even know everything you can do.”
Clayton shrugged. “Nor will you.”
“The point I’m trying to make is that they’re on the lookout for you.”
“I can promise you, Shane, they’ll never see me coming.”
“You don’t know how many there are.”
Clayton grabbed the scope he’d taken off a rifle and put it into his thigh pocket. “Which is why I’ll be scouting the area. And I need you here,” he said before Shane could give another argument. “We talked about this. The security system is not yet online. I need someone to watch over my parents, Abby, and the boys.”
“You know the men and I will. Everyone else is in place. I just don’t like you going in alone.”
Clayton normally had his team with him, but he wasn’t worried about being on his own. Not against Ronnie and the men he’d hired.
“Ben and Justine can’t lose another child,” Shane said. “And Abby can’t lose you.”
“They won’t. I’m not going out there to hurt anyone.” Even if that’s what he wanted to do. “I’m going to find our cattle. Then I’m going to call in Danny.”
Shane pushed his cowboy hat back on his head and nodded. “It’s a good plan.”
“I’m still convincing Abby to be mine,” Clayton said as he walked to Shane and briefly clamped a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that.”
The ranch manager grinned as he pushed away from the door. “You’ve got it bad, huh?”
“Yeah. I believe I do.”
The smile faded. “Be careful, Clayton.”
He gave a nod and walked into the darkness, jogging toward the northwest. It was going to be several miles of running over his own family’s land and through others’ property before he ever reached Ronnie’s, but this was just a walk in the park compared to some of his previous missions.
And yet, this one hit too close to home.
Chapter 28
It was easy to become one with the night. It was ingrained so deeply within him, that Clayton could do it in his sleep. Though it had been months since he’d run such a distance, it only fatigued him a little. But it still irritated him. He’d gone soft since leaving his team, and that was evident now. If he were still in fighting shape, he wouldn’t be winded.
Clayton paused, leaning against a tree long enough to survey the area around him and make sure no one was near. Then he ran across the open field in front of him.
He’d left East land two miles back, and that meant that he had to be more cautious. The pasture before him was owned by someone he didn’t know, and though he’d rather go around, time was of the essence.
The thunder from earlier was moving closer, becoming more frequent. Staying low and moving from cover to cover, Clayton made his way to the fence and deftly vaulted over it. Then he was running for cover once more.
It took Clayton twice as long to get to Baxter’s land than it had to cross his own. At least while on his property, Clayton had been able to run full out without worry of being seen. When he finally made it to the border of Ronnie’s land, Clayton dropped down onto his stomach beside some bushes. He pulled out the scope and used it to get a better look at the house.
He noted the best places for anyone to lay in wait for him and checked to make sure no one was there. Bit by bit, he progressed around the house, noting the two trucks and the lights on within the residence. Finally, he moved closer to the house and checked inside. He saw a man on the sofa, an empty bottle of tequila loosely held in his grip with bags of frozen peas on his arm and side.
That had to be the asshole Caleb had beaten with the bat. The teen hadn’t thought he’d done much damage, but obviously, he had. Though Clayton couldn’t see in all the windows of the house, it looked as if the man passed out on the couch was the only one inside.
Clayton looked toward the back of the property where the barn was as it began to rain. The others were out there. Most likely with his cattle. He kept low and made his way to the barn. There were no horses in the stalls. A check showed him that three mares were in a connected pasture.
When he’d discovered that Ronnie had taken his cattle, Clayton had pulled up the land on his computer to study it and the terrain. The 4B ranch was just under twelve hundred acres. It was tiny compared to the East Ranch, but there was lots of land around Ronnie’s that could be bought so the 4B could grow.
As the minutes ticked by, Clayton moved through the pastures, thankful for the cover of night and the clouds that kept the moon hidden. The rain came down harder. While the weather hid him, it also made it more difficult for him to see. With the thunder and the distant flare of lightning, the cattle would be on edge.
Clayton’s search of the 4B ranch was a bust. There was nothing there other than a small herd of forty cattle that weren’t his.
But where were the other men? And where was his herd? He thought back to the map he’d seen of the land surrounding the 4B. There were a hundred acres for sale toward the west that had been vacant for some time since it had been foreclosed on.
Clayton turned and headed in that direction. He moved swiftly over the land, pushing himself hard. Tonight was just reconnaissance, but he had to find the missing cows. When he finally jumped the barrier that separated 4B land from the foreclosed property, Clayton hunkered down by the fence and looked around.
His senses told him someone was near. He scanned the area through the rain. Though his eyes saw nothing, he trusted his gut. It had saved him many times. He pulled out the scope again and looked through it. That’s when he saw an elbow sticking out from behind a tree.
Clayton lowered himself to the ground and military crawled. He’d only gone about thirty feet when he heard the first string of curses. He paused, listening. A moment later, he heard it again. He looked to his right and then shifted in that direction. After a few minutes, he found the man leaning against a tree, huddled in a rain jacket while holding a rifle. His continued grumbling as he looked farther out across the vacant land while trying to stay warm and dry confirmed what Clayton had suspected.
With the guard’s attention more on the rain and the fact that he was on duty out in the cold, it was easy for Clayton to go around him without the man even noticing him. Once past the guard, he flattened himself against a tree and scanned the area again. The roar of the rain was loud. It would drown out most anything.
While some might think the rain would keep others from searching, that wasn’t the case with Clayton. He was used to going on missions in all kinds of weather. However, his targets weren’t SEALs. They were ordinary citizens who knew ranching and hunting. They were the type who would believe the weather would keep him at home. Which meant they wouldn’t be too concerned with looking for him since their attention would be on the cattle stirred up by the lightning a
nd thunder.
Still, Clayton kept to cover as he headed in the direction the guard had been glancing. A quarter of a mile later, he heard the moos. He blew out a breath, and it formed a cloud before him. Clayton crept closer until he came to the pasture where his cattle were being held. As soon as he saw the E brand, the fury that he’d kept at bay filled him.
It would be so easy for him to find the men guarding the herd and disable them so he could take his cattle back. But that meant moving the herd over miles of land that wasn’t his. He would have to come back with reinforcements now that he knew where the cattle were. Just as he was moving away, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over to find Brice.
The teen was on his stomach, a rifle pointed at something. Clayton shifted positions and saw the man on horseback. His cowboy hat was pulled low, shadowing his face while the collar of his raincoat was pulled up.
He watched as Brice sighted down the barrel. Clayton couldn’t let the kid kill anyone. He started crawling toward him when lightning crackled through the sky, lighting up everything like daylight, a second before there was a loud boom.
The cattle, already spooked, began to shift, looking for a way to run. And that was right in Brice’s direction. There was no way Clayton could get to him in time. He shouted Brice’s name, but the rain and the thunder drowned out his voice.
Clayton caught sight of the teen rolling out of the way before the herd started toward him. In the next second, Clayton was up against a tree to stay clear.
The man guarding the cattle leaned low over his horse as he raced to get ahead of the herd to halt them before this turned into a stampede. Clayton watched the man for a long time and noted that he slowly and steadily calmed the herd.
By the time that was done, Clayton no longer spotted Brice. He glanced at the man to make sure his attention was still on the cattle before Clayton went after Brice.
But there was no sign of the boy.
Finally, Clayton started back to the ranch, hoping that Brice was headed there himself.
* * *
Just as Abby predicted, she wasn’t able to sleep. She paced her room before finally going to Clayton’s. Except he wasn’t there. And that sent her into a tailspin of worry.
She went downstairs, hoping he was in the barn. With the lights out, she sat in the living room and stared at the barns and pastures for hours, but there was no sign of Clayton.
It was an hour before dawn when she saw him walking toward the back door. He stopped on the porch and began to remove his sodden clothes. She jumped up and rushed to the downstairs bath for a towel.
She met him at the door when he walked inside, naked. Their gazes met. She spotted the remnants of black paint on his face and held the towel out to him. He dried off and scrubbed the paint from his face, then wrapped the towel around his waist and held out his hand. Wordlessly, they walked up the stairs to her room.
There was so much she wanted to ask him, but he dropped the towel, lifted the covers, and waited for her to climb into bed before he followed her. As he pulled her against him, she felt his cool skin.
He stared at the ceiling, seemingly content with just holding her, though he was careful not to touch her injured arm. After several minutes, she found her eyes closing. She must have dozed off because when she opened her eyes, the room was lighter.
“Sleep,” he murmured and kissed her forehead.
He was warm to the touch now. Solid and reassuring, she began to drift back to sleep when she remembered how she’d found him. “What happened?”
“I found the herd.”
She let her mind contemplate just what he had done. “Ronald Baxter?”
“Yep. I didn’t do anything. I just wanted to locate them.”
“And?”
Clayton blew out a breath. “I do know him, though I’ve not seen him since I graduated. What’s his reputation?”
“I haven’t heard anyone talk about him in ages,” she said. “Then again, I don’t hang around those I graduated with. Not that I was in the popular crowd anyway. Besides, he was a senior when I was a sophomore.”
While Clayton played with her hair, he nodded. “I need to know more about Ronnie.”
“Why? Why not just go get your cattle now that you know who has them?”
“They’re not on his land.”
“Oh.” She frowned, still not understanding. “But you know Ronald took them?”
Clayton put his other hand beneath his head. “I suspect. I never saw him. It’ll be hard to prove it’s him unless the herd is on his land, or he’s with them.”
“There’s also Brice.”
“Yeah,” he murmured.
She frowned as she shifted her head to look at him. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
“I’m still sorting through things.”
“Which means there’s something you aren’t telling me.”
He cut his eyes to her. “I don’t want to worry you.”
“Well, too late. I’m there now. And if you don’t tell me what it is, my mind will spin all sorts of scenarios. Trust me when I say, it’ll be worse for everyone. I’ll bug you, I’ll go to Brice, I’ll—”
“I get it,” Clayton said with a small laugh. He kissed her forehead, his grin fading. “You know I talked to both of your brothers yesterday.”
She nodded her head, her stomach in knots. Her worry for her brothers mixed with her own fear and had her so on edge that she couldn’t shut off her mind and stop imagining all the things that could have happened.
“Caleb wishes he could’ve done more. He’s upset that he didn’t stop you from being hurt.”
Abby shook her head in disbelief. “It’s because of Caleb that the bullet didn’t do more damage.”
“I’ve told him that. He’s talking about things, and he’s willing to listen. It’ll take him some time, but he’ll be okay.”
“And Brice?”
Clayton’s lips flattened for a moment. “He wouldn’t talk to me. He’d closed himself off. Just as I suspected, he’s trying to sort through things to find an outcome where he wins.”
“And?” she pressed.
“He wants to fix things on his own.”
She frowned in confusion. “How do you know that if he didn’t talk to you?”
“Because I saw him tonight with a gun pointed at one of the men guarding the herd.”
Chapter 29
It only took a few words to turn a world upside down. Abby knew this from experience, and yet Clayton’s words sent her spiraling.
“He didn’t do anything,” Clayton quickly added.
Abby rolled onto her back and tried to get her breathing under control. “He was going to shoot somebody.”
“I don’t know what was going through Brice’s head,” Clayton said as he pushed up on an elbow to look down at her. “I told you what I saw.”
She turned her gaze to him. “I didn’t even know he knew how to handle a gun.”
“Don’t go down that road. Focus on the fact that he didn’t fire the weapon. You can talk to him later about it.”
“Where is he?” she asked, sitting up.
“Back at the bunkhouse.”
“Oh, my God,” she said and scooted to the other side of the bed where she got up, wincing as she accidentally used her bad arm. She walked to her bag of clothes that her brothers had packed for her. “I need to go see him.”
“Abby,” Clayton said, suddenly beside her.
She jerked in surprise. “How the hell do you move so fast?”
One side of his lips lifted in a grin. “Habit. Listen, please calm down.”
“I can’t calm down. These people broke into my house, shot at my brothers, and then shot at me. Now you tell me Brice was there with a gun!”
Clayton began to grab her shoulders then dropped his hands. “I looked for him before I returned last night. He didn’t do anything. Now he’s back.”
She lifted her gaze to th
e ceiling, praying for patience. “Once Brice sets his mind to something, he’ll continue on whatever path that is until he succeeds.”
“That’s different than taking another person’s life,” he argued.
“Unless those people attacked his family.”
Clayton’s brow furrowed in a frown. “Dammit,” he muttered before turning on his heel. “Stay here. I’m going to talk to him.”
“I’m coming.”
She’d only gotten two steps when he whirled around. “Abby, do you think he’ll talk to you about it?”
“No,” she replied. Her brother liked to keep things bottled up.
“And if he’s gone back?” Clayton asked.
She nodded in understanding. “You’ll take off to go find him, and I won’t be able to keep up.”
“Exactly.”
“But I have to know either way,” she insisted.
Clayton hesitated, a muscle in his jaw working. “Can you be dressed in five minutes?”
“Give me two.”
He gave a nod and was gone. Abby hurried to her clothes, discarded her nightshirt, and found a pair of jeans. She bit her lip when her arm began to pound, but she had no choice but to use it because there was no getting up a pair of jeans with one hand.
She chose an oversized sweatshirt that was the easiest thing she had to put on but it left her covered in sweat and shaking from the agony. Then she decided against socks as she pushed her feet into her slightly used gray Ugg boots she’d gotten at Goodwill.
When she reached the door, Clayton was walking from his room completely dressed. He looked at her, his lips thinning. “You’ve hurt yourself.”
“I’ll survive.”
They walked side by side down the stairs to the back door. Clayton paused and helped her into his mother’s rain jacket before he put on his coat and hat. As they left the house, Abby pulled up the hood of the jacket in an effort to keep the rain off her.
It wasn’t the precipitation she didn’t like. It was the cold and the rain. The temperatures had plummeted overnight, leaving her chilled to her very bones. She clamped her teeth together and practically had to jog to keep up with Clayton’s long strides.