Anger flashed behind Holt’s eyes. Rose in the back of his throat.
“So you just left?”
“Seemed smarter than getting caught committing murder, don’t you think?”
Holt snorted. “So you mean to tell me you did manage to think while acting this time?”
McIlvaine scowled across the desk. Holt could tell he wanted to lash out at him. Had been dying to since he showed up with lights and music blaring a couple nights ago.
To Holt’s surprise, he held his tongue.
Both sides knew it was a partnership fast coming to a close. Best to just finish what needed to be done and get out before things got any messier.
“Look,” McIlvaine said. “I tried. But it’s not like this guy was out riding a trail somewhere or something. He was strapped down in a bed in the middle of a hospital.
“Mirrors, cameras, security lights.”
Alarm bells went off in Holt’s brain. He’d assumed that self-preservation alone would induce McIlvaine to be careful. Remain unseen. Move out of sight.
Any assumption where McIlvaine was concerned was fast looking like a poor one.
“Were you seen?” Holt asked.
“If I was seen, I’d be crossing the border into Canada by now,” McIlvaine replied. Let ice hang from his tone.
Made no effort to hide the challenge in his eyes.
Holt met the gaze. Matched the animosity behind it.
“What’s done, or in this case isn’t done, is done. Let’s figure out how we can end this now.”
McIlvaine stared back at him. Said nothing.
“When Lukas showed up that night, I thought it was because he was pissed about the positive tests in his herd. Wanted to get our support to challenge the quarantine period and the mandatory testing for his whole operation.”
Again, silence was the only response.
“In thinking about it though, I’m thinking that maybe somehow he saw the brands.”
McIlvaine’s eyes narrowed a bit. He said nothing.
Holt studied him.
“Be honest. How obvious is the re-brand?”
The stare remained a long moment. Was broken by a snort. Deep. Derisive. It lifted McIlvaine’s entire head by a couple of inches.
“You serious? It’s a rebrand. Trying to take a charred piece of cow’s ass and make it look like something else.”
Holt’s eyes grew hard. His jaw clenched.
“How? Obvious?”
McIlvaine made a show of rolling his eyes. Waving his hands by his side.
“Pretty damn. I mean, you can’t tell if you’re just walking by, but if you stop and look, yeah. You can see it. There aren’t many ways to make a TR look like a WB you know.”
Lightning flashed behind Holt’s eyes. He pressed forward. Leaned his elbows on the desk.
“I thought you made a new brand?”
McIlvaine matched the pose.
“I did, but that doesn’t get rid of the old brand. Burning something new doesn’t just eliminate the original.”
Holt turned his head to the side. Drew in a hot breath.
Pushed out it slow and even through his mouth.
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
McIlvaine paused a moment. Leaned back in his chair. Crossed his legs. Rested an elbow on his knee.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“We have to go get that last cow,” Holt said. Shifted his gaze back to McIlvaine.
A blank look stared back at him.
Remained that way for several moments.
Didn’t shift until a low chuckle rolled out of McIlvaine. Started deep in his abdomen. Grew louder. Soon shook his entire body as he threw his head back.
Laughed with gusto.
Remained that way for the better part of two minutes. Ignored the angry stare of Holt across from him.
“You old fool, you’re crazier than I thought.”
Holt pressed his lips together. Felt venom rise through his body. Begin to seep from his pores.
Again fought the urge to reach for his gun.
“You remember where you are and who you’re talking to.”
“I should say the same to you,” McIlvaine spat back. “You’ve been sending me on fool’s errands all week, and now you expect me to go find one cow in a field of a thousand?
“Then what? Get rid of it like the others?”
Holt seethed. Willed himself to calm down. Not to let Bernice hear him yelling in the next room.
“We are in this together.”
“Ha!” McIlvaine said. Voice so loud it was almost a shout. “We’re not in anything together. I’ve been a hired hand from the word go.”
“Exactly,” Holt said. “And that makes us partners. Maybe not equal partners, but partners just the same.”
McIlvaine leaned forward. Twisted his head. Squinted his eyes.
“I hate to break it to you old man, but there isn’t a single thing here anybody can pin on me. Moving cows, changing brands, hiding positive tests, it’s all your ranch. Every last thing goes back to you, not me.”
Heat rushed to Holt’s face. The air slid from his lungs. He tried to form the words to fire back. To verbalize the contempt within him.
All he managed was, “Why, I ought to...”
“Yeah, but you won’t,” McIlvaine said. Gave him a dismissive wave of the hand.
Holt leaned back in his chair. Added up everything McIlvaine was telling him.
Realized he was absolutely right.
Panic flooded into his mind. His heart beat raced. Air refused to enter his lungs.
For a moment, he felt like a heart attack was just a moment away.
Not until a single thought entered his brain did the anxiety subside. Cold sweat drenched his face as he glanced up. Hated the taste of the words before he even asked them.
Still, it was the only way.
It was what had brought on this mess in the first place. It was the only thing that would end it.
“How much would it cost for you to go finish this thing tonight?”
Chapter Forty-Two
Threes.
Two groups of three, headed in opposite directions.
Sara, Rink, Ajax. Start next to the house. Work through the cows hugging the barn. Move their way back as they go.
Drake, Sage, Kade. Go to the far corner of the Webb land. Head towards the middle.
There wasn’t enough time to get out the horses. Too cold to bother with trying to get the four-wheelers started.
Instead, everybody bundled into their Arctic gear. The first group set out from the house on foot.
Drake drove the others around the long way to the back field gate. Parked. Climbed out.
Each side took one copy of the picture. Studied it.
Moved out as fast they could.
The trio sat three across in the front of Drake’s truck as he drove. Fought the natural inclination to turn the heat up high.
Kept it warm, but not hot. Didn’t want the temperature swing when they stepped outside to be too jolting.
“Long night there, Bags?” Sage asked from the middle. Glanced over to Drake’s profile beside her.
“I think it still qualifies as one long day at this point,” Drake said. Checked in the rearview mirror. Saw that Sage was not wrong.
Dark circles belied his eyes. Hung in wide crescents.
“Which day?” Kade asked.
“Exactly,” Drake said. Turned the truck off the main road. Bounced along a two track towards the barn standing in the distance.
Heard the sound of tall grasses slapping at the undercarriage beneath them.
Drake lowered his head a bit. Peered up at the sky overhead. Glanced at the clock on the dash.
“Figure we’ve got, what? Maybe an hour of daylight left?”
Kade grunted in response.
“If that,” Sage said. Pulled her ski gloves on.
“Thank you guys again for doing this,” Drake said. Watched as the barn
drew closer.
“Don’t do that,” Sage said. “That’s not how this works.”
“Besides, I don’t even know if it’s you that should be thanking us,” Kade added.
Drake considered the statement. Smirked.
Best he could figure, it was a favor to him, Rink, and Sara all three.
The barn was little more than a lean-to. Two adjacent sides to form a corner constructed from concrete block. A simple thatch roof overhead.
Drake pulled the truck up alongside it. Killed the engine. Smashed a hat down over his head and climbed out.
Went to the chrome toolbox stretched the width of his truck bed. Opened and extracted a pair of flashlights. Extended one each to Sage and Kade.
“In case you need them.”
They both accepted the implements without comment.
“You guys good on the brand?”
“Find the one that looks like a really bad tattoo?” Kade asked.
“Yes,” Drake replied. “Find the one that resembles what some poor girl that woke up with your name on her arm did to try and alter it.”
Sage cracked a smile as the three headed into the barn. Did a quick pass through. Checked over no more than two dozen cows.
Found nothing close to what they were looking for.
After the last one, Drake walked out from beneath the roof. Surveyed the land around them.
There was no way to get the truck inside the fence line. No major choke points anywhere visible.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s fan out. Stay in sight of one another. Move fast.”
Face determined, Kade nodded. Took off at a jog.
Sage reached out. Ran a hand down Drake’s arm. Brought her lips together in a half smile.
Moved out straight ahead.
Drake watched her go. Looped around to the right. Tucked in close to the fence and starting moving inward.
Overhead the sky continued to darken. The thick cloud cover blocked most of the sunlight from view. Brought nightfall even earlier than expected.
Dropped the temperature with each passing minute.
Drake’s breathing filled his ears as he jogged from one clump of cattle to the next. The animals, content and docile, barely looked at him as he checked them over.
Saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Moved on.
As he went, the animals remained huddled close together. Served as wind blocks for one another. Chewed the few tufts of grass that weren’t frozen stiff.
A sheen of sweat formed along Drake’s torso as he ran. The smell of animal fur and hay filled his nostrils.
For the briefest of moments, he allowed himself to think how under different circumstances the experiences might be peaceful. Perhaps even cathartic.
The moment passed as he saw Sage’s flashlight kick on in the distance. Kade’s right after it.
The barn and his truck fell from view as they continued moving. Tracked down more cattle.
Saw nothing close to what they were looking for.
A shrill whistle went up nearby. Drew Drake’s attention over to Kade, who stood with an arm outstretched.
Drake followed his index finger out in a straight line. Saw what Kade was pointing to.
A second outpost barn, its silhouette visible against the darkening sky.
Drake circled a hand over his head in recognition. Doubled his pace. Kept himself just slow enough to keep from spooking the cows.
By the time he reached the barn, Sage was already there. She stood with her back to him, hands resting atop her head. No doubt panting from her run as well.
Kade was closing fast. A little over fifty yards out and closing.
Sweat poured down Drake’s face. The cold air tore at his lungs as he approached.
Panting, he rested his hands on his hips. Walked up slow, the interior of the barn dark.
“You find anything?” he asked.
The sound of a gun cocking rang out. Stopped Drake where he stood. Sent his heart pounding even harder than before.
“Oh yeah, she found something alright,” a voice said. Not quite familiar, but recognizable.
Drake stood rooted in place. Tried to place it.
Watched as Hank McIlvaine emerged from the shadows.
Chapter Forty-Three
Click.
The unmistakable sound of the hammer on a gun being drawn back. Ready to drop down. Smash the firing pin.
Spit hot metal into the night.
Drake’s breath caught in his throat as he stood. Raised his hands out to the side. Stepped close enough to let his fingertips graze Sage’s arm.
Felt her body rigid beneath his touch.
“Yeah, I know you’re out there too,” McIlvaine called. Stared out into the gathering darkness. “I’ll never find you in the dark, but I don’t have.”
He smiled. Extended the gun out in front of him.
“You have ten seconds to show yourself before I start shooting.”
Drake kept his gaze on McIlvaine. Didn’t bother to look over and see if Kade would show.
There was no way he’d risk getting him and Sage hurt.
He would be there. And he wouldn’t be happy about it.
It took just over six seconds, Drake counting them off slow in his head, before Kade could be heard crunching through the darkness. Showed himself on the opposite side of Sage.
Stayed several feet away.
Drake cast one quick glance. Saw the scowl on Kade’s face.
Knew he was staying out of reach in case McIlvaine got jumpy with his trigger finger. More targets. Further apart.
For a moment, he considered trying to do the same. Cast the idea aside.
He needed to be close enough to try and shield Sage if things went down.
“Well then,” McIlvaine said. Kept the same cocksure smile in place. “Now that we’ve got that taken care of.”
He switched the gun into his left hand. Kept it extended in front of him. Unsnapped a lead rope from his hip.
Alternated glances between the group and a cow tucked against the side of the barn.
Solid black. A single splotch of white on her rear hip.
In the darkness she looked like little more than a shadow. The only things that gave her presence away were the shine of her eyes. The sound of her chewing a mouthful of alfalfa.
If the appearance of four people troubled her at all, there was no sign of it.
Drake watched as McIlvaine shuffled two steps to the side. Lifted the rope over the cow’s head. Closed it with a slip knot.
Gaze fixed on the group, he pulled her over to the side. Had to lean into it at first to get her going. Pulled himself upright as she reluctantly followed his lead.
“It would appear you guys are in luck,” McIlvaine said. “I was paid a rather hefty sum to get rid of this here cow, but I have no reason to be shooting the three of you.
“Stay right where you are and this will be the last you ever see of me in these parts.”
He took two more steps away from them. Stopped. Allowed the cow to come to a stop by his side.
“Actually, you know what? I like it here. I’m already getting rid of this thing, what’s a few more bodies on the pile?”
Raised the gun. Smiled.
Drake nudged closer to Sage. Wrapped his fingers around her coat. Prepared to fling her backwards to the ground.
Felt his heart, his breath, stop in his chest.
Heard the sound of a gun rack.
Not McIlvaine’s gun. Not the simple click of a hammer being pulled back and locked into place.
The heavy slide action of a rifle.
Drake was beyond being surprised. Long past feeling any additional burst of shock or fear.
Instead, he felt confusion. Squinted into the darkness. Tried to find the source of the noise.
Heard an identical sound come in from the opposite side. Shifted his attention to McIlvaine.
Saw the look of panic on his face. The mixture of trepidation and
realization splayed across his features.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Jensen Hall said from the darkness. Walked up behind McIlvaine. Thrust one foot out in front of the other. Nice and easy. “What is one more body on the pile?”
To either side, the brothers emerged from the darkness. Dressed in black. Greased faces.
Assault rifles at the ready.
Between them, Hall was dressed in all-black. No face paint. No weapon.
McIlvaine’s mouth and eyes formed three perfect circles. The color drained from his face.
Drake watched as he glanced over his shoulder at the men behind him. Turned as if he might open fire on the targets in front.
Hall seemed to sense what he was planning. Shook his head to the side.
“You even think about it, we will saw you in two before your finger squeezes.”
The brothers converged on either side. Hub tore the gun from McIlvaine’s hand. Shoved it down the back of his waistband.
His counterpart grabbed McIlvaine by the wrist. Wrapped a set of zip-tie cuffs around it. Cinched them tight.
For his part, McIlvaine put up no fight.
Any resolve he’d displayed over the last week was gone. In its place was pure, unadulterated fear. His gaze hung towards the ground. His arms went limp and lifeless.
One minute, he was threatening to murder three people in cold blood. The next, he was being led off into the darkness.
Drake had no doubt that his earlier words would be true.
None of them would ever see him again.
Drake took a half-step forward. Released his grip on Sage’s coat. Spread his hand wide and rubbed her back.
“It’s okay,” he said. Felt Kade press in on the opposite side.
Hall waited until the brothers had McIlvaine far behind him. Took two steps forward into the barn and stared at Drake.
“I told you he wouldn’t even know we were there.”
“We didn’t either,” Drake said.
“You still don’t,” Hall said. Nodded once for emphasis.
Drake looked over Sage’s head to Kade. Met his gaze. Shared a nod.
“Understood.”
“What the hell were you guys doing out here anyway?” Hall asked. Folded his arms across his chest.
Drake motioned with his chin towards the cow. Standing exactly where McIlvaine had left her, lead rope still hanging down. “Her.”
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