Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“I need to help Shane.” Resolve began to flow through her. She wasn’t some whiny baby who hid when her man was in trouble.
Henry put his hands on her shoulders. “I need you to protect Nell and our baby. I’ll get Shane out. One way or another.”
“I’ve heard the rumors, Henry, but I also know Bliss likes to make mountains out of molehills. I should come with you,” she replied.
“Go check the barn,” a deep voice commanded. “According to Billy there’s a couple of people out there. Take ’em out. Don’t you leave any witnesses. You know what’s at stake. Find the other Kent kid. Ned says they have Shane. We can use him to get Bay to talk.”
Shane was alive. She could breathe.
This was about Bay?
The boss wasn’t finished. “I want to get out of here before McNamara and his boys get back, though you should know killing that asshole would have been fun.”
“Should I leave the bodies, boss?” another voice asked.
Brooke could barely hear them, but every word made her nauseous.
Henry kept his voice low. “He told him to prep the bodies. I think they’re planning on dumping all the bodies somewhere. This man has no idea where he is. He probably thinks Nate Wright is some small-town sheriff who’ll investigate a little and then let it go.”
Nate wouldn’t. Nate would go to the ends of the earth to figure out who hurt his people, and he would have a lot of help.
Lucy was getting Nell to the corner of the barn. As far from the door as they could get. She dragged a couple of horse blankets down and set Nell up in one of the empty stalls.
How was this happening?
“What do we do?” Brooke asked. “We don’t have any weapons.”
“We will,” Nell replied, her words calm even as she grunted through a contraction.
“Brooke, I need you to stand in the middle where he can see you when he walks in. I need to be able to come up behind him,” Henry commanded. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
How could he say that? He was a nice guy who sold homemade cider at Woo Woo Fest and protested with hand-done signs. The man was wearing Birkenstocks and socks. He was not…
She didn’t have time for this. Nell and Lucy needed her. Shane needed her. She moved into position. “All right. But I’m going with you. You need backup.”
Henry’s brows rose but he didn’t say anything because the barn door was opening. Henry moved into the shadows.
“Hello to the house. Or the barn, as it is.” The cowboy standing there wore dark jeans and a black T-shirt. She could see the brand on his forearm.
She would bet that was the same brand Kingman used on his cattle.
The cowboy had a shotgun in his hand, but his eyes were on her. On her breasts, checking her out, likely to see if it would be worth it to risk having some fun with her. “Now see, they didn’t tell me there would be a pretty lady in here. Where are your friends, sweetheart?”
Nell let out a low moan, and the guy took his eyes off her.
Brooke was about to make a run at him. She could fight and hopefully get the gun. She would sacrifice if she had to. The whole scene played out in her head, but then Henry stepped out of the shadows and one minute the guy was trying to figure out what was happening and then next there was a cracking sound and his ass fell to the floor.
Henry picked the gun up and stepped over the dead body.
Well, that had been way easier than it should have been.
“I can stay in the barn,” Brooke said. No lies there. Henry was everything they said he was.
“My love, I’m sorry about the noise. Brooke, if you could scream, please,” Henry apologized, and then the sound of a shotgun going off exploded through the air.
The goats brayed and ran in circles.
“Brooke,” Henry prompted. “I need to make this sound real or he’ll send someone else. One shot for each of us because I don’t know how good their intel is.”
Brooke screamed at the top of her lungs. It felt good, actually, because it was so fucking unfair. How dare they walk in here and expect…what? They were walking in and murdering people who’d done absolutely nothing to them, and she included Shane in that.
Another shot and another, and those poor baby goats were terrified. She screamed again because she was pissed about the goats. They were in their home. They should be safe.
Henry fired again, and Brooke could hear Nell’s long groan.
This baby was coming faster than she could believe.
Henry came back and held the shotgun out to her. “Now they’ll think he’s prepping the bodies. They’ve been careful. They made sure the ranch was as empty as possible. I’m going to hope that means they think they’ve got time. I need you to watch over my wife. If anyone walks through that door, you shoot. Do you understand, Brooke?”