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 think this is about a drawing I did,” Bay said quietly.
Max hopped on the hood of his truck. Well, hopped was a strong word to use for the awkward maneuver, but then the guy was getting up there in years. “I thought Shane was the one who saw something.”
“But if it was Shane, they would simply kill him. They wouldn’t need to do all this. It’s easy enough to send someone in and then eventually the guy they sent in is alone with Shane and oops, accidents happen on ranches. Shit. That’s why they stole the damn safe.”
It was all falling into place, and he was on the edge of panic. He wanted to get back in the truck and plow through. That gate wouldn’t hold if they hit it hard enough. He needed to get to them. He would give Kingman everything if it meant Brooke was safe. If it meant his brother survived.
“What the hell do they want with a drawing?” Max asked, somehow staying calm. “Can you give it to them?”
“If it’s the one I think it is, then it’s in my sketchpad in the foreman’s house. I usually take it with me, but we weren’t supposed to be long,” Bay admitted. “I left it on the bar in the kitchen. I think a couple of Brooke’s books are on top of it. I thought about that because I like it when Brooke’s on top, so I liked her books being on top of mine.”
“Too much information,” Max gritted out. “Why would they care about your drawings? I mean I can see Stef trying to steal them since he’s certain you’re some sort of brilliant artist person, but Kingman doesn’t give a crap about art.”
There, Max would be wrong. Kingman actually had some lovely examples of contemporary Southwestern art, including a couple of pieces that should have been in Native American museums. But that was all about showing off. Kingman’s art gallery was like his mansion. Meant to intimidate and bring glory to Kale Kingman.
“There was this woman. She’d been on the ranch for a couple of years,” Bay said, his anxiety growing. “Kingman didn’t have many women on the team, but she seemed close to him. And then one day she was leaving. I was working near the house that day and I saw her getting ready to leave. There was something about the whole scene, some deep emotion I didn’t understand but I had to catch. I know that sounds weird…”
“Stef Talbot has been my brother for my whole life. You think I don’t get the weirdo art stuff? Trust me. I’ve had to sit while Stef tried to capture some shit I didn’t understand. It’s a damn tree. There are thousands of them around here, but Stef’s got to paint that one. All right, but how did Kingman even know you had it?”
Oh, he remembered now. “It was right before Thanksgiving, and one of the guys was being an asshole. He got hold of my sketchpad and started looking through it. When I walked in they were all making fun of me for my drawings of Brooke. Saying I was a pervert but hey, could I introduce them to that girl?”
“They were talking about my sister? Bay, I don’t care what anyone tells you, it’s your job to kick the ass of any man who looks her way.”
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle any man since she was gorgeous and every man with eyes would look at her, but he would take care of the ones who touched her. “Anyway, they were all joking about me sitting around drawing women I could never have, but one of them pointed to the picture of Meli Smith. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now I wonder.”
“You wonder?” Max put the binoculars to his face. This part of the G was in the valley surrounded by mountains, but the land where they had the houses and the barns was fairly flat. Max should have a decent view if the binoculars were powerful enough. Even from Bay’s place he could see the houses and the barn, at the least the roofs. Max was higher. “What does Kingman drive?”
“A black Escalade when he’s showing off, but he’s got several cars. A couple of Jeeps. A tricked-out F-150 when he’s working,” Bay replied. “But it’s been a couple of months. He trades them in pretty fast.”
“There are three vehicles I don’t recognize. Two trucks, and there is that Escalade,” Max confirmed. “It looks like they’re mostly in Trev’s house. He’s going to lose his shit on those boys when he gets back here. Bay, they’re all armed.”
Bay’s gut clenched. “Can you see Brooke? Shane?”
“No,” Max informed him. “I’ve got two men on the porch. They look like they’re guards. Probably the lookouts. One just walked out. He’s heading for the barn.”