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)
“Henry and Nell are in that barn, along with Noah and Lucy.” What the hell was about to happen? Where was Brooke? Did they already have her? Had Shane already tried to defend her? Nell was pregnant. She couldn’t get killed for his mistake. He would never fucking survive being the reason the town mourned. He could jump that fence. “I’m going in.”
“Don’t. Not if Henry’s there.”
Yes, Henry Flanders, the dude who ate tofu and claimed to be some kind of badass. Except he didn’t actually make the claim. It was a town legend. “I need to go make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”
Max snorted. “Yeah, you need to help Henry. Get up here. I assure you Henry already knows what’s happening. Maybe not the whys, but he knows they’re here. I hope like hell Brooke and Shane went out to that barn to say hello and they’re with him now.”
Bay climbed onto the truck and took the binoculars from Max.
He heard the sound of a gunshot. At least he thought it was. It came from the barn, maybe. It was muffled from the distance. The man who’d been stalking to the building stopped and he said something. It was only a second later before he turned and walked back toward the house.
A shot. He’d walked away because he was confident whoever was in the barn was dead. “I think someone was in there and they finished off the people in the barn. I think I’m going to be…”
“Yeah, wait for it,” Max advised.
He was getting ready to jump that gate and run like a madman when he saw the barn door open slightly and a familiar figure slip out.
Henry Flanders moved with the grace of a true predator.
“There he is,” Max said with what seemed like a sigh of relief. “We need to get in. He might need help. There are a lot of them. The least we can do is lock down the barn, though I assure you Henry’s left strict instructions to shoot anyone who tries to get in, so we’ll have to be careful.”
It was like he was watching a nature documentary. Henry was the lion stalking the gazelle who should have been way more careful. Bay felt his breath hitch as Henry easily moved in behind the man before he could reach the part of the yard where the guards would see him. One swift move and the man’s body crumpled to the ground.
“You see, Henry likes to do this thing where he internally decapitates a son of a bitch. It’s quiet and neat and why I no longer have any desire to see a chiropractor.” Max jumped down with far more grace than he’d gotten on. “I was going to try to send you back to get Nate, but I think Henry’s got this. We should go and check on the people in the barn. Figure out exactly where everyone is.”
Max had an enormous amount of faith in Henry.
Max reached inside his truck and came back with a shotgun.
In the distance, Henry already had the dead man’s pistol and was moving around the house, away from the porch. He moved toward the back where there were windows and a way to get into the basement. From there he could carefully move through the rest of the building.
He looked like he knew what he was doing.
Bay needed to see them, needed to know they were still alive.
“I’m going to turn myself in,” Bay announced. “Me walking into that house will distract everyone from where you’re going. And if my brother’s alive, it might buy me some time.”
“If you’re right about what they want,” Max handed him a small pistol. “Put it in your boot. They’re less likely to find it there. I’ll check on the people in the barn and see if I can get them out. You stay safe and trust Henry. He knows what he’s doing. If I can get them back here and Brooke is with me…”
“Get her into town and bring the sheriff,” Bay replied, carefully putting the pistol in his boot. His heart was in his throat, but a sort of calm came over him. This was the thing to do. He had to give his brother and Brooke every chance to live.
And if it came down to one of them or Brooke, he knew what they would both do. She was their love, the woman who completed them in a way they wouldn’t be had they never met her. They might have found some form of happiness, but they wouldn’t have been whole. They would lay down their lives to ensure her safety.
Max brought out a big set of wire cutters. He had it in his tool kit in the back of his truck since Harper Stables also had to deal with fencing. He walked to the side. “I’m not going to risk alerting them by busting through the gate. We’ll have better luck sneaking up like this.”