Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Maggie rose to her feet. “We won’t say anything.”
Boyd gave a hollow laugh. “That’s not how this works.”
Bianca felt the weight of those words settle over the pit.
Ewan made another weak sound.
She pressed harder on the wound, though she knew it wasn’t enough.
Adam. The thought came like a bolt. She had called him, and her phone was still on the floor of Maggie’s SUV. Had the call connected? Had he heard anything? Had he realized she was in trouble? A wave of regret washed through her. She should have told him she loved him. Yeah, it was impossibly fast. But still. She felt what she felt, and it was real. The truth struck with brutal clarity. If Boyd killed them here, Adam would never hear those words.
Her throat tightened, but she forced herself to focus on Ewan. “Take small breaths.”
Maggie faced Boyd across the pit. “You’re not a killer.”
Boyd looked at her. “I already shot one man today.”
The wind drifted down the walls of the excavation, stirring loose dust. High above them the rim of the pit remained empty.
Boyd kept the gun raised, standing near the base of the ramp where he could see both the women and the slope above. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Bianca looked up at him, fury and fear burning through her.
And somewhere far beyond the pit, she prayed Adam had heard the call.
Adam stood at the fence line with a pair of pliers in his hand, twisting the wire tight while Hawk steadied the post. The afternoon wind rolled across the pasture, carrying the smell of damp soil and grass. The mountains rose in the distance, quiet and steady, while the fence clinked softly under Adam’s work.
“Think that’ll hold?” Hawk asked.
Adam gave the wire one last pull. “Yeah. That’ll do it.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. He almost ignored it. Out there most messages meant someone asking about feed or a delivery running late, but the vibration kept going. He wiped his hands on his jeans and pulled the phone out. The text was from Bianca.
Maggie’s property, Boyd mining illegally, has gun, shot Ewan. Help.
For a second the world stopped. Adam read the message again, every word slamming into him. His stomach dropped.
“Adam?” Hawk said.
Adam didn’t answer right away. His mind raced ahead, putting together pieces he hadn’t understood before—Bianca out on Maggie’s land, Boyd involved, a gun. Jesus. He checked the time stamp. Only a few minutes old. That meant she had just sent it. His pulse jumped hard, and he started to run to the truck.
“Adam,” Hawk said again, falling in step. “What’s wrong?”
“Move fast. Now. Trust me.”
Adam yanked the driver’s door open and climbed in while Hawk jumped into the passenger seat. The engine roared to life. Adam slammed the truck into gear and spun it toward the road, the tires tearing through loose rock as the vehicle shot forward.
Hawk grabbed his phone and read the text. “Shit. Call everyone.”
“I am.” Adam hit the hands-free button and started dialing everyone he trusted in the world.
The phone rang once.
“Quinn,” Adam said when the line connected. “Get whoever you trust and head to the Willoughby north property line. Boyd’s running an illegal mining pit out there and he’s armed.”
Quinn didn’t hesitate. “How bad?”
“Bad enough that Bianca texted that Ewan’s been shot.”
Silence filled the line for a moment. Then Quinn said, “We’re moving.”
Adam ended the call and dialed again. “Colton,” he said when the man answered. “Grab Jake and meet me near the Willoughby property by the mountain trail. Boyd’s armed and has already shot one person.”
“What the hell happened?” Colt snapped, the sound of him already on the move coming through the line.
“I’ll explain later. Just get moving.” Adam cut the call before the questions could start.
Now he had the Lodge and Freeze men coming, and they were as trained as Hawk and Adam.
Hawk glanced over at him. “You think Boyd’s still there?”
“He shot someone,” Adam said. “He’s not walking away from that.”
The truck bounced onto the main ranch road as Adam pushed the speed higher. Fence lines blurred past the windows and dust rolled behind them in a thick cloud.
His thoughts moved fast.
Bianca.
Images forced their way into his mind. Bianca smiling as she planted flowers. Bianca dancing in his kitchen as she cooked breakfast. Bianca alone somewhere on Willoughby land with a killer.
He gripped the steering wheel harder. The memory of the roses on his porch slammed into place—the threat, the shot tire, Boyd. It wasn’t lining up in his head yet, but the text had been clear enough. She had to be okay.
He turned the truck onto a narrower trail cutting toward Willoughby land. The tires slammed into ruts as the vehicle bounced hard across the uneven ground. Wind rushed through the open windows. “Hold on,” he said.
Hawk braced himself against the door.