Page 107 of Taming I Do
Davis nodded. “And me.”
“You call us when you know something.” Mr. Taylor stopped Trent on his way out with a hand to the shoulder.
“Will do, Dad.” Then he stalked toward the parking lot with me, Davis, and Mitchell hot on his heels.
CHAPTER 27
JASPER
I silenced my phone.Suzy had called three times so far. I couldn’t afford the distraction. I was close to the dogs. The dot on my screen confirmed it.
If I was right about where Colin had taken them, he’d be coming in behind the abandoned Jericho homestead. I hadn’t been out that way in years, but once upon a time, Colin and I used to hang out with the Jericho kids. That was before they lost their ranch and had to move away. The place had been sitting there for years now, boarded up and forgotten.
I’d left my truck behind a clump of trees, preferring to cover the rest of the distance on foot. As I cleared a small hill, the old barn appeared. Light filtered through the cracks between boards. I’d bet the pecan orchard there was something suspicious going on down there. I just needed to figure out what it was.
Silently, I crept toward the building. About a dozen vehicles sat behind the barn. I touched my hand to the hood of a big black Chevy truck. It was still warm.
I thought about calling Bodie and turning my brother in once and for all. But I needed proof. With every inch of my heart, I hoped I was mistaken about Colin. For my sake. For Colin’ssake. But especially for the sake of my parents and the rest of my family.
Plastering myself against the worn boards, I peered through a knothole in the wall. A small crowd circled around a ring of hay bales. They cheered as they glanced down at something inside the ring.
Barks, growls, and a whimper came from the barn. My stomach clenched before it dropped into my boots. Whatever was going on inside, I needed to put an end to it right the hell now. But first, I needed to see if my brother was there.
I brought my eye to the wall again, searching for Colin. I vaguely recognized a few faces, but most of the men were strangers. I let out a sigh. Colin wasn’t there. It didn’t explain the dogs in the barn, but knowing my brother wasn’t part of what was happening tonight, right under our noses, brought me some relief.
With every intent of calling Bodie and letting him know what was going on, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, ready to retreat to the safety of my truck to make the call.
As I stepped away from the barn, something poked into my back. “Going somewhere?”
Delilah
I bouncedin the passenger seat as Trent navigated the truck over ruts in the narrow dirt road. My fingers wrapped tight around the handle over my head. The brothers argued back and forth as Davis kept an eye on the dot on his screen.
“Now where?” Trent asked. We’d reached a dead end.
“It says he’s close.” Davis held out his phone.
I couldn’t tell from the screen, but the dot representing Jasper didn’t seem to be terribly far from where Davis’s own dot blinked.
“I guess we walk from here.” Trent shifted into park.
“Walk where?” I glanced out the window. Nothing but tall grass and clumps of trees surrounded us.
“Aren’t we out by the Jerichos’ old place?” Mitchell leaned into the front seat.
“Sure are. Just beyond that ridge over there.” Trent pointed out my window.
I strained, trying to make out some sort of landmark in the darkness, but all I could see were waves of tall grass and weeds shifting in the slight breeze. “We’re going up there?”
“Why don’t you wait in the truck?” Trent suggested.
“Hell, no.” I’d rather take my chances with Jasper’s brothers than wait around in the truck for something bad to happen.
“You can’t go traipsing around in that.” Mitchell nodded toward the formfitting dress I had on.
“Just watch me.” I climbed out of the truck, and my heel immediately sank into the ground.
“At least put these on.” Trent handed me a pair of rubber boots.
