Page 26 of Twilight Tactics

A young woman in her early thirties, dressed in green and tan camo, stepped out from the trees, rifle held loosely in her hands.

Elena had no doubt she could have it up and ready to plant a bullet in her within the blink of an eye. Simply because she could do the same. “Lindy Grace,” Elena said. “It’s been a long time.”

Surprise flickered in her former friend’s eyes before fading to a hard stare. “El?”

“Yes. How are you?”

“Not happy to see you, unfortunately. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for my dad and Iris. Are they here?”

“No. Why did you bring him with you?” She didn’t bother to grace Sully with a look, but kept her gaze on Elena.

“He’s a friend. Cousin to Maya Sullivan who owns the Broken Chains Ranch about five miles from here.”

The woman’s eyes finally transferred to the hat on Sully’s head. “Where’d you get that?”

“Someone came onto the Sullivan ranch land,” Sully said. “She dropped it when she ran from me.”

“She?”

“Yes.”

“Then give it back.”

Sully pulled the cap from his head and tossed it to Lindy Grace. It landed at her feet. She picked it up and tucked it into her pocket, then lasered her gaze back on Elena. “You know better than to come unannounced.” She nodded to Sully. “And to bring a stranger? What are you thinking?”

“I need to know who was on Sullivan land.”

“You know how this works. You’re trespassing. You get one chance to leave before anyone else gets here, and that’s only because of our past history.” She glanced behind her. “I’m serious, leave now or it won’t end well.”

Elena frowned. The woman was nervous. Maybe even afraid.

“What’s going on, Lindy?”

“A lot. Things are different now, Eleanor. We were friends as kids, but even I can’t protect you if you don’t leave now. Others are coming this way. Go. Please.” She backed toward the woods. “I don’t want to see you hurt. Or him. This is your only warning. Leave and watch your back.”

The woman was so indoctrinated into the ways of the preppers that she would do whatever she had to do to keep her status within the ranks. And that possibly included shooting trespassers. If not shooting them, at least turning them over to others who might not have the same restraint.

The preppers were made up of ex-cons, outcasts, people trying to escape something. And those born into it. Not unlike the people at Broken Chains. And yet the two places couldn’t be more different.

“Wait, someone tried to grab me off my horse. Do you know why?”

Lindy’s eyes narrowed. “One of us?”

“I’m not sure. I thought so, but I suppose it could have been just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. A random thing.”

“If it was one of us, it wasn’t random.”

“But ... why?”

Again, Lindy glanced over her shoulder, every line of her body tense. “Just watch your back. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

Something was going on, and Elena wasn’t going to get it from Lindy. But by staying, she could be putting Sully in danger. “Let’s go, Sully.”

He started to say something, then snapped his lips shut, turned the horse back the way they’d come, and nudged Belle forward.

Elena took another hard look at Lindy Grace. “Tell my father...” She stopped and bit her lip. “Never mind. Don’t tell him anything.” This wasn’t going to work, and there was no sense in trying to force her way in.