A Cowboy's Claim, page 12
Shit.
He’d absently opened an unread message. Petra had sent one only a minutes ago, which was odd. She and Tansy both teased that he was the worst at responding and usually resorted to phoning. Either she was feeling chatty or hoping he’d heard from his brothers.
But the instant he clicked the link open, all amusement evaporated.
Blackbird. Barn.
That’s all the message said, but Petra knew exactly what that meant. It was a call for help and a warning not to arrive with guns blazing.
Whatever was happening at High Water, he needed to be there—now.
10
Sydney sent off a quick note to Petra to warn that she was coming over, not really expecting a response.
She knew her friends loved her—but showing up unannounced at High Water as if she lived there? That still felt wrong. A remnant of the rules that her grandparents had laid down while she lived under their roof and attended university—
No, her grandfather, not her grandma.
Oh, Grandma Bel still wanted her to be polite, but Grandpa Nate definitely had opinions about the way things were supposed to be done. Funny how knowing some of Grandpa Nate’s beliefs were outdated didn’t stop them from shaping her instincts.
Turning down the road into High Water, Sydney checked for the usual ever-present activity. She wasn’t sure how many ranch hands were in residence at the moment, but there always seem to be somebody in the yard or moving to and from the barn to the house.
She knew there were no rentals in the artists’ studio over the dorms and residence. With Tansy’s leg still in a cast, the place wouldn’t be taking new bookings for a while. They’d only had a few already in place that they coordinated with the new cook at Buns and Roses to take care of the catering.
Sydney was just about to park when a shot of anger pulsed up. Whoever the jerk was taking two parking spaces for their truck and not bothering to pull out of the road between the residence and the barn needed to get some lessons on—
Shit. She slowed then stopped completely. That license plate was familiar. Or more, the odd way the license plate was not clearly visible at a glance was familiar.
Leaving her truck running, she slipped down to take a closer look. The plate was coated in mud and dust, even though the rest of the bumper was mostly clean.
The last time she’d seen plates like that was the night she’d come to dinner and the troublesome new guy had been there. The one Declan had to restrain, and who Jake had sent packing across the country using his police contacts.
An eerie calm flooded in, and the hours of sadness and tangled confusion disappeared in an instant.
This was what her brain did. Problem solved and saw the next thing to do. That truck was too damn familiar, and maybe she was wrong, but after the reminder from a few days ago, sometimes being overly cautious wasn’t a bad idea.
She walked back to the open door of her truck, keeping her step steady and her head up, just in case she was being watched. She reached and turned off the engine and left her vehicle blocking the truck in place.
One more casual stroll put her at the stranger’s passenger door which opened easily. She checked the glove compartment.
No registration, no insurance papers. Which was smart, because no one should keep them there.
She opened the console between the front seats and a gun glistened back at her.
A mental landslide of swear words hit as she took a quick glance around at the thankfully still empty yard. She grabbed the gun, held onto it tightly as far away from the trigger as possible, and left the vehicle, closing the door firmly behind her.
The rain barrel at the edge of the ranch house caught her attention. Inspired, she walked briskly to the far side of the house where a matching barrel sat. It only took a moment to lift the lid and toss the gun inside.
If that was a legally owned firearm, she’d pay to have it fixed, but considering they were in Alberta, and it was a handgun that was not properly secured?
She didn’t think it was likely.
While she was at the back side of the house, she took a quick peek in the windows, both relieved and afraid to discover no one in the kitchen or living room, or visible through the bedroom windows that she had to stand on her tiptoes to look into.
Mentally, she counted cars. Petra’s was there. Tansy’s loaner from her brother-in-law that she was borrowing since her SUV was toast was there, as well as Declan’s. Kevin was MIA, and she didn’t know the other two trucks, but they were probably ranch hands. They were parked in the right spot, out in front of the dorm doors.
No idea about Jinx, but she’d lay odds the girl was at the neighbours.
Sydney slowed her step and checked her phone. She made sure the sound was turned off then considered if it was worth the risk to text anyone. It could all be her imagination, but the need for caution still screamed in her head.
Hoofbeats sounded in the distance. She turned—and there he was, Declan charging in like a goddamn knight. He slowed, pointing imperiously for her to stay where she was.
He joined her at the corner of the house, dismounting and tucking himself and his horse as close to the back wall as possible. “We’ve got trouble,” he said softly.
“There’s no one in the house,” she told him quickly. “One strange truck in the yard that is clearly owned by an asshole. I found what I’m guessing is an unregistered handgun in the console that is now safely out of the picture.”
She looked up at him, waiting expectedly.
He dipped his head slowly. “Got a message from Petra there’s trouble in the barn, and we need to be careful. She only sent the warning signal word, so I think her phone isn’t on her anymore.”
“We can know quickly enough.” Sydney shook her phone in the air. “Your tracking program. Because I assume you also tagged Petra?”
His eyes brightened. “That’s brilliant. And of course I tagged everyone in the damn family. Got the app, may as well use it.”
The good part was that in under a minute they knew both Petra’s and Tansy’s phones were in the barn. The bad news was they were stacked so close together they were probably in a pile on the ground.
Declan considered. “One truck?” he asked. “Crew cab or single bench in the front?”
“Single.”
He checked the screen one more time then shoved his phone into his pocket. “I figure that means only two guys. Whatever they’re up to, it’s Tansy and Petra in there alone with them.”
“What about Logan and the two ranch hands you have?”
“Kevin took them all with him to do some work out at Red Boot ranch.” Declan looked Sydney up and down. “I don’t know why I’m asking, but are you okay getting involved?”
The fact he’d asked instead of simply telling her to stay out of it kept the try and stop me from escaping. “I’ll follow your lead,” she promised. “How do you want to do this?”
He motioned to the back of the horse. “Hop on up. We’re going to send you in one way so I can get in another.” His face went stormy. “You got your magic pass-out drugs on you?”
She patted her pocket. “Always.”
Declan leaned over, linking his hands into a step. “Up you go.”
He waited until she was in the saddle, reins in hand before he laid a big hand on her thigh and squeezed. “Walk Cobalt around the back side of the barn and go in through the arena. If the overhead door is closed, open it then mount back up before entering. You can get away quicker on horseback if you need to, or use Cobalt to stomp anyone who gets in your way. You want to get the of attention of whoever is in there so I can get inside unnoticed. But don’t take chances.”
She listened as he gave her a few more instructions then nodded firmly. “You stay safe,” she ordered. “No heroics.”
“Hopefully we discover this is all some big misunderstanding.” He squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. “But be ready for anything.”
As per the plan, Sydney shook the reins gently and got Cobalt headed around the edge of the barn. It was an ominous sensation to have to casually ride past a place where people could be watching her.
She fell into that place of calm again up to where the barn door was open, and she confidently headed Cobalt into the entrance.
She stopped right in the doorway. “That was a good ride, girl,” she announced loudly, patting the horse’s neck. “I’ll have to borrow you again next time.”
A lanky man in his midthirties stepped forward from one of the stalls, smile firmly place. He tipped his baseball cap back and grinned at her. “Hey, there. Let me give you a hand.”
“Oh, hello.” She smiled but kept her seat. “Thanks. This is my first time renting one of the horses, and I’m not sure where everything goes yet.”
“First time? So you don’t know everyone here?” He caught the reins and began to guide her toward a stall close to where he’d appeared from.
“Ten rides starting today,” she announced perkily. “Plus I get to do the horse care, you know brushing them and whatever it’s called. I love horses. Don’t you love horses? Of course you do. You wouldn’t work here if you didn’t. What a great job you have.”
She kept the chatter up, bubbly and brainless as she slid off the horse and quickly ducked under Cobalt’s neck to her right side. Just in case the guy planned to grab her.
“How’d you hear about our place?” he asked.
“Just moved to town—I’m the new receptionist at the clinic, you know—and my landlord told me this was the place to call.” After a quick peek up into the loft area, Sydney frowned at the man pretending to help her. “Do you know where the brushes are?”
“Sure,” he said. “But I just thought of something. You’re new, but have you seen my buddy around? I’ve been trying to track him down for a while.”
Sydney pretended great interest in the guy’s phone as he held it forward, and a clear image of someone who looked very much like Logan popped into view. Not Logan though—the eyes were the wrong colour. “He’s cute.”
The guy choked for a second. “I guess?”
Above them in the loft, out of sight of the stranger, Declan appeared, silent as a ghost. When he drew his fingers across his throat, she got the message.
“Wait, I might know him. Let me see again,” she ordered, slipping her hand into her pocket as she doubled back under Cobalt’s neck. She thumbed the protective cap off the injector. “You’re too tall,” she complained, laughing innocently. “Or I’m too short.”
“You think you’ve seen him in town?” The guy leaned over more as he held out the phone again.
Sydney hummed softly, then pointed at the screen with her left hand. “That looks like—”
She jammed the muscle relaxant against his neck then stepped back, crowding into the corner of the stall and putting Cobalt’s head between them.
“What the fuck?” The stranger whirled with a snarl, all pretense of being a nice guy falling away. His eyes widened, the quick-acting relaxant hitting his system so fast his legs collapsed, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap.
Declan had crawled in the upper window of the barn and made a quick trip around the perimeter of the loft. It was only after he’d spotted Tansy and Petra safe but trapped in neighbouring stalls that he’d signaled Sydney to go ahead and use her knockout meds.
His entire body tightened as he waited mostly hidden from view in the loft, unable to do more than watch.
Thankfully, Sydney was both brave and quick, and within seconds of the man landing at her feet, she’d grabbed Cobalt’s reins.
His horse was justifiably upset at the body sprawled under her legs. Then again, if the guy got stepped on, that was his problem for having come in where he wasn’t welcome.
Sydney knelt to check the man’s pulse, but she glanced up at the loft, waiting for the next signal of the options Declan had shared.
He dropped a handful of zip ties from the loft, speaking quietly. “Stall Cobalt next door, tie this guy up, then lock the gate. Stay hidden—someone’s in the office.”
“Tansy? Petra?”
“Safe.”
He took off for the stairs that would drop him just outside the office door. Silently he paced around the spots where he knew the floorboards would creak underfoot.
He made eye contact with Tansy and Petra individually and offered both of them a finger pressed to his lips and one hand raised in the wait sign.
Tansy grimaced, casted leg stretched out on the hay bale she rested on, and flashed him a thumbs-up.
Petra planted her hands on her hips, clearly frustrated, but she too dipped her head in agreement.
From the noise inside the office, the man inside was searching through every filing cabinet and every desk drawer, not even caring he might be overheard. Low curses rumbled from him as he worked.
Declan took a second glance into the room to gauge the best way to rush forward, but luck was not on his side. He locked eyes with the stranger rifling the office.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man demanded.
May as well go for it, Declan decided. He took a step forward, blocking the doorway. “I’m the one who needs to ask that question. Why the hell are you tearing apart my office?”
“You work here?” The man’s expression lightened. “Just trying to find some information, man. Tell me what I need to know, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Don’t know that I want to give you anything considering how poor your manners are,” Declan drawled. He folded his arms over his chest and stared down at the man who was a good five inches shorter than him. “This how you usually ask for directions—breaking and entering?”
“Fuck this,” the stranger muttered, and too late, Declan remembered Sydney’s warning about the gun.
She’s going to give me so much shit—
“Back up,” the stranger ordered, pointing a dark handgun squarely at Declan’s abdomen. “Mac. Where the hell are you?” he shouted.
“You mean the guy who took off in the truck?” Declan had his hands raised as he shuffled backward. “Christ. He had the pedal to the metal and took off like his ass was on fire,” Declan lied.
The stranger kept moving toward him, and Declan kept backing up, barely keeping his shit together when he stepped out of the door and spotted Sydney pressed to the wall, inches to his left.
“Bullshit,” the stranger said. “Since you work here, I assume you’ll be able to give me a little more help than those useless bitches. You got someone here named Dean?”
Declan hesitated in his step, wondering if he could swing quick enough to knock the gun out of the man’s hand, when Sydney moved, hard and fast.
The crowbar in her hands slammed into the man’s forearm. The gun fell as the man screamed. Declan was on him in a second, wrestling him to the ground and pinning him in place.
The entire takedown was far too reminiscent of having to overpower Russ.
“Bloody idiot,” Sydney muttered. “And yes, I mean you. Here. I found some more zip ties on the bench where I grabbed the crowbar.”
“Good job staying safe in the stable,” Declan grumbled as he accepted the long strands of plastic.
Sydney put her knee between the man’s shoulders and helped restrain him. “Right? Lucky for you, I’ve got selective hearing.” She waved her phone. “Want me to call 911?”
“Yeah.” Declan paused. “What about your knockout special—gonna be a problem?”
Sydney shook her head. “Some of the effects will have worn off by the time they get here, and self-defense on home turf is always the proper answer. It’s iffier when I’m an uninvited guest at someone else’s home like Mr. Greenlee’s.”
The stranger, with his ankles and knees lashed together and his hands immobilized behind his back, continued to curse and utter threats.
Declan snatched up a rag and shoved it in the man’s mouth. “You eat with that mouth? Enough.”
“I’m grabbing the girls,” Sydney announced. “If you’ve got this under control.”
“If we don’t find keys, we’ll need to cut the locks.” Declan stood, fisting the back of the man’s shirt and dragging him toward the stalls. “I’ll give you a hand. I’ll just tuck this trash into the stall next to where you left the other one so it’s easier for the police when they get here.”
Chaos at its finest reigned for the next two hours.
The police came; the police left with the promise the two invaders would be safely locked up for the foreseeable future. Tansy and Petra reclaimed their phones and got a hold of their guys, who were luckily already on the way home.
In one of those never-ending type of days, parts of the story were repeated over and over, especially once Jake and Aiden got home and reassured themselves everyone was really okay.
With Jeffrey temporarily out of the way, passed out in his bed from the excitement of the zoo day adventure, the rest of them met at the kitchen table to catch up.
“We were out in the barn taking care of the rescue animals,” Petra said. “Next thing, I hear someone talking to Tansy—quiet at first. Which, fine. Didn’t expect anyone else to be in the barn, but people do show up with strays at times. But then her volume went up, and she told him to mind his own business and get the hell out of the barn.”
“Damn leg cast,” Tansy complained. “Couldn’t move fast enough. He hauled me into the stall and dumped me inside.”
“You did call out Blackbird,” Petra pointed out. “Gave me enough time to text Declan the heads-up signal before the second guy surprised me.”
Aiden’s glare tightened.
“Neither of them roughed us up,” Petra assured him. “It felt like they were trying to be sneaky—then gave up and went full-on brute force instead.”
“I think they weren’t really supposed to be doing what they were doing.” Tansy waved a hand. “Sorry, that made no sense, because obviously— I mean, they weren’t looking for information because someone told them to. More like they’d an idea on their own and were feeling it out.”
