So I was going to take it back.
But I needed a plan. Which was going to be harder since I didn’t know what I was up against.
I slid out of the ATV and made my way to the back entrance of the barn on silent feet. The hinges whispered out a whine that I prayed went unnoticed. The house was far enough away that it should have been safe as long as no one had come looking in the barn.
I hid in the shadows, peering around the side until I had eyes on the house.
It was hard to make out what was going on, but I counted three SUVs. The front door was wide open. The way the light inside was flickering made me nervous.
Was the house on fire?
Shit!
I didn’t want Austin to lose the house. I sensed it was the only good thing from his childhood.
My feet were moving across the yard before I was fully aware of what I was doing. I swung the rifle off my shoulder, ready to shoot whoever got between me and Austin. Pebbles and sticks cut into the soles of my feet, but I didn’t stop.
I heard the deep boom of a male voice from around the side of the house. I ducked behind one of the SUVs as I tuned my ears into the conversation.
I dared a glance through the windows. Three men, one of them talking on the phone.
“No, he’s not here,” the front man said. “Just some guy. He knew how to fight, though. We’re down five.” There was a pause. His eyes scanned the area. I ducked back down. “There’s a barn… we’ll clear it. If he’s hiding, we’ll find him.”
Another pause and I felt like a trapped animal. So much for them leaving when they figured out I wasn’t in the house.
I tried to place them. It didn’t feel like they were FBI. I didn’t think they were assassins, most of them didn’t work in big groups. Mercenaries, maybe?
If Lipton was hiring mercenaries, he must have been beyond desperate to find me.
“Yeah, he’s still alive,” the man said, and I exhaled a soft breath in relief. “Thought we could interrogate him.”
My face went hard at his tone.
The kind of tactics they used for interrogation we’re not going to be the nice kind.
Austin might be alive now, but if they tortured him enough, he likely wouldn’t survive.
I dropped to the ground and crawled under the SUV, one slow inch at a time so I wouldn’t make noise. I felt like a damn turtle.
“Might be a while before he comes around,” the man said, his boots coming closer to the SUV I was hiding under. “There’s no need to threaten me. We’ll find him.”
There was a pause then a distinct unhappy grunt, giving me the feeling the conversation was over.
I held my breath as the gravel ground together under their shifting boots.
“Guy’s a fuckin’ prick,” a different voice said.
“Yeah, but that prick is paying us a lot of money to find this guy,” the first man said, no humor in his tone. “Let’s go clear the barn.”
“But the guy—”
“Is tied up and unconscious. It shouldn’t take us more than five minutes.”
There was a huff, then silence as I tracked four pairs of boots heading in the direction of the barn, one more than I’d counted before.
It wouldn’t be long before they figured out Ihad beenin there. Damn me for leaving that stupid hatch door open.
I held my breath, listening to their fading footfalls until I could no longer make them out.
