Mickey tried to rear up with a swing, and Drake punched him again. "Obviously, you're a slow learner."
Two of Mickey's buddies came running into the barn. "Who do you think you are?" They charged toward Drake.
Drake reached down and easily lifted Mickey right off the floor. He swung the man around and tossed him at the two running toward him. All three of them fell in a tumbled mess to the floor. Drake stood over them as if to dare them to get up.
"I don't know who the hell you people think you are, but I would suggest that you get off my property. All three of you."
"Percy will--" one of them started to protest.
"I'll handle Percy. I'm telling you to get lost. If I see you on my ranch, you'll never be seen again. Am I clear?"
They reminded him of the three stooges when they dusted themselves off. They started to walk toward the campers, but Drake stopped them. "Not that way. Get the hell out, now. Walk."
"But our stuff..."
"You should have thought about that before. I'm not telling you again."
The three exchanged glances as if to ask how far they were going to push it. Mickey made the decision for himself and started walking toward the long driveway. "I'm outta here."
Drake held his smirk as they mumbled to each other as they followed him.
Mickey turned to them. "Did you see how easy he lifted me off the floor? Like I was a rag doll. I am messing with him no more."
Drake watched until they were almost to the highway. Unease set in as he turned back toward the stalls. He had known this was going to be more trouble than it was worth, but things were much worse than even he had imagined.
But right now his goal was to find Joey.
Chapter Nine: Catching a Thief
Josephine “Joey” Preston
Joey sat in her camper after taking Cheryl back to her sister, whom she shared a camper with along with her daughter, who was also the belle of the rodeo. Both Cheryl and her sister did trick riding, and Joey knew that they struggled to care for their elderly parents much in the same way she herself tried to care for her own.
She absently rubbed the pendant she wore around her neck as she stared at a photograph of her parents. For not the first time, she murmured to the faces that stared back at her. "Do you know how much I wish I could talk to you both right now?"
With a sigh, she put the photo back in its place and laid back against her pillow. What am I even doing here? There has to be an easier way to pay bills. Getting a regular nine to five job was always an option, but it didn't provide the larger paydays that the rodeo did. She was first in her class of barrel racers, but even the third place purse was larger than a month's salary at a day job. But some days she had to wonder if life on the road was worth it.
She couldn't help but worry about what would have happened if Drake had not interfered on her behalf. She hadn't expected Mickey to shove her and one of these days her mouth was going to overload her ass.
Drake.
The look in his eyes when he punched Mickey stayed with her. Interest. Worry. Curiosity. Concern. Everything mixed together. Her heart had leapt to attention like never before, and all from one look.
Heaven help me when he actually has a conversation with me. I'll probably just lay down and spread my legs for him.
She giggled silently.Ifhe ever talked to her was more like it. As far as she knew, he thought she was nothing more than drama and trouble, and here she was thinking about sex.
But now Drake had kicked three of Percy's personal assistants off the property, and she knew their boss was not going to be happy at all. It was only a matter of time before it came crashing down on her head, but as always, she'd deal with it when she had to. Mickey could have seriously hurt Cheryl, or herself, so whatever bitching she needed to take from Percy was worth it.
Scarlet's snore echoed through the camper. It was about time. She had work to do, and she didn't like the others to be around when she did anything sketchy, like steal feed for the horses. It wouldn't be the first time that she had used sticky fingers if she found another outfit's feed sitting unsecured. She just didn't want any witnesses, or any accomplices if she got caught. It would be embarrassing enough to get busted, but if someone lost their child or job because of her, she wouldn't be able to live with herself.
Joey glanced at her watch. It was straight up midnight. If she hurried, she could be back in bed by one. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day with the first show, so getting sleep was a necessity, but the horses being fed was more important.
She eased her way out of the camper and carefully pushed on the door until it clicked. She had no idea what she was going to find in the yellow barn, but Journey and the others needed her to find out. Another eight hours without eating wasn't going to bode well in the arena at showtime.
The stars twinkled overhead as she walked along without a sound. She sucked in a deep breath of fresh night air and tried to exhale all of the stress and aggravation of the day.
There was minimal lighting in the yellow barn when she inched the door open, but there was just enough that she could see inside. She made her way past the stalls, speaking softly to the horses who whinnied at her as she passed. Curious animals, even they knew that she wasn't supposed to be there.
