Josh eased out of Tory’s bed, careful not to wake her. Lately, after he came over and they made love, he’d been sleeping on the sofa. He hadn’t had any more nightmares, but he wasn’t taking chances.
Grabbing his jeans and boots off the floor, he went into the living room to put them on, then walked out on the porch. One of the vets he had hired for night guard duty stood near the barn smoking a cigarette, the red tip glowing in the dark. Josh headed in that direction.
Turley spotted him, snuffed his smoke, and met him halfway. At forty, Wes Turley was whipcord lean and rock-hard, his skin darkly tanned and leathery. He wore camouflage pants and a black T-shirt. A Nighthawk .45 rode in a holster tied down around his thigh.
“How’s it going?” Josh asked.
“Been quiet. Aside from the horses and cattle, nothin’ moving around out there.”
“What about Ben?”
“Checked in half an hour ago. Hasn’t seen squat.”
“Good. You need anything?”
“We got a thermos of hot coffee and a couple of sandwiches. We’re good.”
Josh scanned the grounds looking for Ben Rigby, the other vet he’d hired. It took a moment to spot the faint movement in the thick foliage down along the creek. He could just make out the shape of a man.
“That’s him,” Turley said.
Josh waved and Rigby waved back. “See you in the morning,” Josh said, and started back to the trailer.
No trouble so far. Part of him wished something would happen. He could deal with a problem now easier than waiting for something down the road.
Restless, he walked back inside and stretched out on the couch. Thanks to his years in the marines, he could sleep damn near anywhere. The bad news was he also came wide awake at the slightest disturbance.
He slept fitfully that night. Too much on his mind. By the time the sun came up, the men were gone and he was back in his own house getting ready for the day. Tory came over and fixed him breakfast. He ate and headed outside to work.
The veterinarian was coming out this morning, Doctor Alejandro Nunez. One of the mares had come up lame and the foreleg seemed to be getting worse. Nunez was good. Unfortunately, he was a handsome devil and he clearly had eyes for Tory.
As Nunez pulled up in his dark brown GMC pickup, she came out of the house looking way too sexy in a clingy little blouse and those jeans with the rhinestones on the pockets.
Nunez parked, got out, and headed straight for her, homing in like a man on a mission. Josh felt a sweep of irritation.
“Good morning,” the doctor said to her, flashing a set of pearly teeth that magnified his dark, Latino good looks.
“Dr. Nunez, I didn’t know you were coming,” Tory said, smiling.
No, she didn’t. Because Josh had conveniently forgotten to mention it.
“You ready to look at that mare?” Josh asked the vet.
“I could use a cup of coffee first.”
“Of course!” Tory said. “Come on in.”
Nunez waved at him and smiled. The man walked into the house and Josh’s irritation grew. He wanted to grab Nunez by the seat of the pants and drag him out of there, haul him out to the barn where he belonged.
Josh softly cursed. Jealousy wasn’t in his nature. Or at least it hadn’t been. He headed for the barn, determined to put an end to his petty thoughts.
He was almost there when his cell phone rang. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he recognized the caller and pressed the phone against his ear. “Hey, big brother, what’s up?”
“Got a call from Ross Townsend in Phoenix.”
“Yeah, what’d he have to say?”
“Unfortunately, he hasn’t come up with squat on Bridger, nothing to connect him to Lisa Shane, but apparently there was a second abduction. This one ended in murder.”
