“Walter, it’s Kyle McGuire. We met a couple days ago. I’m Arden’s friend. We’re at her ranch.”
“Kyle? I was just with someone, said his name was Kyle. He was taking me to Maggie. Where did he go? Are you him?”
Holy fucking shit. If the barn fire looked suspicious or Walter somehow survived to tell, Rick was going to frame Kyle for arson and attempted murder.
Kyle was texting Arden to tell Ellie that he’d found Walter when the sound of a snowmobile cut through the wind. The vehicle pulled up and Kyle could see two riders before the headlights blinded him. What the hell, did Arden put Ellie on the back and ride up here? The engine cut out.
“Camo, guard Walter,” Kyle said, then he jogged toward the snowmobile.
“Kyle?” a woman called. But she wasn’t Arden. And she wasn’t Ellie.
“Gina?”
“Kyle!” Gina got off the back of the snowmobile, followed by a big man whose silhouette looked suspiciously like Sergeant Williams.
“One wounded. Possible smoke inhalation,” Kyle said as they approached each other. “Keep an eye on him.”
And then Kyle went running back to the barn. No fucking way was he going to let Rick win.
Gina caught up to him. What the hell—did she run on top of the snow or just fly?
“Pup, what the hell are you doing?”
“Horses. Stand back or help.” They’d reached the barn and Kyle covered his face again and ran in.
The storm at least was retarding the flames from the outside but the barn was filling with smoke. Kyle ran to the first stall with Gina right behind—she too had a scarf over her nose and mouth. As he opened the first stall, she opened the second. They went down the line as the fire burned on the other side of the barn and the horses ran free. The timbers above groaned as the structure became unstable. Toward the back past the flames was the alpaca enclosure. Once the last stall was open, Kyle dashed across the barn to set them free.
“Kyle, there’s no time!”
He ignored Gina. The wall of heat nearly pushed him back and the smoke made it almost impossible to see. He was starting to feel dizzy. The pen was just a few feet away. Already he could see that some of the alpacas lay on the ground, but one was up against the gate. Kyle opened it and the animal ran past him.
So dizzy. As the world blurred, he felt someone hold him up. Gina was there. Shaking off his dizziness, they crouched and ran for the door.
Cold pure air never tasted so sweet.
“You okay?” Gina asked.
“Fine. I’m fine.” He checked his phone. Arden hadn’t texted back yet so he sent another. “Gotta get back to Arden and Ellie.” As curious as he was, he didn’t have time to ask how and why Gina was riding bitch with the sergeant in the middle of nowhere.
Gina grabbed his arm. “Ellie texted the sergeant and said to come straight to Arden’s ranch, that her father was in possible danger.”
The barn creaked and groaned, then the back collapsed.
Gina shook her head. “She wasn’t kidding.”
Kyle checked his phone again. Still no reply from Arden. “All due respect, Gina, I gotta go.”
“Wait. The plow and paramedics are making their way up the hill. You need to stay here and get checked for smoke inhalation.”
“Negative, no fucking way. I’m headed back to Ellie’s. Muir is in the wind. He did this.” Kyle swung his arm indicating the barn, Walter, and the horses milling around. “And now my woman isn’t answering her damn texts.”
“Shit fuck damn. He’s in the wind? Shit. Yeah, no doubt he did this. He’s why I’m here. Kyle, he’s tied to the same people behind Bennett’s senate run.”
Holy shit. Roger Bennett—Watchdog’s previous case, the one that involved Camden’s fiancée Elena and her daughter and nearly ended in their deaths. Those were some powerful bad dudes backing Bennett; so bad, Gina wasn’t allowed to share all the intel she had on them, courtesy of the CIA. No wonder she was out here. They’d probably moved heaven and earth to get her to Colorado and Kyle doubted she was working alone, but the chances of him knowing the details of Spooky’s entire mission were zero and nil.
But none of that was his concern—Rick was. Kyle started back toward the snowmobile. “I’ve got to get to Arden and Ellie. Make sure they’re safe. Sergeant! Watch Camo for me!”
“Kyle, stop!” Gina had never looked so concerned. Spooky was the definition of cool. “There’s a target on your back. Whatever you did here, Pup, these people want to take you down.”
