When the band started up again, couples moved between tables, boots scuffing against the floorboards. Enya leaned back in her chair and watched the lights sway above the tent poles, her body relaxed, and her heart overflowed with happiness that hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
How is this my life?
She had no idea how; all she knew for sure was, it was freaking awesome. The fairgrounds had gone soft around the edges by the time the dinner broke up, and the lights dropped to half power. Laughter faded into a low hum. Everyone was tired but not quite ready to quit yet. She hummed along with the slow tune the band was playing and spotted her dad standing near the tent entrance with her momma, both of them caught in conversation with one of the sponsors.
Enya slid her arms into her jacket and pulled it around her, the air cooler against her skin, with the smell of rain sitting heavy over the dust and diesel. “I’m gonna check on Rain before I turn in.”
Her momma looked up, the corners of her mouth lifting. “Don’t be long, baby. It’s after midnight.”
“I won’t.” The noise behind her fell away with each step she took. The lights along the gravel path hummed, throwing long shadows that slid across the rows of trailers and tents. Somewhere close by, a generator coughed and settled. The carnival rides at the far end of the fairgrounds turned off, plunging the night into even more darkness. It should have been weird how quickly everything went from buzzing with the busyness of the fairground, to the almost-as-quiet of their barn in Kentucky when the horses were bedded down and the stable hands had retired for the night. The only sound that followed her was the scrape of her boots against the dirt and the soft call of a horse from somewhere down the line.
Even the crickets have gone to bed.
She pushed through the door of the barn, and the warmth rolled over her. For a place as warm as El Paso, it was surprising how downright chilly it could get when the sun went down. Rain lifted his head when Enya stepped into his aisle, his ears forward, and a soft nicker rolled from his throat in greeting.
“Hey, boy.” She fished a treat from her pocket and moved closer, one hand out, palm open. Rain pressed his muzzle into it and snuffled up the cookie.
Outside, the wind picked up and made the sides of the barn groan a weird noise, and Enya paused to flip up the collar of her jacket. Further down the row, a horse stomped once and went still again. The stillness wrapped around her, deep and complete.
I wish I could find a way to bottle this moment in time, when me and my bestest boy are on top of the world.
A man’s voice carried in from the far end of the barn, and Rain’s ears turned forward again. His body tightened for a second as he scented the air before he relaxed again. Enya ran a hand down his cheek, scratched under his chin, and let her mouth curve upward.
“Nothing to worry about. It’s just someone visiting their horse, like I am with you.” Her thumb traced the white blaze down Rain’s face. “I better go back to the trailer or momma will be in here and mutter at us both for not resting after our big day.” She booped Rain on the snoot and stepped out of the stall. “I should have told Momma I was going to sleep in here with you for sure. But I didn’t, so I have to go back or she’ll worry. See you in the morning, big boy.” Just before she turned toward the door, the lights overhead flickered once, quick as a heartbeat, “Shit.” She almost laughed at herself for jumping at stupid things. “Night,Rain,” She called over her shoulder, walked out of the barn, and pulled the door shut behind her.
She walked toward the yard where her dad had parked their trailer on the other side of the barns. The air carried dust, hay, and the faint edge of rain drifting somewhere beyond the fairgrounds. Behind her, laughter rolled out from a tent, followed by the thump of a guitar and someone calling goodnight. Gravel shifted behind her, quick and close. She turned with a half-smile, expecting one of the riders, or maybe her dad, coming to walk her back.
“Forget something?”
She blinked in confusion at a man she’d never seen before and opened her mouth to scream when he reached for her. But he was too fast, and before her brain had caught up with what was happening, the cloth in his hand clamped across her mouth. She jerked, kicked, and tried to break free, but he tightened his hold, keeping her in place as a second man injected her with something, and the world turned sideways. She was vaguely aware of Rain screaming from the inside of the barn as her knees struck the gravel and everything went dark.
CHAPTER TWO
TUESDAY, STRONGHOLD RANCH, BELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY
Dust hung in the air,stirred by the rhythm of the horse’s hooves as Former Navy SEAL turned rancher, Rowan Salieri, sat on the bars of the round pen. A bay mare circled the space, her muscles slick with sweat and her nostrils flaring. She was half-wild, a mustang barely off the range who’d been sent to him for one last shot at taming, and every twitch of her tail told him she wasn’t ready to trust anyone, never mind a human, just yet.
“Easy, girl. Ain’t nobody here gonna hurt you here.”
He shifted his weight as the mare snorted, tossed her head, and darted the other way. He wouldn’t force her; he’d invite her, he might even tempt her, but he could already tell that she was determined to ignore him as hard as she could. She wanted out of this place and out of this prison. She wanted to go back to her herd.
I can’t blame her for wanting to go home.
Despite the early morning hour, sweat slid down the back of his neck. He could smell the dry grass, the warm leather of his gloves, and the faint hint of his coffee that had gonecold on the fence post next to him. Rowan had relearned to love the quietness of stunning early morning sunrises over the mountains. Quietness had once been a rare commodity in his world. Now that he’d found it again, he guarded it, protected it, and refused to let anyone or anything bring chaos to the world he and his twin brother, Gael, had forged in this mountain ranch deep in the heart of Bell County. The home where as children, they’d learned the skills that had put them at the top of their game in the world of Special Operations had become their sanctuary, their retreat from society, and their stronghold.
His phone pinged loudly in his pocket, sending the mare into a frenzy of kicks and bucks as she snorted around the pen. “You’re going to make me work for it, aren’t you, girl?” His fingers flexed on the fence post as he watched her carefully to see what she’d do. If she made a break for it, roping her would suck and set back all the work he’d put into her over the last two days. But if she escaped up here, then she’d keep running and disappear, heading west as fast as her hooves could take her.
Or that wild stallion he’d caught some glimpses of recently would capture her and fold her into his herd.
Rowan huffed out a breath of relief when the mare finally slowed, her sides heaving, and watched him with the wary intelligence of something that had been cornered before. Her ears flicked toward his voice. He waited. A minute passed. Then another. Then his phone pinged again, and she took off around the pen once again.
“Fuck.” He was going to kick the ass of whoever was sending him text messages at this hour of the morning. He slid his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.
Unknown Number: Camden Moore, Scott County, Virginia. At your gate, need a meeting ASAP.”
The image attached to the message showed a driver’s license confirming the name he’d provided.
Who the fuck is Camden Moore?
