“I swear, one of these days,” Matthew muttered and stared at the ceiling. “The police need to handle this.”
“And what? Let her get killed while they have a shoot-out?” Garrett barked.
“You think they’ll kill her?” Tara’s voice rose, almost hysterical. “She’s all I have left.”
“No, honey,” Rachel assured her, leading her to the couch. “Why don’t you lie down and rest while we wait for our friends? Then you’ll feel refreshed and can think better,” she said, covering the young woman with a blanket.
“If this comes down on us, I’m choking you with my bare hands,” Matthew hissed before returning to the kitchen.
“I’m no longer your employee. It won’t taint your precious ranch,” Garrett said, refusing to back down.
“Why don’t we stop this pissing match? You get your laptop, and I’ll make us some grub,” Mac said, entering the room. “Julio will be here soon. We’ll need a fresh pot of coffee. Why don’t you help me make some sandwiches?” he said to Garrett.
“I need to get Riley,” Garrett said, heading toward the door. “I’m packing my things, and I’ll come back for the girl.”
“Didn’t figure you as a quitter,” Mac said. “You put up such a good argument to work here. You should know they changed the ranch’s name. It’s called Haven Ranch. Rachel designed a fancy sign for the driveway. It’s the only reason the gate remained open. We finished measuring it, and one of the gates kept getting stuck. I’ll work on it while you’re gone.”
“Why do I care what they name the damn place? He basically fired me,” Garrett argued. “I may not know this woman, but I gave her the money and caused all the trouble.”
“Maybe you need a cup of coffee and some time to dwell on the name. Something might come to you,” Mac said, entering the kitchen. “You sure fit in with this group, hard-headed, act before you think, and a complete asshole. I can’t wait till Julio arrives. You think you got Rachel wound up, wait until you meet Rebecca.”
“I’m not a damn quitter,” Garrett muttered as Mac laid out sandwich fixings and set him to work.
“Don’t put the tomato on the same plates as the rest of the fixings. Matthew has an aversion to them. Jameson will be here in a minute. You haven’t met him. He’s a little testy these days for good reason. Give him a break,” Mac explained as he measured out coffee.
“I won’t be here long enough to give him one,” Garrett said, still making a sandwich and wondering why the hell he stayed.
Mac chuckled. “Yup, as I said, you’ll fit right in.”
A few minutes later, a dark-haired man opened the back door, holding a thin child in his arms.
A blonde followed him inside. “We’ll get Megan settled and then join you,” she said, smiling at Mac. She noticed Garrett, and her eyes shifted away as she stayed close to the man.
“I’m Julio. Meet my fiancée, Rebecca, and Megan. It’s nice to meet you, Garrett. Let me set our daughter down, and we can get acquainted,” the man said as he walked through the kitchen and up the stairs.
A few minutes later, the couple returned, holding a babymonitor with a screen. Julio shook his hand while Rebecca nodded at him.
Matthew entered the room with Rachel. She went straight to the fridge and pulled out drinks while Mac set the sandwiches and cut up veggies on the table.
“I hear we have a situation,” Julio began. “What have you found out?”
Rachel crossed her arms and glared at her fiancé. “Probably not much since Matthew believes we need to involve the police.”
“Rachel,” Matthew growled.
“Matthew,” she mimicked and stuck out her tongue. “A woman needs our help. The local police consist of four officers, and they’re easily outgunned by a biker gang. What do you think they’ll do?”
Julio sighed and glanced over to Garrett. “Has he signed the NDA?”
“Yeah, I gave it to him yesterday,” Matthew concurred.
“If we involve law enforcement, they’ll want to know why you gave a woman ten thousand dollars,” Julio brought up.
“Because I hit her with my truck on my way back here. She suffered a concussion, scrapes, and bruises. Riley didn’t want to go to the hospital because of the bill. I told her my truck insurance will pay for it,” Garrett explained.
Rebecca shook her head. “But you didn’t file a police report, and we have a missing woman who you gave a large sum of money to, and she disappeared.”
“I stand by my decision. After I dropped her off at her apartment, I returned to pick up her friend’s car. I left it in the parking lot, and when I went to give her the keys, she wasn’t there. I left her a note under them. They live in a dump, and the cabinets were bare,” Garrett said, scowling.
