But then, the Everetts were a rare example of a happy marriage. The only other happy ones Josie knew about were Desperado’s. Only one member of the band had been divorced, Hank Shoeman, and he’d married a veterinarian not too many years ago. Like the rest of the group, they had kids and from all she heard, all the men in the band, and their lead singer, Amanda, and her husband, Quinn, a fellow Wyoming native like Josie, had happy marriages.
She was wondering if something was wrong with her. She’d never really been enthusiastic about being tied down with chores and cooking and kids. She’d loved this job from the first day she’d signed on. Perhaps she was just too young still to find it appealing. She was twenty-four now, going on twenty-five. If she ever decided to find someone and settle down, she had plenty of time. There was no rush. Meanwhile, she was having the time of her life, not only living an adventure that saved lives, but at the same time avenging a family that had perished at the hands of a nasty drug lord.
The fly in the ointment was trying to get her erstwhile contacts to trust her enough to tell her their real goal in Branntville, and it wasn’t rustling a few purebred bulls. She’d researched far enough to learn that her two contacts were much more involved in trafficking fentanyl than they were in rustling cattle. She was an unknown and they’d sent her off to Big Spur to see what sort of security was in operation there, and to check on a particular lot of young breeding bulls that would go to auction in December. But it didn’t seem to be for the purpose of rustling. Raines had bigger plans.
It was a big ranch, and semis came and went regularly on the ranch to deliver supplies. Raines said that if they could bribe their way into one of the delivery operators or even scout out an outbuilding that was empty and unobserved much of the autumn and winter, they could hide a semi full of fentanyl in a place where it would be unlikely for anyone to expect to find it. The Everetts were upright and law-abiding. What sheriff or deputy would ever suspect them of being accessories to drug running?
Josie knew that and she had misgivings about telling John what was going on. He’d disliked and distrusted her on sight. Telling him might blow her cover all too soon. It was going to be up to her to play both sides against the middle and hope she could intervene in time to save the Everetts.
Meanwhile, she had to convince her partners that she was trustworthy enough to be let into the real operation that was going on. And that wasn’t going to be easy.
Just as she poured herself a cup of coffee from the courtesy coffee service, there was a knock at the door.
She took a deep breath before she answered it. Outside were two rough-looking men. One was tall and swarthy and a beanpole. The second was shorter, a little pudgy.
“Come on in,” she invited.
“Well, did you scope it out?” the taller one asked, refusing her offer of coffee.
“I did.”
“And what did you think?” he added impatiently.
“That it’s going to take some planning,” she said flatly. “The cowboys are all armed and they have patrols night and day. Plus, they have a notable security network that blankets the entire property. I haven’t seen any buildings that were deserted, although Raines—” she indicated the taller man “—and I drove all around pretending that we were lost before he dropped me off to investigate one of the pastures with purebred bulls.”
She wasn’t really certain about that security network bit, but considering how well run the ranch was, and how prosperous, it was a forgivable guess. “It’s the worst possible place to plan a purebred bull hijacking. Or even a yearling bull hijacking.”
The tall one swore. He repositioned his hat on his head. “All right, we’ll need to do a little more planning is all. I’ve got one big semi lined up. The owner’s been delivering supplies to the Big Spur for years, so he’s trusted. He’s tired of so many new rules and regulations. He’s got a kid with cancer, so he’s willing to take a chance for the money we offered him.”
She didn’t dare wince, but she felt like it. A desperate man, willing to risk years and years in jail to pay his daughter’s bills for cancer treatment. What a damned shame it was, she thought angrily, that every other civilized country had free health care, and here they were in one of the richest countries on earth where regular people struggled just to afford medicine.
The pudgy man saw her expression and thought it was in regard to the subject at hand.
“Don’t worry, doll,” he said, drawling the endearment. “We’ll work it out. We’ve been doing this for a long time without being caught.”
Sure,but you’ve never squared up against John Everett before. He was going to prove a formidable adversary.
“So, what do we do?” she asked.
“I’ll have to think on this,” the tall one said. “Stick close to the motel. I’ll come over as soon as I have something worked out.”
“Okay,” she said with resignation. “Don’t you want me to go back and scope out where most of the other bulls are pastured, at least?” she added, fishing.
“That can wait. There’s a rodeo tomorrow night,” the tall one told her. “Most of the ranchers around here will be at it, including the Everett man. Why don’t you go?”
“Where is it?” she asked.
“About a mile down the road, just past the Percell city hall.”
She gave him a glowering look. “I’m going to walk...?”
“It’s just a mile,” he scoffed.
She kept glowering.
“Oh, all right, I’ll drop you off and pick you up,” he muttered. “About six on Friday evening,” he added. “Don’t keep me waiting. I’ve got a contact coming to meet me at the Poco Loco bar in town.”
A contact. Her heart leaped. This might lead to her first real break. “Why can’t I go with you instead of some silly rodeo?” she grumbled.
