Page 93 of Her Guarded Hero

“Both my hands are free. I want to just work on the knot,” Aurora said as she helped her cousin turn to her side. She could see the knot. It’d been tied by Chuck, he didn’t know what he was doing. Mort would have tied a much better one. She went at it.

Aurora let out a yelp.

“What’s wrong?” Lindy asked. God, she didn’t sound good.

“Nothing, my nail ripped out. Just let me concentrate.”

Aurora gasped with relief when the knot finally gave.

“You did it!” Lindy laughed and gasped. Okay, that sounded like her cop cousin. Aurora smiled.

Caught between tears and laughter, Aurora carefully pulled out the knife and worked at the knot around Lindy’s arms. The second it was sawed through, Lindy sprang out of the blanket like a super heroine.

“Come on Honey, now you.” Lindy grabbed the knife and had her uncut in seconds that felt like hours. Maybe Aurora had been wrong, maybe her cousin was fine.

Aurora was so relieved she started to cry. She didn’t mean to, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She ignored them. She needed a bathroom, but she ignored that too.

Lindy was checking the door, and Aurora saw she was swaying as she crouched in front of the door knob. “Goddammit, we’re locked in.”

“Sit down, before you fall down,” Aurora said.

“Oh shit, I think I hear Mort’s SUV pulling up,” Lindy said.

“How do you know it’s Mort’s?” Aurora asked.

Lindy shot her a weary look, “I’m a realist.”

The door knob rattled.

Lindy pulled Aurora so that they were both plastered against the wall. Lindy held the knife as they waited for the door to open. The knife was trembling in her hand. This was not good. Not good at all.

* * *

“What are our weak points in the plan?” Dalton asked. They were all on one big conference call amongst the three vehicles as they drove up the drive to the Lyle Olympic Equestrian Center.

“The new staff they have at the ranch,” Zeb said. “The old timers will be fine with Tate and I nosing around. They’ll know us. But there are literally millions of dollars of horseflesh in those stables, so they are going to be suspicious if we aren’t with a Lyle employee,” Zeb finished. Dalton could hear the worry for his daughter in his voice.

“You’re not thinking this through brother,” Tate said easily. “Once we run into somebody we know, we get them to show us around. That way we can start nosing into every nook and cranny.”

“If I know your daughter Zeb,” Gunnar spoke up, “she’s probably kicking ass and taking names.”

God, Dalton hoped to hell that was true. But he had a bad feeling about this.

“Okay, now for my part. I get to go to the reception area with my soon to be grandson-in-law. We’re just going to ask for Dennis and Elsa and ask where the hell Aurora and Lindy are. I like the direct approach. See if we can scent if there’s a problem.”

“Meanwhile Hunter and I will just do some reconnaissance everyplace but at the stables. See what we can see,” Dex said.

Dalton was the lead vehicle in the convoy, he circled the parking area. “I don’t see Lindy’s car, do any of you?”

“Nope,” Zeb said.

Dalton headed to the furthest area away from the ranch house near a copse of shade trees. He parked beneath them. Everyone got out of the trucks. Hunter and Dex disappeared into the trees. Soon Zeb, Tate, Dalton and Gunnar were moving toward the big white building. As they got closer, Zeb and Tate veered to the left to circle around to the back.

Dalton took a vague note of the nice white paint job as they walked up the steps into the foyer.

“May I help you,” the receptionist asked.

“Becky?” Gunnar said with a smile. “Is Dennis or Elsa around?”