“I can’t find Addison or King’s Dominion. They were supposed to be going through his paces, getting his leg stronger, and they’re not there. I haven’t been able to find them anywhere. They aren’t in any of the training rings. Jordan…”
“Take a deep breath, Miss da Silva.” He wrapped his hands around her upper arms, holding tighter than he really ought to.
The panic flashed through her, blinding her—but it didn’t matter. Everything went black.
Chapter Eleven
RJ AND FATIMA PULLED UP IN FRONT of the house, and were shocked to see that Ellen was pulling in behind them. There were no other cars to be seen, when there should have been a dozen or so. The hands should have all been in the green barn, helping with the muck out.
Climbing out, he looked around suspiciously. His mother walked up next to him.
“Um, RJ, where is everyone?”
Tossing her a quick glance, he shook his head. “I don’t know. Fatima and I ran to the supply story to pick up the order that came in. We left about two hours ago. Addie and Lucy were going to be working the green barn after Addie took King out for his walk.”
“It’s not supposed to be this quiet and empty, is it?” Fatima was standing in the passenger door after climbing out.
“No, it’s not.”
“Check the house, Fatima. See if the girls are in there. RJ, head to the green barn, and I’ll head to King’s stall. Keep your phones at the ready, and if there’s anything wrong, get out and get the rest of us.”
RJ nodded and walked toward the green barn. He noticed right away that the loader was still at the manure pen, and there was no sign of the lights.
Where the hell were the hands? All of these horses were hungry. There wasn’t enough hay, the water troughs were nearly dry, and the animals were restless.
This isn’t right.
To be on the safe side, RJ picked up a whip and uncoiled it. He kind of sucked at using it, because they never ever whipped the horses under any circumstances, but he didn’t have time to get his shotgun from the house.
But as he wound through the stall of the barn, there was nothing but hungry, thirsty horses in the muted light of the dark barn. He didn’t like this one damn bit.
And a moment later, his fears were confirmed.
“ROBERT!”
It was Ellen’s voice, and she never, ever called him Robert. He spun and ran out of the barn, heading for where his mother had been searching, and found her standing by a raked pile of horseshit and a hose dropped mid-mucking.
The door to King’s Dominion’s stall was wide-open, and half cleaned.
“They stole the horse,” Ellen breathed, now barely audible. “Where’s my daughter?” The panic rose in her voice. “Where. Is. My. Daughter!”
RJ looked down and saw the freshest set of tracks going off to the left of the barn, and he followed. He only got just so far, before he could clearly see that something had happened. A set of tracks skidded and erased part of the horse’s prints. And those prints turned into drag marks.
“They have them. Whoever the hell stole the horse has Addie and Lucy.”
Ellen’s wail pierced the odd silence of the farm.
* * *
RJ’s head hung in his hands, and he tried to grasp the commotion around him.
Fatima had somehow managed to keep her head about her after Ellen fainted in the barn. She took over and ordered him to call the McCoys for help. She made him help her with Ellen, checking that she was comfortable where she had dropped, propping her head on a few blankets and using one to cover her.
Fatima made sure they left everything as they’d found it as much as possible. And the next call she had RJ make was to George, who was on his way before he even hung up. Fatima had RJ walk with her around the building to make sure that there was no one around to cause more trouble.
That was when they found Josef, beaten and unconscious outside the back of the blue barn.
That added a call to 911 for an ambulance.
Just about the time the ambulance pulled, Tennessee and Jaxson pulled up next to the house. Fatima had them carry Ellen into the house and put her on the couch. She made sure that Josef was loaded into the ambulance and had Jaxson call his family once he was.
And that was when RJ watched Fatima crumble, fall to the ground and start hyperventilating. Geo walked in at that moment and skidded across the front hall, catching her before she hit the ground.
“What the hell is going on?” Geo asked, carrying Fatima to the couch.
RJ looked up. “Addie and Lucy were kidnapped. King’s Dominion was stolen. It all happened at the same time, so they are probably all in the place.”
Geo turned on his law enforcement side, clearly trying not to react to the fact that his girlfriend was probably in serious danger. “Did we cordon off the area where they were taken?”
“Fatima made sure we didn’t touch too much,” RJ answered. “She’s handled everything to this point. And did a damn good job. I couldn’t think after my mother fainted.”
Tennessee hung up the phone. “I got the team mobilized. The Enforcers are going to take it from where they are in Austin, but they’re sending Micah up to check out the situation and see if he can find anything—no offense to local law enforcement, Geo.”
“None taken. It’s a good guess my head’s not on straight right now.”
“Mine neither,” RJ said. “Who the hell took my horse? Why? I just know the girls were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and we have to figure out who would want King’s Dominion.”
RJ was desperate to keep his mind off the danger the girls were in. He ran a hand down his face and paced a bit around the kitchen. Who the hell would steal the horse? And mid thought, he froze. “Oh, man, I’m an idiot. Surveillance cameras. They’re on a seven-day loop.”
“Where?” Jaxson asked.
“Office.” He pointed at the door on the far side of the sitting room.
“On it.” RJ offered up the set of keys that would unlock the door as Jaxson walked by.
But by the sound the doorknob made, he had the feeling his cousin wasn’t going to need the keys. And just a moment later, Jaxson pushed the door open, the door creaking down and off the hinges, crashing into the floor and wall behind it. Flipping on the light, it was clear that whoever had stolen the horse and taken the girls knew the farm—and that there was a surveillance system.
“Any hope on this one?” Tennessee asked, glancing into the mess beyond.
“I’ll bet money Saxon can get something off them. But it’s not going to help us now.” Jaxson folded his arm. “Ten, you’re the tracker. Go out there and take a look. We really can’t do anything here right now with this and we have to get going on this before the trail gets cold. RJ, can you think of anything that’s happened recently that would make someone want to come after you and the farm?”
With a shake of head, he replied, “There are always things. I mean, we all know that Addie’s father is an asshole and he wants in on the farm money. Harry Pollard wants us shut down, of course. Keith Gibbons just hates us. I have no idea which one of them would come after the horse and the girls.”
“How about a disgruntled farm hand?”
Again, RJ shook his head. “I don’t know. Honestly. I always thought we were pretty good employers. I don’t think we’ve had any unhappy people.”
“Gib...” Ellen yawned and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times. “Gibbons. They’ve been asking to buy King since he was a foal, and I wasn’t selling.”
“His son went after the girls the other night,” Geo said.
“Keith?” Ellen pushed herself into a sitting position. “He’s been after Addison for years, too. He tried to make a deal years ago. Marry Addie, and he would leave me alone for King. I’m not into that arranged marriage crap, and I can smell a dirty deal a mile away. Did he forget that I made the mistake of Russell Goodman?”
RJ looked at his mother. “You never told me that.�
��
“Why would I? There was no chance that it was ever going to happen.”
“I’ll go check the barn and see what I can find out, and Jaxson will get someone on the hard drives for the surveillance. Meanwhile, RJ, Ellen, make a list of people who could have done this. Fatima, call your parents. Let them know what’s going on.”
Fatima nodded and headed for the phone.
RJ stared at his mother and didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t bring himself to reassure her that Addie would be home, safe. He couldn’t seem to think straight and didn’t want to either. His sister and the woman he’d fallen in love with were missing.
Chapter Twelve
EVERYTHING CAME SLOWLY BACK INTO FOCUS, but it was all accompanied by horrible pain in her head. Trying to rub her forehead to see if she could relieve the pain, Lucy discovered her hands were tied to—something.
Looking around, she could see she was tied up in a shed. And not a very good shed. There were two sides missing and it looked like the roof was held up with a few timbers and a lot of hope. Trying to figure out what was going on and where they actually were, Lucy found Addie tied to the same post behind her.
“Addie?”
“Oh, God, Lucy. I thought they killed you.”
“I’m tougher than that.”
“Yeah, well, when you see the blood on the back of your head, you’ll understand.”
“That explains the headache. I’d kill for an aspirin. Where are we?”
“I don’t know. They knocked me out with ketamine,” Addie answered. “I’m still hallucinating a bit. Keep seeing King walk in. Couple of talking caterpillars, too.”
Lucy glanced around again and sighed. “There’s nothing around here that we can use to figure out where we are. Just trees. Do we know what day it is? Same day?”
Addie laughed. “I don’t know, but then you should have seen the size of the needle they hit me with full of K.”
Considering the situation, Lucy sighed. “Did they take the horse?”
“They had no interest in us really. We were an inconvenience in a horse-napping.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“Yes, actually.”
“And?”
“I don’t want to tell you, but at the same time, we’re probably going to die out here from exposure, so why not?” Addie tugged on the ropes and readjusted herself. “It’s Pollard. But it wasn’t just him. It was him and one of the hands, Jordan. Green barn. He ran the whole barn. And he was the one who shot me up with the K. I think he was hoping that I’d just go ahead and die.”
Lucy tugged on the ropes as Addie was explaining. They were tied very tight, and it felt like they were wrapped around the post. It was cool, and from what she could see, cloudy. Wishing she could see more, Lucy figured it was probably later in the same day, but getting close to dark. Since it was November, there was a good chance that they were going to get cold, damn cold, if not sick, and they were going to have to deal with exposure. Not rain, but still cold. If it had been hot they would have been fine for a longer time.
“What’s the temperature at night around here?” Lucy asked.
“As cold as forty-five.” Addie sighed. “So, we’re screwed.”
“Do you really think that your brother isn’t already looking for us?”
“Of course he’s looking. But I don’t know what clues he has. And I don’t know where we are. There’s no way to let them know.”
Lucy swallowed. She didn’t want to die out here when she had just found a man who had brought back her faith in men. RJ was more than just a man, he was a gentleman and damn good in bed. He was good to her—and sitting there, Lucy realized she didn’t want to leave. She might end up missing her family in New Jersey, but her whole life had flipped upside down. She wanted to spend it with RJ. Her sister could run the farm. How fast things could change, how fast she’d fallen in love.
Well, shit.
She did love him.
The tears she felt in her eyes came at a bad time. She didn’t have time to cry. She had to figure out how to get out of the shed. Or get word to—she froze.
“Did you hear that?” Lucy pulled the ropes behind her, hoping they were loose. They weren’t, and it didn’t seem like they could get loose.
“Hear what?”
“I heard a car. We can’t be too far from the road. If it’s the same day they took us, we’re probably less than four hours from the ranch. Were you here tied up when you came to?”
“Yes, they were just finishing tying the ropes.” Addie pulled on her side of the ropes as well.
“We must be near a road.” Lucy took a few deep breaths.
Years ago, she had promised Mama that she would never do this again. She would never use what the Lusquinos line of the family had given her, and what her Nana Sofia taught her. But Nana had taught her so many things, so many ways to be good, to know what was right. Right now, she knew what was going on was wrong and she had the chance to make it right. Save herself, her friend, and the gorgeous horse that had been stolen.
A laugh bubbled up, and she didn’t stop it. Addie might think she was insane, but in that moment Lucy realized something. She had never stopped using her gifts. That was how she knew King’s Dominion had a bad forelock. It didn’t have crap to do with his gate. It was how she got Birch to listen to her so easily. It was why Princess and Texas were so good with her.
She had always used her gifts, even if it wasn’t obvious.
“Uh, Lucy? Are you already going mad? I heard people can do that when they’re dying.”
“No, no,” Lucy answered. “No. I just realized something. I’m going to try something I haven’t tried in ages, and I think it might help people rescue us. I hope.”
“What?”
“Just give me a minute. Let me see if I can even still manage this.” Lucy shut her eyes and was surprised her magick was still right there. She swirled it around a bit as an experiment, to see if she still could.
Then, she brought it close, rolled it tight to her. She told it what she need, and with a mighty shove, sent it out to the world around her, hopeful.
Miles away...
Nathan jerked up from his homework and stared at the light on his table. He was momentarily confused and walked out of his room down the hall. Something was bothering him.
Before he could explore the house and figure out what was wrong, Cady came tearing down the hall. “Joseph!” She ran down the stairs toward the kitchen. Nathan followed quickly.
“Joseph!”
He stood and ran over to her. “Cady, calm down. Take a breath.”
She shook her head. “Something is wrong, something...” Cady looked up at her husband. “We have to go to Highlands. Someone... something.”
Joseph nodded. “All right. We’ll go. Now?”
“Please, yes.”
Joseph looked up and caught Nathan’s gaze. Nathan nodded, the feeling of something wrong dissipating, and wandered back to his room to finish off his homework.
* * *
RJ had barely slept, spending most of the time in the kitchen with Fatima. Ellen had been ordered to bed by everyone, including David and Theo, who both came over when they heard what was going on. But finally, just before dawn, Tennessee knocked on the door with Jaxson and a dozen other men, all dressed and ready to start the search again.
He hoped they were safe. The air that blew into the house when the door was open was colder than he’d expected. If they had wanted the girls, or a ransom, they would take care of them. If this was just about the horse, they could have been left in a car or dumped somewhere. He heard the horses in the barn neighing loudly, disturbed. The hands would be arriving soon to take care of them.
Jaxson rolled the map out on the table. RJ looked at the map on the table, as the first few rays of sunlight splashed across it. There were a few circles on it ranging farther and farther out from Double Down, and times marked on it, and this was the order of the day.
“Look, if they were hauling a horse, they had a very small trailer, and they wouldn’t have been able to go very far. Even with a big tank, they weren’t driving a long haul, big engine truck.” Tennessee pointed to an area on the map. “If they were hauling, the probably didn’t make it more than two hours without refueling.”
“So we head out to those gas stations and find out if they had a horse trailer come through? In horse country?” Ellen raised an eyebrow.
“Even out here, it’s still not a common occurrence,” RJ argued. “And since the truck will have mud on it and probably had two women in it, we’ll have a better chance of finding them.”
“We’re all going to take a different road and drive to the stations,” Jaxson explained. “Stop at the stations along the way at or near the time marks. Check in here with Ellen and Fatima. They’ll mark it off and give us any information we need in the meanwhile. I think we can find—”
There was a bang on the door, and they turned and looked at it like it had come to life. Ellen finally walked over and cracked it open, then stepped back, surprised. “Joseph McCoy?”
Fatima let out a little bleep of excitement, then stopped herself. The extremely handsome man stepped into the house followed by a woman who looked like nothing less than an angel: his wife, Cady.
“What in tarnation are you doing here?” Ellen asked.
“Cady said we needed to be here, so here we are,” he said and looked around at the search party. “Someone is missing?”
“My daughter,” Ellen answered, while Fatima and RJ answered, “My sister.”
“They stole our horse and kidnapped Addie and Lucy,” RJ explained. “Lucy’s parents are on their way here. We’re trying to figure out...where...they...went...”
The whole group watched Cady as she walked to the map and studied it. Her finger landed on a stretch of road that was essentially empty. “Who is going this way?”
“Me,” RJ answered. “Me and Tennessee.”
“I’m going with you.”
All the King's Horses Page 10
