Gray Wolf Security: Wyoming

by Glenna Sinclair

  I turned and was halfway through the narrow stand of trees when Ash called out to me. I could see there was a lot he wanted to say, could see the words fighting for dominance on the tip of his tongue. But he simply dropped his chin in a bow of respect.

  “Don’t get dead.”

  I nodded.

  It was time to go.

  Chapter 20

  At the Ranch

  Kirkland was pacing, aware of his wife watching him. She was deeply grieved and he wanted to take that away from her, but he didn’t know how to do it. He couldn’t change what he knew absolutely nothing about.

  “They found her truck on the side of the road. The hospital said she checked herself out yesterday!”

  “You told me.”

  “Where is she, Kirkland?”

  He shook his head. He had no idea. He’d been trying to call Sutherland on her cellphone since yesterday morning, but she hadn’t answered. Now he knew why. The police had come by, her beat up truck on the back of a wrecker. Inside was her phone, the screen smashed, an unfamiliar number the last number she’d dialed.

  “She was run off the road by another pickup truck,” the cop told them. But he couldn’t tell them any more without Sutherland’s permission. And no one knew where the hell she was.

  Things were spinning out of control and he felt like he was standing in the middle of it all, trapped in the eye of a tornado.

  “Have you tried calling Bodhi Archer?”

  Kirkland frowned. “Why would I call him?”

  “Sutherland’s been seeing him.”

  That was news to Kirkland. He wasn’t aware that Sutherland was seeing anyone, let alone her Hollywood movie star neighbor. He was under the impression that Sutherland thought he was behind the fires and damned up streams on her property, trying to force her into selling her property. He’d even seen the paperwork from the development company sitting on her desk a day or two ago. They wanted the acreage across the highway, the same acreage that Becky Kay had disappeared on some weeks ago.

  It all seemed to keep coming back to that fateful week.

  “If Sutherland wants some time alone, I suppose we have to allow her to have it.”

  “Do you really think she’d go missing during this ordeal without letting someone know? What about her daughter? What about Becky and Kipling? She’d never leave them.”

  Kirkland stopped pacing and looked at his wife. She seemed to know more about the players in this game than he ever had.

  “There’s a mole. Someone’s been giving information to Mahoney’s people. Maybe Sutherland thinks it’s me.”

  “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “It’s a possibility. And it fits.”

  “Who do you think it is?”

  Kirkland looked around the room, wondering if there were cameras in this house like there were in the bunk house. But the ones in the bunk house weren’t visible, so these ones wouldn’t be either.

  “I don’t know. But maybe she does. Maybe that’s where she is.”

  It didn’t make sense to Mabel, he could see that. But she trusted him enough that she didn’t push him.

  “Why don’t you take your paperwork and go back to the guest house,” he suggested, picking up the books she’d been studying when he came into the room. “Spend the day with Mattie.”

  Again, she seemed confused, but she nodded. “Okay.”

  Kirkland followed her out to the Jeep she used to get around the property, watched as she drove off before turning and going back into the house. He wanted to tear the place apart, find the damn cameras, but he didn’t. Instead, he went in search of Mina.

  She was standing at the paddock gate, watching the horses graze in the round pen. She hardly seemed to be breathing when Kirkland walked up behind her, her body frozen against the wooden rails.

  “Is that Sutherland’s truck?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mina didn’t look at the truck or at Kirkland. But he could feel the grief burning just under the surface.

  “Ash is a strong man, Mina. You know he’ll be okay.”

  “Do I?”

  “Gray Wolf wouldn’t exist without Ash. Most of us wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. So, yeah, he’s going to be okay.”

  She nodded, but she still wouldn’t look at him.

  “I was broken when I met Ash,” he said, staring out at the horses. “My girl had died and I was a fuck up in the military, working too independently, refusing to ever depend on anyone. My dad…he really messed with my head. And when my girl died, I didn’t think there was any point in living my life any more. Who could I trust? And why should I trust them? I lived my life like each day was going to be the last, but also as though each day mattered less than the one before it, you know? I worked for Ash because it meant putting my life on the line every single day. And maybe one of those days would really be the last.”

  He hesitated a moment, remembering what a mess he was all those years ago.

  “Joss was the only one I’d let close and that was probably because she was the only one who wouldn’t put up with my bullshit. Or maybe it was just because she wouldn’t talk. I don’t. But then I met Mabel and things started to change, I started to look forward to every day. And Ash…it was like he had known this would happen. He sat me down and told me we were a family, we were meant to find each other, that we were meant to support each other and make a life together. He told me I was worthwhile.”

  Kirkland chuckled a little, a sound that was as much sob as it was amusement.

  “He was the first person to ever tell me that.”

  Mina slipped her hand into his. “Ash has this way of seeing people for what they really are.”

  “He saw me. He saw Joss and Donovan. He saw you.”

  She nodded, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. “If he’d turned me away, I’d be dead right now. If he hadn’t seen something inside of me that even I didn’t see, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “We’re a family, Mina. Ash did that. And no matter what happens now, we will always be the family Ash brought together.”

  She nodded again, turning into him, and pressing her face to his chest. He held her, understanding for the first time since all this began just how deeply afraid he was that Ash wouldn’t come back, that they wouldn’t save him. Despite the fact that his life had taken him in a new direction, despite his contentment in being here in Wyoming, hundreds of miles from Ash and the others in Santa Monica, he knew his life would be forever altered if Ash wasn’t in this world.

  And that scared the shit out of him.

  The thing was, he just didn’t know where else to look. They’d done all they could and now they were simply waiting for Mahoney’s men to send them another video, more proof of life. They were waiting for him to demand access to Becky Kay. It was their only hope now.

  “We’ll find him,” he said to Mina even as he concluded that they were at a dead end. And a dead end in a kidnapping case of this magnitude was often fatal.

  It was over. He knew it. And that killed him.

  And then he turned, Mina still clinging to him, and found himself standing eye to eye with Ash himself. The man crumpled. Kirkland had never seen Ash sob, not even when David was so sick after his spinal surgery. But he did now, loud sobs escaping his lips as Mina became aware of his presence and flew into his arms, their bodies entwining with a desperation that was palpable.

  And standing just a dozen feet behind him was Sutherland, her face marked with dirt and sweat and the deep, dark circles of pain and exhaustion. But she was smiling.

  Kirkland walked to her and drew her into his arms with a familiarity they’d never shared before.

  “Thank you.”

  Chapter 21

  Bodhi

  I stood back and watched as David took up a seat at my desk, studying the computer system like a kid in a candy store. I’d expected anger, recrimination. What I got was excitement.

  “Who gave you these cameras? The software?�
�

  “One of Mahoney’s men.”

  “Jack Mahoney?”

  “Yes.”

  David shook his head as his fingers flew over the keyboard, his eyes never leaving the computer screen. “I’d surely like to meet that person,” he said more under his breath than to me.

  Ash came into the room and laughed a little.

  “Best to leave him alone,” he said, gesturing for me to follow him out into the living room.

  Twenty-four hours had passed since Hank showed up at the motel and told me I was free to go. I came home to find Sutherland and her entire Gray Wolf team in my living room, making themselves at home as they celebrated the return of their lost brother. She had the sense to look a little contrite when she pulled me aside and apologized.

  “We didn’t know how to locate the cameras without tipping someone off and we didn’t want to give our secret away, but this was the only place I could think to come.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Yeah? You’re not mad at me?”

  “Are you crazy?” I took her face in my hands and kissed her almost roughly. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “Okay being a relative word,” she said, wincing a little as she pulled away from my touch.

  She was still bruised and refusing to take the Vicodin once again. But her color was good and she was laughing at Hank’s stupid jokes. I watched her as I followed Ash toward the kitchen, catching his attention as we turned a corner.

  “You really like her, don’t you?”

  “I think it’s more than like.”

  “Good.”

  Ash crossed his arms over his chest as he paused to lean against the wall. He was cleaned up, dressed in a sweater that was clearly not his style, something someone had found in a closet somewhere. His eyes were dancing with amusement and maybe something like relief. I wasn’t sure, I wasn’t that good at reading emotion. But he was clearly checking me over.

  “She thinks she’s all alone in the world,” Ash continued. "But she’s got more brothers than she knows what to do with.”

  I inclined my head. “She does.”

  “And we’re all curious what your intentions are toward her.”

  That was a question I’d been asking myself a lot since the moment I set eyes on her. It wasn’t my style to let my emotions get involved too soon. Hell, I normally kept emotions completely out of it. I’d once dated a woman for more than two years and never batted an eye when she announced she didn’t think I was emotionally invested and broke the whole thing off. She was a warm body to share my bed on occasion, nothing more.

  But Sutherland? I think emotion was there before the warm bed ever crossed my mind.

  “I hate to be an asshole about the whole thing,” Ash said when I didn’t answer quick enough. “But this thing is coming to a conclusion and I’d like to know what kind of mess I’m leaving her with.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I fully intend to stick this out with her, whatever she wants.”

  “Whatever she wants? Is marriage in the equation?”

  “I’ve thought about it. But I’m not sure she’d be receptive.”

  Ash smiled. “I think she’s more receptive than you think.”

  Mina came into the room. She was never far from wherever Ash was since he came back. I could still see the fear and the grief in her eyes, but it disappeared whenever her eyes fell on his face.

  He slipped his arm around her and sighed. “Go have a drink, friend,” Ash said. “We’re celebrating.”

  I wandered off, but I knew the celebrations were tapering off as people started to turn their thoughts to what came next. What had they done, really, but get their people back? Jack Mahoney was still out there. His people were still packaging and selling drugs on the streets of Cheyenne and Casper, probably here in Midnight, too. They hadn’t done anything but move the fight to another day.

  Hank knew it. Donovan, too. I could see it on their faces whenever someone mentioned the Mahoney name.

  And what about Carrington Matthews? I knew Sutherland risked her life to drag him out of Mahoney’s clutches. But we still didn’t know what side he was swinging for. Was it possible she’d risked her life to bring the enemy into our camp?

  I was halfway down the hall when I heard voices in the entryway.

  “She insists he’s telling the truth.”

  “And what do you think?”

  “I trust Joss.”

  “But we’re talking about her husband. Why wouldn’t she lie?”

  “Joss isn’t a fool. She wouldn’t stand up for someone who would put Ash in danger.”

  “But that’s exactly what she’s doing,” I said, stepping into the entryway. “Carrington Matthews set up that ambush. He did it to trap Ash.”

  “You don’t know that,” Kirkland said.

  “I do know that. I was the one who gave him the information.”

  Sutherland shifted on her heels. “He would know better than anyone. He’s been working with him all this time.”

  “Yeah. Giving him information they used to take out Ash, to take out Kipling.”

  “You’re more willing to trust Carrington over Bodhi?”

  “I know Carrington better.”

  “But Carrington was the one who issued the orders that caused Ash to be held captive.”

  “Based on information Bodhi gave him.”

  “Yeah. Bodhi knows that part of him. Don’t you think he could assess better than the rest of us—especially Carrington’s wife—whether he’s telling us the truth or not?”

  Kirkland grew quiet. He was clearly unhappy with whatever it was that Sutherland was suggesting to him, but he wasn’t able to argue against it. Sutherland came to me, took my hands in hers.

  “Come with us to the bunk house. I want you to listen while we talk to Carrington so that you can give us a fair assessment of him.”

  “You want to know if you can trust him.”

  “He says he has information about Jack Mahoney. But we can’t act on it until we know that he’s telling us the truth.”

  “Okay.”

  We drove over to MidKnight. It was a ghost town there, only the working cowhands around and most of them were out in the pastures, watching over the herd. The horses were out in the paddock, someone taking good care of them in Becky’s absence, but I had no way of knowing who. We walked into the bunk house and there was a handful of girls there, monitoring the computers in front of them, but no one else.

  Sutherland led the way into the basement of the building, a part of the building where the electrician’s helper I’d bribed didn’t feel the cameras needed to be installed. Carrington was in a small room with his wife, caught behind a steel door with unbreakable locks on it. Next to that narrow room was another room that held a bank of computer screens, each showing an image from a camera placed inside the holding room. I was told that sound had been added belatedly to the feed, a discussion with David that offered more information about these things than I’d ever wanted to possess.

  Sutherland touched a button on a keyboard and Joss’ voice suddenly filled the room.

  “Just tell them the truth. It’s all they want.”

  “They won’t believe me.”

  “Kirkland will.”

  “Kirkland never liked me. He never thought I was good enough for you.”

  Joss laughed, catching me by surprise. “You’re right. He never did.”

  Carrington turned to his wife, drawing her close to his chest. “I’m sorry, babe,” he said, intense pain in his voice. “I should have been honest with you.”

  “What’s done is done,” she responded.

  I glanced at Sutherland. She was watching me, but when our eyes met, she blushed and looked away.

  “Let’s go.”

  Kirkland led the way into the room while I stayed where I was, watching him and Sutherland enter the narrow room on the monitors. Carrington sat up a little straighter when he saw Kirkland, his e
yes moving from this familiar friend to the woman beside him. There was respect in Carrington’s gaze as he studied her.

  “I was just telling my wife that your skills are almost on par with hers,” Carrington said to Sutherland. “You are quite impressive, walking into that full house and taking me out.”

  “It was easier than you might think. Your men were well trained, but they were spread a little too thin.”

  Carrington shrugged. “That’s because Mahoney thought it more important to protect the drugs than me.”

  Joss tightened her grip on her husband’s hand. “Tell them what you told me,” she said.

  Carrington glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her face. Then he sighed, his eyes moving first to Kirkland, then to Sutherland.

  “He was blackmailing me.”

  “With what?”

  Carrington hesitated, his gaze moving to the floor now. He chewed on his bottom lip for a long moment, as though trying to organize his thoughts.

  “I don’t know what you know about me,” he said, clearly speaking to Sutherland. “But I’m an honest business man. When I was approached by the Bazarovs, I knew immediately who they were and I wasn’t getting messed up in that. I didn’t know that one of the companies I already worked with was owned by Jack Mahoney. And I didn’t know that the Bazarovs were aware of that. In fact, I suspect now that Jack Mahoney sent them to me.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he wanted me to respond the way I did. He was testing me. And he wanted the Bazarovs out of the way. Hell, I found Gray Wolf because of an email Jack’s people sent to me. I almost didn’t use them because David had his surgery about the time I set up the first meeting with Ash, so I went with another agency. But they did a shitty job, so I ended up going back to Gray Wolf and Ash and Joss and…well, I’m sure you know how it went. Jack Mahoney used me to get rid of old man Bazarov.”

  “He couldn’t have known that Joss would kill the old man.”

  “No. But I think he was hoping it would end in his arrest. His death was just that much better.”