3. Thunder
Thank fuckI’d had Ashley wait in the car. I could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air as soon as I got within a dozen feet of the porch. A few of the guys had come with me. We spread out and looked for clues. I had no doubt Savage Bones was responsible, but it wouldn’t hurt to have confirmation.
Lightning called out a few minutes later from where he’d been combing through the front flowerbed. “I found something.”
He held out a leather knife pouch as I approached. The Savage Bones logo had been embossed on the pocket.
“It’s not like we didn’t suspect those motherfuckers.” I shot a glance over to where Ashley sat in the passenger seat of her two-door compact. Knowing the Savage Bones had been so close while she slept upstairs, completely unaware and totally vulnerable, had my fingers curling into fists. “What’s their motive, though?”
“Most likely a scare tactic. She give you anything to work with?” Lightning shifted his gaze to follow mine.
“No. Obviously, things didn’t end well for Razor. Do you think they’re retaliating?” Razor and Ashley had dated briefly. Then he got mixed up in threatening Priest’s girl. His buddy lost his life in a standoff against Priest, and as far as I knew, Razor was behind bars. Though, with Sheriff Cade now working against us, no telling how long that might last.
“Could be.” Lightning lifted his head and scanned the circular drive in front of the main house. “Feels like something else is at play, doesn’t it?”
I clenched my jaw and moved closer to the remains of the cow. “Whatever it is, they’re sending a message. Think you can get some of the guys to take care of this while I go track down the ranch hand and see if he’s got anything to share?”
“Yeah, we’ll handle it.” Lightning held out his fist. “Take care, brother.”
I bumped mine against his. “You too. I’m going to have Ashley go with me. I’ll let you know if we learn anything important.”
With Lightning in charge of cleaning up the mess on the porch, I headed back toward the car. Ashley’s eyes met mine as I slid behind the wheel. Looked like she’d been crying.
“You holding up, okay?” I asked as I started the car. I’d rather be straddling my bike right now, but I hadn’t wanted to make her drive herself back out to the ranch after what she’d been through, and having her sit on the back of my bike wasn’t an option. I was old school about not having a woman ride with me unless she was mine in every way possible. Since I’d never felt that way about anyone, it made sense that I always rode alone.
“I’m fine.” She sniffled and swiped her fingers over her cheek. “What did you find?”
“A knife pouch with the Savage Bones logo. Figured it was them, but now we have the evidence to prove it.” I shifted into drive and eased my foot off the brake. “Where do you think we can find that ranch hand this time of day?”
“I can call him and find out where he’s working this morning.” She pulled her phone out of her purse.
While I waited for her to make the call, I drove down the drive, then past the house and a couple of big barns. There once was a time in my life when this type of set up appealed to me. Back when I was a wet-behind-the-ears rookie just out of my first training camp, I figured I’d play a few years in the pros, save all my cash, buy a place like this in the mountains, and settle down with the love of my life.
Damn, I’d been so stupid back then.
Ashley ended the call. “He’s fixing the fence in the high pasture. We can either ride up to meet him or wait until he comes down later this afternoon.”
“When you say ‘ride up to meet him’, what would we be riding?” I wasn’t a stranger to sitting on the back of a horse, but it had been a long damn time.
“Dusty took the four-wheeler, so if we ride up, we’ll be on horseback.” The hint of a smile teased the corners of her mouth upward. “Do you know how to ride?”
“It’s been a while, but yeah, I can handle myself on a horse.”
She bit down on her lip to hide her smile. “You sure about that?”
“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. As long as you’ve got a mount strong enough to hold me, I’ll be just fine.”
A half hour later,my ass shifting from side to side in the saddle strapped on top of a giant draft horse, I started to have second thoughts. Ashley rode next to me in silence, astride a chestnut-colored mare. Unlike me, she was a natural. I was about to ask how much farther until we reached the high pasture when I caught a glimpse of the four-wheeler off in the distance.
“Race you to the fence line?” Ashley asked. She didn’t wait for me to answer before urging the mare into a run. Sensing a challenge, my horse galloped ahead. I adjusted my grip on the reins and somehow managed to stay in the saddle, even with every bone in my body rattling.
Ashley reached the fence first. By the time I caught her, she’d slid out of the saddle and looped the reins around a fencepost. “Thunder, meet Dusty.”
I flung my leg over the saddle and set both feet on the ground. “Nice to meet you. Ashley tells me you’ve been part of this ranch for as long as she can remember.”
“That’s right.” Dusty pulled off his glove and held out his hand. A pair of dark shades covered his eyes, and he had on a cowboy hat that had seen better days. Even though he stood several inches shorter than me, he had a wiry build that had been earned by working the land for decades.
I’d always been able to tell a lot about another man by his handshake. Dusty’s grip gave me the sense he was an honest man who could be trusted.
“What brings the two of you all the way up here?” Dusty lifted his hat and swiped a bandana over his brow. “Did something happen to Stella?”
“No, Gram’s fine.” Ashley glanced at me as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “It’s Ellie. Someone killed her and left her right outside the front door this morning.”
“What?” Dusty ripped off his sunglasses. “Who would do something like that?”
Based on his reaction, he didn’t seem to be involved. Tears coursed down Ashley’s cheeks again. I almost reached out and pulled her into my arms, but stopped myself. She was hurting, but I wasn’t the right man to offer her comfort. The best way for me to help her would be to find out why the Savage Bones had targeted her family and put an end to whatever they had in mind.
“I haven’t seen Scamp since last night. Did you see him around at all this morning?” Ashley wiped the tears away, and I caught the glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.
Dusty shook his head. “No, but I didn’t think anything of it. He usually stays by the house to keep an eye on Stella while she does her morning chores.”
“Do you have any idea why the Savage Bones might be trying to get Stella’s attention?” I asked.
Dusty glanced at his feet. “What makes you think this was done by them?”
“One of my guys found a knife pouch with their logo on it in the flower bed. Have you seen any bikers around here lately?” I narrowed my eyes, watching for a sign that he wasn’t telling me everything he knew.
He shook his head a little too hard. “No.”
“They’re after something, and in my experience, they won’t give up until they get what they want.” I stared down at him, willing him to tell the truth.
“I don’t know what that might be.” He seemed to shrink under my attention. “But if I hear anything, you’ll be the first call I make. Ashley, honey, I’m so sorry.”
Ashley melted into his arms, and the two of them hugged for a long beat. I didn’t like how close he held her or how she closed her eyes and seemed to lean into him for strength. It couldn’t be jealousy. He was almost old enough to be her grandfather. I gritted my teeth and looked out over the neighboring pasture until the two of them separated.
“You hear anything, you let me know,” I said. “We should probably head back. I need to check in with the club to see if anyone’s uncovered a motive.”
“Are you going to be okay staying at the house by yourself?” Dusty pulled back, though his hands lingered on Ashley’s shoulders. “I can always take the spare bedroom or you can stay at my place if you need to.”
I might not let myself entertain ideas about being with Ashley, but there was no way in hell I was going to leave the door wide open for him. “I’ll make sure she’s not alone.”
Dusty barely looked my way before tilting his head down and locking eyes with Ashley. “You need anything, you let me know. Your gram would tar and feather me, then run me out of town if I let anything happen to you.”
“I will.” She gave him one more hug, then stepped back and grabbed hold of her horse’s reins. “Should we head back?”
“Sure thing.” I wasn’t excited about sitting on the damn horse for another half hour, but I’d do whatever it would take to keep Mustang Mountain safe from the biggest threat we’d faced so far.
“What did you mean when you told him that you’d make sure I wouldn’t be alone?” Already in the saddle, Ashley swung the mare around to face me. The mid-morning sun shone brightly overhead, catching the golden highlights in her hair. With her face free from makeup, she seemed even younger than usual. Just looking at her tugged at something deep down inside my chest.
I shook off the feeling. No distractions. I was used to shutting out everything else and focusing on what really mattered.
“You shouldn’t stay at the ranch. Most of the guys are moving their families onto the clubhouse property. We’ve got a bunch of trailers or can even pitch a tent for you if we need to. You’ll be safer there.”
“I can’t stay at the clubhouse.” She huffed out a breath. “There are animals to feed and chores that need to get done. That’s why Gram asked me to watch over the ranch while she’s gone.”
“Isn’t that why you have a ranch hand?” No way in hell I’d let her stay at her gram’s house like a sitting duck and wait for those bastards to come back.
“Dusty takes care of the big stuff, but someone needs to feed the chickens and other smaller animals. They already got to Ellie. If I have to sit on the front porch with a shotgun all night, I won’t let them hurt another living creature. Not on my watch.” Her eyes held a mixture of anger and determination. Damn, she sounded just like me. Maybe we did have something in common after all.
“Then I’ll stay with you.” I cast a side glance her way to gage her reaction.
She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. “If that will help you sleep at night.”
“I don’t expect there will be a lot of sleeping going on.”
Ashley sat up straight in the saddle and urged the mare into a trot. Damn, that didn’t come out exactly how I intended. Keeping up with her was going to be more challenging than I thought, and probably in more ways than one.