Chapter 24
“They aren’t here! Where the fuck are they?
” Rich screamed into the walkie-talkie. He’d swiped a hotel bellhop’s uniform and followed maid service inside the room.
Three days of constant surveillance for nothing.
Cara Collins evaded them! How the hell did she even know they were following her?
They were stealth and she was blonde, for God’s sake!
“What? Are you sure?” Mercedes responded back with a hiss.
They’d been there for the better part of seventy-two hours watching for any sign of the pair.
Cara and Seth had checked in at the front lobby.
Being in open sight was one of the very best ways to hide.
It was only because he and Rich followed them so closely from the wedding that they were even able to track Cara and Seth to Dallas.
No one believed Cara and Austin could still be friends after such a public break-up, but there was no public acknowledgement showing Austin had dismissed or fired Seth as his agent.
It didn’t add up. If an agent stole a guy’s fiancée, surely, the guy would fire his agent.
Except Austin hadn’t. So that had to mean something, but what?
Since the only conclusion was to follow the honeymooners, they did.
They switched out, guarding the front and back doors of the hotel waiting for Cara to make her move.
A honeymoon in Dallas didn’t make sense.
It wasn’t a romantic draw kind of place.
Actually, it was March and it was already getting hot outside.
Besides that, there was nothing to do here.
No sights to see, no ocean to draw you in.
Why would they come here if not for Austin?
Texas was his home state no matter how much he bashed living here as a child.
“This has to be your fault! How did you let them slip by?” Rich stormed from the room, the maid’s eyes wide at his sudden outburst. He slammed the door and stalked down the hall toward the elevator.
“You wait till I get my fucking hands on you! I should’ve called in Keefer! He has a fucking brain in his head!”
“My fault! It’s your fault! You were the one with the connections here. You trusted those guys we hired to watch them!” Mercedes hissed into the phone.
“Fuck you! I trust him better than you! Fuck! What was I thinking calling you in on this? You wanna know what? Half of nothing’s what you’re worth. Which is exactly what we have right now, because of you!”
The elevator doors opened and the two men stood staring at one another. The entire lobby turned, looking at them, and Rich resisted the urge to tackle Mercedes right there. That would surely land them in jail. He needed to think, get a plan and find Cara Collins.
“They had to know we were watching. I’m done playing with them. How much money do you have?”
“I’m not giving you any more money.” Mercedes dismissed Rich by turning and walking away.
“I’m calling in Dunc,” Rich said quietly. That stopped Mercedes in his tracks. He pivoted on his heel, awe on his face, and stared at Rich.
“No way, we can’t trust him.” Mercedes gave a half-hearted protest.
“I can; he owes me a favor. Now, how much money do you have? It’s gonna be expensive.
” Rich palmed his phone and dialed. Three calls later, he was connected with an ominous sounding voice, covered with a voice-over machine.
Rich’s heart began to pound rapidly in his chest as he realized he was speaking to Dunc.
“We need any information you can find on Cara Collins, Seth Walker, and Austin Grainger,” Rich blurted into the phone.
“Five thousand a day, two day minimum,” the electronic voice said back.
“That’s crazy!” Rich almost laughed at the absurdity of the cost.
“That’s the deal,” the voice said.
“Okay! Okay, but I want some guarantees. This story goes nowhere else.” Rich was completely frazzled. Ten thousand dollars. Was it worth it? If they found Austin, it would be worth that times one hundred percent more.
“Deal. Paypal, Dunc666. I’ll begin when the cash hits my account. You have thirty minutes. I’ll contact you when I find something. Do not make contact with me.” The phone went dead.
“We need ten thousand,” Rich said, looking up at Mercedes
“Ten thousand dollars!” Mercedes went nuts, and again everyone in the lobby was back to staring at them.
“Shut up! Just think of what we’ll make if we find Grainger,” Rich hissed, grabbing hold of Mercedes’s arm, pushing him through the hotel and out the front doors.
“Damn it! That’s my life savings,” Mercedes said back. “No!”
“We have twenty-six minutes, come on!”
=?=
Kitt pulled the cinch tight on the saddle, mentally going over everything to make sure he was completely packed and ready for the cattle drive.
The route they were taking would drive them to the far reaches of the local reservoir.
They would round it, and then back home along the National Forest. There would be no cell phone signal, no electronics, and nothing for the entire length of the trip.
If Kitt forgot anything, it would make the trip that much more torturous.
“I’ll keep an eye on the horses. The Grainger farm has tons of men employed, but they don’t know shit about ranchin’,” Jose said, following along behind Kitt, making sure all the packs were tied down properly on his horse and nothing could come loose.
“They’re Austin’s security. Keep an eye on Hooch, even if you have to bring him over here, which is actually probably the best idea.
Get ’em all and bring them over here.” Kitt locked his rifle in the saddle before he lifted his foot into the stirrup, and climbed on Bullet.
Jose looked up at Kitt, shielding his eyes from the early morning sun.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to get arrested as a horse thief. That’s still a hanging offense here in Texas,” Jose joked.
“I’ll tell Mike when I get over there. Keep things under control here until I get back.” Kitt turned toward the Grainger farm where Mike waited for him.
Kitt kicked Bullet into a trot until they reached Austin’s land.
There was a gate now on the property lines with remote control access making it easier to get from one side to the other.
Kitt opened Bullet up to a full run heading straight for the gate.
He was behind this morning and knew as much as he wasn’t looking forward to this cattle drive, the kids and teacher were double time excited.
He and Mike needed to get over to Micah’s and quit throwing the whole thing behind schedule.
Mike stood outside the barn, cinching his saddle.
Austin sat on the porch, drinking a cup of coffee, watching Kitt closely as he rode up.
Kitt tried hard to ignore him. Austin was just so good-looking with the sun hitting him just right.
As he rode up closer to the barn, Mike pointed Kitt toward Austin.
“The boss wants to see you before we go. I’m gonna be a minute, I’m still loadin’.
” Mike kept on packing his saddles. Kitt slung a leg over his horse and looked over at Austin, who hadn’t moved since he rode up.
Kitt hesitated. He didn’t want to go over there.
They’d said their goodbyes not three hours ago, and it hadn’t gone well.
Austin couldn’t understand why he was going away for three days and wanted Kitt to back out.
He’d made the mistake of telling Austin he hadn’t planned on going this year, but felt obligated.
Austin jumped on that one. It even got to the point that Austin demanded he not go, or at the very least, come home after the first night.
He declared he hadn’t left Kitt for more than a couple of days at a time, but Kitt didn’t budge.
He’d made a commitment, and it meant he must go.
Austin wasn’t without power. He could get underneath Kitt’s skin faster than anyone, and if Kitt walked over there now, it would just make the leaving that much harder in the end.
“If you don’t come over here, I’ll come there!” Austin yelled out across the yard. He stood at the edge of the porch that was closest to him. “I don’t think you want that.”
Kitt didn’t. After another pause, he rolled his eyes to the heavens and did the walk of shame across the yard, through the gate and up the steps. Austin had gone inside when he hit the gate and Kitt followed him in.
“Austin…” It’s as far as he got before Austin was wrapped around him, thrusting his tongue forward. Austin kissed him as if there was a threat of never seeing him again. After a minute, Austin pulled away, leaving Kitt stunned, wanting more, and pulling Austin back to him.
“Stay…please stay. I’ll leverage the washer in and I’ll bottom. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I like to bottom. I’ll bottom from this point out. Stay here, Kitt…I’ll miss you too badly, and I have a bad feeling about this.” Austin leaned his forehead against Kitt’s.
“Austin, please don’t do this again. I’m having Jose come get the horses. He can keep a better eye on them over at my place. Do you have a problem with that?” Kitt's eyes stayed focused on the lips just inches from his mouth, and he leaned in for a soft, lingering kiss.
“Kitt, stay here, please.” It was the third time in a matter of days that Austin mentioned a bad feeling, but when he asked about it earlier, Austin couldn’t place it. It was just a gut level instinct.
“You go over there with Jose and keep our horses working, every day. I’ll be back in three days.
I’ll call you immediately. Don’t jerk off!
Be ready for me.” Kitt lifted a hand to cover Austin’s lips and cut off whatever he was about to say by kissing him deeply, holding him at just the right angle to delve deeper into the kiss.
“I have to go, miss me. I’ll miss you.” With that, Kitt left. Mike was waiting, mounted and ready to go. Kitt didn’t pause, but climbed back on Bullet, and they rode off together toward Micah’s place.