Wrangled Hearts (Wolf Creek #1)

Declan MacGallan

A year later

The road to Pearl Lake stretches before me like a winding confession, each curve revealing another slice of countryside I couldn't care less about.

My hands grip the steering wheel of the Cadillac Escalade V tighter than necessary, the leather creaking under my fingers.

Six months of searching, and finally, a lead that doesn't end in a dead end or a body.

It all came in the form of a text message.

Ironically, from a high school buddy of mine who just happened to have fallen in love with my cousin.

“You're grinding your teeth again,” Rory says from the passenger seat, not looking up from his tablet. “Your dentist is going to charge extra for that.”

“Fuck my dentist,” I mutter, easing off the gas as we approach the village limits. “And fuck Luke for making me come all the way out to butt fuck nowhere instead of just telling me what he knows over the phone.”

Rory snorts. “Maybe Luke doesn’t trust phones?”

I don't ask. With Luke, it's better not to know the details.

Two black SUVs follow behind us, carrying the rest of my team— the Reapers, the killers of the clan. Overkill for a simple information exchange, maybe, but nothing about Brit's disappearance has been simple. My cousin. My responsibility. My failure.

The GPS chirps, directing me to turn onto a gravel road that leads to a Victorian inn overlooking the lake. Luke's text said to meet him here at his aunt Kim’s inn.

“Place looks dead,” Rory observes as we pull into the empty parking lot. I park and kill the engine, scanning the surroundings with practiced precision.

“He'd better be here.” We exit the SUV, and the other vehicles pull in behind us. Four men emerge—Vince, Torres, Maddox, and Keller, each one scanning different sections of the perimeter.

“Keep it casual,” I order, as I send Luke a text telling him we arrived. “We're not here to start a war.”

My phone pings, and I look at the text from Luke telling me to go around the back to the restaurant. I look at Rory. “Take them and head inside, get registered. Reservation for four rooms. I’m heading around to the back.”

Rory nods as I walk away, headed for the restaurant. I walk in and see him sitting there. He stood up the second he saw me, motioning me to join him. We meet in a bear hug, and for a minute, it feels like it hasn’t been 15 years since we last saw one another.

“Declan, it’s been a few years, hasn’t it?” he grins, gesturing to the seat across the table.

“It certainly has. What happened to the skinny ass nerd that played video games all day?” I laughed.

“Well, I still play video games, but now I do it for a living, and I just blossomed into the magnificent physique that’s before you,” he chuckled. “You’re not too shabby looking yourself, Declan. What happened to you?”

I could feel the dark look cross my face before it disappeared, replaced by the carefree, friendly grin that he remembered. “The family business, speaking of which”— I look around — “where is that dear cousin of mine?”

I leaned back in my chair as a waitress came over to the table and set a glass of water in front of us. Luke looked up at her and said, “We will need one more, Jasmine. Brit will be joining us shortly.”

“Alright, will you guys be having the buffet, or do you want menus?” she asked.

“Buffet,” we said in unison. “Okay, help yourself whenever you’re ready. I’ll be back with more water.”

I looked at him. “So how long is Brit going to be because my stomach is about to eat itself.”

“Mine too. And who knows, Kim needed her to try something on, and you know how women are when it comes to clothes.” He stood up. “C’mon, let’s grab a plate before it’s all gone.”

We made our way over to the table, and each took a plate, starting to pile it high with food.

Taking a scoop of scalloped potatoes, I plopped it onto my plate. “So, have you told her why I’m here?”

He made a face. “She doesn’t know you’re here at all.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “How could you not tell her? If she sees me before knowing the reason I’m here, she’s going to run.”

∞∞∞

And run she did. Right into the very arms of the guy who had brought her to Pearl Lake. The one who was supposed to be in jail for kidnapping her.

“Would it kill you to offer clearer directions next time?” I asked Luke as I got out of the SUV, a mile away from the old emu farm, where she ran to. “Seen any signs of life yet?”

“Nothing so far,” he replied, his breath misting in the cold air. “No shadows or movement from inside.”

“Alright, my crew will take the outbuildings,” I decided, studying him with a hint of concern. “You sure you're up to going in the house alone, or do you want company?”

“With this, I'll be fine,” Luke answered, waving a tire iron. I clucked my tongue.

“Seriously? Planning to hurl that at him, are you? Rory,” I called out. He promptly handed me a handgun. “Here, better to be armed than sorry.”

I held it out to him. Luke flinched slightly. “I'm not sure about using that.”

“Just take it,” I persisted, pressing the gun into his hand. “Safety's off. Just remember, keep your finger off the trigger unless you're ready to fire. You've shot a gun before, haven't you?”

“A BB gun,” he declared with a nod. I let out a laugh. “Ever hit your mark?”

“Every time.” He just failed to tell me at the time that it was the side of a barn.

“That'll do then,” I said. I spun around to address the men. “Chris, you're on watch. Eyes peeled on the house and out for any police — wouldn't put it past your aunt to have them on speed dial. Let's move,” I motioned to the others.

We stealthily made our way through the trees and into the yard.

We dispersed like a SWAT team once we approached the property.

Once every building was cleared, we headed into the house.

With my men at my back, I stood in the doorway of the bedroom, scanning the room.

Her captor, I presume, was out cold, lying on the floor.

Luke was sitting on the bed, in the process of removing the binds at Brit’s wrists, where she was tied to the post on the headboard.

The second they were off, she flung herself into his arms, sobbing. “So, you didn’t have to use the gun after all?” I chuckled from the doorway.

Luke looked up at me and grinned. “Didn’t even use the tire iron. I put him in a chokehold.”

“Wow, I’m impressed,” I nodded. Moving into the room to look down at the man sprawled there, I nudged his leg with the toe of my boot. “Boys, clean this mess up,” I ordered my men as I took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Brit must have remembered what Luke did to betray her trust; she pulled away from him and stood by the window.

She looked at us, sitting side by side on the bed.

Giving Luke the evil eye, she must have decided she would deal with him later, but for now, she was going to deal with me.

I could tell by the look in her eye as she raised her chin.

“So, you found me, huh? Now what? I suppose you’re planning on taking me back to Toronto?”—she folded her arms across her chest— “I’m letting you know I’m not going.”

I looked at Luke and sighed. “I told you; you should have told her.”

“Yeah, I know you did. You saw the look she sent me,” Luke shot a hand in her direction.

Brit couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The two of us bickering back and forth like two old ladies. She stamped her foot to get our attention.

“I am here, you know!” I gave her a bored look while Luke grinned at her.

“So you are,” I yawned, standing and moving towards her. “My dear cousin. If you hadn’t taken off running and had dined with us at lunch, you would have discovered that it wasn’t my dad searching for you, it was me.”

“What?! There were missing persons posters looking for me. I saw it with my own eyes… with a reward!” I put an arm around her shoulders and waved my hand about in the air. “Yeah, well, that was just for show. I would never have paid it.”

Luke laughed like he was on the inside of an inside joke. “I would pay it, Brit,” he said with a wink.

“Yeah, well, that’s because you’re an idiot. No woman is worth fifty grand.”