42. Ledger
Ledger
My phone buzzes, waking me up. Shiloh is sound asleep, curled up next to me. I’d give anything to stay here. To make love to her again, to sleep with her because I’m exhausted. But this isn’t something we can postpone.
As quietly as I can, I slip out of bed and into the bathroom, grabbing my phone and bag.
Agent Beckett texted me that they are en route, which means I need to be too.
I text Sterling and he responds he’s on his way in five.
As far as our little town of Paxton is concerned, this is another normal day. The days have turned cooler, and winter is on its way.
I take a cold shower to wake me up and get dressed, trying to stay quiet. I don’t want to wake her up because I know all I’ll see is her worried eyes, and I can’t take it.
When I’m done, I find a little piece of paper and write her a note, leaving it on the bedside table before I slip out the door.
By the time the pot of coffee I made is done, Sterling rolls up, and I let him in.
He walks in with a bag and a shotgun resting on his shoulder.
“Thanks for doing this,” I mumble.
“Happy to. But are you sure you’re going to be alright?” he asks.
I puff out a breath and look him in the eye.
“If I don’t make it back, please be there for her.”
Sterling makes a face and schools it. “Not going to happen, but I’ve got you, man.”
“I’ll come back to get her later.”
“We’ll be here,” Sterling says.
I nod, check my firearm, and head out the door.
“Hey Ledger?” Sterling calls. “Let’s get a beer later?”
I huff. “A cold one sounds pretty good.”
“We have team four stationed at each exit from town as backup. Otherwise, we have teams entering from the North, West, and South. Team one is coming in from the north, team two west, and so on,” I explain to the group.
“We need to clear the barns and the stables on the west side. Team one clear the other barn on the north side. There is a barn on the east side of the property, but it’s old and the roof is falling in.
We don’t believe anyone is in there, let alone works in it.
Team three will get to the main house and garage area. ”
“We have people stationed a mile down the road from the Kensington property for backup, along with drone footage to get aerial views,” Agent Beckett says.
Exactly as we planned. “Everyone clear?” I call to the team.
Team leads nod and disperse.
“What does aerial look like right now?” I ask him, thankful they have the budget for this kind of tech. Agent Beckett and I are currently sitting a mile from Kensington Ranch.
“They’re working on something, going in and out of the barn, packing into meat trucks. Could be a normal meat delivery, we can’t tell otherwise,” Lawrence says.
“It’s probably the shipment they’ve had planned for a while,” I mutter.
“Will told me they move slowly, and mornings don’t seem to be their thing, which is ironic because they still run cattle. Early bird gets the worm and all that,” Luke says.
Beckett nods. “Did your man check in? Does he know we’re coming?”
My jaw hardens. “No, he didn’t.”
Beckett adjusts his gun. “Then let’s get this show on the road. Teams get into positions, radio when set.”
Now is the hardest part.
While we wait for other teams to hustle onto the property and stay hidden, my mind floats to Shiloh.
She’s probably mad I didn’t tell her goodbye.
I couldn’t stomach it. If I don’t survive today, then I want what we shared last night, rather earlier this morning, to be what she remembers.
Our future together. I want that to be what she holds onto.
At least I know my family will take care of her.
Another ten minutes tick by. The adrenaline is pumping. I’m wide awake, and my skin feels itchy.
“Team one in place,” the team lead radios.
A few minutes later. “Team two in place,” the lead radios.
“Ready on my signal,” Lawrence says.
The clicks come through the radios and I check my vest again, making sure it’s tight.
“Alright, boys, let’s get this done, get our man, and go home,” I call.
Everyone nods, and we get into our vehicles, and I gun it.
Beckett holds the radio to his mouth, ready to tell the teams to move in when we get to the top of the driveway.
I speed down the driveway, kicking up gravel, like my heart in my chest.
“Teams one and two move in,” Beckett calls.
“Rodger, team one moving,” their lead says.
“Copy, team two moving in.”
Adrenaline thrums through my veins as we speed around the curve of the gravel driveway.
We stationed guys to come in through the pastures, knowing it could get nasty real quick.
We hop out ready for response, but it’s quiet.
No one comes out to meet us.
“Is this normal?” Beckett calls.
Hand on my gun and head on a swivel, I look around. “It’s too quiet.”
Then there’s a whizz and Beckett goes down.
“Gun, gun, gun!”
The chaos ensues.