Nathaniel #3
Sampson sat forward and I could practically hear the lecture before he even started speaking.
“You saying this with way too much ease. Have you really been running around the Valley with a fucking mask on? Like a bootleg Spiderman?” I guess this man thought I was playing when we talked about this earlier.
“The fuck? Put some respect on my shit. I’m more like Blackman than Spiderman. Everything I do is for the culture.”
Used to my antics, Sampson ignored my joking and stared at me blankly. “You didn’t answer the question.”
I was just as used to his shit so I sat back with a grin on my face. “I didn’t think it needed elaborating since I didn’t deny it.”
His first response was a sigh followed by a shake of his head. “That’s crazy.”
All I could do was shrug because he and I had gotten into far worse together. “If you think so. But that doesn’t mean I’m not about to get shit done.”
“What are you thinking on this?” I was glad that he switched gears because, despite thinking all of this was connected to what I was looking into, I didn’t want to guess wrong and waste time.
“Nobody is going to sell those cows alive. They’re either going to slaughter them and pass it off as theirs or they’re going to try to blend in to their herd.”
Sampson’s scoff was rightfully arrogant. “Ain’t no way in hell they could pass our shit off as theirs. Our cattle doesn’t blend.”
He wasn’t wrong at all about that. Their horns were too distinct even against other Long Horns.
All we would have to do was put out a high enough bounty for the lost cows and anyone within the state would rat out their employer.
Hell, we’d only have to offer some of them a spot on the ranch since our pay far exceeded that of our competitors.
I nodded my agreement at his observation. Us being on the same page meant we could move more efficiently in figuring out what was wrong. “Nobody is doing that for personal use. You think they’re going to ship out?”
We didn’t export our beef or portions of our herd overseas.
We kept a lot of what we did in state and had a specific pipeline of distributors that sold our products to high end butchers that purchased from us wholesale.
Folks thought that all beef looked the same once it was butchered but that wasn’t true.
Certain animals were bred for specific qualities that would show even after they’d been butchered.
Our cattle were specifically bred for a balance of high marbling and tender meat.
It was why the restaurant was so popular.
Most people went for a filet because of the tenderness.
With our meat, far larger cuts had the same tenderness but were even better because of the added flavor of the marbling.
The difference would be noticed immediately but I wouldn’t lie, there was clearly a black market for it if they wanted to move it.
But those animals were more valuable alive than dead.
“I gotta go dig around some.”
The random new people around town was coincidence.
We’d had a friend of a friend who was a tech genius that could set up the best surveillance tech around our properties.
We didn’t have cameras throughout certain parts of outer pastures but we would need to change that.
I was also going to need to speak to him about getting his system throughout the property I owned after what happened with Charisma.
Speaking of, I need to go run it back on whoever owned the bar I found her at.
I had to pause briefly and contemplate why all of these new people were popping up at the same time that she’d walked into my life.
Three new people to the Valley and one that I’d allowed to have intricate knowledge of my business.
My brain wanted me to suspect her, but my gut refused to believe Charisma was capable of that.
“Dig around how and with whom?” Samp was studying me. Cataloguing changes and shifts in my features that he’d been observing since I was born. He could read me as well as my parents so I’d long since stopped trying to hide anything from them. And then they had the nerve to say I was stressful.
“With whom. Don’t start being jealous, Samp. You got shit to think about. Plan for. If something needs to happen I got it. You’re the head of the family let me be the muscle.”
“I distinctly remember handling business with you multiple times last year.” He gave me a look that had me grinning because he wasn’t wrong.
My normally square brother was hell on two feet once you pissed him off enough.
Folks always thought he was something to play with up until the moment he had his hands wrapped around their necks.
Or his foot kicking their ass into a tapped oil well.
“Yeah, but you did all that off the strength of Yzzy. Pride gives you fight but falling in love turned you into a berserker. I like this new Samp.” I leaned over and dapped him up because I was on go mode. I didn’t need to think anymore, I needed to act.
He shook his head like I was simple before he responded flatly. “Thanks, Bucky.”
“But I still need to handle this for the family. I already don’t put in nearly enough work as you do. Between you and Yz, y’all are giving your all. Let me take the lead on this.”
“But I’m still a man that was stolen from. Way back I would be somewhere with a posse and we’d be hunting someone down with rifles.” He was talking about way back then like the posse wasn’t a viable option when we found out who did this shit.
“You can have that when the time comes. But let me do this type of work. If anyone is going to be forgiven for losing his shit, it’ll be me. Take care of your wife and I’ll keep you updated. I won’t make a move on something major without speaking to you first, cool?”
“I see how you added that caveat like I wouldn’t understand what you were doing.”
“I’m not trying to insult your intelligence. You know you’re still the boss. I run what needs to be run by you. Anything other than that is light work.”
“Be safe, Bucky.” Not a command. More of a plea. An edict and a reminder that he wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to me on his watch.
“Always, Samp. I got way too much life in me left to live.”