Chapter 19
Levi
We’ve been waiting for two weeks to hear from Randy and his crew. Today, Dakota and I decided to come into the office to do some paperwork. Which is why I’m surprised when I feel my phone buzzing with a text from Randy.
“Look at this,” I tell him, holding up the phone for Dakota to read.
He comes over, and I can feel him tense.
R: You boys ready to prove you know how to hunt? Got something set up for this afternoon. Be at Freedom Farms within the next two hours.
I glance at Dakota, who’s already reading the message over my shoulder. “Well, fuck,” I mutter.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “That was fast.”
I text back as Tim.
T: We’ll be there.
Randy: Good. Don’t fuck this up.
My fingers move quickly, sending messages to both Director Drake and Dakota, even though he’s sitting right next to me. We need the official record.
But this feels much bigger, and more dangerous than anything else we’ve done for this. Which makes sense since we’re starting to get into the nitty gritty of it all.
My last text goes to Magnolia.
L: Gonna probably be late tonight. Don’t wait up for me unless you want to. Be safe, and lock the door. Have a really good pop-up event.
Her response comes almost immediately.
M: I know you can’t tell me what this is about, but I can guess. You be careful. You’ve got me waiting at home for you. BTW, it was a really good pop-up event. I’m heading to Shelby’s right now.
I stare at those words longer than I should, my chest tight.
When did this woman become someone I text before heading into a potentially dangerous situation?
When did she become the person I think about when I’m wondering if I’ll make it home?
Not before I picked her up off that table, even though I’d always had a fucking crush on her.
This has moved fast, and although every other woman who tried to move fast with me, I’ve pushed away. I want to pull Magnolia closer, and never let her go.
“You good?” Dakota asks, his voice steady, but at the same time worried.
“Yeah.” I pocket my phone. “Let’s get ready.”
We head to our respective residences to change into hunting gear. When Dakota picks me up an hour later, we’re both silent, the weight of what we’re about to do settling over us heavy as fuck.
The drive to Freedom Farms feels longer than it should.
My mind keeps circling back to what Director Drake briefed us on; the illegal breeding operation, the white-tail deer, the questions about what else might be happening on that property.
This is what I need to focus on, not what might happen when we get there.
Knowing that the men with us will be armed is enough to make my stomach churn. But this is what I’ve trained for. This is what my family has done for generations.
When we pull up to the property, there’s already a group of men waiting. All of them are dressed in hunting gear, faces already covered with camo face paint and masks. Dakota and I exchange a look before doing the same, pulling our buffs up over our noses and mouths.
We get out of the truck, and immediately I can feel eyes on us. They are assessing us and measuring whatever they see as trustworthy. If sitting duck was a feeling, this is fuckin’ it. My training kicks in. I stand tall, shoulders back, fake a confident stride, and meet eyes without challenge.
There are maybe six or seven guys total, all armed, all watching us with varying degrees of interest. Some are paying more attention than others.
But there’s one man who stands apart from the group, his face is uncovered, and he’s clearly the one in charge.
He’s handing out orders to everyone around, and people are looking at him like they respect him.
There’s something about the way he holds himself. The outline of his body looks remotely familiar, but I can’t place it.
He turns around to face us, and my blood runs cold.
Son of a bitch. It’s Cody. This is how his ass was getting money without Magnolia knowing about it. There’s no telling how many of these damn things he’s opened. Which is why he needs money, and then he’s flush with cash.
This changes everything.
Holy fuck.
Every muscle in my body locks up, and it takes everything I have to keep my expression neutral behind the mask, so that my eyes don’t give me away. Dakota’s hand lands on my shoulder, a brief squeeze that says I see it too, stay calm.
“Tim, Wallace,” Cody says, his voice carrying that same arrogant edge I remember from every other time I’ve talked to this motherfucker. “Glad you could make it. I’ve heard a lot about the two of you.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I say, making sure my voice is steady. Chances are he’s never paid enough attention to my voice to recognize me by it.
His gaze does roam over me, stopping at my feet, tilting his head as he looks at my boots, then goes back up.
Luckily my tattoos are covered, and I’ve made sure to keep them covered every time I’ve been here.
If for any reason he may have seen me coming or going in the distance, he hasn’t seen those tattoos.
“Here’s how this works,” Cody continues, pacing in front of us like some kind of general addressing his goddamn troops.
He gets off on this fucking bullshit. “We’ve stocked Freedom Farms with plenty of game—deer, rabbit, whatever you can find.
Your job is to prove you actually know how to hunt.
Each of you needs to take down at least one animal.
Doesn’t matter what, as long as you prove you’re not going to fuck up when it counts.
” He tilts his head to the side. “We’ve had people who just want to get out here and see what we’ve got going on.
They couldn’t actually hunt if their life depended on it.
We’ve got to weed out the observers, you get it right? ”
One of the other men hands out rifles, checking each one like he knows what the fuck he’s doing. I take mine, the weight familiar in my hands. I’ve been hunting since I was old enough to hold a gun; my dad and grandfather made sure of that. But this feels so fucking wrong.
“Any questions?” Cody asks, that smirk still playing at his lips.
“No sir,” several of the men respond.
“Good. You’ve got until dark. Happy hunting.”
The group disperses into the woods, and Dakota and I hang back slightly, moving together with the ease of best friends who’ve trained as partners. We’ve never left each other alone and we’re not going to start now. Once we’re far enough away from the others, Dakota leans in close.
“That’s her husband, Cody, right?” he whispers.
Dakota hasn’t been as tied into Molly’s life as I have. He knows people on the periphery, but not the intimate way I do.
“Ex-husband,” I correct, my jaw tight. “Almost.”
“Fuck, man. This isn’t looking great. Obviously Magnolia doesn’t know about this shit, right?”
I can’t say it for sure, but I’m pretty positive she would’ve said something to me about this before now. “Yeah.”
We move deeper into the property, and it doesn’t take long to realize this place is exactly what Director Drake suspected, and what Randy implied. There are too many deer for this to be natural, their tracks are everywhere, the property clearly stocked for this exact purpose.
My mind is racing. Cody is involved in this. The man who’s been tormenting Magnolia, who drained her bank accounts, who’s making her life hell; he’s the ringleader of an illegal breeding and hunting operation.
She married this man, trusted him, and now she’s terrified of him. I’m beginning to realize why.
A deer appears in my sights, and muscle memory takes over.
Hunting isn’t my favorite, I’ve always kind of had too soft a heart for it.
But I learned in case I ever needed to, and so I could hang out with the family.
I line up the shot, exhale slowly, and squeeze the trigger.
The animal drops, clean and quick, just the way I like it.
“Nice shot,” Dakota murmurs.
We track and tag it according to the rules Cody laid out, then move on. Dakota takes down a rabbit about thirty minutes later, his shot just as clean.
By the time we make our way back to the main area, the sun is starting to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. The other hunters are already there. They obviously know each other as they give each other shit, and laugh about stupid mistakes they made.
Cody surveys the group, nodding with satisfaction. “Good work, boys. Looks like you all know what you’re doing.”
His eyes land on Dakota and me, and I force myself to meet his gaze without flinching.
“Tim, Wallace. Nice work out there. Randy tells me you’re interested in buying some white-tail deer?”
“That’s right,” I say, keeping my voice level.
“Well, you’ve proven you can handle yourselves. We’ll set up the buy in the next few weeks. Should be around Christmas.” He pulls out his phone, makes a note. “Keep your phones on and available. When I call, you answer.”
“Understood,” Dakota says.
As we’re loading up to leave, one of the other hunters claps me on the back. No one has taken their buffs off, so I don’t know who the hell this is. Wish I did. “You did good out there, Tim. Most first-timers are shakier.”
“Grew up hunting,” I say with a shrug. “It’s in the blood.”
The drive back is silent until we’re well away from the property. We stop at a pull-off and check the SUV for trackers and listening devices again. Once we’re sure nothing has been placed there while we left the SUV unattended, Dakota lets out a long breath.
“So that’s the guy who’s been fucking with Magnolia. I kinda thought because I’d seen him around your family, but I never really paid attention.”
Which makes sense, I don’t talk about Magnolia typically, at least I didn’t before the night I pulled her off that fucking table. The only other way Dakota would’ve known would be through Molly. And I don’t think they hang out.
“Yeah.”
“He’s a real piece of shit, ain’t he?”
“You have no idea,” I mutter, my hands clenching into fists on my thighs.
We head straight to the station to brief Director Drake. He listens as we describe everything. From the definite setup, to the other hunters that were there.
“There’s a local who seems to be the ring leader. Cody is connected to me, I should let you know.”
“How’s that?” His gaze falls heavily on me, and I can feel my face warm.
“He’s married to my sister’s best friend, and if I’m being completely honest with you, she’s staying at my house. Her and Cody are having issues, and she had to leave. It’s complicated.”
“You’re damn right this is complicated,” Director Drake says, leaning back in his chair. “Harrison, you’re going to need to be extra careful. If he finds out who you really are, or worse, if he finds out about your connection to his ex-wife…”
“I know, sir.”
“Do you?” His eyes are sharp. “Because personal involvement in undercover operations is how agents get killed.”
Those words land hard in my chest. “I understand.”
“I hope you do.” He stands, signaling the end of the meeting. “Good work today, both of you. Keep your cover tight, and don’t do anything stupid.”
As we leave his office, Dakota turns to me. “You gonna tell her?”
I think about Magnolia, probably at my house right now, probably working on orders, probably worrying about when I’ll be home.
“If it comes up, yes. There’s no sense in worrying her until we have to.”
But those words taste bad, and I know that I’m just delaying the inevitable.