Chapter 3
Mitch
I tossed my duffel onto the bed, and the springs groaned like they damn well remembered me.
Last time I'd slept in that bed, I'd gone to sleep with a bloody nose and a busted lip, thanks to Frank's temper and an open gate that he’d blamed on me.
I had been just sixteen years old.
The next morning, I’d packed my gear and moved out to the old lodge. Frank had never come looking, not unless he needed something fixed or someone to yell at.
Cassidy and my brothers hated that I wasn't around after that. Turns out, when I’d stopped being Frank's punching bag, he’d found new ones.
Not that I knew that until it was too late.
The shower was the usual bush engineering.
.. a temperamental beast that spat either ice or hellfire, with precious little between as I scrubbed with the harsh soap until my skin was red.
Steam crawled up the cracked mirror as I dried off, but I didn't need a reflection.
I knew what I'd see: shoulders wound tight, beard getting wild, and in my eyes, a darkness I couldn't hide from.
Finding Frank dead didn't scare me. Finding him alive did. Because I wasn't sure I had it in me to walk away from him a second time.
I dressed in faded jeans and a fresh shirt, and when I stepped into the hallway, laughter spilled from the dining room that stopped me cold.
The kind of real, warm laughter I'd forgotten existed in this place, reminding me of the rare nights when we'd all crammed around that oversized table, stealing bites off each other's plates, arguing over chores, and pretending we were normal.
That had been before Mom disappeared.
And before Frank had gutted us one by one.
Before my heart had turned into a live grenade I didn't know how to defuse, I followed the laughter, one heavy bootstep at a time, like I was bracing for the blast.
The dining room wasn't just where we ate, it was the pulse of the homestead. A long timber table dominated the space, but none of my siblings were seated. Declan and Kayden stood with plates in hand, wolfing down food with the urgency of men headed for a cattle muster.
Cassidy passed me a plate piled high with meat pies and sausage rolls, ranch food that didn't need cutlery.
"Eat," she said. "You still look like shit."
"Jeez, thanks, sis. It's good to see you, too."
I bit into a homemade pie and swept my gaze across my siblings. "Tell me what you know about Frank's disappearance."
"Haven't seen or heard from him in six days." Kayden didn't bother looking up from his plate.
"We didn't figure out he was gone until he missed a few meals." Cassidy shrugged. "We don't eat dinner around this table like we used to when you were around."
A heavy beat crossed between them, and I felt the weight of all our unspoken family bullshit. No surprise there. The Bransons collected drama same as Frank collected enemies.
I cleared my throat. "Any idea where he went?"
"Nope," Kayden said, demolishing his second pie.
"Him and Razor just vanished," Cassidy said.
"And Razor hasn't been seen either?" I liked that stallion. I hoped he wasn't suffering.
Cassidy shook her head. "Nope."
"Did Dad take anything with him?"
"Don't know for sure, but his rifle is gone, so he must have that."
That would be right. That rifle meant more to him than Mom ever did. I pushed that rotten thought away. "But it's dry as hell out there, and nobody found a trail?"
"Not even a single hoofprint." Declan's jaw tensed.
Kayden reached for a sausage roll and dunked it in tomato sauce. "Either Dad didn't want us following him, or somebody made damn sure we couldn't."
The second option made more sense. Koolaroo was the only thing Dad ever truly loved. The stubborn bastard would've sawn off his own arm before missing a muster.
Nothing about this felt right. Not at all.
"Have you called Bob Ackerman?" I asked. "Maybe Winton police know what's going on." Not that a cop shop two hundred kilometers away would do much.
"Hell no." Kayden jabbed a finger at me. "Nobody knows Dad's missing but us. And it's gotta stay that way."
"Calm down," Declan said.
"No, I won’t calm down.” Kayden tightened his jaw. “The second anyone catches wind Dad might be dead, those development vultures will swoop in and wrestle for chunks of our land."
"Wow. Dramatic," Cassidy muttered, giving an exaggerated eye roll.
"Not fucking dramatic. It's real. Dad's disappearance must stay between us until we find him. Clear?" Kayden stared each of us down until we nodded.
"Right. We're wasting time." Kayden grabbed his cowboy hat off the table.
"Hold up." Cassidy threw up a hand. "Bella's packing food for the ride. Just wait a damn second." She strode into the hallway, heading for the ranch kitchen.
Kayden turned to me with a smirk. "You remember how to ride?"
"Funny." I shot him a look. "You still starting fights in the cattle yard?"
"You betcha." He winked. "Best way to burn off steam."
"And get your nose broken," Declan muttered.
Kayden tapped the bridge of his crooked nose. "Yeah, but you should've seen the other guy."
Cassidy marched back in with four loaded packs. "Food's sorted. This'll last you four days. After that, you're on your own. I've got all the horses ready and packed with water, binoculars, and a rifle." She paused, then aimed a look at Kayden. "Try not to shoot yourself."
“Ha-ha." Kayden huffed, grabbing a food pack.
"We only have two satellite phones." Cassidy slid the bulky phones onto the table. "I'm taking one," she said. "Who wants the other?"
My brothers both looked at me.
"You’ve been gone so long, you'll probably get lost,” Kayden said. “You’d better take it."
"Trust me, I remember this place too well. But I'll have the phone." I snatched the satellite phone off the table.
"You remember how to use it?" Declan asked.
"Yep." The radio was much more archaic than the ones I’d used in the special forces, but it would work the same.
"Let's roll." Kayden jammed on his hat and strode out the door.
I watched him go, then turned to Declan. "He's still a hothead, huh?"
Declan snorted. "That was him being nice."
As we stepped onto the back verandah, a wall of heat hit us.
Koolaroo stretched endlessly in all directions, it was sunbaked country carved by dusty windblasts and its share of torrential downpours.
Timber fencing divided the station into sectors, and a line of cattle trucks was crowded near the yards.
In the shade of an ancient gum, two stockmen slept while their horses swished their tails in an endless battle against the relentless flies.
The morning air carried the familiar scent of dust and sun-warmed earth.
A sense of being home swept through me that was unexpected. And damn unwanted. I'd been living out of a duffel bag for so long, I wasn't even sure what home meant anymore.
Shoving the bullshit aside, I said, "Did Frank usually take off without telling anyone where he was going?"
Declan scoffed. "Frank didn't tell anyone shit. But he always came back."
"He's never been gone this long." Cassidy swept her cowboy hat onto her head.
Declan passed out maps. "We'll split four ways. Mitch, you take the northern ridge. Cassidy east, Kayden west. I'll sweep south."
My gaze drifted to the northern ridge where heat made the air dance. "Roger that."
"We'll ride two days out and two back," Cassidy said. "Angus is running the place while we're gone, and he knows to call if anything's up."
"Angus?" That wasn't a name I remembered.
"Angus Bryant, Gus. He’s been here about three years now." Cassidy adjusted her hat against the sun. "Had a drinking problem when he first showed up, but I slapped that out of him. He's been sober for eighteen months. The dogs love him, so I know he's solid."
I chuckled. Cassidy trusted the animals' vibes over human opinions any day.
"We'll meet back here on Friday morning. Clear?" she said, her tone shifting to all-business
I tucked the map into my pack. Not that I needed it. I knew this land better than the bed in my apartment, which I rarely slept in anyway.
We moved into the stables where dust floated in lazy beams of light as horses shifted restlessly in their stalls.
"You sure you're up for this?" Declan clapped me hard on the back. "You haven't gone all soft on us, have ya?"
"Nope. I'm good." I huffed a dry laugh. Since I'd last seen my brothers, I'd led recon missions through bombed-out cities and tracked insurgents across mountain passes with nothing but gut instinct.
But Declan didn't need my lecture on tough conditions.
Living out here was about as brutal as any terrain I'd ever faced.
"See ya on the flip side." Kayden let out a laugh as he launched onto Meteor's saddle. He gave his horse a kick and bolted out of the stable like lightning.
Declan checked his horse, Apollo, then jumped into the saddle. "Don't get lost," he said, grinning at me before he too galloped out of the stable.
Cassidy led me down to the last stall, and my breath hitched. "Zeus." I blinked from my horse to Cassidy. "You been looking after him."
"Of course. He's been a pain in the ass, though." Cassidy huffed. "Only lets me touch him when he feels like it."
"Sounds about right." Zeus's sleek black coat gleamed, and the white star on his forehead was perfect. He tossed his head, and his ears flicked toward me as I stepped into the stall. "Hey there, Zeus. I missed you, mate."
Zeus snorted and let me press my forehead to his, same as we did ten years ago.
Cassidy leaned on the doorframe. "You should thank me for keeping him alive. Dad had other plans."
Yeah. I bet he did. I met her eyes and nodded. "Thank you. He’s in good shape."
She shrugged as if it didn't matter. "I always knew you'd come home." Her voice cracked just a little.
I didn't have the heart to tell her this wasn't home anymore. Or that I didn't plan to stay a second longer than necessary.
Maybe she saw the truth on my face because she stepped forward and ran a hand over Zeus's neck. "You know there's still some good here for you, Mitch."
I forced a smile. "I know."
But I didn't really know anything. Not anymore.
I swung into the saddle, and as I adjusted my grip on the reins, Cassidy stepped back until her shadow fell across the straw.
Zeus snorted, restless and ready to run. So was I.
I gave him a nudge, and we bolted out of the stable into the blinding sun.
Ten years ago I'd fled this place with nothing but dust in my wake.
Now I was back, hunting a man who had damn near broken me.
And if I found him alive, I wasn't sure I'd want to keep him that way.