27. Jasper
JASPER
I silenced my phone. Suzy had called three times so far. I couldn’t afford the distraction. I was close to the dogs. The dot on my screen confirmed it.
If I was right about where Colin had taken them, he’d be coming in behind the abandoned Jericho homestead.
I hadn’t been out that way in years, but once upon a time, Colin and I used to hang out with the Jericho kids.
That was before they lost their ranch and had to move away.
The place had been sitting there for years now, boarded up and forgotten.
I’d left my truck behind a clump of trees, preferring to cover the rest of the distance on foot.
As I cleared a small hill, the old barn appeared.
Light filtered through the cracks between boards.
I’d bet the pecan orchard there was something suspicious going on down there.
I just needed to figure out what it was.
Silently, I crept toward the building. About a dozen vehicles sat behind the barn. I touched my hand to the hood of a big black Chevy truck. It was still warm.
I thought about calling Bodie and turning my brother in once and for all. But I needed proof. With every inch of my heart, I hoped I was mistaken about Colin. For my sake. For Colin’s sake. But especially for the sake of my parents and the rest of my family.
Plastering myself against the worn boards, I peered through a knothole in the wall. A small crowd circled around a ring of hay bales. They cheered as they glanced down at something inside the ring.
Barks, growls, and a whimper came from the barn. My stomach clenched before it dropped into my boots. Whatever was going on inside, I needed to put an end to it right the hell now. But first, I needed to see if my brother was there.
I brought my eye to the wall again, searching for Colin.
I vaguely recognized a few faces, but most of the men were strangers.
I let out a sigh. Colin wasn’t there. It didn’t explain the dogs in the barn, but knowing my brother wasn’t part of what was happening tonight, right under our noses, brought me some relief.
With every intent of calling Bodie and letting him know what was going on, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, ready to retreat to the safety of my truck to make the call.
As I stepped away from the barn, something poked into my back. “Going somewhere?”
Delilah
I bounced in the passenger seat as Trent navigated the truck over ruts in the narrow dirt road. My fingers wrapped tight around the handle over my head. The brothers argued back and forth as Davis kept an eye on the dot on his screen.
“Now where?” Trent asked. We’d reached a dead end.
“It says he’s close.” Davis held out his phone.
I couldn’t tell from the screen, but the dot representing Jasper didn’t seem to be terribly far from where Davis’s own dot blinked.
“I guess we walk from here.” Trent shifted into park.
“Walk where?” I glanced out the window. Nothing but tall grass and clumps of trees surrounded us.
“Aren’t we out by the Jerichos’ old place?” Mitchell leaned into the front seat.
“Sure are. Just beyond that ridge over there.” Trent pointed out my window.
I strained, trying to make out some sort of landmark in the darkness, but all I could see were waves of tall grass and weeds shifting in the slight breeze. “We’re going up there?”
“Why don’t you wait in the truck?” Trent suggested.
“Hell, no.” I’d rather take my chances with Jasper’s brothers than wait around in the truck for something bad to happen.
“You can’t go traipsing around in that.” Mitchell nodded toward the formfitting dress I had on.
“Just watch me.” I climbed out of the truck, and my heel immediately sank into the ground.
“At least put these on.” Trent handed me a pair of rubber boots.
“Thanks.” I left my heels in the truck and slipped my feet into the oversized boots.
We set off up the hill, Davis checking his phone every so often to make sure we stayed on track. I knew the Taylor family was close, but never imagined they kept track of one another’s whereabouts with an app.
Davis had explained it was their mother’s idea. She’d insisted on it when they were younger, and the brothers had kept it up so they could keep tabs on one another. Whatever the reason, hopefully it would pay off.
The four of us cleared the top of the small hill and looked down at an old barn. Light streamed through one of the doors. Muffled yells and cheers drifted up the hill.
“You’re sure he’s in there?” I asked. Looked like there was some sort of party going on.
“I sure as hell hope not.” Mitchell’s jaw was set. Besides Jasper, he was the biggest of the brothers. If he felt uneasy, I ought to be shaking in my borrowed rubber boots.
“Shit.” Trent scrubbed his hands over his barely there hair. “Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”
“What?” I looked over the dozen or so trucks and SUVs parked outside the barn, a bad feeling starting to take root in my chest.
“Let’s not go making shit up. Jasper deserves the benefit of the doubt until we know for sure what he’s up to.” Davis slid his phone into his pocket. “I’m going closer.”
I made a move to follow. “You’d better stay here.” Mitchell put a hand out to stop me. Then he nudged his head toward me as he looked at Trent.
“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Trent put his arm in front of me, like that barrier would keep me from following the other two. “Let’s wait it out up here.”
I wanted to argue, but I also had enough sense to realize that if they thought it was bad, there was probably something horrible going on inside that barn. “What do they think’s happening in there?”
“I don’t even want to say.” Trent grabbed a tall piece of grass and focused on ripping it to small pieces.
I pursed my lips, my heart squeezing so tight, I couldn’t stand to be still. When Trent didn’t expand, I figured I’d have to take matters into my own hands and took off down the hill after Davis and Mitchell.
“Dammit.” Trent followed, cursing as he caught up. “Jasper’s going to kill me if you get hurt. Can you please stay back?”
“I’ll stop at the edge of the grass. How’s that?” I needed to see what was happening with my own eyes.
“I can see why he likes you so much.” He attempted a smile, but I could sense the worry underneath his grin.
I ducked down in the grass, my skin tingling with the sensation of bugs and other creepy things crawling all over me.
Not wanting to find out if it was just my vivid imagination or if a variety of critters covered my skin, I shook my arms and tried to be quiet while I watched Davis and Mitchell edge toward the open barn door.
Mitchell moved fast, darting from the cover of the grass to press himself against the boards. He turned slightly, peeking into the barn. My pulse ticked up while I waited.
After what felt like eons, he scrambled across the gravel and squatted down next to us. “It’s bad. Jasper’s in there, along with about a dozen dogs, and a big group of huge assholes. I think we need to bring Bodie in on this. We can’t take ’em all, not by ourselves.”
“What do you mean Jasper’s in there with dogs?” I put a hand on Mitchell’s arm, drawing his attention.
“I’m sorry, you might not want to be here when this all goes down.” He cocked his head. “Davis, you want to take her back to the festival?”
“I’m not going anywhere until this is sorted out. Somebody better tell me what the hell’s going on before I head in there to see for myself.”
The brothers looked at one another, then shifted their eyes to the ground.
I had enough of everyone trying to protect me. I stood, hiked up the skirt of my long dress, and headed toward the barn. “Jasper Taylor! I know you’re in there.”
“Oh, shit!” Trent sprang from where he’d been hunkered down, wrapped his arms around me, and tried to pull me back.
“Let go of me.” I struggled against him, my elbow connecting with his gut. He let out an oof, and his arms fell away as he doubled over.
Two men came out of the barn. “Who’s there?”
I forged ahead, just one thought in my mind. I had to get to Jasper. He’d tell me what was going on.
Not even two minutes later I regretted my questionable act of bravery as I stepped into the light of the barn. Jasper stood in the middle of a ring of hay bales. Crates of dogs spread around the perimeter. The men around him stepped back, leaving him alone in the center.
“Delilah, what are you doing here?” He rushed toward me, his gaze racing over me. “Are you okay?”
The men who had caught me outside came in, prodding Jasper’s brothers along with the barrel of a rifle. “Caught this group sniffing around outside. Somebody want to tell me what the hell’s going on?”
Jasper stepped toward me, his hands up, palms out. “Let’s all keep our cool. What are y’all doing here?”
“You told her you had to go help one of your brothers in trouble,” Davis said. “Didn’t make sense to any of us since we were all at the festival, getting ready for the pumpkin float.”
“He did have to help one of his brothers.” A man stepped out from the shadows.
I squinted. There was something familiar about him, but I knew I’d never seen him before.
“Colin?” Trent stepped toward him, his arms wide. “What are you doing here?”
The two men embraced as Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose.
Colin. That was Jasper’s older brother. The one who’d moved away. I glanced back and forth between the brothers. Besides Trent, the other two didn’t look quite so happy to see their sibling.
“What the fuck’s going on?” the guy with the rifle asked.
“It’s okay, they’re with me.” Colin’s voice was steady.
Jasper edged close enough to pull me into his side.
“The fuck we are.” Mitchell’s glare could have burned the whole place down. “Please tell me you’re not involved with this. I’m outta here.”
“Not so fast.” The guy with the rifle tapped it against Mitchell’s leg. “We didn’t know we were having a family reunion of sorts going on.”
“Let them go.” Jasper motioned for Davis to move next to me. “Colin and I will stay. If the others don’t get back to the festival, they’re going to be missed. You don’t want Mayor Cherish sending her husband out with a search party looking for the missing guest of honor, do you?”
The men murmured among themselves, and I slid my gaze over the roughly constructed ring of hay, noticing several splatters of something red. I immediately glanced back to Jasper. He didn’t appear to be injured, making me wonder whose blood it was.
“We’d better scram.” One of the men ran in through the door. “Cops are on their way. I can see the lights headed this direction.”
“What did you do?” Jasper yelled at his brothers.
The men gathered the crates, scattering like ants abandoning a flooded anthill. Engines rumbled, tires scraped on gravel, and I stood there the whole time, wondering what in the world I’d gotten myself involved with this time.