Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
I shake my head. “If you blow up those cows, Zane, I’m going to murder you. They don’t deserve to die for this.”
His eyebrows pop up, and he snickers. “Cows are clear. We’re only going to get the men and the truck. Nobody else. The paddock is far enough away that it might scare the hell out of them, but they won’t get hurt unless he manages to bring one or two in, which is why we have to move quickly.”
My heart still thunders. “There’s no backup plan for if this goes wrong...”
“Relax, darlin’, we’re good.”
He hands me the device. I slip it into the duffel bag, careful not to jostle the wires, and stare out toward the highway. Ralston’s not due for an hour, but my skin itches like he’s already watching. It’s hard to tell if the paranoia’s justified or just my baseline now.
Zane goes over it again, the steps, the time, my exit route. “As soon as you drop it, text me ‘done.’ Then get to the house as fast as you can. And remember, don’t be a hero. If anything goes sideways—”
“I bail to the woods out back and run for my life. I got it.”
He grins. “Atta girl. Let’s do a walk-through.”
We run the play again.
“So you’ll be at the window, waiting for my signal when I am in the house,” I say, as we stand on the porch, staring down at the barn window.
Zane nods. “I’ll be watchin’, and the second you’re safe, I’ll set it up and get the hell out. I’ll have five minutes, if I’m lucky. I have an exit through the back, straight into the treeline. We’re good.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He laughs and bops me on the arm. “Win or lose, you got steel, darlin’. I’d never trust anyone else with this.”
I want to ask if that’s supposed to be reassuring, but the words jam up in my throat. I force out, “If you get blown up, I’ll never forgive you.”
He chuckles. “Won’t matter, I’ll be dead.”
“That’s not funny.”
He turns to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “I’m takin’ my own risks, darlin’. This is my choice. If it goes wrong, just know that I would do it again, a million times over.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I whisper. “And please, don’t die.”
He releases me and pulls out a cigarette. “I’ll try not to, but for what it’s worth, I ain’t scared of death. Got people waitin’ for me on the other side.”
“Oh?” I ask, pressing my hands on the railing.
“My daughter.”
I flinch and turn to him. “You have a daughter?”
“I did, yeah. She died in her sleep, three months old.”
My throat tightens. “Zane, I am so sorry...I didn’t know.”
“Not many people do. I don’t go around talkin’ about my business.”
He is always so happy, it is hard to ever believe he has experienced that kind of pain.
“What was her name?”
“Kaylee. Fuckin’ angel, Callie. I never knew love that strong existed until I lost her. So, yeah, I’m not afraid of leavin’ this world.”
“Her mom?” I question, carefully.
“We weren’t together, one night stand, but she kept me involved the whole time. When we lost her, she moved away, and I haven’t heard from her for a good long time but I do know she married and had a couple kids. Seems happy now, but it nearly destroyed her.”
“As it would,” I say, softly. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”
“Anyway,” he says. “Let’s get this show on the road. I’ll be in the barn, you got this.”
He hugs me, tight, and then turns and leaves, disappearing into the barn.
It feels like an eternity before the parade of blacked-out SUVs and battered cattle haulers rumble up the driveway. I take a deep, shaky breath, square my shoulders, and walk down the front steps. I have to keep it together because if Ralston so much as suspects a trap, I am dead.
He gets out of the first SUV, not wearing a suit but the shirt that he has on is so crisp and white, he might as well be. I wonder if when he got dressed this morning, he knew that he was going to die in that shirt. I hope he made the right choice.
Guilt pings my chest as I watch at least ten men pile out of the SUVs and trucks, all of them armed. What if they have families? I have to push the thought from my mind because, in the end, choices have been made and they picked the world they’re in.
“Well, Callie, I see you’re all ready for us,” Ralston grins as I approach. “I hope my cows didn’t cause you too many problems when you were moving them.”
His cows.
I could deck him.
“Well, they don’t like dickheads, so I had no choice,” I throw back sarcastically.