AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stop. Please. I’m out of it now. It’s not my business anymore.”
Carver leveled him in his gaze. “What does that mean?”
“I-I sold the loan to someone else.”
Carver threw a look at the guys. They appeared to be just as shocked by his statement as he felt.
“Who?”
“Some businessman. He’s the CEO of Montana Investment Corporation.”
Colton already had his phone out and was punching the information into a search.
“I’m out of it. Let me go and you’ll never hear from me again.” Blood dripped from Smythe’s ruined mouth, and the one front tooth he had remaining wobbled loosely.
“Give us a name.” Carver’s gritty tone made him pale more.
“Eli Feldman.”
“Got him.” Colton looked up from his phone into Carver’s eyes.
He nodded. “I’ll finish him off before I hand him over to the sheriff. You guys can go. I got this.”
Smythe issued a whine that got louder in a plea as the three men filed out, leaving Carver alone to make damn sure that he knew that not only would he be spending the rest of his days behind bars but that Carver’s face would haunt his every dream.
He circled the man’s chair and popped his knuckles. “You’re lucky that my buddies left it up to me to take care of you. You hurt their women too.” He leaned over to stare deep into Smythe’s eyes and laughed. “Or maybe you’re not lucky.”
“W-why…why is that?”
He chuckled. “Because I’m a bigger son of a bitch.”
* * * * *
Under the Graceys’ long dining room table, Carver placed his big, warm hand on Livia’s thigh. The heat of his touch chased away some of the chill lingering inside her. After listening to the men’s plans for securing the ranch, and her property too, she just wanted to climb between the covers of her own bed and hide.
Between talk about better cameras, more weapons and bringing in one of the top security agencies in the country, more than a little unease rippled through her.
Colton, who had taken charge of the meeting, directed his attention to the computer tablet where a hot guy wearing a white Stetson was on a video call. “We appreciate your insights, Ross.”
Ross Wynton. Head of WEST Protection. The company was famous in Montana for how fast it had grown.
“I’ll send over two more men like I promised. I think you could use the extra patrol on the Gracey.”
Colton nodded. “We’ll look for them at the end of the week. We’re still digging into the missing equipment from the ranch.”
“I have my team searching as well.” Ross was all business but when a high-pitched voice projected across the speakers, he paused. His face bobbed out of the frame and the next second, a child appeared on his lap.
“I can type, Daddy?”
“Not yet, buddy. I’m almost finished with my call, then we’ll go out and ride your pony. Okay?”
“Yeah!”
Livia couldn’t help but smile at the fatherly display, so different from the topic of discussion.
Ross directed his focus to her. “And Livia, good job digging up that information on the investor. We’ve got a search in our database going on right now on Eli Feldman. We know he’s buying up all the land he can get. That’s enough of a reason to look harder.”
She felt heat climb into her cheeks. “Ivy made most of the finds on the man.”
