AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, opposite ends of the wilderness area.”
“Have him send them to Baez and Taylor. You boys split up into teams of two, and I’ll take this outlier. Check in if you see anything or think the tip may be paying off or in two hours, whichever comes first.”
“Mac, you want me to take a horse and come with you?” John asked.
“Nah, you head to your office and head up the tech team there. I don’t have a lot of hope for this one, but I feel we have to at least cross it off the list.” Mac turned to his team. “All right, gentlemen, we have a fugitive to catch. Let’s go get this son of a bitch.”
They left John standing there as they split up and headed out. Simon Eastwick might have money and power, but he’d never been up against the US Marshals. The service was well known for being relentless about running down federal fugitives. Mac felt confident Eastwick would soon be apprehended.
John watched them ride out, then drove to his office. He’d been worried about calling Mac and asking him to come back with the likelihood he and Willa might run into each other. Now, he chided himself for not figuring out a way to lure his old friend back sooner. He called Mandy and relayed Mac’s message about wanting to speak to Willa and his thanks for the sandwiches.
Mandy laughed. “He needs his own woman to cook and care for him.”
“If he can find someone half as wonderful as you, he’ll be a lucky man. By the way, Gus said thanks for the burrito and reminded me you’re a good girl.”
“Not always.” She laughed in the deep husky way that John loved. “But I married a man who knows how to handle me when I’m not.”
John’s cock responded to her teasing. “Yes, you did.” He closed the door to his office to ensure no one could overhear him. “And you have the perfect ass for his loving discipline.”
“Sure you can’t come home for a couple of hours?”
“Don’t you tempt me, little girl. You know there’s nothing I’d like better than to crawl into bed with you and take up residence between your pretty legs.”
Mandy giggled again. “I love you. Be safe.”
“I will. I’m going to be in the office. Love you, too.”
Mandy was right. His buddy Mac had needed a woman ever since he and Willa split up. It was good to know Mac had finally figured out what John had known all along—the only woman Mac had ever needed was Willa. They had allowed her business and Mac’s promotion to come between them. Well, at least one of them had come to his senses. He’d never thought it would be Willa. He just hoped Mac made his stand here in Arizona. It would be fun to watch.
Willa woke and stretched as the sun crept over the horizon. Her bed wasn’t as comfortable as the one at home, but it wasn’t half bad. She laid still and listened but heard nothing out of the ordinary.All the horses were quiet, an indication nothing was amiss. Willa pulled on her clothes and boots, then stepped outside.
When he saw her, Gator nickered to her and let her know it was morning, she was up, and it was time for breakfast. She laughed and walked over to her corral.
“And good morning to you, too.” She took his head in her hands and kissed his muzzle. Normally, Gator loved to snuggle, but not at mealtimes. He was a very serious and focused boy when it came to food.
“All right, I hear you.”
She let him go and went to fix the horses’ breakfast. Once she had them settled and eating, she grabbed a couple of buckets and began the task of filling their water trough, then walked to the edge of her camp where she had an excellent view of the rest of the canyon. It appeared the stallion and his herd had also had a good night.
Some of the mustangs were up and grazing, others were still snoozing, and the stallion kept watch over them all as he foraged as well. He looked up to see her, but as she wasn’t close enough to be a threat to his mares and foals, so he merely tossed his head in a vague warning to keep her distance, then continued to graze.
Willa smiled and returned to her camp. She stoked the embers of her fire and went into her tent to retrieve her food supplies, then she set out the ingredients for a hearty omelet next to the campfire. Never a coffee drinker, Willa brought only bottles of water to drink.
Hunkered down over her cast-iron skillet, she heard a twig snap behind her. Slowly and quietly, she reached for the knife she had used to prepare her ingredients.
“That’s far enough, Ms. Reynolds. How fortunate for me you are once again stealing mustangs.”
Willa froze, recognizing Simon Eastwick’s voice. Although he had yet to be tried or convicted, Willa didn’t doubt for a momenthe’d killed his wife, Evie. The area around the Apache Trail was lightly populated, and the horse community even smaller. While she and Evie hadn’t been close friends, they’d been friendly, and Willa had always wondered why a nice woman like Evie stayed married to a prick like Simon.
Simon was a real estate developer who did some of his business in Scottsdale but also had projects in Phoenix, Chandler, and Mesa. He lived in the affluent city of Scottsdale, while Willa lived outside the city limits of Mesa, which was less than a half an hour away.
She stood slowly and turned to confront him. He had a rifle trained on her as he tied off his horse, who had a packhorse dallied to the saddle horn.
“To say I’m surprised to see you, Eastwick, would be putting it mildly.”
“I hadn’t expected to see you, either, but I have a cold camp not far from here and saw your fire last night. I didn’t know this canyon was here. Good hiding place.”
“Not for the likes of you. There’s no air-conditioning, no servants, and no police to lock your sorry ass up for killing Evie.”
