Page 169 of Combust

She was on top of the world. This was as good of a day for her as it had been for Luke. I'd seen him worried about his daughter, and I'd thought the look in his eyes back then had been the measure of a man's love for his child, but this? The smile on his face and the pride radiating off him was even better. If I had to define the perfect parent by an expression, then this version of Luke was the one I'd think of every single time.

The miles passed quickly, and soon enough we were slowing down for the gate at Southwind. There was just one problem. Looking through the front window, something wasn't right.

"Shit," Cy breathed.

Beside him, Ash was scrambling to pull his phone out of his pocket. "Did someone drive through it?"

"What?" I asked, leaning to see better.

"The front gate is gone!" Cy said.

But Ash pointed. "Nope, that looks like it over there."

I followed his finger to see the metal bars almost lost in the grass beside the drive, just inside the property. One corner of it curled upwards, proving the whole thing was bent. Maybe someone had hit it? If so, there was a good chance their car wasn't doing so well. Then again, if it had been a truck? Most of those around here had some pretty heavy-duty bumpers on them. Had it been intentional?

Cy just eased the SUV up the drive, taking his time about it. "Let me know if you see anything on the driveway, Ash?"

"Looks good," Ash assured him. "Doesn't mean we won't pick up a nail, but I can't see anything. Side of the barn looks fine, too."

"Think it was an accident?" Luke asked.

"At Southwind?" Ash countered. "No, Luke, I don't."

Like the rest, I was peering through the glass to examine everything. The cabins still had the solar panels on top. Nothing seemed to be busted or out of place. The barn doors were still closed, just the way we'd left them, but that didn't mean the barn would still be full of equipment.

And my heart started to hammer against my ribs. "What if they stole everything?" I asked. "The tractor! That would've pulled the gate off like that."

"Or someone else's," Luke said. "Vi, that tractor's old enough and unique enough that she'll stand out. If someone stole her, we'll find her again."

"And not cut hay," I snapped.

But Cy didn't bother turning the truck to park at the side. He aimed right for the house, stopping just before the doors. "That's a bigger problem."

All five of us looked to see something red across the front door. Spray paint, I was pretty sure. Popping off my seatbelt, I hopped out of the SUV and hurried over. That fear I'd had a second ago was changing. With each step closer, the scrawl began to look more and more like letters.

The handwriting had to be a man's. It was cramped and ugly, probably done in a hurry. At first, that made it hard to make out what was written across the front of my house, right across the door Gran had put there to welcome her family home. But reading the words only made it worse.

Last warning FAGS!

Leave now or die!

I stood there breathing so hard my body heaved. My hands were clenched into fists. My nails bit into my palms, but I didn't even care. That was my door. This was our home! Luke, Ash, Cy, and Faith had stopped behind me, all of them seeing the same thing.

Paul Simmons had paid the private investigator who'd gotten those pictures of Luke. He'd arranged to have Ash attacked at the grill. Cy had picked his own fight with them. This was someone letting us know that they were willing to fight back.

Cats Peak, Texas, didn't condone our lifestyle. They'd tried to break me once, and had almost succeeded. Now, they were going after the people I loved, and that was more than I'd tolerate. Howdarethey try to scare us off? I wasdonewith being pushed around. I'dtriedto play nice. I'd even shut up so that Luke could get his happy ending.

This? It was a declaration of war, and they'd just picked the wrong bitch to piss off.

"Someone call Darnell," I ordered. "Someone else call Teal and see if his FBI friend can offer advice, since our local cops are crooked. Someone else call Cobalt." I paused, the rage only growing. "I'mcalling Blaze. Today was the wrong day to do this, Simmons," I grumbled under my breath. "It's fuckingon, now."

Then I stormed up the steps, grabbed the spray-painted handle, shoved my key in the lock, and pushed open the door - hard. It bounced back, but my palm stopped it as I walked through. Behind me, the rest of my family followed, trusting me completely.

I wouldn't let anyone chase us out of our goddamned home. It was time they learned what made Southwind work. I was calling in the whole rainbow.