Page 177 of Cautious Love

I huff and lift him to his feet. “You know, I never really thought about it. I was just tired of you fools messing with my town.”

“Your town?” he grunts.

I pull him back, leaning in so I can say this in his ear. “Yes,mytown because it sure as hell ain’t yours.”

He huffs. “At least I’m not fighting for another man’s seconds.”

“Don’t worry Grey, once you heal up, I’m sure you’ll be pretty enough to be someone’s first.”

Luke bursts out laughing behind me as I walk Grey to a cruiser.

“Did we locate Will?” I ask them.

Everyone shakes their head. “No one leaves until we do!” I yell.

An officer walks Truman Kensington out of the barn, and I get in his face. “Where is Will?” I ask him.

The corner of his mouth tips up. “You know, I have to admit you had me for a bit. I thought you pissed one of your guys off so much that he was willing to give us information about you. Then he brought me the coke he stole, and somethin’ about it didn’t sit right. So friends close and enemies closer. I kept him real close,” Truman says with a wide grin.

I grab his lapel. “I’ll have them bury you under the prison. Where is he?” I ask him, becoming far too used to the cool and calm rage.

“He’s tied up in the old barn!” Kate yells.

Truman makes a face, and I jog over to the old barn. The thing is about to collapse. No one checked it. We clearly should have.

It takes me and Luke to pull the old door open, and sure enough, Will is tied up, gagged, and ducked in a corner, likely when he heard the gun going off.

He lifts his head and sighs. His face is all bruised, and he looks pale.

We get him untied and gagged.

“Finally. Took y’all long enough,” Will grumbles.

“We were kind of busy, man,” Luke mumbles.

“I was hoping you could come a little sooner. I’m starvin’.”

Then I see blood.

He groans, and it looks like he took a bullet to his side.

Will looks down. “Oh, shit, look at that.”

“Alright, let’s get you out of here. You did good, Will,” I tell him.

He winces as we get him up.

I radio for the EMT and someone comes running to help us get him into the ambulance.

“How is he?” Lawrence asks.

“EMT says he’ll be okay,” I mumble as we watch the ambulance drive away.

“We confiscated what appears to be the Chicago shipment,” Lawrence says.

“Everything else has been cleared,” Luke says.

“Copy. Let me find one of the ranch hands and make sure the animals are taken care of,” I mutter.