Page 82 of Her Guarded Hero

“Crystal shut up, we were angels.” Lindy said loftily.

“You go get those bastards, and call in the second you know something,” Aurora gave Dalton the stare of death.

“I’m telling everyone that Black Dawn’s new team name is the Scooby Gang,” Jack said from the computer screen.

Dalton groaned. “Are you still out there in Skype land? Turn them off Dex.”

“We had to go anyway,” Jack said with a smile. Dex turned off the screen.

“Okay, we all have our marching orders, right?” Dalton asked.

Everyone nodded.

15

“Chocolate icing. Graham crackers. Gold medal ribbon ice cream from Baskin and Robbins. I’m going to go into a sugar coma. Did I tell you I love you Lindy Dressler?” Aurora looked at the bounty in front of her. If she threw up after eating this, who cared? At least for once the puking will have been worth it.

“I’ve missed you little cousin,” Lindy said as she pulled Aurora’s pony tail.

“Ouch, too hard.”

“You big baby,” Lindy said as she plunked bowls, spoons and knives down on the table.

“You got it wrong, L, she’s big with a baby,” Crystal laughed. “Why do we need knives?”

“To spread the icing on the graham crackers, of course,” Lindy answered.

Aurora already had her first graham cracker and chocolate icing sandwich made. “You two are slow on the draw. Dish me up some ice cream and fire up the laptop,” she said right before taking a big bite of gooey goodness.

“What exactly are you two working on?” Lindy asked after she scooped out the ice cream. Aurora eyed her cousin. She was braiding her long black hair.

“What’s with the braid?” she asked.

“Don’t want the hair in my ice cream,” Lindy grinned.

“You need to cut it,” Crystal fluffed her blonde bob. She turned the laptop, so everyone could see it. “Here’s the deal. Horse after horse has been coming here to Valhalla for Aurora heal. They’ve come in physically and mentally abused. Now they’ve supposedly been purchased from all over Oregon, Nevada and Northern California, but Aurora’s seen too many of the same things done to these horses to believe they’re coming from different places. They’ve been abused by the same handlers.”

“That’s true?” Lindy asked Aurora.

Aurora nodded as she dug in for another scoop of ice cream. She was going to have to stop soon, but Junior was really liking the sweet dairy product. They’d have to get rid of all the evidence before Gunnar came home.

“Aladdin was treated the worst. I’m in love with him, I’m in the process of buying him from the Beaumonts.”

“Of course, you are,” Lindy smiled.

“So back to me,” Crystal said. “Me, myself and I have narrowed down where the abuse is happening.”

Aurora’s spoon clattered to the table. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?” she screeched.

“Well it’s not to an actual ranch or anything, it’s just an area,” Crystal admitted.

“I don’t understand. I think I might have a brain freeze,” Aurora put the heel of her hand to her temple.

Crystal had a map up on her computer and it had a circle around a small area near Yuba City.

“What are we looking at?” Lindy asked.

“You can’t tell anyone, okay?” Crystal asked nervously.