around any longer than necessary.
The barn had twenty-four stalls, but right now two at the end of the barn were empty. The walls were stained a dark walnut color, with forest green trim to blend with the pine trees that grew all over the property.
Gabe had helped me build it.
My vision clouded for a moment, and I clenched my jaw, fighting the emotions pummeling me from the inside out. I needed to hold myself together and make some calls. Once the Jeep was parked and covered, I walked down the barn aisle visiting with the horses. The familiar sounds of horseshoes pawing through the wood shavings, noses splashing in the water buckets, and nickering, helped settle me. When I got to the corner stall, a large black shadow made its way to the door.
“Hey, Bruce.” His full name was Calisto’s Dark Knight, but we all called him Bruce Wayne. Bruce for short. He seemed okay with it. I had leased the Morgan stallion for the past five years. I trained him for his out-of-state owner, and after he won the world championship in western pleasure, we’d made arrangements to stand him at stud in my barn. Bruce was probably my closest friend these days. I ran my hand down his thick neck, patting him and admiring his slick coat.
“Did Luke give you a bath today?” The big black stallion shook his head as if he understood what I’d asked. “You’re a good guy, Bruce.”
Where was Luke anyway? He was the youngest Pack member and also my right-hand man at the ranch. I scanned the property, and noticed the feed room door wide open. It was early for feeding the horses, but maybe he’d loaded the grain buckets for later. When I got to the feed room, the lids were off all the grain-filled trashcans, feed buckets were lined up to be filled, but no sign of Luke.
I pulled out my cell phone and caught him at the taco shop.
“Can you call the Pack for me? Have them meet at the barn in an hour.”
“Sure thing, Adam. Everything okay?”
I glanced down the barn aisle at the Jeep. “Just get everyone over here, all right?”
I knew he was curious, but I couldn’t talk about what happened to Gabe over the phone. I jammed my cell back in my pocket. Anxious to keep my mind occupied, I started filling the grain buckets. We lined them up in the same order as the stalls in the barn. Each horse had his own mixture of feed. Some got extra oats for energy, while the younger horses needed more weight and less spunk so they got barley-corn and some bran. Each horse also got a handful of Natural Glo vitamin supplement, and for the show horses we added a dash of linseed oil to help keep their coats soft and smooth.
Carrying the grain buckets down the barn aisle instantly made me the most popular guy in the place. The horses pranced around their stalls, shaking their heads, nickering and stamping at the ground. I fed Bruce first, dumping the grain into his large, black feed bucket. He lowered his head to snatch up a bite, and then stared at me with intelligent eyes while he ground up the goodies. Horses were excellent listeners.
I stepped up to pat his neck.
“We lost Gabe today.” My voice started to waver. I cleared my throat. “I’m going to find out who killed him, Bruce. I won’t stop until I find him.”
I didn’t know how complicated that promise was about to become.
Chapter Five
Lana
Five hours later, Adam still hadn’t called. My stomach growled, reminding me I skipped lunch. Gnawing at a cuticle on my index finger, I stared at my silent cell phone. My rental car was still at the diner, and the guys in the gray jump suits could be anywhere. Maybe I could order room service.
Or I could get a grip and figure out what was going on with me. Who were those guys and what was Nero? Nero couldn’t just be another mental asylum back east. It was something more sinister with gun toting, tattooed, trained teams, and somehow I had been connected since I was a baby. I clenched my fists. I couldn’t just hide out in my room waiting for
The barn had twenty-four stalls, but right now two at the end of the barn were empty. The walls were stained a dark walnut color, with forest green trim to blend with the pine trees that grew all over the property.
Gabe had helped me build it.
My vision clouded for a moment, and I clenched my jaw, fighting the emotions pummeling me from the inside out. I needed to hold myself together and make some calls. Once the Jeep was parked and covered, I walked down the barn aisle visiting with the horses. The familiar sounds of horseshoes pawing through the wood shavings, noses splashing in the water buckets, and nickering, helped settle me. When I got to the corner stall, a large black shadow made its way to the door.
“Hey, Bruce.” His full name was Calisto’s Dark Knight, but we all called him Bruce Wayne. Bruce for short. He seemed okay with it. I had leased the Morgan stallion for the past five years. I trained him for his out-of-state owner, and after he won the world championship in western pleasure, we’d made arrangements to stand him at stud in my barn. Bruce was probably my closest friend these days. I ran my hand down his thick neck, patting him and admiring his slick coat.
“Did Luke give you a bath today?” The big black stallion shook his head as if he understood what I’d asked. “You’re a good guy, Bruce.”
Where was Luke anyway? He was the youngest Pack member and also my right-hand man at the ranch. I scanned the property, and noticed the feed room door wide open. It was early for feeding the horses, but maybe he’d loaded the grain buckets for later. When I got to the feed room, the lids were off all the grain-filled trashcans, feed buckets were lined up to be filled, but no sign of Luke.
I pulled out my cell phone and caught him at the taco shop.
“Can you call the Pack for me? Have them meet at the barn in an hour.”
“Sure thing, Adam. Everything okay?”
I glanced down the barn aisle at the Jeep. “Just get everyone over here, all right?”
I knew he was curious, but I couldn’t talk about what happened to Gabe over the phone. I jammed my cell back in my pocket. Anxious to keep my mind occupied, I started filling the grain buckets. We lined them up in the same order as the stalls in the barn. Each horse had his own mixture of feed. Some got extra oats for energy, while the younger horses needed more weight and less spunk so they got barley-corn and some bran. Each horse also got a handful of Natural Glo vitamin supplement, and for the show horses we added a dash of linseed oil to help keep their coats soft and smooth.
Carrying the grain buckets down the barn aisle instantly made me the most popular guy in the place. The horses pranced around their stalls, shaking their heads, nickering and stamping at the ground. I fed Bruce first, dumping the grain into his large, black feed bucket. He lowered his head to snatch up a bite, and then stared at me with intelligent eyes while he ground up the goodies. Horses were excellent listeners.
I stepped up to pat his neck.
“We lost Gabe today.” My voice started to waver. I cleared my throat. “I’m going to find out who killed him, Bruce. I won’t stop until I find him.”
I didn’t know how complicated that promise was about to become.
Chapter Five
Lana
Five hours later, Adam still hadn’t called. My stomach growled, reminding me I skipped lunch. Gnawing at a cuticle on my index finger, I stared at my silent cell phone. My rental car was still at the diner, and the guys in the gray jump suits could be anywhere. Maybe I could order room service.
Or I could get a grip and figure out what was going on with me. Who were those guys and what was Nero? Nero couldn’t just be another mental asylum back east. It was something more sinister with gun toting, tattooed, trained teams, and somehow I had been connected since I was a baby. I clenched my fists. I couldn’t just hide out in my room waiting for
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