Valentino's Cowboy [Brac Village 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Lynn Hagen Page B

watched the two. His chest tightened as his daughter gave a little whimper and Ahm shushed her with a soft pat on her back.
    He gave his mate a tender smile when Ahm looked his way. “I’m going to step out for a while. Do you need anything?” He walked closer, placing a kiss on his daughter’s forehead before giving Ahm a kiss on the lips.
    These two meant the world to Bryce.
    “Ashayla needs some diapers,” Ahm answered. “And she is starting to teethe.”
    “No problem, my little love drop.”
    Ahm chuckled. Bryce would never tire of seeing that smile on Ahm’s face. His straight, white teeth and his beautiful smile always made his mate looked ten times sexier.
    “You’re going to talk to Abe, aren’t you?”
    Ahm knew him too well. “I can’t let this go unresolved. I really like Abe—even if I first thought you guys were too lenient with him—and Gavin is a hot mess.”
    Giving Ahm one more kiss, Bryce left his mate and daughter, heading outside and toward his truck. Bryce stopped midstride when he noticed someone standing by their car on the side of the road, watching the ranch.
    His bear growled when he saw binoculars in the son of a bitch’s hands. The Lakelands had been warned that Vampire Hunters had infiltrated Brac Village. Bryce wasn’t going to allow anyone to harm his family.
    They had a few resident vampires and Bryce would protect every single person on the ranch with his life. He raced down the driveway, going after the bastard. But the spy was quicker, getting into his car and driving away before Bryce could catch him or even get a good look at his plates.
    He stood there staring at the dust cloud the tires had kicked up in the speedy departure, angry that someone had taken a keen interest in the ranch—or more precisely, the people on the ranch.
    “What’s going on?” Olsen asked as he caught up with Bryce. “You were running like the devil was after you.”
    Even after the dust cloud settled, Bryce was staring off down the road. He might not have gotten the license plate number, but he would remember that car if he saw it again. “I’m pretty sure a Hunter was just watching the ranch.”
    Olsen looked just as unsettled as Bryce felt. There were a handful of humans who lived on the ranch, but most were nonhumans. He was going to have to let his pa know what he had seen.
    “Did you get a good look at his face?”
    Bryce shook his head. “As soon as he spotted me watching him, the bastard hauled ass.” He began to walk back toward his truck, knowing there was nothing he could do about it right now.
    “I’ll let pa know what happened,” Olsen offered as he headed toward the house. “Maybe we’ll have to go back to shifts of watching the place.”
    Bryce didn’t like that idea—although he knew Olsen was right. He hated that anyone threatened their way of living and wanted to catch the Hunter. It had to be a Hunter. Who else would be spying on them?
    Pushing the thought aside, Bryce left the ranch, heading toward the vet’s house so he could hopefully talk Abe and Valentino into forgiving Gavin. The small fey was a part of the family, whether he believed it or not. Every one of the Lakeland men was fond of Abe. Bryce liked hanging out with the guy.
    He couldn’t allow strife to come between Abe and the Lakelands. But Bryce had a feeling it wasn’t Abe he needed to convince. Valentino had become vicious when it came to Abe, and understandably so.
    But Dr. Prayze was also the only vet in town. If Bryce couldn’t find a way to repair this, he wasn’t sure what they would do as far as their animals.
    He also needed to remember diapers and a teething ring. Bryce smiled at the thought of Ahm and his daughter. If everything else fell apart, at least he knew he had the two people who meant the world to him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Abe walked down the row of cages, staring into each one. Working here shouldn’t be so bad. At least the animals were small. There were horses out back, but