Page 76 of Kian

With a sigh, Kian lowered the hammer and tossed the gun aside. Reluctantly, he got down on his knees and placed his hands on his head.

“You do realize that I’m a livestock agent?” he said.

“So what? We knew you were the first time. The vest kind of gave it away,” replied the man with sarcasm.

“I’m law enforcement,” Kian stated calmly.

“I don’t care if you’re with the fucking FBI,” the man sneered. “No one will find you out here.”

Kian couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Someone found me the last time,” he pointed out, scanning the area for any signs of the other man.

“Yeah, well whoever found you last time won’t be so lucky this time,” said the other man approaching them from the right. Kian sighed as the other man joined them and stared at him in disbelief. “How in the hell did you survive?”

“Pure obstinance,” Kian replied.

“We knew you were following us. Do you think we’re stupid?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Kian said, then grunted as the man kicked him in the back, making him fall face forward onto the ground.

“You’re a real pain in the ass, Agent. We’re done dealing with you,” one of the men said as he pulled him back onto his knees.

Kian scanned the area wondering what he could possibly do when he spotted Gretchen sneaking toward them using the trees as cover. Thankfully, with the snow gone, she was harder to spot in her camouflage gear, but she shouldn’t be out here.

“So, what do we do with him this time, Barney?” the second man asked.

“There’s a cliff on the other side of the road,” Barney replied. “We’ll take him there and toss him off. I don’t want any bloodshed here. We can’t chance it that his body would be found if anyone came looking for him.”

“Alright,” the second man agreed. “Let’s get moving. Get up,” he ordered Kian, keeping his gun trained on him. “And move slowly.”

Kian stood up and glared at the man in front of him as they began to take him away. He still held onto hope that Gretchen would somehow intervene and rescue him from their clutches, but the thought scared him to death. He’d die if something happened to her.

“What did you do with all my stuff? Including my truck.”

“It’s all in a pile that we burned. Even the truck.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

The men laughed mockingly. “How many times have we heard that, Jerry?”

“Too many to count. Let me tie his hands first. If he makes any sudden movements, shoot him.”

“You can bet MDOL will know where to look this time. Why would you come back to the same damn place?”

“Good hunting here,” the man called Barney said with a laugh.

Kian felt the man, remove the weapon from behind his back. He heard the sound of it being put away, but he knew he couldn’t make a move. The other man was ready to shoot without hesitation.

“How many wolves have you killed?”

“We didn’t keep count. Do you know how much those pelts are worth to the right people?”

“And you couldn’t wait until hunting season?” Kian snapped.

“Nah, neither of us are allowed to hunt.”

“Why not?”

“Because we were caught spotlighting years ago. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

---