Page 33 of Crew

“He’s obviously escalating,” Dexter said, rubbing his chin. “He went from just messing with the herd’s farming operation to outright trying to harm Zara in particular. Anyone could have gotten hurt in the pitfall traps, but she was the one who’d been foraging along the fence the day before, so it stands to reason that she was a target.”

“I agree,” Crew said, still fuming internally. “And that means he’s still lurking and attempting to cause problems. If his plan is to take over the herd, then targeting Zara makes sense because it would directly affect me, but I wonder if they just wanted to hurt her. We didn’t see any evidence of her being watched at the time when we got to her.”

“True,” Khyle said, “but maybe they booked it when they heard you guys coming. If the point was to snatch someone, Zara was a good target because they could use her to get to you. The question is if Colton just wants to hurt Zara for leaving his herd or if he’s got more nefarious plans.”

“Such as?” Avi asked.

Khyle gave Crew a long, quiet look. Then he said, “Taking out the herd so he can take over. They’re displaced and need somewhere safe. Didn’t you say they were acting weird about going to see the areas you suggested they could set up a new home?”

Grey nodded. “They just seemed to go along with it, as if they weren’t interested in actually finding a home.”

Crew’s gut churned. It was one thing for him to be targeted as alpha, but if Colton was actually planning to take out the whole herd? That was an animal of an entirely different color. It meant no one was safe.

“I need two of you to stay here with our females and keep an eye on the buildings and livestock. I need two of you to go get more security systems, wireless ones that we can link up to the new system here, and someone can go with me to scout the territory where the traps were set.”

Grey agreed to go with Crew, Khyle and Dexter went to get the security items because Khyle knew someone at one of the tech stores who could lead them in the right direction, and Ford and Avi were going to hang at the house and keep everyone safe.

Crew stopped in to check on Zara, who had her bandaged foot up on a pillow on the coffee table in the family room. She appeared to be asleep, her chest rising and falling and her lashes casting shadows on her cheeks.

“We should get some walkie-talkies,” Tris whispered. “Like they use at the park for the security team. Then you won’t have to worry about anyone being out in the territory where there’s a dead spot for cell service.”

“Good idea,” he whispered. “I’ll text Khyle and have him get some.”

She nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on her. Doc Paula gave her some tea to drink that she said would help her rest. Zara said that stallion females don’t heal as fast as males because they can’t shift and accelerate it, but that her healing is faster than a human’s, so hopefully by tomorrow she’ll be back to normal.”

Crew nodded. “Thanks, Tris.”

“You bet. Be safe out there.”

Crew caught up to Grey after sending a text to Khyle to get enough walkies for everyone in the herd to have one at the same time if needed, and then the two males headed out to scout the territory and do a grid search. With only two of them, it wasn’t going to be a fast job, and they had a lot of territory to cover, but it was necessary.

He and Grey walked a few feet apart into the woods, watching for any evidence of Colton or his males. After a half hour, they discovered a trampled section of grass that was fifty feet into the trees, directly across from one of the pitfall traps. From where the grass was trampled, he could see the split-rail fence, but the trees were thick enough that a male could easily hide behind one.

“You can knock that off,” Grey said.

“What?”

“You look guilty. This isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have anticipated that Colton would make a move like this or that Zara would get hurt.”

“I can’t help it,” he confessed. “She not only got hurt, but she could have gotten snatched. It’s a miracle that one of Colton’s herd wasn’t watching at the exact time she was out there, otherwise they might have taken her when she was injured and alone.”

Grey put his hand on his shoulder. “Be thankful she’s okay and let go of the guilt. You’re not psychic. We all thought he was just fucking with us before he took off for good when he messed with the barn. This took all of us by surprise.”

Crew looked around the woods and then looked at his watch. He’d been gone almost two hours, and after the scare of Zara’s injury, his stallion wanted to see her to make sure she was okay.

“Let’s finish the perimeter sweep, and then I’ve got a job for you,” Crew said.

“Whatever you need,” Grey said.

“You’re the best tracker I know. I want you to find Colton’s group and get whatever intel you can—movements, potential plans, anything. Then report back to the farmhouse.”

“You got it.”

“Are you okay going alone or do you want me to send Ford or Avi to you?”

“I’m better on my own, less obvious. Besides,” Grey said, cracking his knuckles, “they’d just slow me down.”

“Be careful,” he said.

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