Page 23 of Where They Belong

“Brett was never a suspect,” Wes clarified, having the decency to look chagrined. “We’re just running the list so nothing is missed.”

“Process of elimination,” Levi added and smiled warmly.

“Right. Sorry.” Mason motioned for Wes to continue, but before he could, Mason asked, “Did you guys look for tire tracks or search for signs of intruders?”

“You have seventeen thousand acres, Mason,” Levi said with a glance around the table. “We don’t have that kind of manpower to search everywhere. There was too much disruption in the courtyard this morning to see if anything was out of the ordinary, unfortunately.”

Mason knew there was no way to cover the entire property, but there had to be some sort of sign or evidence as to who did this.

The meeting went on for another half hour while the brothers discussed Mason’s crew, the list of ranchers, outfitters, and other possible suspects, and who seemed most likely. Mason wasn’t sure they were any closer to figuring out who it could be than they were yesterday, but at least a few people werenoton the list anymore.

Finally, everyone packed up and headed out for the night, and the fatigue that had settled over Mason vanished. He and Colt were alone again. Mostly. Katie was home, but she’d retreated to her room.

Colt stood and came around the table. Mason’s heart kicked into high gear, anticipation spiking his pulse. Colt stopped in front of him, his gaze shooting to the kitchen—the site of their unexpected kiss—and back.

“What happened earlier. That can’t happen again,” Colt said with no emotion in his voice.

Mason’s heart bottomed out. Colt made a wide berth as he stepped around him and disappeared down the hall. The soft snick of his bedroom door closing resounded in Mason’s ears like a cannon boom.

Colt woke with a start. Disoriented and jittery, he stared up at the ceiling for a moment, taking deep breaths to slow his heartbeat and take stock of where the uneasy feeling was coming from.

Sunlight slivered through a gap in the curtains, and dust motes danced lazily before his eyes. His bedroom was unusually bright, and the silence of the house was too heavy to be occupied by anyone other than him.

“Dammit.” Colt jumped up from the bed.

He hadn’t slept well. Not after the intense kiss with Mason the night before. Knowing that Mason was just across the hall had haunted him deep into the night. He’d tossed and turned, and the morning birds had begun singing their first notes when he’d finally drifted off—falling asleep when he should have been waking up.

He should never have kissed Mason. Whatever had possessed him couldn’t happen again. No matter their history. No matter his old feelings resurfacing. No good could come from getting tangled up in Mason Hayes again. No matter how right that kiss had felt, how right Mason had felt in his arms. As much as he tried to deny it, the fire he’d felt for Mason when they were kids still burned. But that didn’t mean he had to add more fuel to it.

Jaw and heart set firm, he tugged on a pair of socks and jeans and grabbed a fresh shirt from the closet. He removed his Glock G19 from the bedside table drawer and nestled it into his shoulder holster before storming across the room. Mason’s door stood open, his room as still as the rest of the house. Masonknewbetter than to leave without him.

“Mason,” Colt called out, though he knew it was fruitless. Anger and fear rode side by side on his galloping pony of emotions. “You had better be inside this house.”

No Mason, no Katie, no dogs. Not even a note in the kitchen.

Colt jammed his feet into his boots while plopping his hat on his head and bolted out the front door. He would find Mason okay. He would be alive and sound, and then words were going to be had when he found the idiot. He clung to the anger like a lifeline to prevent the rising panic in his chest from taking over.

His boots crunched heavily on the gravel path beneath his feet and then thudded dully on the hard-packed dirt of the main yard. Tiny tornadoes of dust danced around his ankles as he walked with purpose toward the barns. A quick scan of the area told him all the vehicles were there, so Mason hadn’t driven anywhere. Birds sang merrily, a gentle gust of wind ruffled the leaves in the nearby trees, bison lowed in the distance, and the sounds of people at work drifted over his eardrums. Nothing looked or sounded or felt off. He’d have thought it was an average day on the ranch if not for the exception of a missing Mason.

Dion, one of the full-time rescue staff, stepped out of the medical barn with a large bucket in one hand. A blue bandana was tied around his neck, and the sleeves of his chambray shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing smooth dark skin and corded muscle.

He looked up at Colt’s approach and smiled a smile so incredibly infectious Colt normally couldn’t help but respond to it in kind. He liked Dion, but he had no time for friendly chatter right now, not with Mason missing.

“Morning, Colt,” Dion said, his voice light and friendly as always. Dimples bracketed his mouth.

“Have you seen Mason?” Colt cut to the point.

Dion tipped his hat up and wiped his forehead with the back of a gloved hand. “He went for a ride ’bout an hour ago.”

“Hewhat?”

Veryserious words were going to be had.

Dion regarded Colt for a few seconds and then carefully said, “He often goes for sunup rides. It’s tough running a rescue, you know. A lot of heartbreak in this business. Riding trails helps him rebalance so he can keep going.”

Colt bit back a curse and clenched his hands into fists. He understood why Mason needed time to decompress. Colt had seen the condition of the horses that had come in the same day as he and his brothers had arrived, and it had weighed heavy on his own heart. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with that on the regular. In his line of business, the capacity for cruelty humans possessed didn’t surprise him much anymore, but that didn’t lessen the effect it had on him. He, too, needed outlets to cleanse the ugly from his world and recenter.

But right now was not the time to be going out alone.

---