Page 12 of Ghost

“This should be fun,” Jack stated, walking toward church.

Declan followed us in, and we all sat around the table. He stood at the end of the table, opposite King’s chair. They stared at each other, neither saying a word while the silence lingered.

“Still mad?” Declan finally asked. He was pushing his luck. King would only hold back for so long. And we would have his back. Fucking badge be damned.

“Who’s on the gate?” King asked.

“Billy,” Declan said.

“Fucking prospects don’t fucking listen.”

“I told him to let him in,” Blade confessed.

The glare King sent him would make most men cower in fear.

“What are you gonna do, cousin?” Blade grinned.

“Fuck you.”

Yeah, that was another fucking trip. Turned out, Blade was also related to the fucking Mob. King’s long-lost daddy was Blade’s uncle. Making them cousins.

“What the fuck do you want?” King sneered.

“We need to talk.”

“So talk. You said this was official business. I called in the officers.” He swung his hand around the room, indicating we were all there.

The corner of Dec’s mouth curved up and he shook his head. We all respected the sheriff. He kept us out of trouble the best he could. But our loyalty was to King. The secrets Dec kept had no bearing on us, but King was our president. We were pissed at him in solidarity.

“We found a body yesterday on the Powell Ranch.”

King sat up straight and looked at me. “Find Winchester and tell him to get his ass in here.”

Before I could stand, Dec held up his hand, indicating for me to wait. “He doesn’t know anything about it. I told his brothers not to tell him anything until I talked to you.”

“What kind of body?” Gunner asked.

“Female. Looked to be mid-twenties. Brown hair, from what I could tell.”

“From what you could tell? What the hell does that mean?”

“It means, Colt, that a herd of cattle trampled her. Her face was unrecognizable, and the blood covering her masked her hair pretty well.”

“Why the fuck are you here, acting all secretive for a woman being in the wrong place at the wrong time?” King stood from his chair, ready to walk away.

“She was naked.”

King’s head snapped up and focused on the sheriff. He fell back into his chair. This was fucking serious. It was December in Nebraska. No one in their right mind would be traipsing over the plains butt ass naked.

“What do you know?”

“Unfortunately, nothing. I had my deputies walking in every direction from the body, looking for something that would give us an indication as to what happened to her or where she came from.”

“Are the Powells suspects?” Cash asked. This would affect Winchester.

“No. If they were involved, they would have just buried her. They have thousands of acres of land to choose from.”

“So, what do you need from us?”

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