Page 11 of Property of Stone
“Not without the big guy.” Ransom tipped his head toward the still empty seat.
Goddamn Ogre.
A second later, they heard the heavy thump of boots right before the six-foot-four, three-hundred-pound monster shouldered his way through the door to the meeting room. On his heels, like always, was his one-hundred-fifty-pound brindle Presa Canario, Thor.
With a bite force of over five hundred pounds per square inch, the fucking dog’s powerful jaws alone were deadly. So yeah, Ogre didn’t need any weapons other than himself and his canine sidekick.
The sergeant at arms never went anywhere without his four-legged beast. He had even added a sidecar onto his Harley for him.
“‘Bout fuckin’ time, asshole!” Stone yelled as Ogre lumbered around the table to his spot at Ransom’s left.
Ogre yanked out the chair and sank his weight into it, then he tipped his bearded chin down but lifted his dark, soulless eyes to stare across the table at Stone. “You say somethin’?”
Probably not the best idea to poke the grizzly bear. “Yeah, I was sayin’ how much I’ve missed you.” Stone puckered up and blew a kiss across the table.
Ogre rose from his seat, turned around, dropped his jeans to expose his ass, and pointed to one hairy bare cheek. “Kiss this, motherfucker.”
“Prefer not to get pink eye, fuck you very much.”
At the head of the table, Ransom howled with laughter and slammed his gavel down, then yelled, “Let’s get this shit over with.”
Best words Stone had heard since entering the room a half hour ago.
Chapter Two
It tooka while to find him, but Taryn’s determination finally paid off. It also helped that some of her past and current clients had connections with access to non-public records. It only took asking the right one. One who also didn’t ask fifty questions on why she needed the info.
Or lecture her on searching for “trouble.”
It was her opinion that day in the parking lot almost fourteen months ago, her savior had been nothing but “good trouble.”
According to the info, James Conrad lived in Dead Man’s Hollow. It was about an hour north of Harrisburg and only twenty minutes or so away from where she lived in Selinsgrove on the opposite side of the Susquehanna River.
Lifting her foot off the accelerator, she let her Honda Pilot slow enough so she could get a better view of her surroundings. She glanced at the map on her dashboard again. Was this right? The area seemed so remote, despite being only minutes from Sunbury.
“Make the next right onto Brush Valley Road,” George, her monotone GPS voice, instructed.
Well, if George was telling her to take a right…
She followed his guidance and a minute later was surprised to find herself deep in a thickly wooded area.
“In a quarter mile, make a left onto Whiskey Springs Road.”
“Okay, okay. But I’m not liking this.” She wouldn’t be surprised if the next road ended up being dirt.
Nobody was out here. At least she had cell phone coverage. It might not be strong but two bars was better than zero.
Her heart leapt into her throat.
Maybe thiswasa bad idea. But then again, so was marrying Victor.
She swore her life was one bad decision after another.
“Your destination is on your right,”George announced.
“Are you sure, George? It sure looks like an old school to me.” Maybe even an abandoned one.
Of course, George refused to answer her.
