Page 11 of Roughstock
“Don’t be too long.” I pecked him on the lips as I felt more of him slide into my panties. “I’m gonna take a quick shower.”
He kissed me again and watched from the base of the stairs as I walked up and inside. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw him walk across the green lawn to the barn closest to the house. We had four large barns, but the horses were housed closest to us, since they made us the most money.
Riding wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but being on the back of a horse with Trent in charge, guiding the huge animal to the creek on the property, feeling the warm sun on my shoulders, and experiencing calm and peace with him, overrode my lack of desire. Just being with Trent was enough most days, but I still worried about him.
Losing his dad, especially the way he did, had changed him. I knew what it was like to be without the parent who guided you through the important moments in life, and I worried about his anger. Nitro kept Trent calm, and most days, I saw Roughstock, the rough biker who ruled with an iron fist, more than Trent, the sweet young man who helped me become a woman. Some days, I missed that boy, but the man I had now was all I could ever ask for.
Walking inside the house, I heard Miley, my crazy cat, meow for me. I reached down and picked her up, cradling her calico body close to my chest as she purred and rubbed her head against me, showing me how much she loved me. She and Trent put up with each other, but they didn’t have any real love for each other.
She was a stray born on the ranch, and when I saw her, I fell in love.
“Did you eat?” I asked her as I moved into the kitchen to pour some food into her bowl.
Placing her onto the floor, I quickly poured her food and gave her a scratch on her head as she dug in. After grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I moved into the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. Our bedroom was at the end of the hallway, and it was the second master bedroom in the house.
Nitro’s bedroom was downstairs, and he’d had this room expanded with a bathroom so Trent and I had our own space. We’d packed up Nitro’s bedroom downstairs, but neither one of us wanted to live in his room, so we stayed upstairs.
I got undressed quickly and tossed my clothes into the laundry chute that sent everything to the basement before turning on the shower and climbing inside. The water was freezing as I turned the hot knob, needing the heat to warm me. Fall was winding down and winter was quickly approaching the Dakotas.
The bikes would soon get winterized and parked in one of the barns for the next few months, and we’d start using Trent’s pickup truck within the next few weeks, was my guess. I hated the cold weather, and the stupid cold of the Dakotas wasn’t forthe faint of heart. Literally, it snowed so much, and there were so few people and towns that the interstate got closed off for days at a time.
I let the warm water run down my hair and back as I thought about this weekend. I needed to get Granny’s groceries delivered, speak with the owner of Quincey’s, and get back before the snow began to fall and made travel nearly impossible. Deciding to leave Friday and spend the night with Granny to ensure I could get back in time on Saturday, I finished my shower and turned off the water.
Reaching out, I didn’t find my towel on the hook, and when I slid the curtain open to see if it had fallen, I screamed and covered myself with the shower curtain when I saw a message scrawled on the steamy bathroom mirror.
Stop digging before someone else gets buried.
I didn’t know who had left the message or when it was left, but something told me this was related to Nitro’s murder. My screams must’ve alerted Trent because the next thing I knew, the bathroom door was flying open and Trent stormed through with a gun pointed outward at the unknown enemy he came to save me from.
He made eye contact with me and then ran his eyes up and down my body, searching for injuries. Just as he went to step into the bathroom, he looked at the mirror and froze in his tracks. His expression turned hard as he faced me, and for the first time in all the years I’d known him, I felt his anger directed at me.
I snatched a towel from the shelf near the shower and wrapped it around myself before stepping out. Reaching his hand out to me, I saw the anger bleed out of his expressionas he tugged me closer to him while we stared at the ominous message.
“Who did this?” I asked as he kissed the top of my head and exhaled deeply.
“I don’t know, but until we find out who’d been inside our home, I don’t want you here alone.” I went to object, but he held his hand up, silencing me as he added, “I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but so was Pops, and look what happened. I . . . I can’t let that happen to you.”
I knew where his fear was coming from, so I nodded my agreement but secretly hated that he wanted to put a shadow on me. But if it meant he wouldn’t lose his shit and start killing people at random, then I’d accept his demand.
But he knew me, and I wouldn’t be caged for long. So, I needed to find out what made Nitro drive all the way up to Quincey’s or anything that could lead us to who killed him and why, or I feared Trent was going to lock me and the Royal Bastards down just to ensure our safety.
Chapter 7
Roughstock
Friday afternoon
Cheyenne was loading a box of canned vegetables from our garden that she’d put away for winter into her car, and I wanted to demand she stay by my side but knew that was unreasonable. She was going to see her Granny and she’d be home tomorrow, but since seeing that warning scribbled onto the mirror in our private bathroom the night before last, I’d felt like danger was lurking, waiting to take us all down.
And the message being in a place where she and I were alone pissed me off beyond anything reasonable.
Our home should’ve been safe, and after I made sure there wasn’t anyone in the house, I called Phantom, who sent four prospects to guard the house while I questioned every ranch hand on the property. They were all shocked and a little terrified as I yelled at them, thinking someone was lying to me.
“I swear, Trent,” my ranch manager started, “none of these boys would threaten Ms. Cheyenne or you. The house is off limits, and they all know it. Whoever did this must’ve sneaked onto the property while we were in the back field corralling the cattle. That’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
I thought about what he said and there was some truth to his statement. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I looked at each of the men as I gave them a warning. “This ranch is my home, and someone came into my home, into my private bedroom, and made a direct threat to me and my ol’ lady. I will not let that slide. If I think any of you are involved, Iswear, I will make the last minutes of your life a living hell.” I paused then added, “Until I find out who’s responsible, you are to work in teams and report directly to Carl or myself if anyone does anything outside of their normal jobs or if you see anyone you don’t know personally. I will not let anything happen to Cheyenne, so be on alert.”
I got nods and ‘yes, boss’ from the men before I took Carl to the side. We spoke quietly as I kept an eye on the men, looking to see if anyone seemed to be lying. No one set off any alarms, so I left the bunkhouse and spent the rest of the night holding Cheyenne tightly.
