Page 71 of Love Me Back
I turned to my uncle. “Yes?”
“It seems as though the hospitality here in Nebraska is not as warm as I expected it to be.”
“What did you expect?”
“I expectedmisobrinato foster some goodwill.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at my uncle. Did he honestly just say that to me? “I told you when I left, I wanted nothing to do with your business.”
“I am not asking you to be involved.” Uncle Mando took a deep breath. It was a sign that he was on the verge of losing his temper. “The underworld is not a simple place to live. It is an even harder place to leave. King may not run his club the way Steele does, but he is still very much a part of the underworld. Whether he wants to be or not. He may not want to admit it, but he will need powerful allies on his side very soon. I am a powerful ally. Make sure he understands that.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I will protect my family at any cost,sobrina. That includes you. He does not want me on the wrong side of the war he created.”
My uncle walked away to join my father, who stood talking to Matlock, the club’s lawyer. No doubt getting some free legal advice. Though I wasn’t sure how that would help him in Mexico.
I thought about what he said. He wasn’t wrong. Uncle Mandowas powerful, and King would benefit from having him as an ally. I waited for Grayson and the others to come back outside before I approached King.
“Can I speak to you?”
“I will not change my mind, Jessie,” King said, folding his arms over his chest.
“Take a walk with me and hear me out?”
King nodded, and I led him to the barn that held Thunder’s stall. We walked down the large aisle between the mostly empty stalls until I came to the one I was looking for.
“Every morning, Emerson comes outside before anyone else is awake. He feeds the horses and opens all the pens to let the horses out. Except one.”
I clicked my tongue, and Thunder appeared in the open gate that led to the paddock. He walked to me slowly, warily watching King until he was close enough for me to touch him.
“This is Thunder. He is Grayson’s horse.”
“The one that was stolen.”
It wasn’t a question. Tyson kept King in the loop about everything that happened on the ranch. He probably told him as soon as they knew Garcia was coming, even before they knew he was my uncle.
“Addie has to come out after all the other horses are in the fields and open his gate, letting him into the paddock. Once he goes outside, she steps into his stall and gives him food and then leaves. He tolerates her because Grayson can’t feed him right now. But even she can’t touch him.”
I rubbed my hands up and down Thunder’s neck. Pulling a couple of carrots from my pocket, I held my hand out, and he took them.
“Thunder is temperamental. Everyone on the ranch thinks he’s a demon horse. Grayson is the only one he doesn’t hate.”
“He seems to like you well enough.”
I smiled as I looked at King. “Trial by fire.” I stepped back and opened the stall door, stepping inside and moving to his feed bag. I pulled a handful of grain and held it out. King watched asThunder ate it from my hand.
“I fed him this morning.” Thunder nuzzled his head against me as a thank you. I leaned on the stall door, Thunder at my back. “Walk to the door.”
“What?”
“Walk toward me,” I said. I needed him to understand, and an object lesson was the best way to accomplish my goal.
King started toward me, and Thunder snorted. The closer he got, the louder Thunder became, until he nudged me away from the door and kicked it.
King jumped back, and I placed a hand on Thunder’s back. I waited until he was calm and then I stepped out of the stall, making sure the door was latched tight.
“Yesterday, Hudson told us they found Thunder, but he was on a part of the ranch that could only be accessed by walking in on your own two feet, or horseback. Grayson isn’t able to do either yet.”
I looked at Thunder over my shoulder, amazed at my lack of fear with the beast.
“I had been walking down here every day and talking with the horse. Neither of us wanted to get close to the other, but we came to an understanding. I rode my first horse yesterday behind Hudson as we went looking for Thunder.
