Page 57 of Distress Signal
When had they left it?
Had anyone seen them?
And what the fuck did it mean?
Would I be seeing Lainey soon because she was still alive?
Or because she wasn’t?
I didn’t stop to consider what I was doing as I grabbed my phone and dialed Finn.
sixteen
. . .
FINN
“That’s it, girl,”I praised Zigzag as she and her owner looped around the paddock. If all went well, Zigzag would be leaving us today to head to her new home. I wanted to give her one final test to ensure she wouldn’t buck her owner.
So far, she was performing beautifully, a totally different horse than the one that had arrived here a few months ago.
Atop her back, the woman grinned and let out a joyouswhoop.
Damn, I loved my job.
My phone vibrated against my ass, and I pulled it out to see Reagan’s name on the screen.
“Reagan?” I asked in surprise when I answered. “Everything okay?”
Her voice shook as she said, “I found a note.”
That was it.
I found a note.
No further explanation was required to raise my hackles, adrenaline spiking my blood in preparation of taking on a yet unknown foe.
“What kind of note? Where?”
“On my car.”
She was likely in shock and unable to offer more than the most bare bones of sentences.
“Tell me where you are. I’m coming.”
“I-in front of the barber shop.”
“I’ll be right there. Don’t move.”
She mumbled incoherently before the line went dead.
Shouting at one of my ranch hands to take over with Zigzag, I raced for my truck, grateful I’d driven to the barn today, and peeled out.
I drove well over the speed limit, racing like hell to get to her.
She’d sounded so…scared. I’d do anything to take that fear away, to make it so she never had anything to be afraid of again.
Reaching town in record time, I miraculously found a parking spot only two spaces away from her monstrous SUV. Reagan was in the front seat, unmoving, eyes staring off into the distance, door hanging open.
