Page 46 of A Cowboy's Claim
Sydney was just about to park when a shot of anger pulsed up. Whoever the jerk was taking two parking spaces for their truck and not bothering to pull out of the road between the residence and the barn needed to get some lessons on?—
Shit. She slowed then stopped completely. That license plate was familiar. Or more, the odd way the license plate was not clearly visible at a glance was familiar.
Leaving her truck running, she slipped down to take a closer look. The plate was coated in mud and dust, even though the rest of the bumper was mostly clean.
The last time she’d seen plates like that was the night she’d come to dinner and the troublesome new guy had been there. The one Declan had to restrain, and who Jake had sent packing across the country using his police contacts.
An eerie calm flooded in, and the hours of sadness and tangled confusion disappeared in an instant.
This was what her brain did. Problem solved and saw the next thing to do. That truck was too damn familiar, and maybe she was wrong, but after the reminder from a few days ago, sometimes being overly cautious wasn’t a bad idea.
She walked back to the open door of her truck, keeping her step steady and her head up, just in case she was being watched. She reached and turned off the engine and left her vehicle blocking the truck in place.
One more casual stroll put her at the stranger’s passenger door which opened easily. She checked the glove compartment.
No registration, no insurance papers. Which was smart, because no one should keep them there.
She opened the console between the front seats and a gun glistened back at her.
A mental landslide of swear words hit as she took a quick glance around at the thankfully still empty yard. She grabbed the gun, held onto it tightly as far away from the trigger as possible, and left the vehicle, closing the door firmly behind her.
The rain barrel at the edge of the ranch house caught her attention. Inspired, she walked briskly to the far side of the house where a matching barrel sat. It only took a moment to lift the lid and toss the gun inside.
If that was a legally owned firearm, she’d pay to have it fixed, but considering they were in Alberta, and it was ahandgunthat was not properly secured?
She didn’t think it was likely.
While she was at the back side of the house, she took a quick peek in the windows, both relieved and afraid to discover no one in the kitchen or living room, or visible through the bedroom windows that she had to stand on her tiptoes to look into.
Mentally, she counted cars. Petra’s was there. Tansy’s loaner from her brother-in-law that she was borrowing since her SUV was toast was there, as well as Declan’s. Kevin was MIA, and she didn’t know the other two trucks, but they were probably ranch hands. They were parked in the right spot, out in front of the dorm doors.
No idea about Jinx, but she’d lay odds the girl was at the neighbours.
Sydney slowed her step and checked her phone. She made sure the sound was turned off then considered if it was worth the risk to text anyone. It could all be her imagination, but the need for caution still screamed in her head.
Hoofbeats sounded in the distance. She turned—and there he was, Declan charging in like a goddamn knight. He slowed, pointing imperiously for her to stay where she was.
He joined her at the corner of the house, dismounting and tucking himself and his horse as close to the back wall as possible. “We’ve got trouble,” he said softly.
“There’s no one in the house,” she told him quickly. “One strange truck in the yard that is clearly owned by an asshole. I found what I’m guessing is an unregistered handgun in the console that is now safely out of the picture.”
She looked up at him, waiting expectedly.
He dipped his head slowly. “Got a message from Petra there’s trouble in the barn, and we need to be careful. She only sent the warning signal word, so I think her phone isn’t on her anymore.”
“We can know quickly enough.” Sydney shook her phone in the air. “Your tracking program. Because I assume you also tagged Petra?”
His eyes brightened. “That’s brilliant. And of course I tagged everyone in the damn family. Got the app, may as well use it.”
The good part was that in under a minute they knew both Petra’s and Tansy’s phones were in the barn. The bad news was they were stacked so close together they were probably in a pile on the ground.
Declan considered. “One truck?” he asked. “Crew cab or single bench in the front?”
“Single.”
He checked the screen one more time then shoved his phone into his pocket. “I figure that means only two guys. Whatever they’re up to, it’s Tansy and Petra in there alone with them.”
“What about Logan and the two ranch hands you have?”
