Page 34 of Beautiful Devil

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, sir,” one of my soldiers said from the darkness of the hallway.

“What is it?”

“Poachers. I thought you’d want to know.”

Fuck. This was the last goddamn thing I needed. “Where?”

“Near the sanctuary. Diego and several men are already on their way.”

They’d made it all the goddamn way to the sanctuary? Not a single person had ever made it more than a few hundred feet inside the property lines. “Are they detained?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And the goddamn animals?” I took several deep breaths.

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know.”

“When you come to me with an emergency, you need to be very clear about the details. Do you understand me?”

He seemed rattled then shook his head. “Yes, sir. It won’t happen again, sir.”

“Go. I’ll be right there.”

“Yes, sir.”

I quickly grabbed my jeans, throwing them on, yanking the same tee shirt into my hand before grabbing my boots, finishing dressing within seconds. It had been some time since I’d been forced to deal with assholes attempting to steal the livestock and other animals. After closing the door, I locked it. There was too much risk she would use this moment to try to regain control. I raced downstairs, immediately heading toward one of the bookshelves in my office. I felt under a shelf until I found the button leading to the location where I stored a good portion of my weapons and ammunition.

Then I grabbed my Ruger, waiting until the door slid open. I grabbed a semiautomatic rifle, slamming it on the small table then yanking boxes of ammunition down from one of the shelves. As I loaded both, pocketing two additional magazines, I couldn’t help but think the sudden appearance was damn coincidental. There wasn’t a single person in the area who didn’t know the farm was highly secured and protected. No one asked any questions, and few had ever tried to infiltrate the property.

Why the fuck now?

My anger swept into an entirely different level, my senses remaining prickled. I’d followed my instincts my entire life and had never been wrong. I raced out of the house, moving toward one of the four-wheel-drive trucks parked on the property. After jumping inside, placing the weapons on the passenger seat, I wasted no time started the engine, gunning it as soon as it turned over. The area the poachers had entered was rough terrain, the first accessible location after the tallest section of cliffs. While it was monitored, the dense forest and thorny underbrush also allowed the natural cover to provide an extra layer of security.

Or so I’d thought.

Unfortunately, just outside my property was a small unknown publicly accessible road, although other than my estate, there was only a single additional property on the route miles away. It was also not located on any map, which meant the sons of bitches had been told about its existence. That pissed me off as much as the fact they’d broken through the security system.

The sanctuary was only a mile from the house, which meant they’d made it through several check points without being noticed. That wasn’t acceptable.

I knew every inch of the property, including several shortcuts. As I made my way through the property, my anger only continued to rise. No one dared to fuck with my life and far too many people had been doing that as of late. I pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the truck as hard as it would go.

When I finally made it to the location where they’d been detained, I was seething. Five vehicles surrounded the three men, headlights pointed toward the assholes who’d been stripped of their clothing. It was amazing what could be found by what they were wearing. They were on their knees, their arms over their heads, Diego pacing the area. As soon as I jerked the truck to a stop, Diego headed in my direction. I yanked my weapon from the seat, sliding it behind my back into my waistband. The rifle wouldn’t be needed.

“How the fuck did they get in?” I barked as soon as he came without a hundred feet.

“The road. They managed to cut through the electric fence. Don’t ask me why the sensors didn’t go off.”

“Then they have a vehicle stashed somewhere. Find it. And you will figure out how they bypassed the goddamn sensors. That means they can go anywhere unchecked.”

Diego nodded. “Don’t worry. I already sent several of the men to hunt it down.”

I rubbed my jaw, darting another look in their direction. “The animals. Tell me about the animals.”

Diego’s face was pensive. “They’re fine. Santos stopped them before they had a chance to cross the lines, but one of them had a tranquilizer gun.”

Which meant they’d been planning on taking one or more.

After taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Why the hell didn’t the alarm sound?”

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