Dodge hunkered down behind a triple-wide fence post at the farthest point from Mags's house. The temperature had certainly risen ten degrees or more and he'd begun sweating. Tapping the ear piece, he called out to his team. "I'm in place."

His earpiece cracked once and Jax's voice sounded. "I'm in place, too."

The mower Josh was on came close to his location, but Josh turned and headed back toward the house, keeping his mow lines straight. Dodge could see him and watched as he acted as if he was scratching his head. "There was activity in the barn about an hour ago, but that has since died off. A blue pickup pulled away from there but I couldn't see inside."

Tapping his earpiece, he replied. "Roger. I'll check it out."

Another crack before Ford added, "I could see them loading a couple of crates and strangely a suitcase into the back of the truck."

"Roger." He replied. Easing his way back down the path he'd come up, he turned east and toward the barn. The weeds outside the fence were tall enough that he had coverage as he crawled along the ground. The dust he managed to disturb and the bugs whose resting spots he interrupted flurried around his face and ears. Damn it, he hated that the most.

The fragrance of the fresh-mowed grass wafted over to him and he inhaled deeply. That was an amazing smell. It reminded him of being a boy, playing in the yard with his friends on a hot summer day back home. He was a southern boy, born and raised. Then he joined the Army and lived everywhere in a short amount of time. Deployed to Bosnia and Indonesia. He'd lost his accent. Mostly because he hated being teased about it, so he consciously learned to speak without one. Then he'd gone back, close to home in Alabama and dove into the police work. But, he vowed to keep his accent at bay.

Stopping every few feet to listen for anything unusual and certainly for snakes. He hated snakes. With a passion. He continued on his crawl til he was directly across from the barn. The fence could certainly be breached, it was mostly there to give the impression of being impenetrable, the issue was that there was more than forty yards from the fence to the barn and it was all mowed and cleared.

Tapping his earpiece he asked to anyone listening. "Any ideas how to get into the barn from the field undetected?"

Josh responded. "Go to the far east side of the barn and wait. I have a full bag of grass to dump on that side and to do that, we have to open the gate, drive the mowers out, dump the clippings on the trailer and then drive back in. Don't ask why, it's a stupid rule of hers. But, in the meantime, the trailer will block your path and the mower will hide your entry into the barn. There are two guards walking the wrap-around porch watching us all the time, so I won't be able to dally."

"Roger."

Continuing around to the far east of the barn he spied the work truck that read, Delgado Lawn Service with the trailer attached to it parked just outside of the gate. He couldn't see the house from here, with the barn in the way. Looking up and around he spotted electronics hanging from the soffit of the barn at each corner.

Asking into his wire, “I thought there wasn't a security system in place? I see cameras or electronics hanging from the barn."

Ford responded. "They're fake. The lawn manager shared that with us on the sly."

Dodge inched as close as he dared to the edge of the field and Josh added, "But, those guards on the porch have a vantage point and can see easily down the hill so keep your head low. They are most interested in the barn."

Faint rustling caught his attention from behind and he swung his head around to see Jax, crawling toward him. What actually caught his attention was Jax's cleavage, which showed beautifully as she crawled toward him, her white tank top hanging low. Her side to side movements made her breasts sway and he swallowed the lump in his throat. He needed to go bang some piece of ass in town and soon, his carnal thoughts continued in Jax's direction and that couldn't happen.

"Eyes up here, buddy." She said when she looked up at him.

He turned toward the barn and she inched up alongside him. In the heat her scent magnified and dammit she smelled good. Almost musk and cinnamon mixed. Fuck.

"Don't wear low cut tanks if you don't want men looking."

She clucked her tongue but said nothing in response. "You men are so fucking easy. It's a wonder any of you ever get out of a situation alive. All it takes is a tit or an ass and you're all mesmerized."

His earpiece cracked. "On my way to the truck now, get in position." Josh called out.

Raising himself up on his haunches, he readied himself to run and Jax did the same. "What do you think you're doing?"

Her voice lowered, "Going in to investigate the barn. It's a big building and we don't have a lot of time. Seems all activity out here is centered on this place."

He heaved out a breath, "Jax..."

"Nope - stop second-guessing me. Stop trying to argue. Just stop."

He muttered, "Jesus."

Jax sighed and it irritated him this time.

The sound of the mower grew louder. Josh appeared at the gate, opened it up, and slowly drove the mower to the trailer just outside of the gate. Entering through the gate he jumped on the mower and drove it to the trailer. He quickly tapped his comm and said, "As soon as I finish dumping the clippings, I'll drive back into the gate and that would be the time to hunker down alongside and run into the barn."

Josh dumped his clippings into a neat pile on the trailer, which was an impressive rig. Large to minimize the time it took to mow her five acres, the large bagging attachment on the back of the mower would indeed hide them as they ran to the barn. Getting into place along the mower as Josh finished with the clippings he locked eyes with Josh. A slight nod from his teammate was the only acknowledgement he got. It was all he needed.

Josh hopped back on the mower and Dodge ran alongside until the point he and Jax could slip in behind the barn. Edging their way along the backside he found a door and pulled it open just enough to slip inside. Jax pulled the door closed behind her and he stood still until his eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

The smell of hay filled his nostrils and soft shuffling could be heard on the far side. Listening further the sounds of hooves tapping the ground eased his tension and he let out a long-held breath. Inching along the wall he neared the center of the barn where he could see support beams holding up the mow floor every few yards or so. Easing to one, he pushed his back to it and peered around. Jax lay her hand on his shoulder and squeezed once before inching past him and to the next post. With hand signals he motioned to the far side of the barn and pointed to himself. She nodded and disappeared into the darkness on the other side. Taking in another deep breath he wrestled with letting her go alone. It was against everything he was trained to do as a child. "Men are on earth to help protect women, son." He could still hear his father's voice telling him that.

Giving his head a slight shake he entered the darkness on his side of the barn, thankful for the light that seeped in between the boards on the barn every few feet. A door opened a few feet from him and he could see a well-lit area behind it with what looked like horse stalls. Two men could be heard talking and shovels scraping the floor drown them out. Pressing his back against the nearest beam he waited until one man grabbed a bale of straw, and went back into the lit area.

As soon as the door closed he made progress toward that doorway to hopefully slip inside.

His earpiece cracked once and Wyatt said, “I'm in place at the far west of the property.”

Ford responded to him, "Dodge and Jax are inside the barn investigating now, edge closer to the barn in case they need help."

"Roger." Wyatt responded and he hoped like hell that sound didn't leech out of his earpiece so anyone in the barn could hear.

The door opened again and Dodge pressed his back against a beam. This time he could see the same man exit the room, he wore a blue denim long sleeved shirt, cowboy boots that tapped along the concrete floor, and jeans. He had a brown cowboy hat perched on his head which almost made Dodge chuckle. The man wasn't more than five foot four inches tall or so. He looked like a tiny cowboy. The cowboy grabbed another bale of straw and twisted to go back to the room. His eyes landed on Dodge and he held his breath. Slowly the man set his straw on the ground and inched his way toward Dodge. Two steps toward Dodge the man yelled and reached around his back and quickly pulled a gun. Dodge pulled his gun from his pocket and shot. The man fell back into the straw, but the noise raised a ruckus in the stable area and the door burst open. Three men poured out of the stable door, yelling in Spanish. Dodge turned to the door and leveled his gun on the first man of the three out. Heart hammering, sweat running down his back, he hated having to shoot people. But, it was fight or die and that man pulled on him. Now he stood eye to eye with three men. One in the back, slowly reached behind him and he knew what that meant. The glint of metal as it lifted through the light shaft between the barn boards caught his attention and he yelled, "Freeze."

Luckily the man did as he was told, but the first man out said something to the other two and the second man's lips turned into a sickening smile. The first man yelled, "Disparar." His Spanish was limited but he knew that one and it meant shoot.

Gun fire rang out and a burning sensation ripped through his left shoulder but he continued to shoot and duck behind the support beam he was so very grateful for. The three men lay on the ground a few feet away from the short man, but he only remembered shooting that one.

Jax came running to his side, "We've got to get out of here, the guards will be coming." He stood to move and the room spun around. Grabbing Jax for support she swung her head to look at him then spit out, "Fuck."

Tucking herself under his right arm she helped him from the middle of the barn to the backdoor where they'd come in. Stopping for a split second she tapped her ear comm. "Wyatt, I need help, Dodge has been shot."

"I heard the gunshots. I'm at the backdoor."

Light shown into the barn as the backdoor opened and he struggled to keep up with Jax as she practically dragged him from the barn.

"Fuck buddy, what the hell?" Wyatt grabbed him by the front of the shirt and Jax quickly ducked under his arm as Wyatt took over from there. The fresh air helped him regain his equilibrium and he snapped out of his haze.

"Okay, I'm good. Needed air."

"Well, hang on, I'm not letting go." Running along the back of the barn their ear comms cracked and Ford yelled, "Get out now. Take the landscaping truck and go."

Wyatt practically threw him into the backseat and Jax climbed in behind him. Wyatt jumped into the driver's seat and took off. Bullets rained over the top of the truck, Jax lay across his chest and a bullet went through the back window, exiting the front passenger side of the windshield. Wyatt stepped on the gas and they flew down the driveway. Once he turned onto the road he yelled back to them, "Clear."