Rick carefully stepped down from Trent’s beast of a truck and shielded his eyes from the midday sun. He smiled as a little hand waved high in the air from atop a red bike. “Hi, Wick!” Though excited, Kylie’s volume was only half as loud as usual. She kept one hand firmly on the handlebar as she waved the other. She’d grown a bit since he’d first met her at the beginning of summer. He hated to see it and imagined how Joe must feel facing the dueling emotions of pride and loss every day.

Damn, his weakness had gone far beyond the physical and into the emotional. Totally unacceptable.

I sound like a Hallmark card.

Finally free of the hospital’s confines, he needed to get his act together.

“Hurry up, old man! We’ve been waiting ages for you to get your lazy ass out of bed.” Rick turned from a smiling Kylie to find Pete Taylor standing on Trent’s front porch, smiling. Damn, but the kid was a brat.

He didn’t know what he’d do without him.

“Even fresh out of the hospital, I can still kick your ass, Pete. Worse yet? I issue your paycheck, boy. You might want to remember that.”

Pete’s smile might be bright, but Rick would have to be blind to miss the worry simmering in the eyes of Dark Horse’s youngest member. Guilt beat at him. He’d scared them all.

“Get in here. Kate’s cooked enough food for an army and it’s getting cold. You know she won’t let anyone eat until we’re all present.”

“Damn, Pete. Are you ever not hungry?” James Holloway opened the front door and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. “You start dropping hunger hints before your foot crosses the threshold. I’m going to tell Trent you have designs on his woman.” He wore his dark hair a little longer than he had when they’d been in the National Guard, but he still stood in the same arrogant stance.

“I have my own woman, thank you very much.” Pete poked a finger into Holloway’s chest. When the larger man glared, Pete took a big step back before continuing his goading. “Unlike you. Why is it women never stick around for more than a date or two with your ugly mug, James? Are you lacking in a certain department?”

Holloway took a step closer to Pete, dipping his head and glaring down until they were almost nose to nose. “The only thing I’m lacking is patience with smart-mouths.” Then he ruffled the younger man’s hair. He turned to watch Rick walk up the porch steps and the worry in his gaze contrasted sharply with his next words. “Get in here, Rick. We’re tired of waiting on your sorry ass to heal.”

“I didn’t expect to find you all waiting on me.” He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t expected to be on the receiving end of their anger. He’d done the one thing he’d always forbid them. He’d gone in alone and unprepared.

They had every reason to be pissed at him. Despite his words, he saw nothing but concern in his friend’s eyes. Holloway clapped him on the back and held the door open wide. “No one can resist one of Kate’s meals.” No truer words had ever been spoken. Trent’s angel was the total package. Gorgeous, softhearted, an excellent cook, and the woman had brains, too.

There was something far heavier, darker, in the air than a bunch of growling stomachs.

His crew was up to something. He’d bet his last dollar on it.

“Boss man! Have a seat.” Noah’s deep, yet quiet voice greeted him as he stepped into the cool, heavenly scented house. The big, russet haired male snatched a piece of ham from a platter Kate was loading in the open kitchen. She smacked Noah’s hand, and he bent to kiss her cheek. Noah crossed the large airy dining room to look Rick over, scanning him from head to toe as if searching for any remaining bullet holes. “About time you got back on your feet. I can babysit this crew of knuckleheads for only so long. That’s your job.”

Noah took his usual seat on the couch. Holloway and Pete followed Rick inside then, without a word, they took their usual seats at the table. A table not set with china for Kate’s meal, but a mission planning meeting. Trent’s TV had been relocated to its workplace on the table. Pete’s laptop sat waiting at the kid’s spot beside the head of the table, cables attached to the TV.

“Smells amazing, sweetheart. You’re spoiling the guys. They’ll never leave.” Rick turned at the sound of Trent’s voice coming from the kitchen. He’d followed them in the front door and headed straight for Kate, his world.

For the briefest moment, as he watched Trent gently tug Kate’s shiny brown ponytail, he thought he should be surprised at how hard and fast his friend had fallen for the former beauty queen. Their love shone bright, true and deep.

Then he remembered the faces that had left their imprint on his heart.

All it had taken was one fateful meeting with a long-legged, stubborn MacDonald woman and a raggedy little waif, and he’d been a goner. But emotion and sentiment had no room in his life, especially now.

“Boys, why don’t you fix your plates and eat while you work. Everything is ready. It’s not fancy, but it’ll fill you up.” At Kate’s call, the men all stood and headed for the kitchen. They grabbed plates and filled the air with appreciative moans and groans. As she watched the men load up with food, Kate’s warm smile held enough light to power his home for a month. Yet, her happiness at watching the men didn’t erase the concern softening her gaze when it circled back to him. “Rick? If you’re tired, I can fix a plate and bring it to you.”

“Thanks, sweetheart, but no. I’ll fix something after the hyenas finish. If I wade into the feeding frenzy, one of them might mistake my hand for food. Smells wonderful.”

She pulled away from Trent and came to him. Placing a soft hand on his cheek, she paused as if hedging her words. But her eyes never wavered. “You scared ten years off my life. Don’t you ever, ever do that again. We’re all in this together. We might be an odd family, but that’s what we are and always will be. Not co-workers. Not friends. Family.” On the word family a fierce light blazed to life deep in her eyes. Her soft voice strengthened. “And if you ever scare me like that again, so help me god, you will regret it. You understand me?” She watched, waiting for his answer. Though he might weigh nearly double what she did, he wouldn’t dare defy her.

His voice was a soft croak. “Yes, ma’am. Never again.”

“Good.” Just like that, the hardness left her. She leaned in, kissed his cheek, and hugged him tight. After a long, heavy moment she pulled back. Her head tilted just a tiny bit as if reading him. Coming to some sort of decision, she gave an almost imperceptible nod and turned her head. “Looks like the kitchen’s clear. Go fix a plate and take a seat. You don’t have me fooled. That leg has got to be killing you.”

Damn, but she slays me.

“Hurry up, old man. We’ve got work to do.” Pete called from the table.

Still shaken by Kate’s affectionate words, he did as he was told. He fixed a plate, grabbed a drink, and made his way back to the only remaining spot, his usual place. The head of the table sat vacant and waiting.

The only thing out of place? On the table in front of Trent sat a yellow legal pad and folders, all stacked neatly and waiting. The moment Rick sat, Trent tapped the pad and started the meeting. “Okay. You’ve rested long enough. We knew the moment you got your feet under you, you’d want every piece of intel. So, while you’ve been in the hospital, that’s been our second priority. First was your and Leigh’s safety. Frankly, that took a lot of manpower. But every spare minute we’ve had, we spent digging.”

Just like that, Rick’s brain fired up. Questions sparked to life, demanding answers. “What do you have?”

“Not me. We.” There was a hard edge to Trent’s tone, reminding Rick that they were all part of the same team and that included him. “We have updates on everyone involved in the mess at Addie’s and info on what happened at the warehouse.”

“You don’t know where Marcus is.”

“We don’t have shit on Marcus.”

Pete chimed in, full of guilt. “I kept at it until Crystal took my energy drinks away. After a thirty-eight-hour session at the keys, I didn’t know whether to cry or to curse her when she dumped the last two down the drain. I slept six hours and got right back at it. We really tried.”

Kate entered the room and leaned against Trent. He wrapped an arm around her waist and took her weight as if it were second nature. “Don’t you dare curse Crystal. You needed the sleep. Good info is worthless if you don’t have the focus to do it justice.”

“Nah. I know better. And I made up for my grouchiness when I woke up. We—”

“No details, Pete! We’re all glad Crystal’s happy, but please. No. Fucking. Details.” Holloway interrupted.

“Literally.” Trent coughed.

Noah rolled his eyes and spoke up from the couch. “I contacted a Fed I know and called in a favor. She did some discreet digging. As far as she can tell, they don’t have any leads on Marcus’s location either. Until a certain, recent explosion at the warehouse, they didn’t even have enough evidence to justify looking at him with any degree of scrutiny.”

Holloway spoke, his voice full of dry sarcasm. “So finding a mountain of H inside a burning charity facility finally gave them enough to get a warrant?”

Noah swallowed a bite of the monstrous ham sandwich he’d constructed of Kate’s offerings. “Apparently so. Now that they’ve finally amassed some evidence, they can’t find the snake.”

Rick slipped into his role as if it were a second skin. During his hospital stay he’d refused to ask for any updates and they hadn’t shared. He would have been blind not to notice the guards outside another room at the opposite end of the hallway, but though it went against everything that made him who he was, he’d never asked. And they’d never volunteered. “Okay. What do we know? Let’s start with Boyd.” A member of their old unit in the Army National Guard, he’d been nothing but a thorn in their side since he’d resurfaced in the midst of Kate’s trouble. When Cara Gregory, another member of their team, had returned to town, Boyd decided she’d make an easy target.

He’d been wrong.

Trent set his drink on the table and answered. “He’s still in Intensive Care under guard. His condition’s improved a little, but he’s not out of the woods yet. No one can get any info from him and even if he wakes, no one’s sure if they’ll be able to. Either way, he’s out of commission for a long damn time. I’ve talked with Bowie. He’s agreed to keep us in the loop as much as he can.”

“Rick, I haven’t decided which team Bowie’s on. He’s seems like a helpful guy, but I haven’t known him long enough to completely throw in with him yet.” Holloway’s opinion mirrored Rick’s. “He seems awfully helpful. Which is great, but I’m not so sure he doesn’t have an ulterior motive. It’s not necessarily bad, but I think there’s more to his good ole boy routine than he lets on.”

“Agreed. I’m willing to cautiously consider him an ally, but I stress the word caution. Not a single piece of intel is to be shared, and not one person beyond this room is to be trusted with this unless we all agree.” Far too much relied on their discretion, namely Leigh and Addie’s lives. He would allow nothing short of a worldwide apocalypse to risk that.

Rick moved on to the next headache. “Dale Hawkins?”

“He spent four days in the hospital before they released him. He’s lawyered up and isn’t talking. We can’t get within a mile of him. The state understandably won’t budge if it thinks anything has the slightest chance at jeopardizing its case against Dale.”

“Jimmy?” Without question, the Potter County Sheriff’s cousin was the weakest link.

“He had surgery to remove a bullet fragment from his shoulder and they released him to state police custody the next day. He thinks he can cut a deal and he’s singing like a bird, but unfortunately he’s a complete idiot. It’s hard to sift the truth from the bullshit. Both Dale and Marcus had to be aware that he’s not the sharpest tack in the box. Add that to his habit of sampling any and every illegal substance to cross his path over the years, it’s doubtful that they gave him any useful info.”

Holloway shook his head. “Junkies don’t make the best co-conspirators. If he gives them everything now, he won’t have anything to bargain with. Moron.”

Trent finished with his final update. “So the DEA is dismantling Sutton’s so-called charity. It’s looking like they used the shipments of used medical equipment for opium and heroin smuggling. They refurbished second and third-hand equipment then sent it over to impoverished areas in Afghanistan, which as we witnessed firsthand eight years ago, there are no shortage of. Sutton is a smooth talker. In no time, they developed a relationship with area clinics. There’s still a lot of speculation, but those clinics may have in turn been used to contact the opium growers in lowest income areas in Afghanistan.”

Pete spoke up, his eyes unusually grim. “Only a shit-stain like Sutton can find so many ways to take advantage of those already in a sad situation. I can’t wait until we nail his ass.” For all of his exuberance, Pete’s heart was just as soft as Kate’s. He’d married young, started a family a few short years later and never looked back. His wife and two daughters were his entire world. He might seem immature at times, but he was a family man above all else.

“Basically, we have nothing on the men.” Then he asked the questions that he both needed and dreaded the answer to. “What about Addie?”

Pete spoke up softly. “We can’t find her. I’ve left messages. I’ve tried tracking the GPS in her phone. I’ve run every imaginable computer search. She’s a ghost, boss.”

James spoke. “If she doesn’t have power to charge the phone, the messages won’t do any good. Neither will computer searches, if she’s lived virtually her entire life off the grid.”

“We’ve got an even bigger problem. From some of the things she said when Leigh spoke to her, I think she’s had contact with Sutton.”

Sharp, angry curses filled the room.

“If he has the slightest inkling that we’re looking for her, we won’t be the only ones on the hunt. If he discovers she’s important to us, he’ll do anything to find her before we do.”

“Fuck. Me.” Holloway cursed. “She’s just a kid. No one deserves to be in the center of this mess, but a little girl? Hell, no.”

Noah asked the obvious question. “So how do we find her?”

* * *

Rick watched the last of the cars pull out of the driveway and leaned against the porch rail.

The door behind him opened, and he knew without looking that Trent had followed him out. “I’m insisting that you and Leigh both stay here on the farm. You can stay here or up and the big house. I don’t care which, but at least until you’re in better shape, you’re staying here.” His friend’s words were quiet, but unyielding.

Rick wouldn’t fight him on this, at least not yet. He owed his closest friend peace of mind, if nothing else. For a time, at least, he’d give him that.

Plus, Trent was right. For now, Leigh was safer here. He just didn’t know how long he could keep her prisoner.

“You’re right. We’ll stay here, at least for now.”

“Are you two staying here or up with Sandy and Harlan?”

“She can choose where she wants to stay. Don’t make it sound like we’re a matched set. We’re not.”

“Are you sure about that? Even a dumb country boy can see the sparks flying when you two cross paths.”

“You’re anything but a dumb country boy. I hope you don’t think you’re fooling anyone with that act. And I’m certain. There’s nothing more than friendship and worry for Addie between us. Once Sutton is out of the picture and Addie is safe, we’ll go our separate ways.”

* * *

“Please tell me you have a mutt that needs to be bathed or something? Poop to be scooped? Litter boxes that need cleaned?” As Leigh walked beside her cousin in the dusk, she knew she sounded a little bit looney. They’d walked down to the foaling barn to visit with Kate’s horse, Bonnie. Having given the men ample time to do their thing, they headed back to Trent’s.

Okay, so maybe I sound totally crazy. “I’m going to die of boredom. I understand all the reasons for the safety precautions, but I can only read so many books, especially when I have visions of the files on my desk at work multiplying like bunnies. Seriously, they’re haunting my sleep at night.”

“Leigh! Shush. I’ve never seen you like this. Take a deep breath and calm down. We’ll figure something out.”

Leigh thought about her cousin’s words and did as Kate said. Purple light lay over the grassy horizon as they strolled across the field. Most of the time, everyone drove across the property instead of walking, simply for time’s sake. They’d opted to walk and enjoy the fresh air.

She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful prison.

Leigh had wanted to be there when Rick come home from the hospital but thought it best to give him some space. As his condition improved, his mood had deteriorated. She’d thought that getting out of bed would have helped his disposition. For some reason she hadn’t yet figured out, it hadn’t.

Feeling like she was only making things worse, she’d spoken with Trent about leaving the hospital. He’d agreed to a point. The only way he’d allow—yes, allow—her to leave was if she promised to stay on Walker Farms. As much as it had irritated her to do so, she’d agreed. She’d caused enough trouble. The last thing she wanted to do was add to Dark Horse’s burden.

It had been a little over a week since she’d been able to come and go as she pleased, longer if she counted the short time she’d stayed there leading up to her kidnapping. Hers or any of their situations could be so much worse. She needed to remember that. She was safe. Rick had seen to it. He could have easily died from his injury. Boyd had held a gun to Cara’s head and, although she hadn’t known the former member of their unit like they obviously did, Leigh suspected he hadn’t been playing around.

She needed to count her blessings and be patient. So even though she’d love nothing more than to find Rick and ask him a dozen questions, she forced herself to behave. And that had never been her strongest trait.

They came up behind Trent’s home and around the side when they heard male voices. “There’s nothing more than friendship and worry for Addie between us. Once Sutton is out of the picture and Addie is found safe, we’ll go our separate ways.” Rick’s words punched a hole in her belly. Surely he didn’t mean them? But there had been something heavy and final in his words that put a hollow ache beneath her ribs.

Breathless, she stopped in her tracks just before they rounded the corner and put her arm out to stop Kate.

She heard Trent’s voice next. “You never did make a good liar. Damn good thing you don’t do it often. Everyone has watched you two dance around each other all summer.”

Rick’s next words were flat, lifeless. “We don’t have a relationship.”

“Then you’re an idiot and a liar. If Leigh is half the woman Kate is, and I suspect those two have more in common than either of us can even begin to imagine, any man would thank his lucky stars to have a MacDonald woman give him the time of day. And you know it. I’m not going to stand by and watch my closest friend make the biggest mistake of his life. What gives?”

Rick paused a long time before answering. “I don’t have anything to offer her. Hooking up with me would cause her more harm than good, ten times over.” Kate made a move as if she considered stepping forward and speaking up. Leigh gave her cousin a death glare that could be seen even in the growing darkness. Kate’s face fell and she stopped, resigned to their fate as Rick continued. “I’m a loner, an asshole, and am starting a business which will require me to walk into danger frequently. She may be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but I would be a complete and utter bastard to tie her to me, to drag her into that kind of life. Every time she speaks, it’s like an angel squeezes my heart. I won’t ruin her life.”

Leigh stared at Kate, holding her breath. Utterly clueless, he’d shredded her heart. She closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight of the one person she trusted with her most precious secrets.

Rick continued, swiping a few more slashes into her soul. “I don’t know that I have ever met anyone that selfless and focused on helping others. With that gigantic heart of hers, she would willingly walk beside me into danger on a daily basis. I won’t have it. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she and Addie are safe and permanently together, but I won’t be a part of that picture, even if it kills me.”

A moment later the front door opened and closed. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which of the men left his friend and the conversation alone in the night.

Shock. Anger. Amazement. A mass of emotions slammed home, fueling her with fierce resolve. She turned, finding Kate’s worried gaze.

Her sweet cousin needn’t have wasted her energy on worry. Up until the day she left for college, everyone in Riley Creek had said she was hell on wheels. Mouth of the South. One of her high school teachers had outright despaired over her “blatant sass. Young ladies should be gentle, well behaved and mannered.” Mrs. Collier had warned Leigh that she’d never get anywhere in life.

She’d taken it as a challenge, determined to prove everyone wrong, going to college, getting her degree and working two jobs to keep her debt as low as possible because she’d hadn’t had the grades for a scholarship. She’d just barely met the university’s acceptance criteria but she hadn’t let that stop her. She’d fought for what she wanted. Her success was all the more precious for that struggle.

Did I lose myself somewhere along the way?

Something inside her warned that she was in for the fight of her life. It was past time to unleash the real Leigh Ann MacDonald. Feeling waves of unconditional support, she faced her cousin and grinned.

In return, Kate beamed a cream-eating kitten smile, the likes of which Leigh hadn’t seen since high school. They’d schemed, locking Sally Jo Carter and her crush, Sam Williams in an empty classroom after school. Not only had they succeeded in matching the pretty, quiet bookworm with the high school quarterback, the unlikely couple was still happily married to this day.

MacDonald women didn’t know the meaning of the word quit. Rick Evans didn’t have a clue what kind of trouble he’d just brought down on his own head.

“What are you going to do?” Kate whispered.

“What is it they do when they plan a mission? Observe, gather intel, and then plan their assault? I think I can handle that.”

Kate raised her arm and did a fist pump. The excitement in her eyes contrasted with her whispers. “Oh, man. Rick is so screwed. I can’t wait.”