answering her phone and she’s not at the house or clinic.” Jesus Christ. What in the hell had happened to her? I would kill anyone who laid their hands on her.
He gave me a harsh look. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
“Nope, but I’m also not going to allow her to be placed in the middle of this shit either.”
“Maybe you need to figure out whether or not that girl is a part of this.”
Huffing, I climbed into the truck, curtailing another round of anger. “You don’t know her, Hawk.”
“And neither do you. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I’m not certain I know you.”
Stunned, Hawk took a step backwards before inhaling. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I can tell you know more than you’re telling me. Is this about Drake somehow?”
“Drake?” He seemed genuinely surprised. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Maybe you should ask Tanner about some incident and the reason he warned me about some jerk at the auction.”
Hawk exhaled, inching closer. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh. I thought we were partners.”
“Yeah? Well, I thought so too. You pissed at me for something? Do you need to get some shit off your chest, Mustang, cause you’re been acting real funny for the past couple weeks,” Hawk asked, his tone demanding.
I hesitated, hating my impetuousness, the gnawing remaining in my gut. “I gotta go.”
“Wait a minute. I’ll go with you. You need backup.”
“I can handle this by myself, Hawk.” I slammed the door, starting the engine and flooring it in reverse.
Hawk glared after me, shaking his head and holding out his arms. While he didn’t deserve my wrath, he was right that I needed to say a few things when the time was right. What in the hell was going on?
I felt sick as I roared out of the ranch, ice crunching beneath the tires. Maybe her phone died. Maybe she took a walk.
What the hell was I thinking. Something had happened to her.
I slammed my hand on the steering wheel, the force enough I skidded slightly. “Goddamn it, Danni. What aren’t you telling me?”
As I headed toward the clinic through the now blinding snow, I tried her a second time, leaving a message. “Danni. You need to give me a call. Now.” I tossed the phone, the adrenaline rush almost instantly giving me a headache. If anything happened to her, I wasn’t certain exactly what I would do. I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone.
The darkness was oppressive, the drive longer than I’d remembered. As I rounded the corner, it was even difficult to find the gravel driveway, yet as soon as I did and even through the overhanging forest of trees, I was able to see the house was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Only the lights weren’t coming from inside.
I floored it, screeching to a halt and immediately grabbing my gun. There were a solid six trucks parked in front of Danni’s house, every one of the license plates blocked off by some kind of substance. All six had their headlights pointed in the direction of her house.
“What the fuck is going on?” I snarled as I approached, hissing as I noticed they were all wearing masks. The fucking cowards. I stormed closer, checking for weapons. They all had souped-up trucks and even in the limited lighting, I could see evidence that at least a couple of them had worked on a ranch given the equipment. However, on this night, they were nothing more than hired guns, although at this point, I didn’t see any evidence of a gun.
Danni stood on the front porch, one hand trying to control Zorro as he snapped and growled, doing his best to jerk out of her hold. The other was wrapped around a gun. What the hell did she think she was doing?
“I can handle this,” she barked, not a quaver in her voice.
“Like the lady said, you need to get the hell out of here,” one of the assholes shouted.
I walked closer, the weapon firmly planted in both hands. “My suggestion is that you get in your trucks and get out of here before things get ugly. If you leave right now, I won’t call the sheriff.”
All six of the jerks laughed, two moving outside their tightly knit circle, as if they were going to attack me. They had another think coming.
“Get back inside the house, Danni. Do it now,” I commanded, taking several careful steps to the side. While I