Kit & Rogue (The Sons of Dusty Walker) (18 page)

They hopped in his truck and drove to the barns and the training grounds. Jack Alfred was waiting for them. As soon as he parked, they jumped out.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Alfred began. “Maybe I should move my trailer down here so I can keep watch at night.”

“What happened?” Kit asked, unable to wait for his explanation. “Was another horse taken?”

“Two, I’m afraid. The black gelding and…” he looked at Rogue. “They took the little one.”

Rogue cursed. “Fuck!” Why had he left Jester here? He should’ve taken him up to the house.

Kit grabbed his hand. “I’m so sorry.” Losing her animals was bad enough, but Jester was more than a horse. He was a member of Rogue’s family.

“We’ll get them back,” he vowed. “This has gone too far.” Walking up to Jack, he asked. “Have you checked the cameras?”

“Disabled, someone shot them out.” His voice was flat. Clearly, he felt responsible.

“I didn’t hear any gunshots last night. Did you?” Kit asked Rogue. “You know how sound carries out here in this flat land.”

“He might have had a silencer.” Rogue said thoughtfully, trying to make sense of it all.

Kit stood still, arms crossed over her chest. “What if this is all connected? Do you think Close is doing this?”

Rogue studied the ground. “It could be. This doesn’t seem to fit with everything else, but I don’t think Norman Close is playing with a full deck.”

They walked around the area, seeing about the other horses and looking for any clues the thief might have left.

“Look,” Kit came up to Rogue and laid her head on his shoulder. “I know you need to go into work. Why don’t you leave me here to spend some time with the horses and you go check in with Zane and see if he has anything new to tell you.”

“Jack, will you stay with her?” Rogue asked before he agreed to leave.

“I’ll stay with her, yes.” The older man said as he moved toward them. “I’m so sorry. I’ll sleep out here in a bedroll tonight if I have to.”

“This isn’t your fault. When a thief wants to steal something, most of the time they’ll find a way.”

After giving Kit a kiss, he took his leave and headed to town. He had to check in with his brothers today. Rogue still wasn’t ready to tell them all he was going through, a lifetime habit of being a private person, keeping his troubles to himself was hard to break. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, he just didn’t want them to think any worse of him than they already did. They were just now getting to know him, and he didn’t want to muddy the already troubled waters that lay between them.

He’d no more than driven off, before Elijah called. “Hey, buddy? Are congratulations in order?” Rogue asked, needing to hear some good news.

“She turned me down flat.” Elijah’s voice sounded defeated. “I guess she’d rather go to Mexico and face an uncertain future than share one with me.”

“Do you love her?” Rogue wanted his friend to be happy.

“Yes, I do. More than I ever thought possible to love a woman.”

“Did you tell her?” Rogue asked patiently.

Elijah paused for a long moment. “No…”

“I think I would try that if I were you. Lucia’s already been burned and she probably isn’t anxious to enter another relationship based on deceit. If she thinks you just feel sorry for her and are offering marriage so she can stay in the country, she probably turned you down thinking she was doing the best thing for you.”

“Dammit!” Elijah exhaled sharply. “You’re probably right. I don’t know what I was thinking, I guess I thought we’d get married and then I’d tell her. I fell for that woman the first time I laid eyes on her.”

“You’re putting the cart before the horse. Women need to feel valued.” His own thoughts turned to Kit and how she basked in the fact that he loved her. “Lucia probably wants to be more to you than a charity case.”

“Hell, you’re right. I gotta make this right. If she is sent away and I don’t know what’s going on with her, it’ll kill me.”

“Go for it, man. I’m headed into town to meet Zane and check on D. Walker. We’re just waiting on any kind of information that might tell us where to find Norman. I might have to fly home if they find him in his old stomping grounds.”

“Be careful, Rogue. The man’s a ghost, he seems to be everywhere.”

Rogue appreciated Elijah’s concern. “I’ll watch my back. You take care of that lady of yours and we’ll get together before you leave.”

“Sounds good.” Elijah laughed. “You know, you always make me feel better.”

“We’re partners, Bowman. I’ll always look out for you.”

Rogue had no idea how out of character he sounded, but Elijah noticed. “You’re changing, Rogue Walker. We’re going to have to start calling you by the nickname your mother gave you.” He snickered, knowing how Rogue hated the pet name.

“You call me Teddy Bear and we’ll come to blows.”

Elijah laughed. “I think it might be worth it.”

Rogue hung up while his friend was still having fun at his expense. As he pulled up in front of D. Walker, he could see his brothers had beat him there. He’d no more than made it through the front door before Killian confronted him. “What’s up with you? Everybody’s talking, saying you’re in some kind of trouble.”

This was exactly what Rogue didn’t want. “Nothing I can’t handle.” Walking past his brothers, he headed to his office. “Here’s all the information on the Wattenberg field, I recommend we pursue the deal full force.”

Jackson took the papers Rogue held out and glanced over them. “Damn, that’s a lot of money.”

“We’ll make a hundred times that amount or more if there is as much oil rich shale down there as I think there is.”

Dylan looked over Jackson’s shoulder. “I say let’s go for it. I trust Rogue’s instinct. After all, they say his dick is a dowsing rod for oil.”

Killian snickered. “I guess, for you, going into a Jiffy Lube is as good as a strip club.”

Rogue shot him the finger. “Smart-ass.” With hands on his hips, he surveyed his lookalike siblings. “But there’s oil there, I’d bet my life on it.”

“You don’t have to go that far,” Jackson drawled. “I know you’re a betting man, but your life is worth more than any amount of oil.”

“Thanks.” He relaxed a little. Since learning about Norman Close, he felt like he might be living on borrowed time. “I need to go out to meet my lawyer.”

“When are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Dylan asked.

“The holidays are coming. I hope by then, all of this shit is straightened out and I’ll tell you everything. Right now, I don’t want you to worry. Just keep this place afloat and I’ll do the best I can.”

“We’ve got you covered, Bro.” Killian assured him.

“Thanks.” He left them looking at the papers while he dealt with a few more things Abby had left on his desk.

Once he felt like he could break away, he phoned Zane to tell him he was coming. Heading out of D. Walker, he couldn’t help but notice how peaceful the streets of the small town looked. Some stores were decorated for Halloween, while some had jumped the gun and put up Christmas decorations already. People milled around, sharing friendly conversation. An uncharacteristic longing to be a part of all this washed over him. He shook his head. The pressure was getting to him.

When he arrived at Osprey House, Marliss met him with a cup of hot chocolate. “I can’t wait for my mother to meet you,” he told her.

“I would love to get to know Marian.” Marliss beamed. “That handsome lawyer is waiting for you. He’s been running around and yelling in his phone. I’m tempted to make him a cup of herbal tea.”

Rogue couldn’t picture Zane drinking tea, but if it helped calm their nerves he was all for it. “Make it two, just add a bit of Jack Daniels to mine.”

She laughed as he made his way through the house. “I’ll bring you all some refreshments soon.”

When Rogue found Zane, he was pacing and talking on the phone. “No one will admit to seeing him? Hell, he could be anywhere by now. Okay, thanks.”

“No luck locating Close?” He hadn’t really expected the man to be sitting around waiting on them.

“No, his next door neighbor says he hasn’t been home in a week. And to top it all off, my last appeal was turned down by immigration. Lucia is being sent home unless a miracle happens.”

Rogue sat down on the desk. “I didn’t used to believe in miracles, but I’m changing my mind. I found Kit, if that can happen, anything’s possible.”

Zane didn’t argue. “I’m with you, I’ve experienced my own miracles. Remember, I used to be blind and Presley and my baby certainly are gifts from above.”

“I’m just ready for some good news on this stalker shit.”

“Well, I can tell you that I’ve worked out the loans. You’re no longer liable for those.”

“That’s good.” He was just about to ask how Zane had managed to pull that off when his phone rang. It was Kit. “Excuse me, it’s my wife.”

Zane waved him away and Rogue walked into the next room. “Everything okay?”

“Yes! I got a phone call. Someone knows where our horses are! He said he’d show me if I came to his place.”

He loved to hear the happiness in her voice, but an alarm bell was going off in his mind. “What was this guy’s name?”

There was a pause on the other end. “I didn’t ask. I was too excited.”

“Why didn’t he just tell you the location or call the police?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t let this go. He gave me his address and I’m going to drive out and see what he has to say.” She sounded a bit exasperated that Rogue wasn’t as excited as she was.

“I understand, but you aren’t going alone. You sit tight and I’ll pick you up. I’m at Osprey House with Zane, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Don’t drive fast.”

“I won’t.” But he lied. After telling Zane what was going on, he gunned it all the way to White Wing. She was waiting for him and jumped in the truck. “He said he lived out on Ranch Road 340, the old Tillson place.”

“That doesn’t tell me a lot,” Rogue noted dryly.

“Well, it tells me a lot. I know right where it is.” She grasped the edges of the seat with excitement. “This means they are still alive. I was so afraid someone had killed them just to be mean.”

Rogue understood, he’d thought the same thing. Just thinking of someone mistreating little Jester had his blood boiling. “So, tell me where to go.”

She gave him directions and they took off. As they drove, Rogue glanced over at her. “You’re pale, do you feel okay?”

“Morning sickness, for sure this time.” She smiled at him. “It’s okay, when I feel this way it just makes the baby more real.”

The distance to their destination was only a little over eight miles. Rogue thought it was enough time to say something he should’ve said a long time before. “I want to thank you, Kit.”

“What for?” Her mind was so focused on the horses, she wasn’t thinking of anything else.

“I want to thank you for marrying me, for wanting to have my baby, and for loving me.”

Kit’s heart lurched. “I love you too, more than anything. But where is this coming from?”

Rogue chuckled. “I don’t know, I just thought it needed to be said. You never know what will happen.”

Kit’s skin broke out in goosebumps. “We’re just nervous, hoping to find the horses unhurt.”

“Yea, you’re right.” He followed her pointing finger and turned down a dirt road. “Is this the place?”

“I think so, it looks different.” The old house she remembered had been torn down and a small RV was sitting in its place next to a few ramshackle looking barns and outbuildings, all that was left of what used to be a thriving farm. The sight wasn’t that unusual, the whole country was peppered with trailers and mobile homes. “Well, we’ll see.” They pulled in and watched as a tall man with a hat pulled low over his eyes came out to meet them. “Hello, you called about my horses?” Kit was out the door and running toward the man before Rogue could stop her or catch up.

“Sure did, I thought you had a right to know. I’d heard about your missing animals and when I saw these three, I wanted you to see if they were yours or not.”

“Yes, thank you! Where are they?”

“Just down the road.” The man gestured to the north. “Why don’t you two crawl in my four-wheeler and I’ll drive you up there.”

“Oh, we don’t mind following you. The trailer is hooked up to the truck and if they’re ours, I’ll just load them up.” Rogue walked a step closer. A strange unease whispered down his spine.

“Oh, that won’t work,” the man said. “The road you turn down is really just a cow trail, tree limbs will rip the paint off that nice truck of yours.”

Staring at the man’s face, Rogue searched his memory. Did he know this guy? He wanted to tell Kit to go wait for him in the truck so bad he could taste it. Still… He moved closer. “I’m Rogue Walker, I don’t believe I caught your name.”

The man’s hand moved but it wasn’t to take Rogue’s. “That’s because I didn’t give it.” Before Rogue could make another move, the man reached behind him and pulled a gun. Automatically Rogue went for his own, realizing his instincts were right–this was Norman Close, the man who’d set out to destroy him. But what Close did next, froze every muscle in Rogue’s body.