Wilde Love (The Brothers of Wilde, Nevada 6)

“I’ve got Tobias on the phone,” Dallas announced with his ear to his cell. “They’re almost here.”

“How many trucks are they in?” Phoenix asked.

Austin listened as Dallas spoke into his phone. After a short pause, Dallas answered. “Three.”

Austin took control. “Tell them to cover Silver Highway, County 22, and Double M. You and Phoenix head up Silver and meet in the middle. Jackson and Denver, you take Twenty-two. I’ll take Double M.”

Denver ran to his truck and shouted back, “If we’re lucky, we can catch Samantha.”

Austin watched as his brothers jumped into the other two trucks. “Fuck luck. Let’s catch the fucking bitch that took Jessie.”

His hope evaporated as sheets of rain began to fall from the sky. Even with his windshield wipers on high, the water on the glass nearly blinded him. There were too many dirt roads off of every asphalt road and highway in the county, and Samantha knew them all. With no rain and his and his brothers’ skill of noticing tracks, they still had a chance. With the rain, he had better odds of drawing a royal flush at Sneaky Pete’s on a first deal.

Austin started his engine, put the truck in gear, and hit the gas pedal to the floor. Blind or not, he would find Samantha. If the bitch even left a scratch on his Jessie, he would kill her.

* * * *

Jessie clawed her way out of sleep, though it seemed to be a struggle. Somewhere in her mind the reason why was known to her, but in her current state she couldn’t find the clarity to reach the answer.

“Well, Jessie. You’re finally waking up.” Samantha’s voice sounded sickly sweet.

Did I fall asleep sitting up? Jessie realized she was in a chair.

“I…think…so…but…” Still feeling fuzzy-headed, Jessie rolled questions over and over in her mind. What has happened to me?

“Take your time. I’m busy getting everything set up anyway.”

“Okay.” As she began to become more aware of her body, she knew that her hands were restrained behind her back and her ankles were attached to chair legs. She wondered if this was Austin’s dungeon.

But Samantha is here? I’m with her. Why?

A flood of memories jolted her to full awareness. She recalled what had happened at The Masters’ Chambers and in its parking lot.

Oh God! Jessie kept her eyes closed, hoping to get more of her bearings. Clearly, Samantha was the one behind everything. The girl wanted her dead.

Jessie remembered Samantha locking Austin’s door, the gun the woman carried, walking over Tank’s body on the floor…

The last memory hurt deeply. Grouchy or not, Tank was a good man.

Samantha laughed. “That roofie did quite a job on you, Ms. Greene, just like I knew it would.”

Jessie opened her eyes. Samantha sat about three feet from her, twisting wires together. “You drugged me, Sam. I remember. You made me get in the back of the car and drink from that water bottle. It tasted awful. Then you handcuffed me, tied my legs together, and put a blindfold on me.”

“That I did,” the lunatic said with a tone of pride.

By the surroundings of rock and dust, Jessie believed they were deep in the Old Wilde Mine, the same place that had exploded only weeks ago. The bombs had been meant for her, and they would’ve gotten her, too, had it not been for the stubborn Pappy Jack.

The Wilde brothers’ grandfather had recovered from the explosion that night, but there would be no surviving the amount of dynamite Sam was hooking up to Jessie’s chair and everywhere else.

Jessie struggled to think clearly. “Your car couldn’t have made it here.”

“Right again. Keeping you on my horse was quite the task, but I managed.”

“I don’t remember the horse ride.”

“I bet not. There’s an abandoned cabin about five miles to the west of here. I’d taken my horse there a couple of days ago to be our transport here. That’s where I left my car. I’m thankful for the rain we had. It hid our tracks, but there were times I wasn’t sure I was going to make it down the muddy trail to the cabin. It’s really meant for horses or ATVs, not cars.”

Sam was talking to her like they were still buddies. But they weren’t. The girl wanted her dead, and Jessie wanted to live.