“You’re a fuckin’ wetback, cock sucker. Does he make you suck his cock? Is that part of your job?” The question came off so ludicrous it caught Jose completely off guard. The hesitation seemed to piss Verne off that much more, like he’d got something right. Anger flared in his eyes. Jose was completely unprepared when Verne snapped the gun from his pocket, aiming it as best he could in Jose’s direction. The Grainger security guards didn’t hesitate. Multiple shots were fired.
~~~~~~
Austin turned the horses, holding on to all four of the young ones and moved slowly back to his barn when he heard the sound of gun shots. He came to an abrupt halt, tugging hard at the reins of his mount. He flipped around, dropping the reins to Hooch and the others as he took off toward the Kelly barn. He hadn’t gone far and it didn’t take long as he pounded forward in a full gallop, barreling up on the scene. His men’s weapons were drawn. Jose was holding his left arm, and the old foreman lay spread out on the ground. Austin didn’t stop until he got to Jose.
“What the fuck happened?” Austin yelled toward his guards. Three were down on the ground with Verne. Austin jumped down and ran to Jose who held the side of his arm, blood dripping down. “Are you alright?”
“It just grazed me,” Jose said. A cowhand ran to them carrying several towels. Austin’s eyes were back on Verne as he stalked forward.
“What the hell happened?” Austin called out to Sam.
“He came on the property while you two were gone, saying all kinds of shit. We narrowed in on him as he went toward the barn. He told us to get out of the way, he was setting the place on fire.”
Two guards kept their weapons aimed at Verne, but Sam was bent down on his knee. He checked the guy’s pulse as the other two performed CPR. He tried a couple of spots and shook his head toward Austin and Jose.
“He was breakin’ a restrainin’ order. Has anyone checked on Lily?” Jose forgot about the arm and palmed his phone dialing her immediately. Her truck pulled down the trail from the main house as he put the phone to his ear. She must have heard the shots.
“Are you sure he’s gone?” Austin dropped down on his knees next to the security guard who pumped Verne’s heart. Another bent down, tearing his t-shirt over his head, holding it to the bullet wound at his shoulder. “Call 911.”
“We’re too far from any hospital out here,” Jose said.
“I heard the shots.” Lily came running for them, her phone in hand. “I already called the sheriff. He’s headin’ out here.”
“See if he can get a paramedic.” Austin took hold of the t-shirt, pressing down, trying to stop the blood flow. Another guard bent Verne’s head back and began mouth to mouth. They worked on Verne for several minutes, counting off, pumping his heart until they finally got a faint beat.
“There’s no time! Load him up, put him in the back of my truck. Lily, call the sheriff back. See if he’ll meet us on the road, escort us in.” Jose kept his tone normal, but his actions were anything but. He moved quick, giving clipped instruction to the guards. Three lifted Verne, while three continued to work him.
“Jose, your arm.” Lily forced the minute’s pause, tying a clean towel around his upper arm. One of Austin’s guards was in the driver’s side of the truck, Jose jumped in beside him and they were off. They wasted no time, speeding down the trail before either had their truck doors closed. Lily stood watching the truck, back on the phone with the sheriff. His siren screamed in the distance.
Chapter 26
The grainy, gritty feeling in Dunc’s exhausted eyes didn’t stop the clicking of her right finger, tapping the mouse of her computer. Nothing more than pure self-preservation kept her looking. She’d been awake for a solid forty-eight hours, and Rich never stopped calling. He proved to be the pain in the ass she knew he’d be. She needed something, anything, to give back to him. Rich was too loud and could cause too big a stink online, jeopardizing everything she’d worked so hard to achieve.
Surely, Austin Grainger’s parents hid something she could use. Hell, maybe she should go back to her original idea and make some shit up. Lead Rich on a wild goose chase and blame him for not closing the deal. Ten thousand dollars was ten thousand dollars, and there would be no way to prove she didn’t find the information about Grainger. With that much money, she could get a new server, maybe a new computer, but damn, the thought of bumping her mom off was way more appealing than she thought it might be.
The biggest problem in her way, the Grainger’s hung on to so much crap in these files. Grainger’s parents were boring as hell and straight as arrows. Their little Farmville accounting of the company was solid. The purchases, the payroll and all its accompanying documentation all catalogued in nauseating order. Nothing looked out of place, and nothing indicated Austin Grainger participated at all in this company.
Eight email accounts were associated with the website. So far, she’d been through six of them, dating back over the last ten years. She’d done the obvious searches. Tried for the quick finds and was now going file by file, and dear lord, did these people lead boring lives.
She opened the seventh file with a big jaw cracking yawn. She kept going, not wanting to lose access, because at some point some system software would have to alert them she was digging around. There was no chance she could sleep even a few hours and hope to get back in as easily as she had the first time.
Dunc went months backward when an IP address from Texas caught her eye. She’d seen some purchases in Texas coded in the accounting, but it wasn’t really a surprise. Austin’s parents were from that area, but to have an active IP address in Texas where Cara and Seth were also vacationing… Dunc slapped her face and downed another five hour energy shot from the mini refrigerator at her feet, trying to gain a little more clarity in her head. Of all the places in the world, why would Austin go back to his home town? He wouldn’t, it was too easy. The place would be swarming with reporters and photographers. It was too obvious of an answer. Maybe this was a brother or sister, maybe a cousin, but it was someone close to the family. The conversation flowed too easily between them all. It was also someone who made decisions for the company. They were never told no, just how much or how big.