Spurred (Steele Ranch 1)

“It’s possible she has no idea. If this guy, Briggs, is a sociopath, he may be feeding on your sister’s weaknesses,” I suggested. “A need for love, attention.”

“Her need for drugs,” she added.

I kissed the top her head, felt her silky hair against my lips. “It’s an easy way to keep someone under control.”

The scent of Italian cuisine came from the kitchen. Garlic and tomato sauce. They must have stuck one of Mrs. Potts’ casseroles in the oven. Lasagna, I hoped.

Archer came in, leaned his hip against one of the overstuffed chairs. The rest of the guys followed him in, settled around the seating area, but Riley sat next to us on the couch, took hold of Kady’s feet and lifted them onto his lap.

“David and Bethany Briggs were on a flight to Billings yesterday.”

I felt Kady stiffen at Archer’s words. Her sister was here but hadn’t come to her. Billings was several hours away, but it didn’t take a day to drive. If she wanted to see Kady, she’d have come. It only made me think the worst.

“She called you from Montana,” Riley said. His sharp eyes were on Kady. I could see the anger, the frustration there and in every tense line of his body.

“Why didn’t she say she was in the area?” Kady asked, but she was smart enough to know the reason.

I was liking Beth less and less by the second.

“They’re coming here. To you. This is the perfect place to catch them,” Archer said.

There was no real way to ease the pain of this for her. Archer might like Kady, but he was the sheriff and he had an attempted murder to investigate. With the trail leading right to her sister, it was impossible to soften the blow that Beth might just be going to jail.

And so I just did what I could, stroking my fingers up and down her arm, letting her know she wasn’t alone, that no matter what happened with her sister, Riley and I were there for her. The others, too.

“Agreed,” Jamison added. While the ranch wasn’t his, he was protective of it, of those on it. “The ranch is a good place to be. There’s only one road in and out. If they come by foot, which I doubt, they’

d be seen coming across the fields.”

They continued to talk, to plot and strategize.

“It makes sense that they’d come to see me. To do whatever Briggs has planned next. But tonight?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” Archer said. “But they didn’t come to Montana for their honeymoon. Based on what they’ve done so far, they’re impatient. I’m guessing they won’t wait. If they do, then we’ll be watching tomorrow, too.”

Kady sat up and I loosened my hold. “You’re going to ambush them?”

Everyone looked to Kady. “Sweetness, that fucker the other night, he ambushed you.”

“The difference is, we’re only going to arrest them, not kill them,” Archer confirmed, eyeing Kady levelly.

“Speak for yourself,” I muttered.

“You can’t kill Beth!” she cried, turning enough so she could look up at me.

“Not Beth, sweetness,” I told her, my voice light considering what I wanted to do to the Briggs asshole. “I would never hurt a woman, even for a reason like this. No, if she’s involved in what happened the other night, she’ll go to jail.”

“Kady, honey,” Archer said as he moved to sit on the coffee table. She turned to look at him. “Unless your sister is being held at gunpoint—and it doesn’t sound like she is based on what you told me about the phone call earlier—then she’ll probably be arrested at least for accessory.”

She gave a nod. “I know. She needs to be accountable for her actions. She needs to learn consequences, not to be rescued. And to her, it seems, rehab is just a rescue. Attention.”

Riley patted her leg. “You’re okay with that?”

“Okay?” She shifted on my lap, shrugged. “Not really, but I’ve enabled her enough. Like you said, she’s an adult and I have to let her go. Or at least live her life. The life she made for herself.”

Satisfied, Archer stood. “Good, then Kady will stay here at the house and—”

Kady popped up, stood and put her hands on her hips. “No way. I need to be involved. She’s my sister and—”