Smoked (The Invincibles 5)

When I walked inside and down the hallway, the door to my bedroom stood open. Siren wasn’t on my bed, but I saw the door of the bedroom where she’d slept the night before we went to Asheville was closed. I couldn’t help but see it as a bad sign.

* * *

Siren slept through the night; I knew because I’d checked in on her several times, and when I did, she was softly snoring.

I was more disappointed that she didn’t want to sleep in my bed than I was about us not having sex, given the doctor’s permission we could. A couple of times, I considered lying down beside her, but if she’d wanted to sleep with me, she would’ve gone into my bedroom instead of the one she was in.

I left my door open throughout the night and slept only off and on, in case she got up and needed anything. When the sun rose, I got up to check on her again.

“Good morning,” I said when I eased the door open and found her sitting up in bed. “How did you sleep?”

“Like the dead,” she murmured, her voice hoarse. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“I only intended to rest a short while.”

“Your body needed more.”

She held her hand out, and I sat beside her.

“I feel muddled,” she said.

“Understandable.” I looked out the window and saw Zeke talking to Jack and one of the other hands. None of them looked happy.

“Do you need to join them?” Siren asked, following my line of sight.

“Not yet.”

She pushed against my stomach with her hand. “Go. Find out what’s wrong.”

The expression on Zeke’s face was worrisome enough that I knew she was right. Something was seriously wrong. “I’ll be right back.”

* * *

“Hey, boss,” said Jack when I came out the front door.

“Gentlemen, I sense there’s something you need to tell me.”

Zeke held up his phone without saying a word. What I saw, enraged me. “They just left them for dead?”

He nodded. “Forty down so far. I’ve got the crew out doing head counts.”

Forty head of cattle, slaughtered. Rustling, I understood, even though I hated it. This was something else entirely. This was evil and despicable.

14

Siren

With every step Smoke took to where the three men stood talking, I could see his body grow increasingly tense. When one man handed him a mobile, even from a distance, I could see how upset he was. Whatever had happened was something horrible.

When he came inside a few minutes later, I was waiting for him.

“I’m sorry, Siren.”

“What for?”

“Things have escalated with the rustlers. We’ve lost several more head of cattle.”