“Like I said, maybe you should call Liberty and talk to her,” he suggested, before taking a bite of his sandwich. He chewed slowly contemplating the matter. “She might have some advice. She is a woman after all. If not, at least call your doctor if you have one in town. There is no need to suffer if you could be taking something. I know you took Motrin, but maybe there is something that works better. Should you be sitting on a heating pad? Or soaking in a tub of warm water?”
She smiled and reached her hand to him. “Thank you for caring so much. Those are all excellent ideas.”
“Have you thought to check in with Chaney to see if she has had the same issue?” he asked as an afterthought. “If she did, she might know what you should do.”
“I will. Once we complete our meal.”
She took a bigger bite of her sandwich and chewed, finishing it before washing it down with her soup. She finally drank some ginger ale.
“Thank you,” she said. “That was very good. It really makes me feel better.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I’ll go call Chaney now and Liberty.”
He watched her leave and noticed that For All stayed behind, laying at his feet. Justus hadn’t even noticed he hadn’t followed her, which just showed how bad she was feeling. Otherwise, she’d have said something snarky about him trying to steal him from her.
He liked her banter. Even if it could be annoying at times. But that is what made her different from everyone else.
He cleared away the dishes from the table and tidied up the kitchen, then frowned when he realized he’d been doing more and more since she moved in here. Living with Rawlins they shared the chores, but living with Justus, she’d always effortlessly managed to get out of doing things. Maybe that hadbeen the reason Liberty said she kept her on a daily chore schedule. It wasn’t just to give Justus something to do each day, but to keep Liberty from having to do it all?
He grinned.
Sneaky girl.
CHAPTER 10
Leland pacedthe interior of his Chieftain awaiting a very important phone call. He’d decided to bite the bullet and reach out to his Arizona brother Seth Masters for advice. They’d always had a good working relationship and he felt he could trust him to guide him in the right direction where his men were concerned if nothing else. He also knew that Seth would shoot straight with him and let him know if talk between the other brothers had started about him. That would mean their superior had reached out to other corners without him being the wiser.
Sweat prickled his brow and he went to adjust the AC temp but noticed it was set on sixty-eight. Low enough to keep the RV cool. Was there something wrong with his unit? Or was he sweating from nerves?
His phone rang and he jumped, answering his question. It was his nerves. They were on edge. This whole deal had him frazzled. He let the phone ring a few times as he breathed in and out to calm himself before answering.
“Hello,” he finally said.
“Leland, it’s Seth,” his brother said. “How are things in Colorado?”
“Hot and humid right now. How are they in Arizona?”
“It’s like Hades here. But typical for this time of year. But I don’t think either one of us set up this call to talk about the weather. What can I do for you?”
“No. I didn’t reach out about the weather. I have a staffing issue that I thought you might be able to help me sort out,” Leland said, jumping right to the point. “I’ve never had this happen and I don’t know if I’m just having a run of bad luck or if I have a viper in my employment.”
“Hmm. That does sound serious. What’s going on over there?” Seth asked.
“I reached out because I know we are close. Closer than I am with the other two brothers, and I value your confidence. I hope you can keep this between the two of us?”
“Of course. I feel the same,” Seth agreed.
“I’m sure you have been made aware of the raid that happened on my house back in June. That was just the start of it all. Since then I’ve had to regroup. Pull in new men, promote up. And these guys are not worthy of their positions and that may be where this all stems from. But I’ve had three of my guys arrested this month alone. I feel cursed, that I need to get out of the area, but I know until my men stand trial I have been ordered to stay put and lay low.”
“You are in a tough situation. I agree. You may just be having a run of bad luck like you said. Have you examined your team completely?”
“I have and everyone looks clean. The only one that is in question is missing and he was brought on by Nuchols before the raid. The guy appeared trustworthy, but he turned out to be a screw up in so many of the tasks he was assigned. After the raid he may have just run scared. I don’t know, but what if he was a plant?”
“Have you searched for him?” Seth asked.
“It’s been hard to do since my crew is low in numbers right now and I am also searching for the two girls that I know have been tapped to testify against Nuchols, Bidle, and Polaski,” Leland explained. “If I didn’t have to stay hidden away, maybe those girls would already be taken care of. But they are being watched by the Brotherhood Protectors.”
