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“Fuck.” Faulk curses beneath his breath. “I think they’re on to us. One of my guys just pinged me. Willow’s accounts are being closed down left and right, and there’s some mighty odd movements happening at the sanctuary right now. Unmarked cube trucks. The Feds won’t wait much longer before barging into this. If they do, it could be too late.”
Dammit.
My head starts pounding like a construction site.
Faulk has a guy watching the sanctuary in Minot, and if he thinks it’ll be too late, it damn well could be and the Fosses will never be caught. Leaving Willow hanging out to dry, under the gun for their bullshit, at least the financial crimes.
“Bruce is still here,” I say. “The place in Wyoming can’t take him yet.”
“We have to get that cat out of there, Grady. The FBI will probably come roaming around in a few days—maybe less—but there’s reason to believe the Fosses have heard about the tiger sighting near your house. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be pulling the plug on their offshore accounts...”
Fuck!
I feel like the ground caves out from under me.
Drake’s online cover-up wasn’t fast enough. I knew it’d be difficult to scrub the tiger speculation totally off social media, and now it’s evidently caught up with us.
My brain trips over the conundrum of how the hell we’re gonna get out of this. It’s hardly as simple as he makes it sound.
Get Bruce out of here, call in the FBI to bust the Fosses, and then what?
Expect Willow to just hunker down here as a live-in nanny and my play thing?
Christ, what if Linda was right?
What have I been exposing my daughters to? Giving them false hope?
How did things get this convoluted? This out of hand?
“...tomorrow morning at your place,” Faulk is saying, something I didn’t catch. “I’ll pull everybody together then.”
“Yeah. Got it.” I hadn’t heard what he’d said before, yet I agree. “All right. Eight?”
“Yes. See you then.”
I click off.
“What’s happening?” Willow asks as I pass her the phone.
Besides the tragic death of my hard-on, I think it’s a disaster.
I have the girls to think about. Their future. Their safety and security.
Like it or lump it, I have to stop thinking with my dick and start using my brain.
“I’ll fill you in on the way to the bar.”
“The bar? Why?”
“Because I need a beer. You could use one, too. Everyone in town’s at the rodeo, so it’ll be nice and quiet with just the two of us. We’ll eat there.”
“Grady—”
“I’ll explain everything.” I head for the stairs. “Be right back, I need my phone.”
Half an hour later, after we’ve both changed our clothes, we leave for the bar.
“What’s going on, Grady? What did Faulk say?” she asks as soon as we’re on the road.
“Our time’s up. We have to get Bruce out of here ASAP,” I answer, holding no punches. “The Fosses are closing down those accounts in your name and your dad’s. Plus, there’s some real unusual crap happening at Exotic Plains.”
“Define unusual?”
“He didn’t go into a deep dive on details, but we’ll meet tomorrow morning to hash it all out. The bottom line is, we have to fucking move.”
“Then why are we going to the bar?”
Good question.
My mind is a chaotic stampede. Fifty unruly thoughts hoofing it in different directions, trying to figure out how I can save everybody’s skin.
Willow. The girls. The Bobcat.
Not to mention making sure the Fosses have their day in court, exposing their sins to the light of day.
It doesn’t feel like we can win it all.
I have to make us.
There’s no other choice.
“Grady?” She looks at me nervously.
“We’re having dinner like I said. Also, I need to talk to Weston,” I answer, just as I’m able to rustle up a few of my loose ideas.
“Weston? Why? Is it the truck?”
“We’re calling in his help to take Bruce to Wyoming,” I say, nodding because it just makes sense.
“I have to take Bruce to Wyoming,” she says, straightening in the seat. “I have to make sure it’s a good fit for him, once they call and say they’re ready for him.”
“Whether they’ve called or not is a moot point. We have to get him the hell out of my barn.” I huff out a breath. “The clock’s running out, Willow. I’m sorry. Faulk said the Feds will be opening an active case in Dallas soon. Could even be within a day or two. I have to think about my girls. I can’t have them in the middle of a fucking raid.”
She opens her mouth again, but closes it, this sad frown weighing her sweet lips down.
I hate this.
I’m not even sure what else Faulk is planning.
Still, I have to make sure there are safety measures in place for everyone.
This whole thing has gotten way off the rails. It also proves how whacked-in-the-head stupid I’ve been.
