"You got plans Saturday?" I ask as we approach.
"Only you," she teases.
Fuck. I'm walking into an interrogation with a semi and a smile on my face.
"The rodeo is Saturday night. It's a big one. Gotta win this to stay in line for the championship. You wanna come be my cheerleader?"
Her hand rests on her hat. "Fuck yeah, I do."
I press a kiss to her lips. "Good girl."
"I swear to fuckin' God, Ace. Get in here." Colten shoves the barn door open from inside.
I walk us over to my brother. He's got a coiled whip in one hand and a cigarette in the other. His sleeves are rolled to the elbows, forearms streaked with dirt. He looks like he's been at this for a while.
"Harper, you good coming in here? It ain't gonna be pretty," Colten says, glancing between us.
"I'm good. I got some information from the town office. I think I can get something useful for you guys."
Colten shrugs. Not fazed by the fact that she wants in on an interrogation between cowboys and the Greek mafia in a barn on a Thursday afternoon. That's a Sterling woman for you. You either handle it or you don't. Harper handles it.
Her hand squeezes mine. I squeeze back.
Colten looks at me, and I give him a nod that tells him it’s all good.
"We're fine, bro."
I lead her inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Harper
Two men are tied to chairs in the center of the floor, back to back, wrists bound to the armrests. Their faces are roughed up. One has a split lip. The other has a swelling eye that's going to be shut by morning. My guess is that they won’t see tomorrow morning.
Jett is leaning against a stall door in the corner, tossing a knife in the air and catching it. Over and over. He doesn't look up when we walk in. Just keeps tossing. He’s so hard to figure out.
Colten closes the barn door behind us. It makes both men flinch.
I don't.
Ace pulls a hay bale to the side and nods for me to sit. I don't. I stay standing. Folder in my hands. He raises an eyebrow but doesn't argue.
I look at the two men. They look at me. Confusion registers. They weren't expecting a woman. They definitely weren't expecting a woman in a blue dress and cowboy boots holding a folder like she's about to conduct a job interview.
"This is Harper," Ace says, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backward, arms resting on the back. He doesn’t have a shirt on. His skin glistens from the sweat from his workout. "She's going to ask you some questions. I'd answer them if I were you."
"And if we don't?" The one with the split lip asks.
Colten steps forward. Cracks the whip against his ribs, and he screams out.
"Then I take over," Colten says. He takes a drag of his cigarette and exhales slowly. "And I'm less patient than she is. And far more fucking dangerous. I got animals to look after that deserve my time, not you assholes."
I open the folder. Spread the documents on a hay bale beside me. The transfer papers. The purchase agreement. The land survey from a company that doesn't exist.
"Aegean Holdings LLC," I say. "Registered in Nevada six weeks ago. Purchased Ranch 42 three weeks later for $21.2 million, roughly half what the land is worth." I look up. "Who set up the company?"
Nothing. They just stare at me blankly.
