Page 10 of Untamed Sinner

Iron Ridge is a barely a town, with its handful of old brick storefronts and weathered buildings rooted between ranchland and mountains. Everything about it looks permanent, which might be why my first instinct is to keep driving.

My sister lives here now, on a ranch with her badass boyfriend and his equally badass special forces buddies.

It's been a over month since the raid on Turner's house. Over a month since I've seen her face-to-face. As I drive through town with my hands steady on the wheel, my mind runs through what I'll say to her if I see her. I need to see her. I need to know she's okay, that the nightmares have faded, that she's actually healing instead of just pretending.

The vet clinic sits on the edge of town, a small brick building with a gravel lot and a hand-painted sign. Lily's sanctuary—the place where she saves animals and pretends the world isn't full of predators. I slow as I drive by it.

But I don’t stop. How can I? There’s essentially a contract on my head and a relentless bounty hunter charged with bringing me in. I’m not going to show up on her doorstep with that kind of baggage, not when she has a chance to finally close the door on the past.

“No regrets,” I remind myself, turning up the stereo to blot out my thoughts. Things are the way they are, but tomorrow they’ll be different. Life moves on.

Humming along to a song about strawberry lips, I focus on Hendricks hunting me.

Chuckling, I shake my head. We’ll see who catches who first.

9

HENDRICKS

Blackthorn Ranch sits at the end of a gravel road that winds through pine forest and open pasture.

The approach is deliberate—long sightlines, natural choke points, nowhere to hide. By the time I reach the main gate, I've counted three cameras and at least two positions where a sniper could cover the entire access road.

The boys may be crazy, but they aren't stupid.

I park near the main house and kill the engine. They know I'm here. They'd have clocked me the second I turned onto their property.

The ranch sprawls across the valley floor—barn, stables, outbuildings arranged in a tactical grid that looks casual but isn't. Every structure has overlapping fields of fire. Every window offers a vantage point. It's a home, sure, but it's also a fortress.

Everything's new. The shootout with Turner's men last month leveled most of the original structures. The Reyes family footed the bill for the rebuild—a gesture of gratitude for the Blackthorn boys' role in taking down Turner, who was stealing from them. The construction is top tier. Reinforced framing, bulletproof glass, upgraded security systems. They didn't just rebuild. They fortified.

Jake Callahan steps out onto the porch before I'm halfway to the door. He's bigger than I remember—broader through the shoulders, harder in the eyes. Tanned from the month they spent in the Caribbean while the ranch was being rebuilt, also courtesy of the Reyes family. Jake should look relaxed, but if anything, he looks more dangerous. Impending fatherhood does that. Men with something to protect are always more feral.

"Hendricks." His voice is neutral, neither friendly nor hostile.

"Callahan." I stop at the base of the porch steps, hands visible, posture open.

Crossing his arms, he squints at me suspiciously. "Didn't expect to see you out here."

It's not a question, but I know what he's asking. They owe me one for helping neutralize Cole Turner, and he's wondering if I've come to collect. "I need some information.”

He studies me for a moment, calculating. "Luke's taking a nap, if you're here for him."

I glance at my watch even though I know precisely what time it is. "This late in the afternoon?"

"I doubt he and Harper sleeping," Jake says wryly. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, I'm here to see Lily Carter."

Jake's expression doesn't change, but something shifts in his posture, a subtle tightening. "Mason know you're coming?"

"No." I study him levelly. "Is that going to be a problem?"

He shrugs. "That depends on what you want from her."

"Just some information," I repeat.

Jake finally nods toward the stables. "She's usually in the pasture past the stablemaster's cottage before dinner."