AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An hour later, Sierra tilted the last scoop of pig feed into the trough and watched the pigs jostle for position. One tried to bite another, and she shuddered at the sight of its yellow teeth, remembering what Cody had said about pigs yesterday.
She stowed the scoop with the pig food, then walked over to the chicken coop. Cody was still putting out food for the cattle, so she opened the door to the laying area and grabbed a carton. Several chickens exited the nesting boxes, but three hens remained in theirs. She started with the empty boxes and found seven eggs. Then she wiggled her fingers and slid her hand beneath the first hen. After removing three eggs, she moved on to the next hen. Two eggs.
She set the full carton on the ground and reached beneath the third hen. Two more eggs. Staring at the hen, waiting for a sign she was distressed, Sierra removed one, then the other. Set them carefully on top of the other eggs, then closed and secured the nesting area.
Studying the fourteen eggs, she remembered there’d been only ten yesterday. She picked up the carton carefully, watching where she stepped, and headed into the barn. Opened the cooler and found the carton she’d filled the day before. After adding the two extra eggs to the chilled carton, she closed today’s container and slid it onto the rack. Closed the door, pleased with herself.
“You in the barn, Sierra?” Cody called.
“Be right out,” she said, hurrying toward the door. Cody stood by the chicken coop and began to open the door to the nesting area. “I already did it,” she said, hurrying toward him. “The eggs are in the cooler.”
He lowered the door and turned. “You did?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I knew what to do. No reason to wait for you to supervise me.”
One side of his mouth curled up. “Guess not,” he said. His eyes darkened as he studied her. “I like a woman who takes the initiative.”
Memories scrolled through her brain from last night and this morning, and her face heated. But instead of tossing back a suggestive response, as she wanted to do, Sierra bit her lip. “I’ve been taking the initiative in my life for a long time.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed. “Have you now? I’d like to hear more about that.”
She’d been talking about her personal life, but not a chance in hellshe’d share those details with him. She shrugged one shoulder. “Exhibit one -- I started my own law firm right out of college with my best friend. Alex Conway.”
Needing to change the subject, she nodded at the enclosure adjacent to the nesting boxes. “You going another round with Maurice this morning?”
“Normally, I wouldn’t. The food and water should last two days. But since I’m not sure what our next move will be, I’m going to top them off.”
He entered the enclosure and tossed some food into the larger area, just as he’d done the day before. He moved quickly to fill the feeders, then grabbed the water container and carried it out. Sierra opened the door for him, and he slid through as Maurice charged after him.
It took only a few minutes for him to fill and replace the water, and he edged through the narrow opening, closed and secured the door before Maurice noticed him.
“Not much drama from Maurice today,” she said as they walked toward the house.
“He must have been busy with his hens,” Cody said. He lifted an arm, as if to sling it over her shoulders. Froze, then let his hand drop. “I’m going to call Mel and see what the situation is. You want me to put the phone on speaker so you can hear what’s happening, too?”
“I’d like that,” she said, surprised. When he’d said he would call Mel, she’d assumed he’d have a private conversation with his boss.
He must have noticed her astonishment, because he shrugged. “This mess involves you as much as me. You have a right to know what we’re going to do. What we’re thinking.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She’d been left out of the discussions about her and Jack’s safety when she was a teen and had always resented it. She knew her parents didn’t want her to worry, but being out of the loop had only made the fear worse.
He opened the door to the house and stood aside for her to enter. While she removed her borrowed boots, Cody started another pot of coffee.
By the time she padded into the kitchen, coffee was dripping into the carafe. She got the cream from the refrigerator and grabbed two mugs as he dialed the SAT phone.
“Hey, Mel, it’s Cody,” he said. “You’re on speaker so Sierra can hear what we talk about. What’s going on with Alex Conway and the Russians?”
“Alex is fine, and so is Gideon Wolf, our agent guarding her,” Mel said. “Wolf’s former FBI boss got the jump on them at our safe house, but Gideon shot him. He’s in the hospital in serious condition and no longer a threat. The FBI is working on rolling up his network in the Bureau, but it’s going to take a while.”
“What about the two guys I caught last night?” he asked.
“Last I heard, they weren’t talking. But the FBI is bringing in people from the Witness Protection program, so their tongues could loosen.”
“What about me and Sierra? Do you want us to stay here? Move to another safe house?”
Sierra heard Mel’s weary exhalation. “Sit tight for today,” she said after a long moment. “The Bratva must be scrambling right now. Out here in Montana, they lost two guys and a high-ranking mole in the FBI. They also lost the two guys you grabbed last night. They might have forgotten about Sierra in the confusion and panic, but we can’t count on that. I doubt they’ll send someone else after you right away, but stay vigilant. I’ll keep you in the loop. If I hear anything new, I’ll call you.”
“Sounds good, Mel. Thanks,” Cody said. He clicked off the phone speaker, then nodded at Sierra. “Just some other business with Mel,” he said. Then he said into the phone, “We’re off speaker now. Did you get an answer on that other question I had for you?”
