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“Okay,” I leaned back, “hit me with it.”
“He destroyed her clothes—or whoever he has working for him destroyed them. Aside from one hell of a statement, that could be his attempt to do the same thing. Draw her out.”
“Could be.” I wasn’t sure if that was Nathan’s style, but given the erratic nature of what he’d done over time, I wouldn’t put it past him.
“So,” Daniel said, “a simple trap. A phone call that’s lightly encrypted, so it’s not obvious that it’s a trap, but easy enough for whoever’s doing their hacking to intercept and listen to.”
We’d been sticking to in-person conversations as much as possible, and Jude had swept the entire ranch for bugs just in case.
“We’ll make it seem like she’s going shopping for a replacement wardrobe in Missoula. That she’ll be accompanied, but that we’re too nervous about whatever he’s going to do to leave the ranch unattended. Hopefully it will create the appearance of vulnerability. With his level of obsession, it will be too good to resist.”
I hated it, but it was a good plan. “And where will Evelyn actually be during this? She can’t be anywhere near the trap, Daniel. It’s too dangerous for her.”
He was quiet, and I could practically hear his urge to ask me more, but he didn’t. They all knew better. It would have to be Evelyn who shared any more intimate details than what she’d already surrendered. “You can take her to the high woods.”
I hadn’t actually thought about that. The high woods was a property in the mountains an hour to the north. We owned it outright and kept the perimeter as secure as we did at the ranch. We’d have to do a sweep before we went, but it would certainly be out of the way. We used it if we needed to get away and camp alone, or bone up on any of the older training that we used to do.
And of course, we’d kept it off any official documents. Because we were that paranoid. God, I was glad that we were. If Nathan knew about that property, then there was absolutely nothing he didn’t know.
“And what’s the idea in Missoula? See if he shows up?”
Daniel nodded. “Maybe we’ll see if he’s here in person or if he’s using a proxy. At the very least, that will be more than we know now.”
“How fast can we set it up?”
“Already working on it,” he said with a grim smile. “I sent Grant up to the high woods this morning. He’s making sure everything is good. Jude has the encryption ready to go whenever. You have to ask Evelyn if she’s okay playing bait, even though she’ll be nowhere near it.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I think she’ll be fine with it, but I’ll make sure.”
“As soon as you find out, let me know. The sooner we can do this, the better.”
I stood up and walked out, relief entering my body knowing that I was going back to her. The idea that we were giving Nathan what he wanted—even though it was fake—made me ill. I could imagine the sick glee he’d feel thinking that he had a shot at taking her back, and I felt cold in spite of the summer heat.
Never. He would not take her. Not while I was still breathing.
Evelyn’s laughter came from around the corner, and the smile that came couldn’t be stopped. I wanted to hear that laughter every day. She deserved that.
Jude and Harlan were standing on opposite sides of the paddock. They were smiling, but I knew them well enough to know that they were on alert and aware of everything around them as well. Harlan met my eyes around the corner and nodded. In the center, Evelyn was leading Penny around in circles, and the horse was actually trying to catch her. He was a completely different creature in her presence.
I wished I’d been able to see her before all of this. She clearly had a love of animals and was a natural from whatever experience she’d had before her life had fallen apart. What would her life have been like if she’d never met Nathan? Where would she be now?
She turned and spotted me, eyes lighting up so brightly that it made my chest ache. I didn’t deserve that kind of reaction, but no matter how long I knew her, I would not take it for granted nor forget that it was precious.
Evelyn led Penny over to the fence to meet me, and Penny saw me. He slowed and resisted, but he still came. His skittishness wouldn’t disappear overnight. “Hello,” I said in the voice I used with animals. It was for both of them.
“Hello,” she said, climbing the first rung of the fence so she could lean over and kiss me. For a second, I froze. It was unexpected, and in front of Harlan and Jude. And in the next second I wrapped my hand behind her neck and pulled her closer.
I wasn’t going to waste a second with her, and if everyone didn’t already know, then I didn’t care about the confirmation. Her cheeks were pink when she pulled away. “Too much?”
“Never.”
She bit her lip, but she was smiling. “How did it go?”
“About as well as it could have, I suppose.”
Some of the light in her eyes died, and it killed me. “What happened?”
I sighed. “How do you feel about getting off the ranch for a little while?”
