Page 71 of Love in the Wild

Gage remained still as he watched Brett leave. Bruce and Cain stayed still too, waiting until Brett’s truck was out of sight before turning to each other.

“We should’a killed him when we had the chance,” Cain said.

“Did I tell you to do anything?” Bruce asked.

“No, but he came onto Howard land. He wants a fight.”

“We’re not fighting until I say,” Bruce said, pointing to his chest. “I have to talk to Tommy.”

Gage’s fingers tingled as he fisted them at his sides. Feeling the crunch of Bruce’s bones beneath his knuckles would ease some of the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“She chose her side, and it wasn’t ours. She’s a traitor,” Cain reminded Bruce.

Bruce waved his son off as he started toward the door Gage was hidden behind. Clenching his jaw, Gage moved down the hallway and slipped into the storage room. He ran his fingers down the stack of tires until he found the ones he needed. He was lifting the top tires off the stack as Bruce marched by the open door without noticing him.

Cain was right on Bruce’s heels, following his leader like a loyal sidekick. Bruce spoke down the hallway, ordering Tommy into the office. Gage picked up two tires and moved to the door. The hallway was clear, meaning Tommy, Bruce, and Cain were all in the room together.

Shoot. He’d lost his chance to overhear whatever they were saying. How could he warn Brett if he wasn’t in on the conversation?

No one else was in the building, so he was going to have to take a risk. Putting the tires down just inside the room, Gage stepped quietly down the hallway and stopped outside the office.

Gage listened close, but the voices were muffled. At least they weren’t shouting. Shouting usually led to a carefully planned attack.

Cain spouted off a curse about Thea, and Bruce yelled at his son to shut up.

Okay. Now we were getting somewhere. If they kept the volume up, he might get an idea about what they were thinking.

“I’m not siding with a Patton. End of story,” Tommy said.

“I say we go for it. It’s the perfect time,” Cain added.

Bruce was quiet for long seconds as Gage tried to steady his breathing. Despite his efforts to do the opposite, Brett might have just started a war.

“I’ll call him,” Tommy said.

Before anyone responded, Emerson rounded the corner and spotted Gage. Her eyes widened, and Gage quickly raised a finger to his lips and shook his head.

Emerson’s brows furrowed as she crept toward him. She mouthed, “What are you doing?”

Gage jerked his head toward the storage room and pulled Emerson behind him, shutting them inside. “It’s a long story, but I need you to find out what they’re planning to do to Thea.”

Emerson straightened her shoulders and propped her hands on her hips. “Thea’s gone.”

“Thea isn’t gone. She’s still here, and Brett just came by to talk to Bruce. He wanted to put an end to the fighting, but I can’t let Tommy and Bruce know that I know Thea is here. They were talking about calling someone. Can you find out if it was Brett and what they’re doing?”

Emerson looked Gage up and down. Her loyalty was to the Howards, but would she side with Thea or her dad? “Are you sure they’re going to do something to Thea?”

“Pretty sure. Either that, or they’re going after Brett, which means Thea is in danger too.”

“How do you know?”

“Because they’re together. Keep up.”

“Why don’t you just walk in there and ask what they’re talking about?”

“They won’t tell me. It’s obvious they’re trying to keep me out of this. They know I won’t be okay with hurting Thea.”

Emerson’s jaw worked back and forth as she considered. “Are you working with Brett now?”

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