Page 21 of The Cowboy's Justice

“Doin’ their job,” Devlin retorted, cutting him off. ”What’s goin’ on?”

“Where’s Portia?”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, where’s Portia?” William shouted, causing Jethro and Jezebel to growl.

“I wouldn’t yell at me like that, the dogs don’t like it, and why are you askin’ me?”

“Except for her friend Helen Rutherford, you’re the only person she knows around here, but I checked with Helen and she’s not there, so where else would she be?” William demanded angrily. “She literally vanished. She didn’t take her car and—”

“Isn’t it bein’ repaired?”

“She has more than one,” William sneered.

“If you’re worried about her call the sheriff.”

“Oh, trust me, I will! I’ll get a search warrant, and when I do I’ll tear this fucking place apart.”

“But there’s nothin’ to suggest she’s here? You’re not makin’ any sense.”

“I’m not an idiot. I saw the way you were lookin’ at each other.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hey, the only other way out of her house is through the back gate. I checked, and horse prints are all over the place.”

“Horse prints?” Devlin repeated with a chuckle.

“You know what I mean!” William snapped. “Their feet, hooves, they’re everywhere.”

“William, we ride over there all the time. There’s a trail that runs along the back of those homes. Like I said, if you’re worried call the sheriff. Come here again unannounced and I’ll let Jezebel and Jethro do the talkin’ for me. Now get off my property.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

As Devlin called Jethro and Jezebel to his side, William hurried back to his car, hastily climbed in and headed down the driveway. Though he wanted to speed away he was worried the tires would kick up the gravel and scratch the paint. But as he turned onto the road he slammed his foot on the gas. The car rocketed forward, its powerful engine taking it from zero to sixty in three-seconds. William loved the dangerous thrill, but was forced to quickly slow down as he approached a bend. Not wanting to risk a ticket and end up on the wrong side of the sheriff, he drove the speed limit back to the house. But his mind continued to race. In spite of the cowboy’s denials William was sure Portia had secretly left through the back gate and been spirited away by Devlin on horseback.

But what had Devlin been doing there?

Was it a coincidence, or the two of them made a secret date?

Pulling a stunt like that would be just like her.

She loved to play games.

It was one of the things he hated about her.

But she’d swallowed enough of the spiked coffee to knock her out, or at least make her drowsy and incoherent. How could she have made her way through the house to the back gate, let alone sit on a horse?

As he drove into the motor court his head was still spinning, but when he stepped from his car an idea came to mind.

“You want to play games?” he muttered, walking up to the front door. “No problem. I’ll play, but you’ll be sorry. I play dirty and I always win.”

* * *

When Devlin walked back in his house with the dogs, he stopped in the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of coffee and plate the cinnamon rolls he’d bought the day before.

“Don’t you dare touch them,” he warned, seeing Jethro and Jezebel eye the tasty treats as he set them on the table.

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