Page 4 of Property of Rio

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” I question turning to look at him, my eyes piercing. I’ve been trying to get this done all fucking day in between the countless interruptions.

While some of our chapters run drugs, others run guns. East Texas just had a shipment of guns delivered to us several days ago, and I’ve been working to get the numbers squared away so I can broker a deal. We’re in a good position location-wise that we’re able to transport them over the border to the cartels. Once I’m sure of the stock that’s been sent, I’ll reach out to our contact and get the deal finalized, then launder the money through our laundromat before I have Pokey transfer it accordingly.

“You’re gonna wanna see this, Prez,” he says. “Starlight’s at the gate, chuffing and she seems to be in distress.”

“Issy’s horse?” I question, confusion dripping from my tongue as I continue staring at him, dropping the clipboard on top of the box I was working through.

“Yeah, Issy’s horse,” he confirms, following me back up the stairs and into the huge, industrial kitchen.

I don’t worry about locking the door since it’s got a biometric lock installed. Once it closes, the only brothers who can get in this space are those who are officers. Concern thrums through me as I make my way outside to the Ranger that BamBam brought since the gate itself is nearly a quarter mile away. He jumps in, fires it up, puts it in gear then I grab the oh shit strap as he floors it to the front gate.

“Is Issy with her?” I ask. She had a show this weekend and was taking both horses.

She was putting on a dressage exhibition with Starlight and running the barrels with Stargazer.

For further confirmation so I can discern what it is we’re looking at in regard to the seriousness of this situation, I ask, “What about Stargazer?”

“No to both. It’s just Starlight,” BamBam says. “Something’s not right, Prez. I also had a missed call from Gage.”

“Gage? He drove the truck with Gazer in it to the rodeo, right?” I query, still trying to puzzle things through and assess the problem.

I feel as though I’m behind the eight ball right now and if Issy’s in danger, I need to see all the pieces clearly.

“Have you called Gage back yet?”

“No, I was about to when Starlight showed up. Figured it was more important to get you up here first, then we can call him back to see what he wanted,” BamBam replies.

“Good thinking,” I murmur, my heart skittering as we approach the gate. One of the ranch hands, who isn’t part of the club itself, has a feed bag around Starlight’s neck, while another is working to fill a water trough. It’s obvious that Starlight is worn out. She’s got flecks of foamy sweat along her withers and flanks, and I can see her chest bellowing in and out as she breathes.

“Let’s hold up on the food and water for a few, y’all,” I call out as I approach the gate. “Give her a chance to cool down.”

“Sorry, Rio,” Pancho says. “Shoulda thought of that myself.” He carefully pulls the feed bag off and steps back from Starlight. “Sorry, old girl,” he murmurs as he starts wiping her down. “You just work on breathing, okay? We’ll give you some food and water in just a few.”

Pancho’s been around for-fucking-ever, and he’s good with not only our herd of horses, but those we board. He’s got ‘the Midas touch’ as I like to call it. So does his son, Luis, who stops filling up the trough and steps back.

Actually, so do I, but it’s not as evident these days since I’m running the club and don’t get many opportunities to work with our horses.

“No worries, Panch,” I reply, walking toward Starlight.

She whinnies and bobs her head up and down when she sees me, making me grin.

“Hey, girl,” I whisper, turning my attention to the mare that I’ve been around since the day she came into Isla’s life. Rubbing my hand up and down her neck, I ask, “Where’s your momma, old girl?”

She chuffs and nuzzles my neck, tickling my flesh as she blows heated air out of her nostrils while I look over her bridle.

“What the fuck is this?” I murmur, pulling it closer to me for further inspection. When I feel it’s wet, I pull my hand back and see that it’s oily with a crimson substance.

A sense of urgency fills me and hurriedly, I turn to BamBam. “It’s blood. We need to find Issy. Call Gage backnowand put him on speaker.”

I don’t give that first fuck how ruthless I sound right now as I issue the urgent command. Issy,myIssy, is apparently in danger and I need to find her.

A-s-fucking-p!

“Wait!” I exclaim, holding my hand up. “Don’t say a word about Starlight being here. We need to figure out what’s going on first, okay?”

“Got it, Prez,” BamBam replies while staring at both Pancho and Luis. When they both nod, he pulls his phone out and hits redial then presses the speaker button.

“BamBam!” Gage yells through the connection. “Thank God, you called me back! Issy’s gone, and so is Starlight!”

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