Page 49 of Degrading Her

I rolled the dice. An even total, and we would give them more time. But odd? We would start the attack now.

Odd.

“Now,” I said.

Wilder clicked a button on his phone. An explosion vibrated through the ground. Flames rose up, flickering over half of the building.

“What the hell?” one of the soldiers shouted.

“Where—”

Our men set out a round of warning bullets, wounding some, but not killing anyone yet. Not until I gave the order.

“Shit! Shit!”

Their weapons fired in every direction, then they came forward and I threw a grenade. They ducked. Another one died from the blast. Once the smoke cleared, I stood up.

“You have a choice,” I shouted, aiming my gun at them. “You can die for Roth, or you can join the Feldman Farm. All you have to do is drop your weapon.”

One of them sneered at me, then charged forward, shouting at the top of his lungs. He shot at us, but then he stepped on a landmine; an explosion ricocheted through the parking lot and the man’s leg blew off, sending his body crashing to the asphalt.

One man dropped his weapon. The next man aimed his gun toward the HCF defector, and I put a bullet in between the shooter’s eyes. The next one aimed at us, and I ducked down, but Wilder shot him. As the building fire cackled, more of them put down their weapons, and the rest of them died for a man that didn’t think twice about them. I glanced back at our men; none of our ranchers had been hurt, and only one hunter had been wounded.

As long as the men back at the farm were fine, we would be all right, and in a much better position than Hatchcom Focus now.

I signaled to Wilder and the rest of our group, and we set out, helping the survivors. The easy choice would be to execute the men who had surrendered; after all, if they were willing to turn their backs on Hatchcom Focus—why wouldn’t they do the same to us? But I wasn’t about to lose that much potential. There were other ways to prove that you were loyal. My father had taught me that.

We took their weapons, then escorted them to the farm. Our private doctor took care of their wounds, and we let them board in the main house while our men watched them. We made plans to negotiate contracts and decide the best options for them to prove their loyalty in the morning. I had a good idea of how to do that.

Once everything was settled, I headed to the Dairy Barn to make sure everything was in its place. I trusted mybrother to handle the groundwork; it was his calling. But I still needed to see it with my own eyes.

The empty troughs. The stanchion. The pens. Loose scraps of hay. Dust everywhere. Bloodstains etched into the concrete.

Everything was in its place.

And yet, my mind was buzzing with too many possibilities at once. Thinking of Fiona. Thinking of how wrong today could have gone if I had let her distract me any more than I already had.

The barn door slid open behind me. Wilder glared at me.

What the hell was his problem now?

My phone vibrated: a text message from Fiona.

It wasn’t important.Shewasn’t important.

But my fingers swiped through.

That little freckle on her cheek, so similar to the one on her breast. Her pouty lips. A sheer babydoll, her naked pussy spread underneath. My dick twitched; I bet she was already wet for me.

“You’re answering a text,” Wilder muttered.

I didn’t look up. It was none of his business.

“None of this had to happen,” he continued.

I stowed my phone. “Tell that to Norman Roth.”

Wilder shoved my chest, and I immediately threw a punch at his face. His fist connected with my stomach.

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