Page 10 of Toxic

“We found out later that someone was paying them to go work at other places. I thought maybe they were just paying more, but now I think it was to workanywherebut here.”

I frowned. “That’s fucking weird. A good crew is usually pretty loyal.”

“Right?” she asked, sounding exasperated. “And they were a great crew. No one would talk to me except my foreman. And he left, too. It was almost like he was scared to tell me what was going on. And then the calls started. And the letters.” She swallowed hard and her eyes darted away from me.

I could see the tears there. It wasn’t hard to see that this was a tough woman. She had handled that shotgun like a pro, and was clearly keeping this place running the best she could. I could see the exhaustion in every tense line in her body. She was worn down. And that was likely the reason she was close to tears. She didn’t strike me as the type to sob at every misfortune. It just sounded like she had a lot of it.

“How long has this been going on?” I asked.

“About five months.” She scrunched her nose in a way that made me grin. It was damn adorable. “Almost six now.”

“Long time,” Butcher said.

“Do you know who it is?” I asked. “Who do you think is doing this?”

She stood up, her boots thunking against the wooden floors as she grabbed something off the counter.

My eyes dropped to her ass. Ho-ly shit. The woman had a world class ass. It was thick and juicy and I wanted to take a biteout of it. She had thick thighs that turned into flared hips that eventually nipped in a bit at her waist. My mouth was fucking watering.

Butcher’s stare was boring into the side of my head, but I ignored the fucker, eyes flashing back up to Billie’s face as she came back to the table. Every time she looked over at Butcher my eyes dropped down to her tits. They were a little more than a handful and I wanted to weigh them in my hands. Her body was strong and thick. She wasn’t a petite woman and that was exactly how I liked it. Not that I was usually picky. I liked all kinds, but this was the kind of body that inspired a man to stay in bed all damn day.

Butcher handed the letter over to me. I saw the company name and frowned. Fission Solutions. “Never heard of them.”

“Me either,” Billie replied. “And I’ve been trying to look into them. Then today…” She broke off, raking a hand through her hair again.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I came in from the south fields and saw a car driving off. I found my Grandpa out back. Someone beat him nearly to death,” she whispered.

“And you think it was this company?” Butcher asked.

She looked up at us, desperation in her eyes. She wanted us to believe her. “I don’t know who else would do something like this. I don’t understand why anyone even would. He’s an old man. Harmless.”

I knew exactly why they would do this. She was a single female living with an old man. Only a fucking coward would be targeting her. “No other enemies?” I asked.

She shook her head. “We mostly keep to ourselves. Especially lately. It’s been…a lot…running this place. I don’t have time to make enemies.” She gave me a wry smile.

Didn’t I fucking know it? I knew exactly what it took to run a ranch this size, and it was a lot smaller than mine back in Wyoming. Still, it was too much for one person to handle alone. “Well, I can give you a hand for a while. Until we can figure out what the hell is going on.”

Until I can figure out whose ass to pummel.

Relief and confusion mixed in her gaze. “I don’t really know why you’re offering to help, but I’m going to take it.”

Both Butcher and I chuckled at that. She was a straight shooter. I liked that.

She tilted her head, studying me. “I’m kind of at an impasse. I don’t know how to find out what’s happening. Keely is sending a cease and desist letter for me.”

I snorted at that. “Lawyer shit. We’ll look into it for you.”

“How?” she asked. “Are you…like…cops?” She tilted her head again. “Should I call the cops?”

“Hell no,” I barked, making her jump a little. “We’re former military. All the men in our club are. We have ways of finding shit out.”

“That makes you sound all mysterious.” She tilted her head toward me and smiled.

Fuck. She was going to be the death of me. I just knew it. I was going to end up doing whatever it fucking took just to get smiles out of her.

She seemed to realize I was staring at her and the smile slipped off her face. She cleared her throat. “Well, thank you so much for feeding my animals. And helping me with this. I don’t know what else I can do, but I can pay you for the ranch work.”

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