Page 63 of Silos and Sabotage

Gage’s phone started buzzing with an incoming call. Johnny’s followed suit. They pulled out their phones, gave them a quick scan, and exchanged a troubled look with each other.

“We have to go.” Gage stood and held out a hand to Ella.

“Oh, no,” her mother moaned. “We haven’t eaten dessert yet.”

“It’s my chef’s signature chocolate créme brûlée,” Creston Bolander reminded proudly.

Ella, who’d been studying her Uncle Raleigh, detected a flash of empathy in his gaze as he watched her mother deflate over their preparations for an early departure. It was gone so quickly that she wondered if she’d imagined it. Was it possible that he harbored a scrap of human compassion for the daughter of his family’s biggest rival? The possibility that he did cast him in a better light.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s been an accident at the animal rescue sanctuary,” Gage explained. His expression was so grim that Ella knew it had to be bad.

“Whatever it is, can’t the authorities handle it?” she protested with a piteous look at her daughter.

“I’m sorry,” Gage repeated, towing Ella away from the table. “One of our friends is hurt. Thank you again for the invitation, Mr. Bolander. I apologize for the necessity of cutting our visit short. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“Certainly.” Creston Bolander walked around the table to shake their hands again.

Afterward, Gage and Johnny bustled Ella to the Bronco so quickly that it took her breath away. Only after the doors were shut and locked did she explode, “What in the world?”

“It’s Jordan,” Gage informed her tersely. He took off with a squeal of tires, stopping impatiently at the security gate until it swung open at a torturously slow pace.

“Someone broke into the sanctuary again,” Johnny had his cell phone in front of his face, rattling off the details spelled out in the text message he’d received. “Jordan got roughed up pretty badly. He’s on his way to the medical center. Sounds like Cassie walked in on them with a gun and fired over their heads to scare off the assailant.”

It didn’t sound to Ella like it was another robbery. “What did they want this time?”

“You.” Johnny’s voice was cold. “He was trying to pinpoint your exact whereabouts.”

“But failed to beat it out of him, according to Cassie,” Gage added.

“Poor Jordan.” Ella deflated against her seat cushion. It hurt her heart that the quiet, introverted Jordan Jacobson had been injured on her behalf, the kind of guy who wouldn’t hurt a flea. Since it was after hours, she could only presume he’d been tending to his horse when it happened.

Gage and Johnny lapsed into an energetic debate over the potential suspects.

“We can rule out the three we had dinner with,” Gage sighed.

“And the butler.” Johnny sounded disappointed. “Though Billy Bob is still in the mix.”

“We can probably rule out Walker Radcliffe. He walks with a pretty heavy limp.” Gage rubbed a hand behind his neck. “If he’s behind it, he certainly didn’t do it himself.”

“Which basically puts us back to square one.” Johnny slapped his thigh in irritation, managing to raise another small cloud of dust.

Gage turned on his blinker and moved into the passing lane to go around a hay baler. “Nice work with the silo questions, by the way.”

“Nice work?” Ella was aghast. “It was like watching someone strike a match and throw it on a pile of dry leaves.”

“Exactly,” Gage agreed cryptically.

“In case you missed it, Raleigh wasn’t happy that I’d brought up the topic.” Johnny gave a dry cackle. He’d enjoyed stirring the pot.

“But he didn’t get all twitchy like someone with something to hide.”

Ella had no idea what they were talking about or where they were taking her, for that matter. “Isn’t the medical center in the other direction?”

“It is.” Gage sounded surprised by her question. “But after what happened to Jordan, we’re taking you some place safe.”

“I have to see him, Gage.” She glanced at the road behind them, thoroughly tired of running and hiding.

“It’s too dangerous.” His tone was pleading.

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