Page 36 of Cowboy Under Siege

He needed to do something productive, something to further Trinny’s case along.

Carrying his mug to the table, he took a seat and sat sipping while he stared out the window. A birdfeeder hung off one of the front porch posts and a small, plump bird sat there enjoying breakfast, but his mind was back at the scene of that explosion.

He was leaning against her SUV for a good twenty minutes before she came out of the store. All the while it was rigged to blow. Hell, the explosives might have been planted while parked at the Sleep Inn Motel.

If she’d refused to stay and listen to what he had to say… If she’d jumped behind the wheel and driven away? He would have learned of the explosion later. It would have been too late.

He didn’t believe in coincidence. Even as a small boy, he realized things happened for a reason and he never balked at what those signs meant. All the Abels ran off their gut instincts and that made them good at their jobs. Their momma claimed it was some centuries-old gypsy blood that ran in their veins, but his father called his five sons witches’ spawn.

Setting down his coffee with a grunt, he picked up his phone and swiped the screen. What he needed right now was his team, and that included his brothers.

He got Judd on the line.

“It’s Jaren. I’m patching in Jace on a three-way,” he said.

“All right, I’ll wait.” Judd’s tone was groggy. None of them were morning people, but they dealt with working all hours of the day and long shifts to make sure their wards received topnotch protection.

Jace came on the line. “What’s up, fucker?”

“Fuckers,” Judd rumbled. “We’re both here. Now tell us why you called, Jaren.”

He shot a glance at the closed door of the guestroom, confident that Trinny was still sleeping and wouldn’t overhear.

“I need reports on the explosion. Police reports, reports from the fire chief, and any information you can get from the guy who towed what was left of the Hummer.”

“What about your bike?” Judd asked.

“Fuck the bike.”

A deep silence followed. Then came a quiet “Damn” from one of his brothers.

Jaren plowed on. “I can build another bike. Lexis claimed the reports would say a fire started from a cigarette ash, but I still want to see what was written. One of you is gonna send them to me in the next half hour. Got it?”

“Momma would whip out the wooden spoon and wave it at you for being so bossy,” Jace drawled.

Jaren grunted. “She’s not here.” Thank Christ she wasn’t, too. Of all of his family members, his momma would see through him the fastest. With one look she’d see that Jaren had slipped.

That he’d let a woman get past his defenses.

Fighting down an odd wave of emotion, he pushed aside the matter and focused on the conversation.

“I’ll pull everything and send it your way right now,” Jace said.

“Thanks. Now I need something from you, Judd.”

“What’s that?”

“I need your better half.”

Another beat of silence hammered in his ear.

“You need Ari?”

“Yes. Trinny is accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Ari can help her. She needs clothes and…girl stuff.”

“I see. You’re right. I’ll ask and I’m sure she’ll agree.”

“Good. Bring me some clothes too. If you guys can come up…say at noon…I’ll have burgers on the grill.”

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