Page 71 of Cowboy Under Siege

“Fuck!” He peeled himself off the floorboards. When he sat up, his head made a slow circle that threatened to flatten him again.

“Trinny?” His voice sounded pained, like he hadn’t used it in years.

The hot tub still bubbled feet away. There was a towel crumpled on the deck but some of Trinny’s clothes were gone—her panties and bra lay a short distance from him.

Fucking hell. What happened to him? To her?

He lurched to his feet and nearly fell over. His veins felt clogged, his limbs like granite.

That stab in the back… Some drug got pumped through his system, making him sluggish and disoriented.

“Trinny!” The bellow echoed off the mountain.

He whirled, nearly collapsed and managed to gain his balance. It took him far too long to swagger across the deck to the back door. It stood open, but there was no sign of Trinny or a struggle. No indication what happened to him.

He called her name until the tendons in his neck stood rigid. He searched every room, even the bathrooms.

Oh god. She wasn’t here.

Some of the fog was lifting, and he ran back to the deck for his jeans—and his phone. He gripped it tight but couldn’t think how to use the device to get her back.

He swiped his thumb over the screen and it came to life. Two missed calls from Judd jolted his memory and with shaking hands, he managed to call his brother back.

“I need backup. Someone took her. She’s gone. Fuck, brother. What am I going to do?” He ended on a roar that shook him to the core.

“What the hell happened? Talk to me, Jaren. I’m jumping in the truck now.”

He heard the huffing sound of his brother running and doors slamming. The rev of an engine.

“I don’t know what happened. I passed out.”

“Passed out? How the fuck did that happen, Jaren?”

“Don’t know…” Yes, he did. “I think someone was here. Sneaked up on me. I felt a sharp stab.”

“A stab? Are you bleeding?”

“Not that kind of stab. Like a needle.”

“Jesus Christ. Stay on the line with me and get your gun in hand but don’t shoot if you feel even a little fuzzy. I’m calling the team.”

With every word they exchanged, more of Jaren’s brain cells engaged. Weapon in hand, he made a thorough search of the lodge.

Then he remembered the cameras. Surely one picked something up.

“The cams! Get someone to tap into them!” He ran for the office and the computer setup that the Modeens used. But the system was sitting there cold and would need to be booted up, which would take far too long.

Now his brain was close to ninety percent functional. He tore out the front door and scoured the area. No sign of a struggle. No sign of Trinny.

Gut-wrenching despair nearly doubled him over.

“Jaren, talk to me. What are you lookin’ at?” Judd’s voice came clear over the line.

“I don’t know. Someone took her. This tire track in the gravel might be fresh. Corrine’s truck you brought back when you got your bike earlier is still parked here, untouched.”

He rushed back inside and swept a look over the space. Nothing was disturbed whatsoever. Not a thing was out of place to indicate how Trinny came to be missing.

His feet slammed on the floor as he ran back to the guestroom. He’d already checked it for signs of her before but now he looked closer. Everything was exactly as they’d left it when she led him to the hot tub.

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