I hop in my truck and head back toward the house. Checking every pasture as I pass. Every fence line. Every treeline. Everything around me is calm. Peaceful. The ranch has never run smoother. The cattle are healthy, the horses are strong, and the crew is solid. Ace is making his bull riding come back, putting the Sterling name on the map. And our horses are making big money at shows. The ranch is doing exactly what it should be. It would make my dad proud.
Yet, outside these fences, it’s going to shit. It’s like I put out one fire and another erupts before the smoke has cleared. We needed the mafia to keep the ranch alive, yet it’s the very same thing that could kill everything. It was a risk my dad knew. But it will be me who pays the price for it.
As I pull up outside the house and cut the engine, I hear a shriek. I glance over at the bull pen, and my heart damn nearly explodes on the spot.
Lola and Wyatt. Running in circles, being chased by not just Gary but all of his goat friends, bleating and sprinting, hoovesclattering on the hard ground. Wyatt is screaming with laughter. Lola’s red hair flying behind her, that damn hat still on her head, and she’s shrieking so loud it echoes off the barn.
They’re having the time of their lives. City girl looks good here. Happy even.
I sit in the truck and watch them. My son and my girl.
And then my phone rings.
Finally. Fucking Enzo.
I answer the call and wait for the line to secure.
“Hunter. What do you need? I don’t have long.” Enzo’s Italian accent fills the cab.
“I’ll keep it short and sweet. I got two problems. One, you know about: The Greek mafia based in LA. They want me to join them. I told them to fuck off, and now they’re retaliating, shooting up our shipments. Making threats.”
“I can send some guys to you to go to LA and finish it?”
I scratch the back of my neck. “It leads me into prong two, Enzo. I got arrested for murder, and I’ve got ninety days to prove my innocence. They’re sayin’ I killed my kids' mom.”
He laughs. A proper, full-bellied laugh that crackles through the phone line. “Fucking hell, Hunter. Did you do it?”
“No. I didn’t. She’s Wyatt’s mom. I’m not that much of an asshole.” I watch Lola scoop Wyatt up and gently swing him onto her good hip. Wyatt never had moments like this with Ashley. There was no laughter. No fun. No mother's love.
I shake my head, pulling myself back into the present. Into the mess I need to clear up. “I think the Greeks are involved. I was set up, but it’s a different town from the cops on my payroll. And they want a murderer. I need to give them one.”
I hear him sigh.
“I can’t leave New Falls until it’s dealt with. And I fired my lawyer.”
“Fuck,” he hisses.
“How would the Greeks have known you were going to be there? I’ve told you before, coincidences don’t happen in this life,” he says.
It’s not often you get this deep a conversation from Enzo. That man is on his own mission for world domination, and I’ve heard through the grapevine, hunting for a woman that he lost years ago.
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. “I’m either being tailed. Or I have a fuckin’ rat problem. I’m hoping it’s the first option.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll fix this. I can get Romeo to arrange everything for you, whatever you need; he will get it done. I just need you and your brothers on hand the second I say so. So we need this cleared up.”
I nod. “I need a lawyer. Preferably someone good at making dirty deals with the feds. I’ve called Drago already, but he’s waiting for your call. And I need some help finding the person who actually murdered Wyatt’s mom. That’ll lead us to the source of the bigger issue. Because if some fuck has set me up, I need to know who that is and deal with them.”
“Yeah. You do.” A pause that weighs more than the words around it. “Trust no one, Hunter. I’ll have resources looking into it. I’ll send over Romeo’s number. Work with him. Whoever did it won’t be able to hide from us.”
Finally. Some light at the end of the tunnel. Romeo is Enzo’s second-in-command. The guy Enzo sends when shit is heading south.
This is why my dad made the deal with Enzo all those years ago. The connections he has are powerful enough to make murder charges disappear. Powerful enough to keep Sterling Ranch standing for another generation.
“And what shall I do about the Greeks?” I ask.
“They come near you, keep killing them until we devise a better plan. Let’s fight battles the smart way. We don’t want a war on all fronts. They’re small fish in a big pond.”
I blow out a breath and glance up through the windshield. Lola and Wyatt are leaning on the metal railings of the pen now. Both are watching my truck. Wyatt waves. Lola’s hand rests on his shoulder. My hat on her head. The sun behind them.