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The blood drained from her face. "Just long enough for what?"

Instead of answering, the detective reached into a small satchel sitting between them on the seat. He pulled out a syringe. A syringe filled with a clear liquid and a very long needle."

Joy hated needles. She’d hated them since the first time she came down with rheumatic fever. Back then, she’d had to get a shot every day. Sometimes it was medicine. Sometimes it was vitamins. Sometimes she thought the doctor just wanted to stick somebody with a sharp pointy thing.

She didn’t need to know what the clear liquid was, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking. "What is that?" She hated the tremble in her voice.

The sneer on the detective space was not encouraging. "Let's just say it's a special gift to you from Eddie."

Joy's blood grew cold.

Eddie dealt illegal drugs. She wasn't sure exactly what kind, she just knew he liked to mix things together. She could hear him, with his smarmy voice, saying, "The lower the cost, the higher the profit."

Money was all that had ever mattered to Eddie. She certainly hadn't.

But if her illness had taught her one thing, it was that it was okay to feel fear as long as you don't let that fear control you.

She refused to let her fear control her. Look at everything she had to look forward to. She was starting a new life. With a new family. And a Daddy who loved her. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

CHAPTER 25

Chance lay on his stomach in the snow outside the north pasture cabin, ignoring the cold. When he got Gypsy out of there, he was burning that fucking cabin to the ground.

Now that he'd actually had eyes on her and the detective, he put in a call to his brother.

Boone answered on the first ring. "Hey, where the hell are you?"

“I'm at the north pasture cabin. James is here and he has Joy. He's got her tied with her arms in front of her. I'm not sure what's going on. All I know is my Little girl needs me, and I’m standing outside watching like a fuckin’ Peeping Tom. "

"I know, brother. But you’re doing her no favors if you bust in there like a wild man and get shot right in front of her. Just hold tight. We’re headed that way. We can be there in five. Do not, I repeat, do not go by yourself. You need backup. James may be an ass, but he's a trained ass. Don’t forget it. He has a gun. He knows how to use it. And he will shoot you before he lets you stop him."

The rage simmering inside Chance boiled over. "That's great. I'll give you five minutes, and then I'm going in. With or without you. And, brother, at five minutes, all bets are off."

He disconnected the call and crawled backwards until the truck blocked anyone's view of him from the cabin.

He might not go in alone, but that didn’t mean he could just sit on his ass and wait, hoping for the best. He needed to get closer so at least he could tell if Gypsy was all right.

His mind tried to talk to him about what his babygirl was going through, but he had to shut the thoughts down. If he focused on how terrified she must be, he’d lose his mind.

He’d followed Dodger all the way from Castello Road to the north pasture. At some point in the pasture, he lost sight of the wolfdog. He would have lost him sooner, but Dodger had doubled back and waited for him to catch up.

He had to shut those thoughts down, too. Because that was just crazy.

By the time he’d lost sight of Dodger the last time, he knew where the wolfdog had been leading him.

Slowly, he began to inch his way toward the window on the right side of the cabin. He could use the tree for cover if need be. If James had hurt his babygirl, Chance would take whatever consequences came his way, but James was a dead man.

Before he could make it as far as the window, his phone buzzed. Looking at the screen, he took the call. Sam would keep calling until Chance answered anyway. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Kind of in the middle of something right now, Sam. What is it?"

Sam didn’t believe in wasting time. “Chance, you son of a bitch. I told you to wait for me. If anything happens to James, you'll go away for a long time. This country still takes exception to people killing cops, even bad ones."

"Noted. Any other sage advice?"

“No, you won't listen anyway. Just be careful and be smart." This time is was Sam who disconnected the call.

Turning his phone to silent, he took in a breath. Everything in him wanted to storm the room. Instead, he tucked it in his pocketand made his way to the window. Even though the glass was frosted over, he could see in.

He’d been right, James had tied Joy's arms tied, the dick. Like she would be able to overpower him.