Page 8 of Austin’s Answer (Shifter Ranch Mates #4)

EIGHT

Austin

I checked my phone again. Still no reply from Emily.

“Last one.” Luke grabbed the next saddle and started examining it. “Any word from your mate? What exactly are we looking for?”

“I don’t know. She just said it was urgent we check the saddles.” There was a pit in my stomach. Something wasn’t right. I tried calling her again. No answer.

Luke swore and turned the saddle toward me. “Look at the buckle.”

I had to lean in close to catch it. The buckle was damaged just enough that within a ride or two, it would have snapped. “That’s deliberate,” I growled.

“I agree.” Luke’s lips thinned. “And easy to miss. Whoever did this knows what they’re doing.”

“But how would Emily know?” I grabbed my phone. Still nothing.

“Could she have overheard someone talking about it? Where was she going?”

“The vet clinic and then to see her father. She didn’t mention anything else.” I stood, pacing as I whipped my hat off my head. “If she heard something she shouldn’t have, she could be in danger.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. She sent a text, so she was safe then. She might be out of range right now. There are lots of pockets around here where cells don’t work.” Luke grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to stop. “We’ll find her. You go to her family’s ranch, I’ll go to the vet clinic.”

The sound of laughter approaching had us turning toward the barn door. The guests were arriving. I grimaced. “The trail ride.”

Luke turned me back to face him. “You go. I’ll get Gabriel and Ethan to handle the ride, then I’ll head into town. Call me if you find her.” He walked over to the guests. “Hey, everyone. Change of plans. We need to push back the ride half an hour, and get you some new guides.”

I mouthed a thank you at him as I ran past the group. My blood was pumping, and my tiger was ready to break free to search for his mate, but my truck would be faster. I slid behind the wheel and tore out of the drive, sending gravel flying.

The Miller’s place wasn’t far, but the minutes ticked by slowly.

Each one that passed had my heart pounding harder.

Fur sprouted on my arms, my tiger pushing through my thinly held control.

I held him back, just barely, and the fur disappeared.

Finally, the sign for their ranch appeared, and I took the corner at almost full speed.

I leaped from the truck as soon as I parked and headed straight for the front door of the house. It opened before I got there, and Vince stepped out, his eyes cold when they landed on me. “I’ve made it clear before. You and your brothers aren’t welcome on my land.”

“Not your land. It’s your dad’s.” The words were clipped. “Where’s Emily?”

“Isn’t she at your ranch?” He raised a brow. “Did you lose my sister? Or did you drive her away again?”

“She was coming to visit her dad.” I waited for his response, wondering if he’d lie to me.

“Haven’t seen her.”

In a flash, I had his shirt in my hands and lifted him off the ground. “I can smell her on you. Now, where is she?”

Something flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared before it fully registered. His expression hardened. “She’s not here.”

I growled and threw him to the side, leaving him lying there as I stalked toward the house. I opened the door and searched for Emily’s scent. I found her trail outside the office and followed it through the house and out the kitchen door. Another scent mixed with hers, but it was unfamiliar.

Once outside, I let my tiger loose, the stitches in my side tearing out as my skin stretched, but the wound didn’t reopen. Luke was our best tracker, but I was a close second, and I was motivated.

My tiger followed our mate’s scent to the barn, where we found ATV tracks in the dirt.

There, he broke into a run, pushing his speed to his limit and holding it as long as possible.

All the while, my mind churned through scenarios to explain what was happening.

Why would Vince lie about seeing Emily? Whose scent was with hers? And where were they going?

As I got farther along the trail, I figured out where they were going. The abandoned cabin at the edge of their property where Chloe was once held captive. I just didn’t know why.

I slowed as I got closer. My tiger lowered himself to his belly and worked his way to the top of the hill between us and the cabin.

An ATV was parked outside the building. I itched to approach, desperate to see Emily. But I didn’t know what I was walking into. I needed a plan.

Emily

My head throbbed, and nausea welled in my gut. Ray had knocked me out, and I’d woken up tied to a chair in the cabin. I tested the ropes. They weren’t too tight. I could probably work my way out of them, but Ray was standing nearby, glowering at me.

“Well, princess, you really messed things up for me.” He spun a chair around and sat, resting his elbows on the back. “I had a good thing going with your brother. He paid me good money to mess with those shifters. Now, because you had to go and listen in on us talking, that’s all at risk.”

My head was fuzzy, probably due to a concussion, but I was clear enough to know I needed to watch myself with Ray. He had already gone against my brother’s order about not hurting me, and I wouldn’t put it past him to do it again. But I also wanted answers.

“What’s the point of messing with Shifter Ranch? It doesn’t make sense.”

He shrugged. “He’s got something against that shifter he used to be friends with. Other than that, don’t know, don’t care.” He narrowed his eyes. “I do care about losing that money. And I ain’t going to jail. Which means I can’t have you talking.”

My stomach twisted, increasing my nausea. I took careful breaths, trying to still the roiling in my gut. “Vince said not to hurt me. He was going to fix things.”

Ray chuckled darkly. “There’s no fixing this without taking care of you, princess.

Vince knows that. He’s just not man enough to give the order himself.

But he knows I am.” He stood, chair scraping as he shoved it to the side.

“Question is, how to do it. I could make it quick.” He walked to the table a few feet away and picked up his rifle, stroking it before laying it back down and picking up a small plastic container.

“Or I could make you suffer a little, first. Make you pay for all those years of looking down on me.”

He pulled a syringe and vial out of the box, walking closer and holding out the vial for me to read. My throat dried. “Ray, you can’t do this.”

“Oh, I think I can. Worked like a charm on those horses.” He gave me a twisted smile as he loaded the syringe with the botulism toxin. “And I was always taught not to waste leftovers.”

I needed to distract him. Keep him talking while I figured out an escape plan. “I thought you used a powder on the horses? I found it in their feed.”

He smirked. “That was a decoy. Any tests run on it will come back negative, making everyone think the horses weren’t poisoned after all. I’m not as dumb as you think I am, princess.”

My breath quickened as he came closer. “Poisoning horses is one thing, Ray. But a human? The consequences for that will be so much worse.”

“Have to get caught first. And I already have a plan for disposing of your body.”

I twisted on the chair, trying to free myself from the ropes as Ray lunged at me with the needle.

I kicked out, but he dodged, circling the chair to come up behind me.

He jabbed the needle into my arm, a sharp pinch that set my blood and mind racing.

I needed to escape and get to the antitoxin. Fast.

He placed the syringe and vial back in the container and picked up his rifle, turning back to me with a smirk. “I’ll leave you to think about what’s coming. As a vet, I’m sure you know what to expect. When I get back, I might put you out of your misery, if you ask nicely.”

He crossed over to the door, slamming it behind him. Tears pricked at my eyes, and a sob rose in my throat. I had maybe a few hours before the symptoms started. A few hours to escape, find my vet kit, and administer the antitoxin.

I let out a ragged breath and closed my eyes, trying to calm my thudding heart. I took a minute to steady myself, to push aside the terror that threatened to flood me. But it wasn’t easy. Bits of my life kept flashing through my brain. There was a lot of Austin.

My heart clenched with regret. Regret for the years we missed out on. Regret for holding back after he explained what happened. And regret for the years to come that we might not get a chance to have. I let it wash over me before shoving it aside. I wouldn’t give up that easily.

Then I got to work.

The rope scraped against my skin as I twisted and flexed my wrists.

It took a few minutes and some rope burn, but soon I freed one of my hands, which I used to loosen the rest of the ropes.

I stumbled toward the door and turned the knob, but it wouldn’t open.

I twisted it again, leaning my weight against the door, but something outside was preventing it from moving.

I checked the closest window, which was boarded up, leaving only a sliver of light visible. Peering through it, I tried to see the outside of the door. A padlock held it shut.

I slapped my hand against the wall and leaned my forehead against the board over the window. I wasn’t getting through that door, but I also didn’t have time to fall apart. The clock was ticking as the toxin made its way through my bloodstream.

I surveyed the room I was in. It was mostly bare, other than the table and chairs. All the windows were securely boarded up. If I found something to pry the boards off a window, I could use a chair to break the glass.

I quickly realized there was nothing helpful in the main area, so I entered the second room, which held a bed and dresser.

The window in here was also boarded up. I opened the drawers frantically, searching for something, anything, to help.

One drawer held some old newspapers, another had a half-filled bottle of whiskey and matches, and the last drawer had a first aid kit.

My hands trembled as I pulled the kit out and opened it.

I sorted through the contents quickly. Most of it was useless, but I found an auto-injector of epinephrine.

It was expired, but the viewing window still showed a clear, colorless solution.

It was risky, but it might slow the spread of the toxin, so I prepped the injector and blew out a breath before jabbing it into my thigh and massaging the area.

I may have bought myself some time, but I still needed a way out of the cabin and the antitoxin. With nothing to pry the boards, that wasn’t an option.

“Think, Emily. Think.” I paced the small bedroom, searching my brain for options.

There had to be a way. I refused to let my story end here, before I told Austin the truth about how I felt.

I just needed to get creative. I stilled as a thought rose.

I almost dismissed it immediately as too risky, but it hung on, nudging me over and over.

Poking at me until I accepted it was my only chance.

I wouldn’t let Ray dictate what happened here today.