Had Belle been hurt either time, though? I might’ve had a different attitude about it all.
“This time,” Hunt continued. “I made sure to monitor your video feed. Which is why Trick was there in time to intercept the imbecile.”
“The guy saw me and started to run, only he slipped on the fence and hit his chin on the bottom rail. When he didn’t get up, I decided to leave him there and take the long way around so I didn’t have to go into the pen. By the time I got there, the pigs were already feasting on him. And he was dead as fuck. When he fell, he must’ve broken his neck.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And you just let them keep eating him?”
“Easier than calling the cops in and telling them what happened,” Trick answered with a shrug. “They’d already done such a good job before.” He paused. “But it was really fuckin’ gross. So I didn’t watch. I just left them to it, went and gathered some fresh eggs—one was still warm from a chicken’s ass by the way, and a really pretty color green—and waited for them to do their job.”
I shook my head. “This is really fuckin’ disconcerting.”
Belle came up behind me and started to rub my shoulders, and I couldn’t stop my head from falling backward and rubbing against the breasts that were pillowed against my head.
“Now that you drove all the way out there,” Lynn entered the conversation. “We think it would be best to meet us in Austin. I have a private jet waiting for you at the airport.”
I looked backward and over my shoulder to Belle.
She wasn’t the least bit put out that we were once again traveling with barely a moment’s notice.
“I want to meet with the governor face to face. I want to see if he knows what his brother is doing.” He paused. “Belle, you have family in Austin, correct?”
I felt her nod behind me. “My sister lives there with her police officer husband.”
“Good,” Lynn said. “I’ll call your brother-in-law and let him know to expect you at the airport tomorrow morning at ten. We’ll wait for you to get situated with him, then we’ll go take care of business.”
Belle’s fingers squeezed my shoulders as she said, “I’ll call him.”
Lynn shrugged. “Fine. But he’s going to want to talk to someone that knows what’s going on. He’s not going to believe you’re just coming up there and need a ride when he sees you break off from Bruno.”
Belle sighed. “You’re correct. But if you talk to him, he’s going to call my father and brothers. They’re going to be there even if they all have to call in sick to work, leave work sick, and drive all night. And then you’re not going to be able to do this as stealthily as you’d like.”
Lynn’s eyes connected with mine, and I shrugged.
“I don’t know them,” I admitted. “I do know that I had to do some creative negotiating to get her family to agree to allow Belle to come with me.”
Belle’s fingers dug into my neck.
“What?” she asked. “When did you talk to my dad?”
“Actually,” I said, “it was your mom. And I told her that I would protect you with my life in a brief five-minute conversation while you were getting coffee before we left the hospital.” I paused. “She was the one to call me. I’m not even sure how she got my number, but she did.” I paused again. “She told me that if she didn’t get regular updates from you, she was sending every single male in her family after me, and they’d find me, and then kill me if you weren’t okay.”
There was a bit of chuckling from the other men on the Zoom call.
But it was Belle sighing behind me that had me grinning.
“Oh my God,” I heard either Trick or Sin gasp. “He smiled.”
The smile fell off my face immediately.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grumbled.
“There he is.” Sin clapped. “I thought you might’ve gotten brain damage when that van tried to run over your head.”
“I think it did get damaged,” Hunt offered his two cents. “The man seriously has changed to almost approachable since he met her. I’m not sure what to think about it.”
I ignored them all and focused on Lynn.
“We’ll be there.” I paused. “Plan for her parents, siblings, and law enforcement in the area to know all about whatever it is you’re planning to do.”