Page 119 of Branded

“Good. We’ll be wheels up in thirty minutes. Text me updates.” He hangs up.

I immediately call Nathaniel back while pulling up to the house, where trucks are already gathering.

“Caroline told me. Marshall took her?”

“Yeah. And they’re demanding the south pastures in exchange.” I pull up satellite images of Marshall property on Caroline’s laptop. “But I’m not negotiating. I’m going after her. Warren is flying down with Lennox’s brothers. They’ll be here in just over three hours.”

Dad’s eyebrows shoot up. “You called her father?”

“He had a right to know his daughter’s been taken.” I meet his eyes through the screen. “And he made it very clear, nobody who touched Lennox walks away from this.”

“Jesus Christ.” But Dad is smiling grimly. “Alright. You’ve got the Briggs family backing you. That changes things. Warren Briggs doesn’t fuck around.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Then here’s what we do. Take the men. Go in fast and hard. Find Lennox. If the Briggs family arrives before you’ve extracted her, coordinate with them.” Dad’s voice hardens.

I turn to the assembled group, twenty ranch hands, all armed, all looking at me for direction.

“Thomas Marshall kidnapped Lennox from our property less than an hour ago,” I say, my voice carrying across the yard. “We’re going to Marshall land, and we’re getting her back. This isn’t a negotiation, or a peaceful resolution. This is a rescue operation. And we’re not alone, Lennox’s father and brothers are flying down from Montana as we speak. If they arrive before we find her, they’ll join the operation. Either way, we bring her home today.”

“Where is she?” Pete asks.

“Don’t know yet. But Marshall has a property sixty miles from here, a place nobody thinks about often. We start there and work our way back.” I point to the satellite images Caroline pulled up. “Main compound here. Three outbuildings. Worker housing here. We split into four groups. Search every structure until we find her.”

“What if they resist?” Miguel asks, checking his rifle.

“Then we show them what happens when you fuck with the Drake family.” I look at each man. “We don’t shoot first, but we don’t miss when we do shoot. We’re here for Lennox. Once we have her, we clear out leaving destruction in our wake.”

Nods all around. Grim determination on every face.

“What about law enforcement?” Nathaniel asks.

“They aren’t involved,” I say.

Caroline pulls me aside as the men disperse. “Is Warren Briggs really flying down?”

“Yes. With Cage and Cole. They’ll be here in three hours. It will take us thirty minutes to leave here, forty-five minutes to get to the place I think he’s taken her so they won’t be too far behind.”

“Jesus. This is going to be a bloodbath,” she whispers.

“Maybe. But they took my wife. What did they expect?” I check my rifle’s magazine. “Caroline, I need you to do something. If this goes wrong⁠—”

“Don’t.” She shakes her head.

“If this goes wrong and I don’t come back, the contract Lennox signed is in my safe. The combination is my birthday. Destroy it. Give her what she’s owed. There’s a trust set up for my spouse too, so make sure she has proper access. She’ll be free of all this, and get her back to her family safely.”

“I promise. But you’re both coming back.” She nods, but doesn’t say anything more.

“That’s the plan.” I head for my truck, then turn back. “Caroline, make sure there’s security footage of them taking her. Witness statements. Everything. We’re defending our family.”

“Already on it.”

I climb into the truck and pull out my phone. I text Warren our coordinates and the Marshall property address. His response is immediate.

Warren

We’re in the air. We’ll land at the airport closest to the location.