Steel and Hardness Read Free Page A

arm and glanced at her watch—six minutes early. Good. She wasn’t going
to give her Uncle Jack any excuse to use a tardy against her. She’d
made the deadline. Now all she had to do was sign the papers, and
the money would be deposited into her account by the end of the
day. She’d have everything wrapped up in time to spend time with
Bryce and Taylor when they came over to spend the night with
her.
    She strolled faster to the end of the barn.
Those two men had taken her by surprise. Never in a million years
had she ever dreamed of loving two men…two agents who worked for
the federal government, no less. She’d tried to break up with both
of them when she found herself falling for them equally, but they
never gave up on her.
    They’d talked and listened through all her
worries of what a ménage relationship can do to the people
involved, and after one wonderful night spent making love to both
of them at the same time, she never had another thought that their
relationship was anything but meant to happen. Having all the
agents on their team support them was surprisingly nice. Even
Jolene and Josie seemed not to have a problem with their
relationship. She grinned. They might even be a little jealous,
going from some of their comments over the weekend.
    Outside the door she paused, inhaled deeply,
threw back her shoulders, and opened the door. The room sat empty.
She frowned. Weird…she thought the others would have—
    A hand covered her mouth
and nose. She pulled, but the arm tightened. Shaking her head, she
tried to break away from the nasty-smelling glove, but the person
was stronger than she was. Lifting her foot, she stomped behind
her. Help!
    Her legs wobbled. She
scratched at the arm holding her, but her muscles grew heavy. She
closed her eyes. Oh, God.
Bryce…Taylor…

    * * *

    Knock.
    Knock.
    Knock.
    Bryce tilted his head. “Something’s
wrong.”
    “She’s probably in the shower.” Taylor
stepped away from the door. “Let’s give her a few minutes more, and
we’ll try again.”
    Something was off. Pauline always had the
door open and stood ready to jump in their arms every time they’d
spent time on the ranch with her. Bryce’s chest grew tight, and he
pushed his fingers through his short hair. Today was a huge day for
her. He’d expected her to want to share her good news. She hadn’t
answered the phone when they called earlier, and now she wasn’t at
home.
    “I’m serious, Taylor.” He moved a few feet
along the side of the house and peered through the window. “I can
feel it. She’s not here.”
    “Why wouldn’t she be?” Taylor knocked on the
door, turned the handle, but it didn’t budge. “Pauline! Open
up!”
    Bryce removed the loaded pistol from the
side of his jeans. “I’m taking a look around.”
    “I’ll check the back of the house. Maybe she
left a door or window unlocked.” Taylor lifted up his pant leg and
removed his government issued 40 caliber from the holster tied to
his leg.
    Bryce headed straight to the stables where
he knew her office was located. Easing between the doors, he tuned
his ears for any noise aside from the normal horses neighing, the
clop of a hoof, and the rattle of the doors as the animals moved to
stick their heads out into the aisle looking for more feed from
whoever entered the barn. Trained to never yell out during an
investigation, he stayed to the side of the walkway and headed
toward the office.
    Pauline was an independent woman, a business
owner, and more than strong enough to handle any chore on the
ranch. He clenched his teeth. None of this explained his worry.
Around him, or Taylor, her devotion and love consumed their time
together. She threw all her attention into pleasing them. If she
knew they were coming, and she did, she’d damn well be at the house
to greet them.
    The office door was open, the lights on, and
Pauline’s desk was immaculately in order like every other time he’d
stepped foot in the room. He shoved the pistol