Steel and Hardness Read Free Page B

in the front of his
jeans. Dammit. Where could she be?
    He turned around, paused, and searched the
room. Something piqued his attention, but what? He narrowed his
eyes. Saddles, extra boots, ropes, a couple chairs, the coat
rack—his body tensed.
    On the edge of the chair sat a white
disposable cotton glove, the kind Pauline wore when she applied
liniment on the horses. She was the tidiest person he knew. She’d
never leave a glove, used or unused, somewhere out in the open.
    Stepping over to the computer, he removed a
piece of paper from the printer, and delicately grabbed a finger of
the glove without compromising the evidence. He lifted it to his
nose, sniffed, and groaned. Wrapping the glove in the paper, he
stalked out of the office.
    He broke out running. “Bryce.” He came to a
stop. His chest hurt, and he had the worst storm brewing in the pit
of his stomach. “Someone has kidnapped our woman.”

    * * *

    Pauline tried the door handle again. “Shit.”
She paced to the other side of the room and peered out of the
window. Even if she had a chair or something to break the glass,
the bars would prevent her from escaping. She stared outside.
Wherever she was, there were no neighbors, businesses, or a living
soul in the area, only trees, grass, and a single clothesline in
the distance.
    Her head pounded, and she
swallowed the bile that continually came up and choked her. Whoever
took her must have poisoned her. She leaned over and put her hands
on her knees. None of this made sense. She didn’t have any enemies,
and most of the time she struggled to pay her monthly bills. Unless the person wanted to get me away from my
horses…
    She straightened
up. Jack.
    Rushing to the door, she
pounded her fist against the wood. “God damn you, Jack. Let me out
of here!” She kicked out with her boot and groaned. God, my head.
    Not wanting to admit that her uncle had
fucked her out of the sale of her best horse, she leaned her
forehead against the doorjamb. “Fuck you, Jack.” Then she closed
her eyes and prayed that Bryce and Taylor, her steel and hardness
men, would find her.

Chapter Four
     
    The next day, a dually pulled up to the barn
with a horse trailer. The truck backed up to the sliding doors, and
an older man stepped out of the cab. Bryce glanced at Taylor. “You
were right.”
    Taylor’s jaw muscle flinched. “We still have
to convince her uncle to take us to where he’s hiding Pauline.”
    He nodded. “When we get her back, we need to
figure out a way to make this relationship permanent. I don’t want
to put her in this kind of predicament again."
    Bryce lifted the collar of his shirt where
the wire was attached. “Wait until he’s brought out the horse.”
    “Roger.” Tony’s voice came over the
earpiece.
    “We’ll find her,” Donovan replied a second
later.
    Bryce let the edge of the curtain close and
held up his hand. “Let’s go, partner.”
    Taylor clasped his hand and squeezed. “Watch
your back. Pauline would kill me if something happened to either
one of us.” He swallowed.
    “Always.” He slipped out
the back door and ran straight across the yard to the front of the
dually. Hunkering down in front of the grill, he waited. We’re close, brown eyes. Hang on a little bit
longer.
    “He’s in with the horse,” Tony
whispered.
    Bryce stood up and darted
inside the horse trailer. Okay, you
bastard, come on.
    The men had worked many cases together over
the years. Every move was planned to include the unexpected. Bryce
trusted them, depended on them, and would put his life on the line
for any one of them, and yet, it didn’t explain the uneasy
queasiness in his gut. It was more than his life they were playing
with…it was Pauline’s life.
    “Sergoni’s headed your way. Keep your head
on, Bryce. Don’t do anything stupid and jeopardize finding
Pauline.”
    He slipped the safety off his pistol. The
horse’s neigh warned him that Jack Sergoni was near. He slowed his
breathing, raised