Trouble With the Law by Becky McGraw Read Free Book Online

that was fucking stupid,” Ray said shoving a hand through his greasy gray hair.  “We can’t afford this, Rooks.  I wouldn’t have hired your dumb ass if not for your daddy.  I should have just gone with my gut and sent you on your way.”
    “We’re clear, Ray.  I swear,” Trace repeated tugging at the ropes on his wrists.
    “We better be fucking clear, or you’re going to be out there with her,” Ray growled and shoved a hand through his hair again.  “And maybe your daddy will too.”
    Ray ’s black eyes glittered with a threat, but that threat didn’t bother him.  Even if he wound up dead himself, at least he’d take Leland with him.  But Trace wanted to clear his name first, and the only way he was going to do that was to convince Ray Brown he had nothing to worry about.  Trace pulled against the rope binding his wrists again. 
    “Untie me man .  I’ve been tied up enough in jail.  This shit isn’t cool.” His wrists were raw from pulling at the ropes during Ray Brown’s two hour interrogation.
    “Neither is you fucking up .  I gave you one simple job, and you couldn’t manage to do it without getting thrown in jail.  Those cops showing up out here to arrest you definitely wasn’t cool .”
    “They let me go .  I’m out of it, Ray.  They’ll never find her where I left her.”
    Ray nodded at Carlos, and Trace could see relief on the agent’s face.  He walked over and pulled a knife out of his boot to slice the ropes behind the chair.  Pins and needles shot through his hands as blood started flowing to them again.
    “You’re on probation .  If you fuck up again, firing will be the last thing you have to worry about,” Ray told him gruffly.  “Get your ass to work.  A new horse is coming in tonight, and we have one that needs to get to the airport.”
    “Yes, sir,” Trace said as he stood .  He glanced at Carlos then back at Ray.  “You want me to take him to the airport?” Trace would have a chance to inject him with the GPS tracking chip that they had been using to track where the horses were sent.
    “Hell no .  I want you to go clean out the barn, and get things ready for the new horse.  You’re not going anywhere.  I want to keep an eye on you.”
    That wasn’t good news .  Ray had just told him that any ground he’d made here working his way up the ladder of the organization was gone.  They didn’t trust him.  Maybe he should have just let Carlos and Susan put him in a safe house.  He was useless to them here now.  Unless he could somehow prove himself again.  Saving that damned beauty queen, had cost him six months of work, and probably delayed the takedown.
    A flash of red hair caught his attention at the door of the office, and he did a double take.  His heart skidded to a stop when Vince Harmon, a rough ranch hand who Trace had several scrapes with in the past walked into the office pushing a very familiar redhead in front of him.  He was leading her by a fist in her beautiful red hair, and she looked scared and madder than he’d ever seen her.
    “Look what I found nosing around outside,” Harmon said gruffly, with a yank to Ronnie’s hair .  She flinched and tried to twist around, but couldn’t, so she lifted her foot and brought her spiked heel down on top of the man’s boot, then ground it down.  He yelped and let her hair go, but then she rounded on him and brought her fist up under his chin.  His head snapped back and he grunted as he fell backward.  Ray Brown laughed.
    Ronnie’s shirt was torn at the shoulder, so he imagined the uppercut to the jaw wasn’t the only blow that R onnie had delivered to the man.  The thug just didn’t know what he had tied into when he got a hold of that wildcat.
    Ronnie spun around and her angry brown eyes met his .  There were flames there and he knew she was about to blow things to hell if he didn’t do something.  Trace stomped over to her and grabbed her arm to bring it up between her