Lincoln tried Adam’s phone but still no answer.
Lincoln wasn’t going to panic. There were a lot of places in Fever’s Edge with dead zones. No cellular reception. The hospital could’ve asked Red and Adam to turn their cell phones off. That was common practice, but Lincoln would’ve felt better if Red had called him when they got there and then turned his phone off.
“Problem?” Brett removed his thick work gloves and tucked them into his back pocket. Behind him came the noise of the men working on the stables. It sounded as though they were gutting some of the building.
While Lincoln and Brett had been busy loading the cattle, a dumpster had arrived. It sat on the side of the building, and every so often he’d seen one of the men tossing burned wood and other debris into it.
“I can’t get ahold of Red or Adam.” Lincoln looked down at his phone, tempted to call Red again but knowing it would be futile.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Brett said. “He’s got Adam with him. Your foreman might be human, but he’s a scrapper, and although he’s surly, he won’t let anything happen to Red. I think.”
Those last two words didn’t put Lincoln at ease. Since the accident with the horse hooves to the face, Adam had been more and more withdrawn, getting crankier and less talkative.
“Still, I’d feel better if I checked on them.” Lincoln started toward the house. He’d need his keys to drive into town. He stopped midstride when he spotted Roger heading toward them.
Lincoln was going to skin the guy for slacking off. If he’d been around, Brett could’ve taken Adam, Red would be on the ranch, and Lincoln wouldn’t feel like he was about to lose his shit.
He stormed toward Roger but noticed how he stumbled as he walked. The guy had his hand pressed against the back of his head and looked a bit dazed.
“Where the hell have you been?” Brett’s tone was acerbic.
“Adam.” Roger swallowed repeatedly and looked like he’d pass out at any second. He swayed as he stood there, blinking rapidly. “He whacked me on the head. I don’t know why, either. I’ve never done anything wrong to him. He had no reason to attack me. I’m surprised I’m not brain dead with how hard he hit me with that shovel. I got a goose egg and a headache from hell.”
Brett’s gaze swung toward Lincoln, his brows dipped low. “Why on earth would Adam attack Roger?”
“To make us one man down so you’d be forced to stay behind and help me,” Lincoln mused out loud. If Jason had been there, they would’ve had plenty of men to help with the cattle.
“I guess he was pissed that I told him that I saw him that night at the stables, when it caught fire,” Roger said. “I was asking if he’d seen the culprit, and he got this weird look in his eyes. The next thing I know he used the shovel he had with him.” Roger winced as he withdrew his hand from his head. “I’m gonna kill him when I see him.”
And now Red was with Adam.
Lincoln raced to the house and snatched his truck keys off the wall where they hung by the door. When he returned outside, Brett was hauling ass toward Lincoln’s truck.
“Get in,” Lincoln said to Roger. “You need your head looked at.”
The three of them jumped in, and Lincoln tore down the driveway, praying Adam hadn’t done anything to Red. His mate was lean with muscles, but Lincoln knew in his heart his mate wasn’t a fighter. Red didn’t seem the physical type. He was more comfortable with his computer stuff than with his fists.
“He’s okay,” Brett said from his side by the passenger door. “Adam has no reason to hurt Red.”
“He didn’t have a reason to hurt me, either, but he did,” Roger said. “What the hell is wrong with him?”
That was what Lincoln planned on finding out before he tore the bastard apart.
Chapter Ten
“Make a turn here.” Adam pointed to a dirt road. “It’s a shortcut that’ll shave off time.”
Red wished he knew the town. This didn’t seem right, but since he had no clue where he was going, he followed Adam’s instructions. Wide-open fields now surrounded them, which made Red feel slightly better. He wasn’t even sure why he felt edgy. He and Adam didn’t get along, but there was no reason to mistrust the guy.
He was just a pain in the ass.
“How’s your head?” Red saw a house on the right, clothes billowing on the clothesline. The dirt road went up and down like a rollercoaster, and then Red’s heart sped when he made a sharp turn. He hadn’t even seen the sign warning of the quick change in the road.
They passed pastures filled with cows and horses. Red loved Lincoln’s ranch. It was so peaceful there. He especially loved taking his cup of coffee outside in the morning and watching the sunrise.
Coming from the city, he never thought he would enjoy the slower pace in life, but he did. And now that he was no longer in hiding, he could pack up his apartment and move all his stuff to Fever’s Edge.
That thought put a little thrill in him.
When Adam didn’t answer him, Red looked over at the guy. Adam was staring straight ahead, set lines to his lips. Fine. If he didn’t want to talk, Red wasn’t going to press him for conversation. Adam could sit there and sulk for all Red cared.
It wasn’t as if he was doing the guy a favor.
Red’s grandfather had been like that. Unpleasant, curt, and always snapping at someone. He was the meanest person Red had had the displeasure of knowing. Red had always hated going over there for the holidays and wondered why his dad had made them go.
It wasn’t as if his father and grandfather had the best relationship. In fact, days after they returned home, his dad was always quiet, keeping to himself until the taint of that hatred wore off and he returned to his old jolly self.
Red had learned to ignore the surly bastard, but his dad never did.
“Pull over. I think I’m going to be sick.” Adam clutched his stomach and burped.
That was common with head trauma. Red had read that in an article. He stopped the truck in the middle of the dirt road because, hell, there weren’t any other vehicles around.
Adam jumped out and made a gagging noise as he bent over, out of Red’s sight. Red didn’t care for Adam but felt sorry for him. He put the truck in Park and got out, rounding the hood. Adam had his hands on his knees, spitting at the ground, though Red didn’t see any vomit.
Not that he wanted to, either.
“Deep breaths,” Red said. “We’ll be at the hospital soon.”
Hopefully. Red had no clue where they were or how far away they were from town. He looked at his phone and cursed the fact that he didn’t have any cell reception.
There was a house close by, and Red considered going there to see if they had a landline he could use. He felt vulnerable without a working phone so he could call Lincoln.
“Are you okay to keep going?” Red was a few feet away from Adam just in case the guy actually hurled. He didn’t want to smell the stench. On the hot summer day, Red would be hurling right next to him.
Adam pulled himself up to his full height, which was an inch or two taller than Red. “Oh, I’m perfectly fine.”