1.1 ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴍᴀʏʜᴇᴍ | ✓

24 | in loving memory

"It's a bad angle. Fucker improved," Colt mumbled. "I'll find another—"

"No. I've seen that man," I muttered. "But how do you know he's the man Sonny came here for?"

"Because he'd never talk to just anyone, let alone be seen on camera if this man isn't important," Colt said and faced me. "You said you've seen this man. Is he a businessman? Or at least own an asset that Sonny would be interested in?"

"He owns a horse ranch."

"There it is." He closed the laptop and stood up, lifting one brow at her. "Let's go?"

I rolled my eyes at his eagerness.

We went to the north side of the clubhouse where the ranch was located. Unfortunately, the owner wasn't around so we ended up sitting on the second floor of the restaurant. From our spot, we could see horses grazing. Some people were riding while others feed the rest of the horses. The wind blew nicely but it didn't stave off my apprehension. It lurked all over me like pesky flies, waiting for me to drop dead.

Aeon had owned the ranch once before giving it to Carlos Mendoza. It meant everything here was a remnant of the friendship I had with Aeon.

"Shit." Colt cursed which perfectly mirrored my feelings. "I'm bored."

"It's not my fault the owner's not here."

"You don't know how bad I wanted to smoke right now," he declared before popping a piece of gum into his mouth. "Let's at least roam around."

I grimaced as he started blowing the gum into a bubble. "That's so unhygienic. Stop it."

"No," he replied. "Unless we go down and see some horses."

Colt mentioned the horses twice already. I leaned forward, a fist under my chin. "You like horses, don't you?"

"Yes. So what?" he responded, chewing his gum with more grit.

I smirked, "Alright. But you owe me for this."

"Of course." He stood up, throwing his gum away. "I know nothing is ever gonna free to you."

"Glad we understand each other."

We came down from the second floor of the restaurant and into the open field. There were several pens to separate the horses but it didn't stop people from going inside the pen to pet the animals. Poor things. There was a large stable on the east side where people went in and out and a two-story where the employees probably reside.

We walked near the pens but of course, Colt wasn't satisfied so we decided to visit the stable. I let him be as I was busy thinking about what could I get in return. It kept my mind off...things. Maybe I should be thankful he was here. He's an ideal target for me to play with.

The stable had a high ceiling and polycarbonate roof that were supported by wooden beams. The paths diverged into two when we reached the middle part. Colt dragged me to the right side, his fingers wrapping around my wrist. I jerked my hand back, shooting him a glare which he only shrugged in response. We stopped on one of the stalls where a black horse bobbed his head.

Colt placed a hand on its nose. When it didn't turn away, he reached up to stroke its neck. He caressed the horse's face as a smile crawled on his lips. He gazed at the black steed with a rare softness that I had never seen him give to people.