Page 23 of Remington
“Wait, do we have enough space at the sanctuary for all these extra animals?” asked Dani.
“Shit,” muttered Luke.“Call home and check.”
“Again, you all seriously underestimate all of us.Matthew has it taken care of and he says, ‘that’s all you need to know’.”Gaspar laughed, shaking his head.
“You heard the man.That’s all we need to know.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“This guy is so pathetic,” whispered George Carver to his neighbor, Mike Miller.“He’s gagging cutting that skin off.”Mike chuckled under his breath.
“He can gag all he wants.He paid cash for him and his buddies to do this trip.Seventy-five thousand a piece.That’ll buy us more animals and help get the word out.”
“Stick to it, Henry,” he called out to the man as he continued to gag.“That’s right.You gotta cut that thick part of the flesh.”
“Any sign of your boy?” asked George.
“Nope and I don’t expect we’ll hear from him.Those idiots were supposed to kill them both.I knew they’d run off but I wanted my money back.His brother was killed but Zane got the cash and was able to escape.”
“Same with Saylor,” frowned George.“She’s married now.Got a family, or so she says.She was going to make me a lot of money.I should have a few more daughters but Maggie can’t have any.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t have more with someone else,” grinned the other man.
“George?Mike?You read me?”
“We got you.What’s wrong?” asked Mike holding up the walkie-talkie.
“The ranch house is on fire, I can see it from here but the smoke and flames are so thick, I can’t see anything else.Whole damn thing is going up in flames.”
“What about the animals?” asked George somewhat concerned but not really.
“I can’t see them from where I’m at.What do you want to do?”
“Get to the fucking house and make sure the animals are secure.Most are weak so they won’t run far.If the fire has hit the barn, just let ‘em burn.We’ll get more.”
“Should we get back?” asked Mike.
“Naw.We’ll let him take care of the house.”He looked at the man, Henry, and shook his head.“Come on, Henry.We don’t have all day.If you want a bear we’re gonna have to hurry.”
****
“Shit!” muttered the man racing toward the house.He’d parked his four-wheeler far enough away that it wouldn’t catch fire.He rushed into the barn but all the animals were gone.Then he raced toward the paddocks and looked around.Gone.
“Where the hell…”He stopped cold as a steel blade touched his throat.
“Where are the others?” asked a deep, husky voice.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said unconvincingly.The knife dug in a little harder and he could feel the sting of flesh being cut.“I don’t know!Okay, I don’t know.They were hunting with a group of men on the eastern side of the property near the foothills.”
“Where are the rest of the animals?” asked a man suddenly standing in front of him.He was one of the biggest men he’d seen in his entire life.Nearly as wide at the shoulders as he was tall and his face told him, he wasn’t fucking around.
“Most run free but the property is secured with fencing.Some are kept in cages on the western side in the forest so no one sees them.”
“Why are you doing this?” asked Striker.
“Why?” he chuckled, then regretted it as the knife struck again.“For money.Do you know how much people pay to hunt down those damn animals?It’s not like we took them from their homes.We bought them from zoos, safari parks, all kinds of places in the United States and Canada.They were being abused anyway.”
“And you decided to abuse them further?” frowned Trak.
