The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 517

The man stared at her for a long, tense moment before letting out an exaggerated sigh. "Unbelievable. Fine, follow me."

He turned on his heel and trudged back through the open gates.

Nora followed him onto the property. Immediately inside the gates sat a rundown security checkpoint.

It was barely more than a shack, severely lacking the standard security monitors or basic amenities usually found at commercial sites.

The interior held nothing but a ratty, stained sofa and an oversized, dirt-caked jacket discarded on the floor.

Nora's sharp eyes noted the jacket's massive proportions—far too large for the man leading them.

She smoothly shifted her gaze away. "Is the ranch closed for the season?" she asked casually.

The man ducked briefly into the security shack, swiftly shoved something into his pants pocket, and re-emerged, keeping a brisk pace ahead of them without looking back.

"Rude much?" Julia muttered under her breath. "Can't even answer a simple question."

The man caught the remark and whipped his head around, shooting Julia a lethal glare.

"I don't have to answer you," he snapped. "I already told the last batch of cops everything there is to know. I'm not repeating myself."

His sudden hostility made Julia flinch, her shoulders hiking up toward her ears.

"Alright, fine. You don't have to bite my head off," she mumbled defensively.

She crowded closer to Nora's back, seeking cover.

As a lab technician, Julia rarely did fieldwork.

This was her first time stepping into an active, unsecured zone.

While the adrenaline rush was novel, her social anxiety was currently redlining.

If Nora hadn't been here, she would have locked herself in the car and waited for backup.

"Nora..." she whispered nervously. "Should we try calling Nathan again?"

Being isolated in the middle of nowhere with a hostile suspect was rapidly draining her courage.

No cellular data. No Wi-Fi.

"This doesn't even look like a functioning commercial ranch," Julia grumbled, her unease making her reckless. "It looks like a sketchy front."

"No wonder they were using the meat deliveries to smuggle contraband."

The man's spine instantly went rigid at the accusation.

It was a micro-expression—a sudden, violent tension in his shoulders—but Nora's hawkish gaze caught it immediately.

A second later, he forced his posture to relax, though his voice remained venomous. "Nobody invited you out here."

"You think I want to be here?" Julia shot back. "We wouldn't be here if you guys weren't running an illegal operation."

Emboldened by her own annoyance, Julia kept pushing. "And seriously, where is the livestock? It's a ranch, isn't it?"

"Did you guys just give up on raising cattle altogether?"

For some reason, engaging with Julia's chaotic line of questioning seemed to ground the man. His aggressive edge dulled slightly, replaced by a sullen willingness to talk.