Chapter 11
11
A ustin sat on the front porch, watching the sun kiss the morning sky.
No sign of Pete. No text. No phone call. The only thing they had was that he’d arrived in Twin City with two other men late last night.
The sound of the front door scraping across the wood caught his attention. “Good morning,” he said.
Cinnamon handed him a cup of coffee. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not long,” he lied. He’d tossed and turned most of the night. So had Cinnamon, but thankfully, she'd been sound asleep when he’d slipped from the bed at four in the morning.
“You’re a terrible liar.” She handed him her cell. “Pete texted me an hour ago.”
Austin stared at her phone.
Pete: I’m coming for you and if you know what is best, you will meet me at the ranch entrance at seven a.m. If you’re not there, bad things will happen. This is your only warning.
“I’m glad you didn’t respond.”
“There’s no point.” She eased into one of the Adirondack chairs. “Do you think we should change the plan and I should meet him?”
“Are you crazy? Absolutely not. We need to make him come here. He knows this is where you are. He’ll come here.”
“I don’t believe he will,” she said. “Not based on that text.”
“He wants you back. That’s what this is all about.”
“That’s what I thought too. But maybe he knows that’s never going to happen now that I’ve returned home.” She reached out and took Austin’s hand. “Before things got really bad, he was so insecure about our relationship. He constantly worried that I would leave him and come running home and that you’d be here to pick up the pieces. I told him that Rosy was his daughter and that I’d never take her away from him. After she died, he did whatever he could to control me. To ensure I wouldn’t come to Whiskey Ranch. To you. Now that I have, his worst fear has materialized. He has nothing left to lose.”
“That’s crazy. He has a lucrative business. He could face real prison time. He has everything to lose, which makes him even more dangerous.”
She leaned forward. “When it comes to that part of his life, he’s as arrogant as they come. He thinks he’s untouchable, like his father. He believes he can buy his way out of trouble. But when it comes to me, he’s always thought I was the only woman for him.”
“But he cheated on you. That makes no sense.”
“It doesn’t have to,” she said. “Sadly, I know how his brain works. And the more I think about it, the more these two worlds are colliding. If he can’t have me, he will make sure you can’t either.”
“All the more reason for you not to go meet him at the front gate.”
“You’re not listening to me,” she said. “In his wacky mind, if I go to him, it means I’ve caved. He’s won. He can take me and we can go back to our previous life. But if I don’t. You won. He lost and that will enrage him. He’ll do whatever it takes to take you and this ranch down or end your life and anyone he believes stood in his way.”
Austin had to agree she made sense, but he still didn’t believe meeting Pete at the gate was the right move. “Brad has two men posing as cowboys right over there.” He pointed. “Let me shower, and then I’ll call Belmont and see what he says about this text. For now, I want you inside.”
“All right. But promise me you’ll tell him my thoughts.”
“You can be part of the conversation.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Come on. You should eat something.” Austin tugged at her hand. The next few hours would prove to be the hardest, but after today, he prayed that Pete would be out of their lives.
Cinnamon tossed her backpack over her shoulder and inched toward the main gate. She couldn’t believe that Belmont agreed that her plan was the stronger of the two.
Austin had lost his shit, cussing and pacing in the kitchen. He almost didn’t let her leave the house. But in the end, this wasn’t about what he wanted. It was time to end Pete and his wickedly horrible games.
Quickly, she glanced at her watch.
She was six minutes early. Pete would appreciate that. He hated it when anyone was late. She climbed up on the big boulder outside the gate and waited.
Minutes ticked and not a single car drove by.
It was now five minutes past seven. Her pulse beat in the center of her throat, making it impossible to swallow.
A Range Rover eased to a stop and the passenger side window rolled down.
“Get in,” Pete demanded.
“No. Not until you answer a few questions,” she managed with a shaky voice.
He laughed. “Not happening.”
“I’m going with you, so humor me.” She didn’t budge from the perch on her rock.
“I have no intention of sitting here arguing with you. Now get in or I’ll get out and force you into this car.”
“You owe me,” she said.
“That’s rich. You’re the one who has put me in a difficult position with these games.” He slipped from the driver’s side and stepped around the vehicle's hood, waving a weapon.
Shit. She knew he owned more than one gun and should have known he’d flex his muscles with them, but she hadn’t expected he’d do so the second he saw her. “If you want me to go, I want to know what happened to Gage.”
“Are you serious right now? Why would I know anything about that man?”
She folded her arms. “Where’s Gage? What did you do to him?”
“Nothing.” He opened the door. “I’m waiting.”
“I want honest answers, and then I will get in and we never have to discuss it again.” She sucked in a deep breath. “You do this for me, I’ll drop all the charges.”
“You’re going to do that anyway.”
“He was my friend, Pete. He was a kind man who didn’t do anything to you.” That should push his buttons.
“Not true,” Pete said. “He always hated me. He didn’t like me dating his daughter. He wouldn’t let me take her to prom. Hell, I couldn’t even pick her up for a proper date. There wasn’t anything kind about him.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“Gage is fine,” Pete said with an exasperated sigh. “The man is as dumb as a doornail. I had one of my men pay him off to disappear for a while.”
“Gage wouldn’t take your money.”
“He would if he thought it would protect you, your cousins, or Austin from harm.” He waved his weapon. “Now get in the car.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Because once you are home and the charges are dropped, I’ll tell him he can go back to the ranch. That no harm will come to anyone.”
“I want proof now,” she said as she jumped from the rock. “Call him and put it on speaker.”
“Fine.” Pete reached into the car and snagged his cell. He tapped on the screen. It rang twice. “Gage?”
“Yes,” Gage’s voice flowed through the speaker. It was weak and sad. Not his usual peppy self, but it did sound like him.
“Our arrangement will be coming to an end perhaps next week.”
“Cinnamon is okay, yes? Austin is unharmed, yes?” Gage asked.
“Everyone is fine,” Pete said. “I’ll be in touch.” He tossed his phone back inside his SUV. “Satisfied?”
“Actually, no.” Something didn’t feel right. “Why did you send him away? It doesn’t make sense. What difference did it make if he was on the ranch or not?”
“For fuck’s sake.” Pete lunged forward.
She took three steps back. “I’m serious, Pete. I want answers before I get in your fancy car and go back to our life.”
“You can be a real pain in the ass,” Pete muttered. “If I couldn’t frame Austin for Charity’s death, then Gage was my backup.”
Cinnamon gasped. “Did you know Charity?”
“Of course I did.”
Cinnamon’s heart beat faster and faster. “How?”
“Why does it matter?”
“If you want me to go home and be quiet, I want to know all the things I’m shutting my mouth about. I think that’s only fair.”
“So you can use it against me? No way.”
“No,” she said. “Knowing will keep me from doing what caused you to bash in my face. This is how we reset and start over. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Are you telling me that I’ve finally gotten through to you?”
“Yes,” she said. “Please tell me how you knew Charity.”
“I met her while on a trip to Boise. She was in a bar I went to. I couldn’t believe it when I found out she was dating Austin. I struck up a friendship. Eventually it became more, but she knew I was married and would never leave my wife.”
“You were having an affair with her?”
“Maybe if my wife wasn’t so frigid I wouldn’t have to.” Pete arched a brow. “But I was helping her figure out who she should be with. I encouraged her to pick Austin over Tom. I told her he was the much better catch.”
“Did she know you had a history with Whiskey Ranch?”
“Eventually, I told her that I knew of the Whiskey family and that she would learn to love it there if she gave it half a chance. When she called me and told me she was leaving, I tried talking her out of it, but that didn’t work.”
“So you killed her.” Cinnamon narrowed her eyes.
“I took an opportunity to ensure Austin would be out of our lives forever. That man is like a bad rash that won’t go away.”
“What about Alyssa?” Cinnamon asked before the police and the FBI could jump out from wherever they were hiding. “Did you kill her and her family too?”
“You are fucking full of questions and I’m so tired of giving you answers. It’s time to go home. And I never want you to have contact with anyone on this ranch again.”
“You want that, give me this one last thing. I promise, I will never bring up this ranch or my family again. I swear.”
“You better not, or you know what will happen,” he said. “It was only meant to be a warning. That hadn’t been my intention.”
“What do you mean a warning?”
“I didn’t know they would all get trapped inside. That the house would go up so quickly.” He waved his hand. “Let’s go.”
“Okay.” She took one step forward.
Three police cars came flying into the drive.
Pete grabbed her and pressed his weapon against her temple. “You fucking little bitch. You set me up. I’m not going down for this.”
Austin appeared fifty feet away, holding a shotgun. He stopped dead in his tracks.
She swallowed. This part she hadn’t been prepared for.
Austin lay on his stomach next to his brother-in-law, listening to the woman he loved and Pete. The conversation made him sick to his stomach.
The only saving grace was that Gage was still alive.
As soon as the police cars rolled into the main drive, he jumped to his feet and raced toward Cinnamon.
Only, Pete pressed his weapon to her temple.
If anyone took a shot, if they killed Pete dead, he could still end up shooting Cinnamon.
Austin froze. “Fuck,” he mumbled. “What now?”
“We let the FBI talk him down,” Brad said. “Let’s inch closer, but follow my lead, got it?”
“You’re the expert.” Austin stayed in line with Brad as they moved closer to the main gates.
“I can’t believe you did this to me,” Pete’s voice came over the comms in Austin’s ear. “Now we’re both going to die thanks to you.”
“It doesn’t have to end that way,” Belmont said. “Let her go and we can talk demands.”
“This is entrapment. It wouldn’t stand up in a court of law,” Pete said.
Thankfully, even if he didn’t confess to Charity’s murder, he’d left behind physical evidence that proved he at least was in the vehicle. But they still didn’t have the body. That was something that Austin wanted to give her family.
And Tom.
“I don’t want Pete to see you,” Brad said. “Go to the other?—”
“What is that motherfucker doing here?” Pete shifted, staring at Austin. “This is all his fault. We wouldn’t even be standing here if it weren’t for that asshole.”
“Too late,” Austin whispered. He sucked in a deep breath, lowering his weapon. No point in antagonizing the asshole any more than he already was.
“I’ll kill her,” Pete yelled. “Is that what you want, Austin?”
Austin laid his rifle on the ground. He was now twenty feet away. “No. I’d like for you to let her go.”
“Not going to happen.” Pete held her tight in front of his body. Quickly, he stretched out his arm.
Bang!
Bang!
Cinnamon screamed.
Austin dropped to his knees, gripping his right thigh. “Fuck. That hurt.” His teeth rattled. His muscle felt as though someone had stuffed a grenade inside it and pulled the pin.
“She’s next if anyone comes closer,” Pete said. “I won’t hesitate.”
“I’ve got a clean shot,” someone came over the comms system.
“Last chance to put down your weapon,” Belmont said.
Pete took a step toward the SUV. “We’re getting in the vehicle and driving away. You’re not going to follow us, or she’s dead. It’s that simple.”
“If you still have the shot, take it,” Belmont whispered.
Bang!
Austin glanced up from his position on the dirt.
Pete fell to the ground. His gun tumbled from his grasp.
Cinnamon took one look at him before taking off running in the direction of Austin.
“I need to stop the bleeding.” Brad ripped off his shirt and tied it around Austin’s leg. “Did the second shot get you?”
“I don’t believe so, but don’t you think one is enough,” Austin said through gritted teeth.
Brad laughed.
“It’s not funny, man.” Austin lay back on the hard ground.
“Austin!” Cinnamon stumbled, landing next to him. “Oh my God. Someone call an ambulance.”
“Already on the way,” Brad said. “He’s tough. He’ll be fine.”
“I’m seeing stars, so I’m not so sure about that.” Austin blinked. The sharp pain had turned into an intense throb. “Are you okay?” He took Cinnamon’s hand. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not sure I’ll be needing a divorce anymore though.”
Austin chuckled, but it quickly turned into a cough. “I shouldn’t laugh at that.”
“I should feel bad, but I kind of don’t.”
“He murdered people in cold blood,” Brad said. “He held you at gunpoint and shot at your boyfriend. I think it’s okay to feel relief that this is all behind you.”
Sirens rang out in the distance.
Austin stared at the sky. His vision blurred. “This is going to suck.”
“What is?” Cinnamon asked.
“Being laid up. Unable to work.” He lifted his head. “I don’t think I’ll be able to move into the apartment above the bunkhouse.”
She bent over and kissed his lips. “You’re going to need someone to take care of you for a little while and it’s the least I can do, considering you did take a bullet for me, literally.”