Embracing Hope (Cowboys of Sagebrush Rose #5)

Chapter Twelve

Dex paced the floor.

“I had to do it. I had no choice,” he whispered to himself. “He deserved it.”

He sunk his fingers into his hair, rubbing the constant throbbing in his temples. Agitation pulverized his insides.

He lowered his hands and stared at them. Although he’d scrubbed them a dozen times, he could still see the smeared blood on his skin. If he closed his eyes, all he could hear were the slippery sounds of the knife sliding into the man and his painful moan. Dex never wanted to hurt anyone, but he couldn’t have risked the hand revealing Dex’s identity.

This was all Hope’s fault.

If she hadn’t butted her nose in where it didn’t belong, he wouldn’t have disabled the cameras and broken into the farmhouse looking for something to use against Sam. And he wouldn’t have been found in the woods by the nosy hand that caught him watching her.

Sirens sounded in the distance.

His eyes blurred as he stopped his pacing. The sharp wailing seemed to drill a hole into his forehead, and the hairs on his neck erected. What if he was found out?

He had been careful to stay out of the cameras' range at Sagebrush Rose. No one had seen him, not even the hand, since Dex was wearing his mask.

He’d only wanted to spy on Hope.

She’d become his obsession. He’d conjured up ways inside his head to make her pay.

He wavered between wanting to cause her the same pain she’d caused him and wanting a deserved apology. He wanted his wife and kid back, and maybe if he coerced her into speaking to Courtney, she’d take him back. They could be the family they always were before shit hit the fan.

The sirens grew louder. The red and blue lights feathered the windows.

Relief sped through him as the sirens faded through town.

Dex dropped into the chair and buried his face into his palms. What had he done? He was becoming a monster. What would his daughter think of him now?

A knock came on the door and he stilled. Fear climbed his spine. What could he do?

Quietly, he crept across the room and peered through the peephole. His body quivered.

Another pounding came on the door. “I know you’re in there. Open up.”

Dex wanted to pretend that he wasn’t home, but it was no use.

He unlocked the door, opened it wide, and stared at Sheriff Dussan. “Have you come to arrest me?”

“Would I arrest my brother?”

Taking a step back, Dex gave his stepbrother space to pass. “What are you doing here, Jace?” The two had grown up in the same household after Dex's mom married Jace’s dad. The two boys had hated each other something awful, and pretty much ever since. Jace would always pick fights with Dex and steal his candy, money, and, later, even women.

Jace looked around the small room and even peeked inside the bathroom. “Courtney called me and said you’ve been sneaking around on her property again,” he said when he swiveled on his work boots. He laid his hand on his gun in the holster as if to intimidate Dex. It jetted him back to his childhood when Jace made it an everyday event to bully Dex.

“And you believe her?” he snorted.

“I believe the cameras. Oh? You didn’t know she has cameras now?” Jace shook his head. “Use your brain, bro. You should have guessed she would have cameras after you acted like a psycho.”

“So you going to arrest me?”

“I talked her out of pressing charges and told her I’d talk with you.” Jace widened his stance. “The restraining order states you’re not allowed to come onto the property. You could be in big trouble if I hadn’t saved your ass, again.”

“I can read. I know what it says.”

“How many times have I warned you to leave Courtney alone?” Jace picked up the framed picture of Dex, Courtney, and Marah, examined it closer with a smirk, and then set it back on the shelf.

“I heard that Molly left you. Maybe you should worry about your wife.”

Like a striking rattler, Jace was across the short distance of the room and had his hand swathed around Dex’s throat, shoving him hard against the wall. “I’m tired of your shenanigans. Do you realize how many times I’ve cleaned up your messes? How many times I’ve gone to bat for you?”

Dex couldn’t breathe. He tapped on Jace’s arm, which loosened his grip slightly.

“Now you’re going to listen to me and listen to me well. I’m with Courtney now. I will be the man for her that you could never be. I won’t give you another warning to stay away from her, and Marah. I think it’s best for your well-being if you pack your shit and leave town. Sagebrush Pine isn’t big enough for you and me. Got it?” Jace pointed his finger in Dex’s face.

He obediently nodded, just as he’d done all the years of his childhood. Embedded with a fear that had lasted into adulthood.

“Wonderful.” Jace removed his hand from Dex’s throat and then patted his cheek like he was rewarding a dog for good behavior. “Now that we have that clear, make it happen before I do.”

Remaining quiet, Dex watched Jace leave. Once the door was closed, Dex fell to the floor, gasping for air through his aching throat. Finally, his breathing normally, he pushed himself up from the floor and stared at the closed door. He clenched his hands into fists.

He always knew his brother was an asshole and Courtney was a whore.

Dex’s dreams flew out the window.

The last shred of control diminished.

Soon everyone would fear him.