Chapter 19
Apparently I’m the drama llama.
“What took you so long?” Hudson demanded as Sarah strode into the cottage where he’d been waiting for her.
Looking slightly disheveled, she gave him an arch look. “You told me to follow Black Jack out of town. So I did. He’s long gone from Candy Cane. He found your tracker, but I tagged his bag with another one.”
He eyed her. “Did you sleep with him?”
“File that answer under none of your damn business. Also, we have plans to meet up in a few weeks.”
Hudson just shook his head and headed for the door. “Do you believe him, or do you think he’s coming back?”
“I believe him. There’s a chance he could be lying. But not for ten grand.” She looked disgusted by the thought.
That’s what he’d figured. There was nothing in it for this guy to kill Scout. Which was the real reason he was still breathing.
Hudson was going with his instinct on this. Well, his and Sarah’s. “I’m going to get in touch with Lorna when I get back to the house and figure out what the plan is. Because whoever is behind this has to be local. Assuming Zack Willman is behind this, I want to hit the Willman Ranch soon.”
“Why not just kill him and be done with it?” Sarah opened her fridge, peered inside.
“Because his brother, son and their families live there and work with him as well. Sure, I could just kill him, but clearly other people are involved in this plan to kill Scout. Hank and Lane made that clear. We need a better picture of what’s going on and why.
And a cheap contract on her head…” He was still trying to wrap his head around it.
“Yeah, I figured.”
“Once we pull in backup for the festival, I want to move fast on this.”
“Also figured that.”
“As in, tomorrow. Scout said that things are busiest on Sundays, so I want to take advantage of that. As long as she’s protected and busy, she’ll have an alibi in case we end up having to take out any of the Willmans.”
Sarah pulled a beer from the fridge. “Whatever you need, you know I’m there.”
“Thanks.” As he headed back to the main house, he took in the relative quiet as he texted Lorna.
I need backup tomorrow to take on the ranch. How many people do you think will come?
His phone rang in response.
“Hey.”
“Hey yourself,” Lorna said. “What kind of backup are you looking for?” Hudson went over a vague outline of his plan, and when he was finished, she said, “I’ve got you covered. What about Ace and Silas? You bringing them along?”
While he had no doubt they were skilled operators, he wanted them at the ranch keeping an eye on things. “No. They need to be close to Scout.”
“Okay, I’ll narrow down who’s coming, but Nestor and I are in for sure.”
“Thank you for this.”
“Of course.”
They talked a few more minutes and by the time he’d stepped through the front door of Scout’s home, he’d pocketed his cell phone.
“Hey.” Scout was sitting on one of the couches in the living room when he walked in, her fireplace crackling and a glass of red wine next to her on the side table.
Like a moth to a flame, he felt himself drawn to her.
Instead of sitting right next to her like he wanted to, he sat catty-corner on a love seat.
Sleeping with her had been a mistake. Not that he regretted it, but…
she didn’t know who he was. Not truly. And it felt like lying to her to keep sleeping with her.
God, he was so weak. He never should have crossed that line.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Just exhausted. The paper is going to do a story on today. I told them you weren’t interested in being involved.” Her tone was dry as she watched him over the rim of her glass.
“I’m not.”
“So where were you? Were you just avoiding talking to everyone? I’m guessing no, since Sarah ran off too and left your two guys behind.”
Hudson had seen Ace and Silas when he’d returned, had relieved them of their security duty once he was back. They were sleeping in his motor home, something he normally wouldn’t let anyone do, but he wanted them close to the farm in case Scout needed them.
And he couldn’t ask Scout to put them up in her home. She was already letting him stay here and the most primitive part of him didn’t want the two good-looking bastards in here with her.
“I was following up on something.”
“Okay.” She shrugged and took another sip of her tea.
“No questions?”
“Well, I feel like you’re not going to answer me, and I’m tired.” She picked up a paperback from the coffee table in front of the couch. The look she gave him was…dismissive. And he found he didn’t like that at all.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you—”
“Oh save it,” she snapped, hints of that fire he’d seen in her eyes coming out full force.
“You don’t want to tell me whatever it is you’re hiding.
Because you could. Easily. With your words.
So keep your secrets, I guess.” She snapped her book shut and stood.
“I thought I could act as if I was unaffected, but I’m not.
I’m annoyed—and hurt. I know you work for me.
Or with me, I guess, because you do whatever you want.
Hell, at this point I don’t even think you need the money, so I’m guessing you’re here because you want to be.
And after what we shared yesterday I thought…
Maybe you would trust me enough to open up to me.
” She stood there waiting for a long moment, glaring down at him.
This was his opening if he was going to take it. And part of him wanted to tell her, to just confess what he did for a living. But he knew what her reaction would be.
To kick him out. Also, disgust.
And he was a coward who didn’t want to see that on her gorgeous face.
The hurt that flickered in her blue-green eyes wasn’t much better. But this gave her plausible deniability anyway. At least that was what he told himself.
“Okay, then. I’m going to bed. Let’s get through tomorrow and the next couple weeks and then I think… I think maybe I should hire someone else.” The words came out in a rush before she hurried out of the room.
And he couldn’t blame her.
But how the hell could he just tell her that he killed people for a living? There was no script for that. Most of his friends who were in relationships were with other hitters.
Or in Theo’s case, he’d gotten lucky with a weirdo who loved him the way he was. Dante had fallen for Aileen—whose parents were both hitmen, so this was her world.
Hudson’s world was the opposite of Scout’s peaceful one. And fine, he didn’t want her rejection, didn’t want her to look at him like a monster.
So he was just…falling back on familiar self-destructive behavior. Ugh, he could actually hear Aileen calling him out for it. She was the only sane one in their whole neighborhood of killers.
And she was right.
Too bad for him, he was going to ignore that.
Because he had to get some sleep. Tomorrow while Scout was working, he and the others were going to infiltrate the Willman Ranch and figure out what they were hiding.
And use it to their advantage.
His relationship with Scout might be over before it had even begun, but he would keep her safe, protected, before he moved on. It was the one thing he could give her when he couldn’t give her the real him. Or a future.