Chapter Fifteen #3
“It’s really not though,” Aurelia dryly states from beside me.
I didn’t even hear her reach us. Aurelia’s presence draws Karla’s stunned gaze, but before she can ask the question in her eyes, Aurelia beats her to it.
“Who are you?” she demands rudely, but not entirely hostile.
No, that wouldn’t be Aurelia at all, to feel threatened when she knows she owns me entirely.
“Oh.” Karla releases a nervous giggle. “I’m Karla. Khalil and I are old friends. I’m sort of his best girl friend.”
“That’s funny. I could have sworn I was his girlfriend.” Aurelia glances up at me before turning and smirking at Karla. “I’ll have to talk to him about that.”
“No, sweetie. I meant his friend who’s a girl. See? His girl friend.”
“No, sweetie. I heard your ass the first time.”
Karla’s fake smile falters for the first time. “You…you look really familiar. Have we met?”
“I doubt it,” Aurelia answers coolly.
Tilda, sensing the sudden tension while being fully aware of her daughter’s attraction to me, takes Karla’s arm and steers her away.
I send her a grateful look as they pass and then I guide Aurelia to the truck without a word.
When I look back, I see that Karla is frowning and watching us walk away, but her stare is directed at Aurelia, clearly still trying to place her.
Aurelia’s mean ass sees this and smiles and waves at Karla, who turns away and disappears inside her mom’s shop.
Shaking my head, I unlock the truck and carefully place the flowers in the back seat.
Once I’m sure they’re secure, I turn to get Aurelia situated only to startle when I find her standing directly behind me while staring in the direction Karla went with a contemplative furrow in her brow. “You think she recognized me?”
“I doubt it.” When Aurelia’s frown only deepens, I realize being recognized isn’t the only thing that troubles her. “Talk to me,” I beg.
Leaving Aurelia to fill in her own blanks is never a good thing. “Have you fucked her?”
“No. Never,” I answer honestly.
“But you could have.”
“Is that a problem?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“I don’t know. I thought…I thought when you guys took me, it was because you were desperate and had no options.
And I don’t even know why I thought that.
I mean look at you.” She gestures at me.
I don’t take my gaze away from her. “I thought—” She stops before she can voice her deepest insecurities.
And if it hadn’t been for Karla, I never would have known that this was in the back of Aurelia’s mind, feeding whatever doubts that lingered.
“You thought any ol’ pussy would do,” I finish for her. Aurelia doesn’t even look surprised that I’d read her mind. “Well, now you know. And I’m glad we can clear this up. It was more than wanting to fuck you that made us desperate to keep you. Your soul called out to us, Goldilocks.”
“I was literally dying, unconscious, and covered in filth.”
“Exactly. That should tell you everything.”
“That men are disgusting?”
“That’s two strikes, Goldilocks.”
“Strikes?” she squeals. “For what?”
“Earn a third and you’ll find out when we get home,” I tease.
Aurelia and I make a few more stops to pick up supplies and whatever other useless things Aurelia swore up and down she desperately needed before we finally make it to the depot where the mattress I ordered a month ago is stored.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help with that?” she asks for the second time as she trails me to the truck. “It looks really heavy.”
With a great heave and a grunt, I toss the queen-size mattress onto the bed of the truck while she stares on in astonishment. I’d already loaded the box spring, which was much lighter and easier to carry. I turn to face Aurelia once the mattress is in position to be tied down. “You were saying?”
“Wow, you’re really strong,” she says as if she’s only just realizing it for the first time. “Show-off.”
Grinning, I grab the cords from the lockbox and hop onto the bed of the truck to get to work tying it down for the journey up the mountain.
Aurelia leans against the side of the truck and doesn’t offer her help again once she sees how much trouble it’s giving me.
She tunes out my cursing while singing softly to herself.
I’d be amused at her change of heart if I wasn’t ready to set the fucking mattress on fire and demand she sleep in my bed only for the rest of her days.
I’m wrangling the final cord into submission when I hear her curse and see her tense out of the corner of my eye.
“Khalil? Incoming,” Aurelia warns under her breath.
I immediately stand to my full height and see the sheriff approaching. There’s tension around his shoulders and mouth, so I know he’s in a foul mood before he even speaks.
“Aurelia. Khalil,” the sheriff greets tersely. He’s made no secret that he’s unhappy with us after we betrayed his trust. Still, he hasn’t arrested us even though his sense of duty is probably telling him that he should. “I was just about to head your way.”
I glance at Aurelia who’s nibbling her lips at an alarming rate. “Is something wrong?”
“We need to talk. Meet me at the station in ten minutes.” The sheriff walks off without another word.
“Any clue what that’s about?”
Aurelia has her look of pure bewilderment perfected. “How would I know?”
“Right. Come on.”
Once I’m sure the mattress won’t fall off, Aurelia and I hop in the truck and ride back to Main Street where the station house is. When we walk in, one of the deputies immediately shows us to the empty sheriff’s office and tells us to have a seat.
The sheriff walks in a couple minutes later carrying a file that he throws onto his cluttered desk and a steaming cup of coffee that he hands to Aurelia, who smiles gratefully.
I don’t miss the slight, but the man overestimates how much I give a damn. “All right, Sheriff. What’s this about?”
“I think the four of you should know that Aurelia’s uncle paid me a visit.”
“My uncle was here?” Aurelia’s question comes out in a terrified squeak. “In Hearth?”
“Yes.”
“When?” I demand.
The sheriff exhales a harsh breath, and I know I won’t like the answer. “A few days ago.”
“And you’re just telling us now?”
“I didn’t have to tell you at all. You’ve already lied to me once. I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Okay. Let’s focus on the actual problem at hand here,” Aurelia says before I can tell the sheriff to kiss my ass. “What did my uncle want?”
“What do you think? He wanted to know what happened to the men he hired. You forget. They disappeared under my jurisdiction and care, which makes me responsible unless I hand in a culprit, which would be you four.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing. It’s an open investigation. He did, however, seem more than a little curious about you three.”
“Such as?”
“Who you are, where you came from, your involvement in the search.”
“That’s not public record.”
“No, it’s not,” the sheriff agrees grimly.
Marston George has been doing his research and digging deep, no doubt using Aurelia’s checkbook to get the information.
“So where is he now? I assume he’s left town.”
“You assume wrong. He’s at the ranch.” The sheriff shifts his gaze to Aurelia, who’s become pensive again. “Your ranch if I’m not mistaken.”
The one Aurelia never made it to.
It’s not far from Hearth. The house is big and comfortable and probably comes with all the amenities and luxuries our cabin doesn’t have, with a nice clear view of the mountains as a backdrop. She probably would have loved it there.
The idea of her uncle using it after what he did—and still plans to do—fills me with the urgent need to ride over there alone and burn the house down with him inside.
The sound of his screams would no doubt rock me to sleep every night like a sweet lullaby while I held his niece safely in my arms, knowing she’ll never have cause to fear him ever again.
“Apparently, he wants to sell it now that it’s of no use.”
“Take me to him.”
I’m snapped out of my violent fantasy by Aurelia’s insane request that I immediately deny. “Absolutely not. You’re not going anywhere near him.”
“That’s not up to you, Khalil. He’s my uncle. It’s me he wants dead. He’s going to find out I’m alive sooner or later. Why not let it be on my terms?”
“Because it’s dangerous. Think about what he gains by killing you, Goldilocks. He’ll try anything.”
“You won’t let him hurt me,” she says quietly, appealing to my protective side.
It almost works, but she forgets one thing. “You’re damn straight because you’re not going. You’ll have to try harder than flattery to convince me to risk you.”
Aurelia’s lips part to tell me once again that it’s not my decision just for it to once again fall on deaf ears.
“I’ll take her,” the sheriff interrupts with a sigh, as if he’s volunteering to end our bickering.
“Thanks, but we’ll pass.”
The sheriff gives me a hard look. “As the young lady has already pointed out, Mr. Poverly, it’s not up to you or me.
I’m not any happier about it than you, but if what you both claimed is true, Ms. George is not your prisoner, and the ranch is legally her property, which means she can damn well go where she likes.
Personally, I’d feel better if I were there as a deterrent to any unsavory acts given your claims about your uncle’s intentions. ”
“So you believe me?” Aurelia asks with a high note of hope.
The sheriff’s expression shutters. “I’m not saying that either, but it doesn’t matter what I believe.
I’ve failed you once, and I won’t do it again.
” Knowing when I’m cornered, I grit my teeth and say nothing.
To do otherwise would only poke more holes in that bullshit story Aurelia gave him.
“I’m glad we’re all in agreement,” the sheriff says with a grunt before snatching his hat from his desk and plopping it down over his thinning hair. “Shall we go?”