2. The Second Fight – Roman
Chapter 2
The Second Fight
PLAYLIST: ”LOSE CONTROL” BY TEDDY SWIMS
ROMAN
I knew it was a mistake the second our lips met, but hell if I could resist her. Zoe’s fingers raking through my hair, that breathy little sound escaping her lips—it damn near shattered what little control I had left.
Lucky for me, the off-duty deputy who followed us into the elevator let out a loud cough, snapping me out of the lust-fueled haze that clouded my mind the moment I touched her.
I broke the kiss, resting my forehead against hers and trying to calm my ragged breathing.
“Why’d you stop?” Zoe’s furrowed brow and pouty frown made my heart skip a few beats.
Is she just putting on a show for the deputy, or did our kiss really affect her as much as it affected me?
I cut a sideways glance at the deputy and fought to stifle a chuckle. He stared straight ahead, watching the floor numbers change on the readout, but he was beet red and sweating hard enough that I knew he had watched our every move.
I raked my gaze over her, from her now-disheveled chestnut brown hair all the way down to her black stilettos and back up again, letting her see just how badly I wanted to devour her before I cleared my throat and spoke. “As bad as I want you, baby, I have no intention of fucking you with an audience. I want you all to myself.”
“Jesus H. Christ.” The deputy scrubbed a hand down his sweaty face, shaking his head.
Zoe’s cheeks flushed bright scarlet, and she pinched the living hell out of me, right on the ribs on the side that was facing away from the deputy.
Grinning like a fiend, I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Worth it.”
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me, but was smart enough to bite her tongue, at least while we remained stuck in the elevator with the deputy. I was sure I’d catch an earful once we were safely in the truck.
She’d make me pay for pushing her buttons, I had no doubt.
I should know better than to push my luck with Zoe, especially with the way she crushed my heart under her boots on her way out of Blackwell a decade ago, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to taste her one more time. I might not get another chance, especially if she reacts as badly as I expect to what I have planned. So, I went for it. I’ll take whatever consequences she dishes out.
Finally, the elevator reached the top floor of the parking garage and the doors slid open. The off-duty deputy bolted out of the elevator like he couldn’t get away from us fast enough.
I bit my lip, shaking with silent laughter as we followed him out.
Zoe swatted my arm and hissed at me through gritted teeth. “Are you nuts? Stop antagonizing the cop.”
“Don’t tell me a big, bad junior executive like you let an off-duty deputy rattle your cage.”
Zoe glared at me, her gorgeous green eyes blazing with indignation. “It’s not just him that has me rattled. It’s the suits, and dad being sick, and mostly you.”
“Aw, come on honey. I haven’t even started rattling your cage yet, not really.” I pulled the truck keys out of my pocket and hit the un-lock button.
Zoe rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe that stunt you just pulled?—”
“Quit your whining. That stunt I just pulled worked like a charm. He can’t get away from us fast enough.” I gave her a gentle elbow to the ribs, and she shoved me hard enough I almost stumbled out in front of a passing car.
I snapped a hand out and grabbed the tailgate of the truck we were walking past to right myself.
Seems about right. She’s always been the type to bring a nuke to a knife fight.
“Shit, Roman, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—” Zoe reached out and laid her trembling hand on my forearm, her brow bunched with what looked to be genuine concern.
Her fingers might as well have been a red-hot brand. I snatched my arm away from her comforting touch. “Save it, Zoe. You never mean to hurt anybody. It’s just a natural-born talent, I guess.”
All the color drained out of her cheeks and tears pooled in her eyes, leaving me with a pounding heart and the bitter taste of regret on my tongue.
I sighed and glared down at my boots, hands-on-hips. “Fuck. Now I’m the one who’s sorry. No matter what you did, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Zoe turned away, swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. Her gaze roamed over the surrounding vehicles, searching the top deck of the parking garage for a truck with the Twisted Creek Ranch logo emblazoned on the side. When she spoke, her voice was tight and brittle and rough, like she’d swallowed shards of glass. “It’s the truth, whether I like it or not. You shouldn’t have to apologize for being honest with me just to spare my ego.”
I shook my head and strode past her, leading the way through the rows of cars once again, toward the truck with the horse trailer still hitched behind it, parked sideways across a few spots on the far side of the deck. “It’s not about sparing your ego, Zoe. Your father is sick, and besides that, you haven’t even been home for a half hour yet and the shit is already hitting the fan. I should be man enough not to let my temper get the better of me, especially at a time like this.”
“You’re allowed to have feelings, Roman.” Zoe tugged on my arm, pulling me to a stop just as I hit the unlock button on the truck’s key fob and reached to open the door.
“That’s not what you told me before you left Blackwell, but it’s nice to see you taking other people’s feelings into consideration for a change.” I couldn’t resist the dig, even though I knew it might undermine my plans.
Zoe winced and bit her lip like she was punishing it for daring to tremble and expose any vulnerability in her. “Can we just forget about the things I said before I left Blackwell, please?”
I heaved a sigh and shook my head. “Maybe you can, but I can’t, Zoe. The things you said the day you left cut deep... probably deeper than you intended, but that’s always the way with you.”
I tugged the drivers-side door of the truck open and jerked my chin at Zoe, signaling for her to climb in. I tossed her bags in the back seat of the extended cab as she walked around the front of the truck and climbed into the passenger side. She was so quiet after my outburst; I was sure the conversation was probably over, so I cranked the truck.
Zoe cleared her throat, her fists clenched tight in her lap as she stared out the passenger window, hiding her face from me as she spoke. “I know I was unnecessarily cruel, and I should have apologized long before now, but I am truly sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. Don’t think for a second that I didn’t hate myself the second I said it, but that is just a drop in the ocean of things I’ve hated myself for since the summer I left Blackwell.”
A knot deep in my chest loosened just the slightest bit. “Apology accepted… and appreciated. Just promise me one thing, will you?”
Zoe turned to face me, then, her eyes as guarded as ever. “Promise you what?”
I squeezed the steering wheel and sucked in a deep breath, not meeting her gaze. “Promise me you won’t regret apologizing to me the second I bring you up to speed on everything we’re up against here.”
Zoe shook her head and offered me a sad smile. “I’m not in the business of making promises I can’t keep, Roman… not anymore.”
“Fair enough.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to figure out how I was going to approach the disaster facing us.
The silence in the truck threatened to suffocate us both as I pulled away from where I’d been parked and followed the painted arrows and signs, aiming for the parking garage’s exit.
“We’re finally alone in the truck. Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on here, or what?” Zoe crossed her arms and arched a brow at me.
I bit my lip and sighed, keeping my gaze on our downward-spiraling path out of the parking garage. “How do you want it, Zoe?”
Zoe lifted her chin and sat up a little straighter, squaring her shoulders. “Give it to me straight. No fluff. No bullshit. Just the facts.”
I guess it’s straight down to business, then. It shouldn’t surprise me, considering how well she took to the corporate world.
I pursed my lips as we pulled out of the parking garage and aimed for the airport’s exit. “Do you want the bad news, the worse news, or the worst news first? And would you rather save the discussion about your father’s condition for the doctors, or do you want me to tell you what little I know about the situation before we get to Deaconess to see him?”
Zoe winced and the pulse point in her throat fluttered furiously, the only tell that her heart was racing a mile a minute, probably trying to keep up with all the what-if scenarios stampeding through her mind at the moment, if I had to guess.
“Let’s go with bad, worse, then worst. And—no offense—but I’d like to leave the discussion of my dad’s condition for when a doctor is present so I can ask questions and get immediate answers.”
I shrugged as I pulled out onto the road, leaving the airport in the rearview mirror and aiming for Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center. “No offense taken. I understand.”
Zoe sucked down several calming breaths, then nodded. “Okay... just rip the band-aid off and let’s get this over with. What’s the bad news?”
Fuck it. One problem at a time. Let’s do this.
I grimaced. “Remember the suits that were lurking and staring us down in baggage claim?”
“Yeah. What about them?” Zoe stared at me, and I could feel her unwavering gaze burning a hole in the side of my face, but I kept my eyes on the road.
Unease settled deep in my gut, like a lead weight, and I winced.
I wonder how she’s going to take this news? God, I hope living in the big city hasn’t turned her into a sellout.
“They’re part of David Michaelson’s private security team.”
Zoe blinked at me, obviously nonplussed. “Wait... what? David Michaelson, the big action star from the movies? Why would his security team be here in Montana? Shouldn’t they be wherever he is, protecting him?”
I gestured at the mountains in the distance. “You’ve been gone a long time, sweetheart. The rich, famous people of the world have discovered how beautiful it is here, and they’re flooding Montana left and right. They want all this beauty for themselves.”
Zoe’s expression darkened, that hard mask I remembered all too well sliding into place as her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And what the fuck does that have to do with us, exactly?”
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. “Michaelson has been giving your father the full court press, trying to buy Twisted Creek Ranch off him, but you know your daddy. He refuses to sell, of course.”
“And how do you feel about that? Him refusing to sell?” Something about the way she said it, her voice so careful and neutral, made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“What the hell do you mean, how do I feel about it? How do you think I feel?” I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white, and dared an incredulous glance over at her before turning my gaze back to the road.
Zoe huffed out a long-suffering sigh. “I don’t want to have to guess, Roman. That’s why I asked. Now answer the question. How do you feel about my father refusing to sell the ranch?”
Cold sweat turned my palms clammy and slick. I took turns wiping them on my jeans while keeping one hand on the steering wheel at all times. “I support his decision, and you know damn well that I always will. Twisted Creek Ranch is the only home I’ve ever known. Why? Don’t you support his decision, too?”
Zoe squirmed and heaved out a long-suffering sigh, tugging on her seatbelt to adjust it a little. “I don’t know what I think or how I feel right now, to be honest. There’s so much happening, and I can’t seem to find my balance here.”
You better not be thinking of selling out, because if you are, you’ve got another think coming.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, using the sharp pain to help me focus and rein in my temper. “It’s really simple, Zoe. Do you agree with your father and want to protect your family’s legacy, or do you think he should give it up and sell out to some pushy, rich asshole who’s going to turn it into a hobby ranch or run it into the ground and then sell it off at a price you can’t even begin to hope to buy it back at?”
Zoe jerked back, wide-eyed and slack-jawed for a moment before she spoke. “Of course I don’t want to sell out, Roman. Twisted Creek Ranch has been in my family for generations. Did you really think I’d want to sell out to someone like David Michaelson?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to think. You’ve been gone a long time. People change. Besides that, your entire career revolves around buying real estate to build resorts that cater to people exactly like David Michaelson.”
“Let’s make one thing clear between the two of us, Roman. I would never, ever sell my family’s ranch to someone like Mr. Michaelson.”
“Good.” I gave a firm nod. At least we were in agreement on one front. “But I should warn you that Michaelson hasn’t taken no for an answer yet, and judging by the fact that he had goons stalking you at the airport, I don’t think he has any intention of taking no for an answer at all.”
Zoe crossed her arms, her lips pressing into a hard, thin line. “Too bad. We’ll just have to make sure he gets the message, one way or another.”
I swung the truck into the hospital parking lot, and parked across several spots in the outer perimeter of the parking lot, where I’d be least likely to inconvenience anyone with the truck and trailer taking up so many spaces. “Are you ready for the rest of the bad news, or do you want to put a pin in this and come back to it later?”
Zoe cracked her knuckles, her gaze never wavering from my face. “No sense putting off the inevitable just because it’s unpleasant. What else are we dealing with here?”
“The Carters started stirring up shit the second they heard your dad is sick. The sheriff is up for re-election and he needs a reason for his constituents to vote for him. He’s re-opened the investigation into Missy’s death.”
I leaned over and opened the glove box, pulling out a small black velvet ring box and opened it, showing her the white gold and emerald engagement ring nestled inside it.
Zoe frowned at me, her forehead bunching with confusion. “I… what? I don’t understand. What’s that for?”
“We’re fighting a war on multiple fronts, and the best chance we have of coming out on top is if we present a united front, against David Michaelson, and against the sheriff’s department.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You and I both know Missy hanged herself?—”
I shook my head and sighed, hoping Zoe could see just how grim our situation really was by the look in my eyes. “We’re the top two suspects on the sheriff’s list in his investigation of Missy’s death. He says there are too many things from the old reports and evidence that don’t quite add up, and he doesn’t believe she took her own life. The sheriff is investigating her death as a possible murder now, and he’s going to try to pin it on one or the other of us, maybe both. Let’s just call this ring my insurance policy.”
Zoe blanched ghost white, trembling as she stared across the cab of the truck at me. “Insurance policy? For what?”
“Everyone in town, including your father, knows that I was planning to propose to you when you came home. This is my way of making sure you don’t run out and leave me to take the blame for Missy’s death, you see?”
“No.” Zoe stared at the ring, shaking her head, her eyes blazing with defiance.
“That’s where you’re wrong, baby. You’re going to wear this ring and you’re going to play along?—”
“I’ll be damned if that’s so,” Zoe hissed, lunging for the door handle.
I reached out and gripped her arm, tugging her back until she whirled to glare at me.
“Oh, but it is, and I’ll tell you why.” I leaned over, so we were almost nose-to-nose, and stared her right in the eye so she could see just how deadly serious I was. “I know about the second fight you and Missy had that day, the one you thought nobody else witnessed. But I was there, and I heard every single word of what you said to Missy the last time either of us saw her alive.”