Twenty-Four
Montana
I said nothing until we were out of Linc’s house and inside Than’s truck. Once the doors were closed, I turned to him.
“How are you and Linc related?” I asked, already knowing they weren’t. It wasn’t that kind of relationship.
Linc was the boss, and he’d said Bane would be taking his place one day. My choices and decisions had been taken away from me, yet I’d been focused on the way they spoke to each other. Even the man on the phone.
“We aren’t,” Than replied as he started up the truck.
Yeah, already knew that.
“You don’t work for him,” I said. He didn’t respond, so I continued on, “Yet you and Linc are very concerned about Jericho keeping his reputation clean. Why is that?”
Than cut his eyes at me, then back to the road leading us to the cabin.
“You have a stalker, and this is what you want to discuss?”
He was deflecting. There was something he didn’t want me to know.
“Where is Ocala?” I asked then, trying to get this out of him another way.
“Florida.”
“Who is Blaise?”
He didn’t come back with an immediate answer, and I knew I was getting close to the center of this.
“Wealthy horse breeder who lives in Ocala. His family and Linc’s go back for generations. They might as well be related.”
That might be true, but it wasn’t explaining much.
“Who is Levi?”
“Linc’s son.”
“He lives in Ocala?”
Than nodded.
“Why?”
Than sighed. “Because he has lived there his entire life.”
“But Linc is here. Did he used to live there?”
“Yep. What’s with all the questions, Six?”
He was calling me Six again, and I hated it. But I had bigger issues than the insulting nickname he’d decided to stick on me. He hadn’t liked me one minute and made it clear he didn’t think I was attractive, but then he had sure put a lot of energy into stopping me when I tried to leave. I wanted to ask him why he cared so much, but I would wait to ask that.
“Because my life is being controlled by you, by Linc, by men in Ocala that I don’t know. And although you’re not related, he referred to the family more than once in his office. Saying that whoever was leaving the notes was attached to the family. That this makes it a family issue. What family was he referring to? And Jericho is the governor of Mississippi. Why do men in Florida care?”
Than ran his fingers through his hair. Frustration etched in his features. He didn’t like that I was asking any of this, but what did he and Linc think would happen after I sat there and listened to them decide what I was going to do?
“Are you all some undercover government organization? Is that it?” I asked him.
Because while I’d sat there, it was all I could come up with. Their secure lines and whoever this Blaise person was, who seemed to be the one in charge. I’d thought Linc was, but apparently, he answered to someone too.
The corner of Than’s mouth twitched, and his eyes lit with amusement. It seemed my guess was incorrect.
“Do I look like someone the government would hire? Does Linc?” he asked me.
No. Neither of them did, but I was at a loss as to what they were or how they were all connected. It couldn’t be friends if there was a chain of command and hierarchy. This was something else. I’d witnessed it in Linc’s office, and I wanted answers.
“Then what are you?” I demanded.
He studied me for a moment, then looked out the front window, his jaw flexed now as if he was clenching his teeth. Why was this a hard question to answer?
“I can’t tell you that,” he finally said.
“Why?” I shot back at him.
His eyes swung from the cabin to me. “Because I’ve not been told that I can.”
He’d not been told. There was a chain of command. I was right. But he had said they weren’t a government organization. What else could they be?
“A private security detail?” I asked.
He didn’t respond as he opened his door, instead saying, “Let’s get inside.”
Fine. We’d go inside, but I wasn’t going to stop asking questions until I understood things.
Than didn’t wait on me as he stalked toward the steps leading up to the entrance. He appeared to almost be running to get away from me Which was dumb since we would be shut inside that cabin together, with only about seven hundred square feet.
I took my time going inside while Than stood at the open door, his eyes surveying the property as he waited on me. Once I walked in, he closed the door and locked it.
Not wasting any time, I turned to look at him. I’d try a different line of questioning.
“Why did you not want me to leave?” I asked.
He didn’t look at me as he walked toward the kitchen. “Because it wasn’t safe.”
Don’t go getting ideas in your head, Montana.
“Why do you care about my safety? I’m a burden that this…family—who you won’t explain about to me—has saddled you with.”
I was fishing here, and it was very possible he’d say something that twisted my chest up. But then that would probably be a good reminder that he wasn’t someone I should be fantasizing about.
He jerked the fridge open so hard that the things inside the door rattled together. “You were terrified. You’re alone. I might not like this situation, but I don’t want you just thrown out there without any help.”
He glanced back at me. “I thought we discussed that we should attempt to be friends. This is what friends do.”
Was it though? I doubted friends kept secrets and refused to let you make your own decisions.
“That was when you had to stay with me. You could have taken your out today. Gotten rid of me. But you didn’t.”
Why am I pushing this? Because you want him to…to…care?
He barely knew me. I was wanting something from a guy who I’d known almost a week and wanted since day one. But he hadn’t felt the same. I’d never reacted this way to a boy before. No, that wasn’t the correct description, and perhaps that was the difference. Than wasn’t a boy. He was a man. One who made my heart race.
He closed the door to the refrigerator and turned to face me. “Look, Six, I’m not heartless. I see a girl in distress, and it’s in me to help out. But I’m also not a good guy. Not by your standards. Hell, not by most standards. Can we just let this go? Accept that I want to help you. Get this son of a bitch stalking you. And make it through until you have a high school diploma and can move on with your life?”
That was it. My truth. He wanted to help. He wasn’t getting goose bumps at my presence or aching to run his fingers through my hair. Those feelings were all just me.
I still wanted to know what they all did. This family that wasn’t necessarily related. But for now, I’d let it be. Get through the next few days or weeks. And hopefully not find another blue note.
“Okay,” I replied.
He raised his eyebrows. “Okay?”
He said the word as if asking a question, so I nodded.
He grinned then and blew out a breath. “Good. Now, I’m starving. Looks like Jayda stocked some new meals in here. Want to come have a see and pick out what you would like first?”
Part of me wanted to go into the bedroom and curl up on the bed and…sulk. Which was ridiculous, and I wasn’t going to do that. Than was no longer scowling at me and making mean jabs. I needed to be thankful for the change and accept that this was what it was.
“Probably a good idea if I want to eat,” I said, walking over to look as he stepped out of the way.
“You say that like I would eat everything in there,” he said teasingly.
“I’ve seen you eat. It’s a possibility,” I replied, then flashed him a smile before checking out the different meals stacked neatly inside.