26 #2
I open my mouth to argue, but his fingers snake into my hair and capture a fistful.
“Obey me.” His firm grasp punctuates his command.
He and Jarret will drive Levi—alive and bound—to the ravine. It’s a risky transport, but a hidden video camera in the corner of the room recorded them acting in self-defense. The footage won’t be needed unless they get pulled over.
I lean into him and brush our lips together. “Come home to me.”
“Always.”
I take the motorcycle to the ranch, head to the stable, and tack up Ketchup for a ride to the ravine. It’s nearing dusk by the time I get her saddled and into the field.
All the ranch hands have gone home for the day. The lowing of cattle drifts across the south pasture, the tall stalks of grass silent and still in the absence of wind.
As I approach the ridge that leads to the ravine, my fingers turn cold around the reins, and an icy tingle sweeps through my chest. I meant what I said to Jarret. I’m prepared for this. But that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to watching a man die.
Ketchup climbs the final hill, and I spot Jake’s pickup truck parked near the fire pit at the entrance of the ravine.
I haven’t been here since that night, and the ridge looks so different. More open and bare. Like someone came through here with a bulldozer.
Forty-some feet away, Jake and Jarret hold Levi on his knees at the edge of the bluff that overlooks the ravine. Six years ago, there were so many trees on that overhang we couldn’t stand there. When did it get cleared out?
I tie Ketchup to one of the remaining trees, and my gaze lingers on the charred wood in the fire pit. I can still see Lorne sitting against that log and strumming his guitar. He was here that night to watch over me, to support my relationship with Jake.
Tears blur my vision without warning, and I blink them away.
If he can forgive me for ruining his life, I can forgive him for keeping me at a distance.
I’m so damn ready for him to come home.
Turning toward the bluff, I pick my way along the rocky terrain toward Jake and Jarret. As I breach the highest point, two dump trucks come into view behind them.
“What are you…?” I glance over the edge of the cliff and gasp. “Holy shit.”
The narrow gorge and trickling creek below are gone, replaced with a landfill of dirt and rock. That explains why the trees were cleared away.
“We’re still filling it in.” Jake knots a noose of rope around Levi’s neck while Jarret holds the man still. “The dirt came from the drilling site.”
There must be hundreds of truck loads in there. Mounds of dirt climb halfway up the steep ravine walls.
A chilling thought pinches my gut. “The bodies are under all that?”
Levi’s eyes bulge, and he thrashes and heaves against Jarret’s hold.
“They went in first.” Jake loops more rope around Levi’s ankles and looks up at me. “Do you have any last words for this motherfucker?”
“No.” Pins and needles creep up my legs and deaden my insides.
Jake’s vigilant gaze stays on me as he kicks Levi onto his stomach and presses a boot against his back.
The rope leads from Jake’s hand to Levi’s neck. The man’s wrists and feet are bound together behind him, his mouth sealed with duct tape and expression stark with dawning horror.
I clutch the base of my throat, my mind swirling with images of his death.
We never discussed the exact method. I expected it to be drawn out and gruesome, but maybe strangulation is better than a stab wound or gun shot.
None of us are here to bathe in blood. We’re not killers.
We just want it done, so we can have closure and move on.
The knowledge alone that he’s about to die makes me want to puke.
Jarret strides toward me and pulls me into a tight hug. “You don’t have to watch.”
I wrap my arms around him and fix my gaze on Jake, trembling and nauseous.
“You hurt my girl.” Jake pulls hard on the noose around Levi’s neck, his dark, rugged features cut with vengeance.
“You stole something sacred from her. From me . And you thought you’d do it again?
” He drives a brutal kick into Levi’s ribs.
“We live and die by the choices we make. You made yours. I hope you relive that night from her perspective, over and over, while you burn in hell.”
He pushes his boot down on Levi’s spine and holds the rope taut, straining the muscles in his forearms.
I clap a hand over my mouth, fighting the bile in my throat as Levi bucks and jerks face down in the dirt, fighting for air.
The strangulation goes on for eternity. Jake doesn’t move or speak, his hands clenched around the rope. With his head tilted down, the rim of the hat conceals his face.
My fingers bite into Jarret’s back, my entire body locked in frozen panic. Why is it taking so long?
Finally, the body slumps, breathless and unmoving. Jake checks his pulse and shoves him over the edge and into the ravine.
“It’s over.” He comes to me, arms open, and pulls me from his brother.
Jarret takes off toward the dump trucks to unload the dirt. To bury Levi Tibbs.
Jake lifts me and carries me away from the bluff, nuzzling his whiskered face in my neck. I melt into him, clinging to his strong, dependable breaths.
Neither of us have words. None are needed. Levi Tibbs stole six years from us. He’s not going to get another second.
Ketchup offers a soft, little whinny as we approach. I wiggle out of Jake’s arms to kiss and rub her nose.
“Aren’t you going to help him?” I nod at the dump truck as Jarret backs it toward the cliff.
“Nah.” He grips my waist and hoists me into the saddle. “He’ll drop those two loads, and we’ll move the rest of the dirt in tomorrow.”
Swinging up behind me, he tucks my rear against his groin and slides his arms around me to grasp the reins.
A suffocating sensation closes in, but his embrace is stronger. He chases away my demons because he’s the biggest, baddest bully of them all.
My protective bully places an unyielding hand under my chin and directs my head back against his shoulder.
“Just breathe.” He touches his lips to the edge of my mouth. “I’m right here.”
“I’m here for you, too, you know. We were both there that night. Please, lean on me. Whenever you need me.”
“I’m leaning on you right now.” He brings me tighter against his chest and holds me close on the ride to the stable.
He holds me as we shower. His hand never leaves my back as we warm up pasta leftovers.
Jarret joins us on the back porch, and Jake holds me as we eat in silence.
Dusk creeps across the pasture like it always does—sleepy and peaceful. But tonight, it feels more sullen, darker, and full of shadows.
After dinner, Jarret collects our dishes and heads inside the house.
I turn to Jake beside me. “The air feels heavy.”
“Come here.” He reclines on the cushioned bench, legs spread and expression open.
I crawl onto his lap and snuggle against the warm cotton of his shirt.
“It’s okay to be sad.” His voice slips over me, just a soft breath of sound, but it feels like a velvet caress. “For as long as it takes, I’ll hold you through it.”
“There’s nothing to be sad about.”
“You don’t believe that.”
I love that he understands me so completely, like he’s inside my head feeling my thoughts before I can make sense of them.
The past is behind us, but I still mourn it.
I mourn my relationship with Dalton. I mourn Lorne’s absence.
Most of all, I mourn the six years I lost with Jake.
I resent it as strongly as I cherish every breath we share now.
But that’s okay. It’s okay to cry and be angry. I’ll never bottle that shit up again.
The moonlight casts a tranquil glow across the field, creating fathomless shadows between the ripples in the terrain. I can see our childhood in them—the joy, the serenity, and the indestructible love between the four of us.
I let myself drift back to that innocent place. I let the tears fall when they fill my eyes. And l let Jake hold me until it passes.
Thank God this day has come and gone. All the pain we suffered, all the hurt we survived, it’s over. Gone.
I lift Lorne’s guitar from the chair beside us and strum a few notes, listening to Jake breathe and matching the soothing rhythm.
My fingers move over the strings, searching for a song until I lock onto Breathe by Faith Hill.
He strokes my hair while I play, watches my lips while I sing, and smiles when I smile.
I wear the skin that feels his touch.
I breathe the air that fills his lungs.
I’m the girl he wants, the one he loves, and he’s mine.
“It’s just us,” I whisper.
He kisses my neck. “That’s all we need.”