Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
I’ve never seen so many people in my kitchen. Not even when all the farm workers my grandfather used to have would come for coffee in the morning.
And back then, it definitely didn’t look like a staging ground for a SEAL team raid.
Blinking, I consider running back in the bedroom and crawling in bed where I can hide under the blanket and pretend none of this is happening. Then I see the photo on the wall. One I look at every morning, but this morning it nearly knocks me over.
My mother is in the center of the frame, leaning against a fence. Dusty jeans and work boots. Plaid shirt with the sleeves removed, showing off her golden-brown skin. Her long dark braid hanging over her shoulder.
She was my age now.
The smile on her face looks genuine even though she was living through hell. She never quit. Never laid in bed hiding. She did her best every day even though she was living with a monster.
My lip starts to tremble so I clamp it between my teeth.
I’m made of the same thing she was. The women in this family bend. We don’t break.
Someone touches my shoulder, making me startle. Scout is looking down at me from below a baseball cap that shadows his face. “I know this seems like a lot, and the night is only going to get more intense, but you're in good hands.”
“I know. Thanks for coming. I don’t know how you got here so fast, but I appreciate it.”
He nods. “That’s what teammates do. Evan texted. Here I am.”
A pang of jealousy sticks in my throat. What it must be like to have friends and teammates that have your back. Always.“I’m glad you were still in Karma.”
“I didn’t want to go too far.”
“You bothering her?” Evan is suddenly at my elbow, looking big and mean.
“Reassuring her.”
Scout extends his hand. Without saying a word, Evan shakes it.
Then Evan kisses my temple before he walks away. Heading toward Vik and his men where they’re clustered together at the far end of the kitchen, talking in whatever language they speak.
Things speed up then. The voices grow louder. Men start to move.
Scout tosses Evan some clothing. Black. Every bit of it.
After digging in his cargo pocket, Scout hands me a flat plastic case that looks like a box for a deck of cards. “Put this on your face. Hurry.”
I jog off and proceed to make a big mess of the bathroom. And my face.
When I skid back into the kitchen all heads turn my way. I point at my face. “Is this okay?”
Someone chuckles.
Evan’s mouth is open a little bit. It transforms to a grin. He shakes his head and holds his hand out to me. “Better than good.”
I put my hands on my hips. “What? Why are you laughing?”
He chuckles. “You didn’t hold back.”
I make a face at him. “Nobody told me what to do. Did I do it wrong? ”
“How much did you use?”
I shrug as my frown deepens. “I don’t know. Enough to cover my face.”
He squeezes my hand. “Enough for all of us.”
I catch the grin on a few of the men’s faces. “Why don’t they have stuff? And you?”
Evan tugs me toward the door, “I’ll put it on in the truck if there’s any left. Some of them will wear masks.”
I kick him in the butt jokingly. “This is your fault. You didn’t tell me what to do!” I toss the plastic container up in the air and he catches it and quickly slips it into his pocket.
Before I have time to process what’s happening, we’re loaded in a big truck just like the one that got blown up and another guy I have a vague recognition of is behind the steering wheel.
“Morning! I’m Justice.”
“Hey.” I’m a little breathless from all the commotion and dashing to the truck. “I think you came to the hospital.”
He nods and starts the engine. “Buckle up everybody. This party’s about to get started.”
I scurry for my seat belt as he revs the engine and we take off into the night, falling in line with Vik’s big black SUV and two others that match.
“Where are we going?”
Evan looks up from some kind of electronic device. “Vik knows where the intruder might be hiding out.”
I shudder. “Could you tell anything about him?”
The set to Evan’s jawline cues me in on just how angry he is. “He was fast and he probably had a key.”
The second part of that revelation stuns me into silence.
My hand trembles in my lap. He reaches for me, resting his warm, heavy palm against my thigh. “You’re safe with us. I’m not letting anyone get near you.”
It takes a few seconds to find my voice. “I just don’t understand what someone would want with me. I’m just a farmer.”
I catch Scout looking over his shoulder, his gaze heavy and unreadable. “You own a very large and well established farm, Marianna. Surely that has to be valuable to someone.”
I forget about the face paint until I reach up to rub my temple. “Crap, how do you guys wear this stuff? I’m going to have it everywhere.”
Evan wipes my fingertips on his face. “You get used to it. Speaking of…”
He reaches into his cargo pocket, grabs the green plastic box and flips it open with his thumb. Chuckling, he looks at me. “Sweetheart, really…”
“Leave me alone.”
With quick movements he spreads green, black and gray over his face in quick slashes. Scout is doing the same in the front seat. In no time they look scary as hell.
I blow out a breath. “Anyway, Scout, about your questions, there are much larger, more profitable agave farms in this country. I’m actually in the process of borrowing money. That’s why I was at the bank during the robbery the other day. I was supposed to hear about the loan.”
Evan’s gaze slides my way. “Why is your father trying to arrange your marriage?”
Never has a truck cab gone so silent so fast.
In the rearview, Justice is flicking his eyes between me and back to the road. Scout is craning his neck to look back. Of course, Evan is doing that thing he does where he’s so still you can’t even tell he’s breathing.
“Sylvester has promised my father to invest in the town. It’s all about ego for both of them.”
Just saying this outloud makes me want to gag.
“Fucking bullshit.” Scout jerks his hat back on, tugging it low. “Your father’s an asshole.”
Beside me, Evan’s temples are showing a roadmap of throbbing veins under his paint. He withdraws his hand from my leg and aggressively pulls on a pair of black gloves as he glares out the side window.
The lack of a verbal response from him has my pulse doing something alarming.
He looks murderous.
The truck sways as we go around a corner, but I barely notice for the screaming silence.
This is my life? Come on. This is an action movie.
Justice glances at me again in the mirror. Now he’s got paint on his face now too. How did he do that so fast?
He asks, “Have you seen anyone else around your house that doesn’t belong there?”
“No—” I stop mid reply and straighten in my seat. “Wait. There was a land surveyor at the farm that I didn’t hire.”
Evan’s head snaps my direction. He practically snarls, “When?”
“The morning after the party where Sylvester's car blew up. He acted weird. Said he had a non-disclosure for his client. I presumed it was the bank, but I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to the bank president.”
“Do you have an office?”
This weird question comes from Scout.
“Yes, in my house.”
Evan zeroes in on me even more. “Did you leave some files open, lying on the desk?”
“No. I never leave files out. I’m not the best bookkeeper, but I like having a tidy office. It makes me feel more like I know what I’m doing.”
He makes a rough sound. “When I checked the house for the intruder after we heard the noise, I made a pass through the office. The only thing that caught my attention was a couple of blue file folders on the desk.
My shoulder bounces off the door frame as Justice turns on to a rough dirt road. “I don’t use blue file folders.”
“Babe, are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I only use those plain tan ones. There’s nowhere here to buy fancy office supplies. I’d have to order them from the US, and that costs too much money.”
Justice—even though he’s driving us at breakneck speeds on a washed out dirt road—is following the conversation. “What about your grandfather’s files?”
Huh?
My mouth hinges open as my veins fill with ice water. “Oh my god. I need to go back to the house.”