CHAPTER 41
The sun rises, igniting the mountains and sky in a fiery blaze of orange, casting a warm glow over the ranch and the forests that surround it. My skin feels too tight for my body, and while it took me all damn night to recognize it for what it is, I know now it’s fear.
Fear of what’s coming.
Fear of what will happen to Elena.
I could lose her. The only thing I have that brings me true happiness and it could all be gone in a few hours.
I left her in my anger, in my fear, and I haven’t returned since.
Instead, I spent the night up the mountain, back in that clearing we stayed in after the drive. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat.
I open the front door quietly in case she’s sleeping. It’s barely six in the morning, and I know my girl likes to sleep in, but when I step through to the kitchen, she’s sitting at the table, a cup of coffee cradled in her hands.
She’s dressed in a light blue dress with thin straps, a ray of sunlight streaming through the window adding a blue hue to her incredibly dark hair. Her stormy eyes lift to mine, shadows beneath them. She hasn’t slept either.
For a few long seconds we stand staring at each other, the tension sizzling in the air, electrifying it. Slowly, she places her mug down, her throat working on a tight swallow.
“Knox,” Her voice is raspy, and it snaps the tension, forcing my feet to move, closing the gap between us.
I’m in front of her in a blink, my knees hitting the floor on the next and then I grab her chair, spinning it until she’s facing me and my forehead meets her abdomen, arms curling around her as if I could just hold her tight enough, strong enough she won’t fucking do this. She won’t fucking leave me.
That we can stay in this bubble we have created.
Her fingers thread into the hair at the back of my head, and she pulls, forcing my neck to bend until I’m looking up at her.
“You left.” She whispers.
“I’m sorry.” My hands squeeze into the soft flesh at her hips. “I’m so fucking sorry, Hellion.”
“I’m scared too,” She breathes, her voice barely audible, but it’s so silent around us, you could hear a pin drop.
“I’m scared of losing you, darlin’, when I’ve waited my whole damn life for you.”
Her face softens. “I’ll be okay.”
But the lie is right there on her tongue. She won’t be okay; none of us will be o-fucking-kay. “You’re going, aren’t you?” Her hand drops from my hair, allowing me to press my forehead back to her abdomen, rolling it side to side.
“Yes, I’m going.”
“Fuck,” I grumble.
“I need it to be over. I can’t live looking over my shoulder, and I made you a promise, Knox. I have to fix what was broken.”
“Not at your expense,” I snap.
“I don’t know how my father did it,” She whispers.
“He hid it so well, or maybe he just didn’t care, but I do.
I didn’t think I did, I didn’t want to, but I do give a shit, and I promised to give you what you need.
But more than that, this whole town is suffering because of the choices made, and I have a very real shot at fixing that.
I can bring this place back, but not when I’m constantly hiding. ”
“If it means losing you, Elena, then I don’t want it.”
Her lips lift to give a soft, barely there smile. “It’ll be worth it.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“There’s a reason he’s told me to come alone, Knox.”
“Exactly, and that’s why you’re not. I’ll stay out of sight, but I’m not fucking letting you go alone, Elena. It’s out of the question.”
“You’re a real bossy one, cowboy,” She jokes softly.
“It’s all I’ve got,” I reply. “And Elena?”
“Mm?”
“I love you.”
My spine hits the floor before I have a chance to catch my balance, her thighs stretched over my hips as her mouth claims mine. She kisses me desperately, tongue and teeth, and all I can do is hold the fuck on.
“I know,” She says when she finally comes up for air, and all I can fucking do is laugh.
It’s a quiet Sunday morning. Half the town is either at church or sleeping in, making the main street in town empty, the businesses that run here not opening until around noon.
My hat is down low, keeping my face in shadow, but I can see her as she waits by the side of the diner, that dress blowing gently in the breeze that sweeps down the street.
I hear the rumble of Cade’s engine before I see the car, and he cruises slowly toward her, the car looking out of place in this rundown, dusty town.
Elena steps closer to the road as Cade stops, but he doesn’t get out immediately; he takes a long drag on his cigarette, his head moving around as if surveying the area.
His shaded eyes pass over me, not lingering but I lower my hat anyway, not that I think it’s a good disguise but everyone in this town wears a hat and my spot is somewhat hidden behind an oak tree so hopefully he doesn’t clock me.
His mouth is moving, talking, but he presses a few buttons and then cuts off the engine, throwing the door open to greet Elena on the sidewalk. I keep a keen eye on them, never fleeting for even a second. I don’t trust this, not for a minute. My gut is churning, my skin prickling.
There’s something not quite right about this whole situation, something about Caden that is not sitting well.
They head into the diner, Elena guiding Cade to a window seat in direct view of my position.
“Good girl,” I mutter under my breath, eyes never wavering. Thirty minutes pass, and they remain at that table, their cups refilled with coffee, the street empty.
I’m so focused on them I don’t notice the men moving in behind me, not until it’s too late.
A thick arm comes around my throat, tugging, pulling me up and over the back of the bench until my body hits the ground with a thud on the other side.
“Fuck!” I holler, but it’s strained with the restriction pressed to my windpipe. I kick my legs out, trying to find purchase. I can manage for a moment without oxygen if I can just throw the guy off. To my right, a guy moves in, going for my legs, another one on the left mimicking the move.
“Elena!” But my voice isn’t what it needs to be; there’s no volume, nothing but a wet croak.
No!
“Knock him out!” One yells.
Fuck this.
I’m not leaving her. I am not leaving her. We fight this together.
Gathering my strength, pulling it in, I reach behind me and grab the guy holding my throat, throwing him off balance enough to send him flying over me. He hits the dirt and then the back of the bench, and I get to my feet.
I count four of them, including the man on the floor.
Getting into position, I look at each of them, their position, the guns in their hands and the knives buckled to straps at the belts and their boots.
For a fleeting second, I look to Elena in the diner across the street, I see her eyes, the color of the clouds during a thunderstorm, and I see her fear.
I will not die today.
Not when she has to watch.
I see her lurch toward the exit, but Caden captures her, her mouth open on a scream, but she can’t escape his grip.
One comes at me, and I throw a fist, clocking him in the temple while another attempts a punch to my ribs.
I dodge, but barely, opening myself up for a punch to the lower right side of my face.
My jaw snaps up, teeth gnashing together with the impact as a boot connects with my gut, stealing the air from my lungs.
I double over, sucking in a breath as a fist connects with my face, making stars burst behind my eyes.
I can’t win here.
A fist connects with the back of my head, forcing my knees to the dirt, and when a boot kicks against the center of my spine, my chest hits the ground.
A foot presses into the nape of my neck, keeping me down.
“We need him alive,” One of them says right before a quick, sharp whack connects with my temple.
There’s no escaping the darkness that creeps in with it, but as it descends, as the fog with shadowy claws grips me, I hear her voice.
She screams my name, screams it like it can hold me here, like it can stop this, but it’s too late.
It’s too fucking late.