Chapter Twenty-eight – Good Woman
Chapter Twenty-eight
Sadie
GOOD WOMAN
Performed by Maren Morris
My heart was leaping and pounding , a wild horse ready to escape the confines of the corral and run free over the hills. Rafe loved me. I’d felt it yesterday, and he’d insinuated it, but we hadn’t said the words. To hear them, plain as day, was a heady drug. One I could easily get addicted to. I’d never get tired of hearing it. Feeling it. Wanting it. Wanting him.
I kissed him openly, no reservations, no holding back. I poured everything I was into it, feeling safe in handing him my heart. My soul. It didn’t solve our problems. If anything, it added hurdles to whatever happened next, but it still felt right giving it to him.
One thing was certain. I wouldn’t walk away from him when he had a gun pointed at him.
No way in hell.
I’d gone to Rafe’s room last night and waited for him to come up, not only to give him comfort but in hopes of evading the memories that were trying to drag me back into the abyss from that day with Chainsaw. I’d fallen asleep trying to keep the good memories, the sweet ones of hands and mouths gliding on skin, at the forefront, but they’d still turned into terrifying ones of Rafe guiding me along a field as shots rang out, and we zigzagged to the house. His firm grip on my elbow had faded into pained memories of McKenna’s fingers pushing into my wounds, trying to stop me from bleeding out.
When I woke with a start, heart hammering with fear and trepidation and loss, the bed had still been empty, even though the sky was turning gray outside the windows. And I might have hated that more than I’d hated anything else that had happened since I’d arrived.
Kissing him now, I tried to convey all of that—not only the love we’d declared but what he’d denied himself, and me, by not coming upstairs.
A throat clearing behind us had me pulling my lips from his. It hurt more than I’d ever thought it would to separate myself from another human being. I wanted to spend the day tucked up next to him, doing just this—kissing and touching and caressing. Soothing. Loving. But we couldn’t have that. Not yet.
We turned to see Lauren hovering in the doorway of the office. I slipped off the desk, putting distance between Rafe and me. I wasn’t embarrassed that she’d caught us kissing, but the entire situation felt awkward and confusing.
Rafe caught my fingers, as if sensing my sudden uncertainty, keeping me at his side.
“Have you been here all night?” Lauren asked, eyeing the papers Rafe had scattered all over the desk and some even on the floor.
“Yes,” he said, picking up a small, antique journal. “Adam was going through these boxes, and I was trying to figure out what he was looking for.”
Lauren’s gaze darted down and away before they came back, her gaze hardening. “He texted me this morning.”
Every fiber of my being went still and saw Rafe’s spine stiffen. He practically vibrated with animosity as he spit out, “And?”
“He said I needed to trust him. That he’d explain it all soon, but that he was going away for a few days so he could right everything that had gone wrong.” She rubbed her forehead, and I almost felt sorry for her because I could see she still wanted to believe her brother. Wouldn’t I if the roles were switched? But then again, I couldn’t imagine either of my brothers ever stealing from their home or shooting at people we loved.
“Did you tell him about the shooting? The theft?” Rafe demanded.
“I wasn’t sure if I should, so I kept it vague. I told him I didn’t understand everything that was happening, but that he needed to come home. Otherwise, people would assume he was guilty of stealing from the ranch and more.”
“And how did he respond?”
“He didn’t, and when I tried to call, it went straight to voicemail.”
The front door slammed open, and we all jumped, turning toward the hall as feet pounded on the marble floors. Steele came storming into the office. His eyes narrowed at Lauren. “Did you tell them Adam texted you?”
She inhaled sharply. “You were tracing his calls?”
Steele ignored the question, turning back to Rafe. “He’s in LA, near the airport. I left a message with Sheriff Wylee in hopes that he can coordinate with LAPD and have them send a SWAT unit to the hotel to bring him in for questioning.”
“A SWAT team?! Is that necessary?” Lauren wrung her hands, looking from Steele’s grim face to Rafe’s equally dark one. “Please, I don’t want to see him get hurt. We don’t know what he has or hasn’t done. If Spence’s death wasn’t an accident…” She shook her head, grief rippling over pale cheeks. “Until we have hard proof, I can’t—I won’t—believe it. Even if he’s stolen money…it doesn’t mean he did anything to Spencer. And he’s still my brother. He’s all I have left of my family.”
“Well, I mean, you do have me,” Fallon said dryly, coming into the office behind Steele.
Lauren twitched as if she’d been slapped. It was so heartbreaking. Every single moment with Fallon and her parents had torn at me.
“You know that’s not what I meant, Fallon. You’re the most important person in the world to me. Adam is all I have left of my roots.”
Fallon didn’t look like she believed her, but as she passed her mother, I saw the love and anguish in Lauren’s expression. She had a lot of work to do before she could earn back her daughter’s trust, just as much as Rafe did. Fallon felt abandoned, and even as much as I loved Rafe, I couldn’t blame her for those feelings.
Lauren swallowed hard and looked at Rafe. “Last night, I tried to understand why he would do this to me, to us. He idolized Grandpa, and they spent a lot of time together. Grandpa Joe was bitter about everything that had happened between our families. He’d been the one to find his father after he committed suicide, and he’d watched the Harringtons flourish while his family lost more and more. He grumbled a lot about it, even with me, but maybe it affected Adam more than I realized. If he did all of this… He just needs help. He needs deprogramming or whatever they call it when people are brainwashed.”
Rafe’s eyes were dark, and I was pretty damn sure he didn’t agree. If Adam killed his brother, he wouldn’t give Adam absolution. He’d be looking to send him away for life. But I also saw, just as I had last night, he felt somehow responsible for all of this, as if Adam’s decisions had been his fault.
He looked at Steele. “I’ll have the jet fueled. I can be in LA in just over an hour.”
Lauren looked relieved. Her phone vibrated in her hand, and she looked down and then up. “Marielle is asking about breakfast.” She rubbed her forehead. “Fallon, normally I’d have you go help out at the bunkhouse and old homestead, but I’d like you to stay inside as much as possible until the wedding. You’ll help with the bride and bridesmaids, and I’ll go down and deal with the groom and the families.”
“Fine,” Fallon said and turned on her heel and left.
Lauren watched her daughter leave, regret pouring from her. Then she turned back to Rafe, saying quietly, “Thank you. I know… I know if he’s really done any of this, he doesn’t deserve any of our grace, but I appreciate you doing this as a favor for me after all we’ve been through.”
Then, she left, and I despised how she’d used the guilt Rafe felt against him. That she’d gotten him to do one more thing for them when, in my opinion, none of them had done anything for him. They’d watched him walk away and never demanded he come home. It made me want to do what I’d just told him I wouldn’t do—break my promise to Lauren to help her today in order to go with him to LA. To make sure he didn’t face one more thing alone, but also because the thought of him confronting Adam at the hotel made acid boil in my stomach.
Steele must have felt the same way, because he grumbled, “This isn’t a good idea, Marquess. Let the authorities handle it.”
“I agree,” he responded, and the roiling in my stomach slowed. “I said I’d go to LA, but I didn’t say I wasn’t letting the police arrest him. I’m not angry enough, or dumb enough, to storm a hotel room if he’s the one who shot at us yesterday. I didn’t want to say it to Lauren, but what happens at the hotel today is on him. I just want to be there when the police question him. I want to be able to look him in the eye when I ask him about my brother.”
I felt the relief that journeyed over Steele’s face wash over me as well.
Rafe squeezed my hand. “I’d still prefer it if you and Fallon weren’t here. If there’s a chance this wasn’t Adam…if it’s Puzo…” he trailed off.
“If it’s Puzo, he wants you, not Sadie or your daughter,” Steele said. “You leaving the ranch gives him less of a reason to retaliate.”
Rafe didn’t look like he agreed or that he was happy about any of the choices before us, but then again, neither was I. The last thing I wanted was for us to be apart. I’d told him I was staying if he stayed and going if he was going, and I’d meant it. Reading my thoughts in that way he was good at, he ran a finger along my cheek.
“Jim’s right. You’re better off staying away from me until this is over.”
“That’s an argument we need to have when we’ve got more time, Slick. We should be fine here,” I told him, but even as I said it, the sound of gunshots flashed in my head, almost real enough to make me wince. I’d wished I’d had a gun, both last night and the day Chainsaw had taken Mila, and maybe having one now would help steady me. I glanced from Steele to Rafe. “Either of you have an extra handgun you can loan me?”
Rafe huffed out a laugh as if he’d expect nothing less from me, but Steele looked uneasy.
“A dartboard isn’t the only target I can hit. I grew up shooting guns with my brothers. I have a steady hand and good aim. It would reassure me if I had something on me. Something I could use to protect myself and Fallon.”
“We have twenty men arriving within the hour. Some of Puzo’s men are already here. And Wylee’s men will be here this afternoon. There’ll be plenty of guns on site, and I have no desire for one itchy trigger finger to start a Hatfields-and-McCoys type of shootout,” Steele said dryly.
Rafe ignored him. “I’ll get you a gun, but Jim is staying here, so you won’t need it.” When the man started to protest, Rafe kept going. “I’ll take Barry with me. I’d rather you be here with my family, keeping an eye on Puzo.”
Silence bloomed while the two men argued with their eyes in a way that told me they were much more than employer and employee. I’d suspected it. I’d heard the affection in Rafe’s voice every time he’d mentioned the man, but seeing it was a relief. At least there’d been one person on Rafe’s side in a sea of people who’d just let him walk away.
“Let me catch Barry up and call Wylee again,” Steele said, heading for the door. “I’ll meet you at the car.”
Rafe drew me toward the bookshelf he’d splintered the night before. “Let me show you the safe and give you the code in case you need something more. He pressed a rosette on the corner of the shelf’s frame, and the entire unit opened to reveal a large vault door with a round, old-fashioned lock like in a bank. He told me the code as he spun the wheel and then pulled the thick metal door wide. Inside was a room made of solid cement and bricks. One wall was covered with metal shelves holding cardboard boxes while the one at the back was layered with glass cabinets holding an array of weapons.
“That’s a lot of guns,” I said. We had a handful on the ranch for necessity, but neither of my brothers hunted, and we didn’t offer it as an excursion for our guests.
“When the diamonds were found,” Rafe explained, “there was some trouble. It was the Great Depression, and people were sneaking onto the property, not only to get into the mines but to dig holes everywhere and anywhere, thinking they’d randomly find treasure. My great-grandfather had to increase the security, and it got pretty heated from what I understand. He ended up carrying a gun at all times.”
I gravitated to a cabinet with the handguns and a tiny revolver that would almost fit in the palm of my hand. “What’s this?”
“4.25mm Liliput. According to my dad, Great-grandpa Alasdair’s brother brought it home from World War II. If the story is true, he took it from a German he caught trying to infiltrate the Allied lines. It’s a straight shooter. Small enough for you to hide. Ammunition is pretty impossible to find these days, but last I remember, we had some bullets left.” He pulled open several drawers before removing a decrepit box.
“I don’t want to use an antique worth a fortune with only a handful of bullets left in existence. Give me something else,” I told him.
“I don’t give two shits if you use the gun and the ammo to protect yourself or my family, Tennessee. Take it, tuck it away, and use it if you need to. Just be careful. There’s no safety.”
I pocketed the bullets and carefully placed the empty gun in my pocket until I could find something to holster it with. When I turned around, Rafe was right behind me. His hands went to either side of me on the counter, caging me against the shelves.
The space between us was instantly charged, full of heat and electricity, zipping neurons flashing in the air with enough force I could almost see them.
“I hate that you’re staying.” Every syllable he uttered sounded tortured.
I lifted my chin. “I hate that you’re going, especially to see Adam, so I guess we’re even.”
Silence drifted between us. The I love yous we’d shared dangled out there again, tormenting and soothing at the same time. I lifted onto my toes and kissed him softly. Not with heat, not with passion, but with a gentle promise.
“Go,” I whispered against his lips. “Hopefully, you’ll be there and back before the wedding even starts this evening.”
He ran a finger along my cheek. “It’s extra incentive to come home as quickly as possible, because if I’m not here, all of Puzo’s damn relatives and thugs are going to want to dance with you.”
I snorted. “I’m the help, Rafe, not a guest.”
“You’re our guest,” he grunted out. “And believe me, it wouldn’t stop them from asking you to dance…or asking you for more.”
“Jealous?”
“I already told you I was jealous of the two bozos you danced with at The Fortress. Now that I’ve had you to myself, the idea of any other man putting his hands on you makes me want to rip their fingers off one at a time.”
A little thrill went up my spine, and heat pooled low in my stomach at the idea of Rafe going nuts because someone touched me. Wouldn’t I feel the same if he was dancing with another person? If they held him tight? I’d want to rip them to shreds too.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I told him. He raised a brow as his finger continued to trail down my neck where it lingered on the curve of my collarbone. “You come back to me in one piece, and I promise you can have all my dances tonight.”
“Just tonight?” he grumbled, leaning in, kissing the soft spot below my ear that made my knees weak.
“I can’t promise you all my dances from here to forever.”
“If you think I have any intention of watching while you dance with some other man after you told me you loved me, you can think again.”
“Well, my brothers like to kick it up with me at times, and my father is a damn good line dancer. Are you saying I can’t dance with them?” I almost laughed when I could see him considering just how much even that would bother him. “Can you even line dance, Slick? Cuz I’m not giving it up.”
“I’ve got moves, Tennessee. Ones you haven’t seen yet,” he said. The heat of his breath coasted over my skin, making my entire being tremble with yearning for another kiss. Another touch. “We still have lots to figure out about each other, but one thing I can promise you is, if I’m in your life, you’ll be saving all your dances for me. You’ll want mine to be the only hands on you. The only body tucked up against yours.”
“Hmm,” I taunted, tapping my chin. “I’ll have to wait and see if you can back up those words with the appropriate action.”
His mouth was enticingly hot as it hovered near my lips. “We still had a wager we never finished, darling, about who would be begging first. How about I bet I can make you beg from just a dance? That you’ll be pleading for relief even though there are people watching us. You’ll want me to take you right there on the dance floor. I won’t. Because no one else gets to see your face when you climax ever again, but I can promise, you’ll want me to.”
Just when I thought he was going to kiss me, to slant his delectable, torturous mouth over mine, he stepped back. I wanted him now, just as he’d said, not caring who was watching or that the safe door was wide open and anyone could walk by. I wanted him deep inside me. I wanted him whispering my name and demanding I give him every piece of me.
I swallowed hard, raised a brow, and put on my very best flirtatious smile. “You get back here safe and sound, Slick, and we’ll see which of us ends the night begging.”
Then, I ducked under his arm and sauntered out of the room with my hips swaying. I was rewarded by him swearing under his breath, and my smile grew.
It had been a raise I wasn’t sure I had the cards to back up, because I was already trembling with need for him, but I’d do my best. I’d give him a run for his money and hope we could spend another night skin on skin before reality hit, and I had to do the one thing I didn’t want to do anymore—get on a plane and fly away.