14. Chapter 14 - Cade
I’m wasting my time coming back. I told her I’d be here, but I just don’t think she’s ready to help me.
Not that I blame her. She was right. I couldn’t keep Ava safe. Hell, I was the one who caused her death and set all of this bullshit in action.
So it’s a shock when I’m pouring myself a steaming cup of coffee from my Stanley when I hear the even plod of heavy hooves working their way through the forest.
“You came back?” I don’t bother with my rifle this time.
Rosalyn slides off her horse and wraps her reins around a low branch.
When she turns, I can see the streaks of tears on her reddened cheeks. It makes my chest tighten. Reflexively, I hand her my cup.
Her fingers curl around the steaming mug as she stares at the dark swirling liquid. “It was them,” she whispers. The simple words drift in a small misty cloud above the rim, yet the impact is nuclear.
All the questions that I want to ask boil up to the tip of my tongue. It’s torture, but I wait in silence until she’s ready to continue.
After a long ragged breath, she purses her lips to take a small sip. “Eli threw a plate at me when I asked about Val.”
That makes my brows knot and my head tilt in confusion. I have no idea what it means.
“Are you hurt?” I’ve always hated Eli.
He was often cruel to Ava and was the most outspoken when he found out that I was with her.
I’ll never forget the fury in his eyes when she told him we were engaged.
“No,” Rosalyn sighs. “It hit the wall next to me.” Her sapphire gaze lifts.
“He asked her out, but she’s dating a McCullough.
I—I…” she stammers and takes another swallow.
“I thought he was talking about you at first. That’s when he got really angry and threw his dish.
He said Black Gulch owes him for taking Ava.
” Her chin trembles as she chews on the inside of her cheek.
“Wait, she’s dating a McCullough?” I know Mason and Dixon have both married. “Sawyer?” Is that why he was there the night Max got arrested?
I roll back when she nods, squatting over my heels then drop my elbows to my knees. “That’s a trip.” It’s hard to believe he’s still not that ten year old kid I last saw shortly after the accident. His jaw set as he tried to hide the pain of losing his mom.
The mother I took from him.
“I want to help,” Rosalyn stammers. “But Eli is…terrifying. I think he’s already killed someone—”
“Who?” I cut in. If I have proof I can—“A man who used to work for us years ago. I didn’t see it, just Eli beating him up. Then he never came back.” Her head shakes slowly and her hands tuck under her arms.
“Oh.” That doesn’t offer much evidence towards a crime. “I’ll look into it. Do you have a name?”
Her lower lip pinches between her teeth. “No, I’m sorry.”
Maybe I should talk to Val? See if she can offer any insight about that conversation? My sigh turns to mist that drifts over my shoulder. “I could really use something solid, Rosalyn. Evidence that either puts them at the Black Gulch, or their cows here.”
I’ve searched everywhere I can reach without fear of being caught. The only places that are left are dangerous for me to get to.
But not for her.
“I’m not allowed in their office.” Her head shakes slowly, echoing into ripples in the liquid she holds. “If there’s anything on paper, it’s in there.”
“What if you just tell me when they’re both gone? I can slip in and—”
The look of horror that transforms her face makes me pause.
Shit. Those guys really have her terrified.
“Rosalyn.” I take a deep breath. “What can I do to make you feel safe?”
A single tear breaks loose and rolls slowly down her cheek. “I think there’s only two ways.” Her red-rimmed blue eyes rise in a mournful stare. “Either they’re dead, or I am.”