Chapter 69
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
LOLA
I don’t know how long I’ve been out.
Minutes. Hours. I blink. The room sharpens slowly. Cream leather couch. Glass coffee table. Art on the walls. Everything is clean and almost deliberately impressive.
I tug at my wrists. But the rope doesn’t budge; it bites into the skin when I twist. My ankles are bound to the chair legs, too.
My bag is gone. My shoes are gone. My rings—fuck.
I left my rings on the nightstand.
The realization hits me like a wave of nausea. I’m sitting in a stranger’s house, tied to a chair, with no phone, no rings, and no way to reach anyone. And the last time I saw Hunter, I walked out on him after an argument. I didn’t text him. I didn’t tell him I loved him back.
The voices outside the door turn into hushed whispers, and then the door crashes open.
Beau walks in first, and I suck in a breath. I knew he wasn’t my biggest fan. But I didn’t realize he hated me this much.
He doesn’t look at me. He crosses the room and takes a seat on the leather couch, legs spread, arms resting along the back, like he’s settling in for a movie.
And then Reese walks in behind him.
My heart drops through the floor.
He looks different. Thinner. The suit is gone, replaced by jeans and a black shirt. His hair is longer, unkempt in a way the old Reese would never have allowed.
Still looks like an asshole.
He sees me looking and smiles. It’s the most terrifying smile I’ve ever seen. Worse than the time he attacked me. This is the real Reese. The maniac. Dead behind the eyes now.
“Well, well.” He slides his hands into his pockets and stops in front of me. “Lola Sterling. Or is it Jackson? I hear you took the rings off.”
My stomach lurches. I look at Beau. He’s watching the wall, his expression blank.
“Funny how things work out, isn’t it?” Reese continues, crouching down in front of my chair until his face is level with mine. “I said you’d end up with me eventually. And here you are.”
“You’re delusional,” I hiss.
“Maybe.” He tilts his head. “But I’m not the one tied to a chair, sweetheart.”
He stands and takes a breath, and I’m waiting for his big speech to arrive, probably about how he isn’t a cunt. He was forced to behave like this or some crap.
“Your husband had a chance to make this all go away, you know. A simple deal. Work with the right people. Share the shipments. Make the right call for the ranch instead of stupidly aligning with his dead father's wishes. None of this would have happened if he had just taken the damn deal. You know, I thought he was doing the right thing. That was until he turned on me. And I realized all he’s been doing is treating me like his errand boy with a law degree.” He stops.
Glancing back to Beau and then to me. “But Hunter Sterling doesn’t share.
Doesn’t compromise. Doesn’t listen to anyone who isn’t wearing his last name. ”
He leans in close. I can smell his cologne.
The same one from that night in the apartment.
“So he fucked me over. Smashed my house. Broke my hand.” He holds up his right hand.
The knuckles are misshapen, still swollen, the fingers not quite sitting right.
“And then he fired me. Threw away thirty years because some redhead from New York batted her eyelashes.”
He clearly loves the sound of his own voice.
“He threw you away because you put your hands on me,” I spit. I won’t let them see my fear. Because these men are weak. And stupid to go up against my husband.
His jaw tightens. For a second, the mask slips and I see the rage underneath. Then he smiles again. “Doesn’t matter now. Because when one door closes, another opens. And I don’t need Hunter Sterling.” He glances at Beau. “I’ve got his brother.”
I turn to Beau. He still won’t look at me. What the hell is going on? Was all of this Reese? Even before Hunter beat his ass?
How is Beau connected to this?
“Here’s what’s going to happen, Lola.” Reese pulls a chair from the dining table and sits down in front of me, crossing one leg over the other like we’re having a business meeting.
“You’re going to be very useful to me. See, Hunter doesn’t negotiate when people threaten his money, his land, or his freedom.
The Greeks tried it, even Beau tried that.
Didn’t work. That’s why Beau enlisted me. We needed to get more creative.”
So, Beau. Beau wants to work with the other people, and threw his own brother under the bus to get what he wants.
I feel sick.
He leans forward. “But his wife? The woman he married in a courthouse and fucked in a wedding boutique?” His eyes glitter. “That’s the leverage that makes Hunter Sterling do whatever I tell him to.”
My blood runs cold. “And Beau?” I manage, my voice cracking. “What does he get?”
Reese grins and gestures at Beau like he’s presenting a prize. “Beau gets what he’s always deserved. The ranch. The name. The seat at the head of the table that Hunter stole from him when their daddy died. And Reese gets to make double the money with the Greeks.”
I don’t even understand what the Greeks want. I assume it’s mafia business.
Reese tilts his head. “You know your husband is a bad man, don’t you? You knew exactly who you were marrying.”
I don’t react. I don’t need to.
Beau shifts on the couch. For the first time, his eyes meet mine. And what I see in them makes my skin crawl. There is no guilt there. No remorse for trying to ruin his brother's life. Beau is not a man who’s been manipulated into something he doesn’t want.
Beau is orchestrating this and using Reese as his little puppet.
“The Greek deal goes through Beau now,” Reese continues.
“And unfortunately, if our plan of having him arrested in Red Creek went through, that would already be in motion. But then Hunter had to go and marry you and give you a claim to the Ranch. And you had to stick your nose in and get that reporter into the station.”
My eyes flash in anger as I look at Beau. “You had him arrested when he came to save me from the bar?” I hiss.
He gives me a smug grin. “Yeah. I fuckin’ did. And I had him arrested the first time. And I worked with the Greeks to have that mother of Wyatt’s killed. I did it all. Thought of it all.”
Wow.
“Sounds like your plan keeps failing?” I snap back.
Because Hunter has gotten out of jail twice. He’s working on finding out who did this. Their plan doesn’t seem that well thought out. Which is good for me. They will have a weakness, and I need Hunter to find it fast.
Beau sits forward. “Look, my initial plan was Hunter going to jail, I inherit the title, I cut the deal. Then I try to save Hunter from prison.”
“How lovely of you,” I huff.
He chuckles as he stands. “I see why he likes you, Lola. Full of fire. And a great set of tits.”
I swallow the bile rising in my throat. “Let me go, Beau. Before Hunter kills you. There is still time to make this right,” I say sweetly, trying a different angle.
He scoffs. “I’ll kill you before he gets to me, Lola. Shut your damn mouth.” His eyes flash with rage as the room spins from my panic.
Beau. The quiet brother. The one who fed the horses and watched from doorways and gave me a nod that was never quite warm enough.
He planned it. He orchestrated the murder of his nephew’s mother to frame his own brother.
I think I’m going to be sick.
“Look. The plan is to blackmail Hunter into signing over the ranch using you.”
I blow out a long breath. “You’re both going to rot,” I spit.
Reese laughs. “Maybe. But not before we get what we want. Don’t forget, you walked into this trap freely. Your precious husband thinks you’re on a plane right now. So, the search party isn’t going to start for a few hours at least."
He stands and straightens his shirt. My stomach sinks because he’s right.
“Make yourself comfortable, Lola. You’re going to be here for a while.”
They leave the room. The door closes. I hear the lock turn. I pull against the ropes until my wrists burn, but nothing happens.
I close my eyes and do the only thing I can, letting the tears stream down my face. Doing everything I can to steady my breath.
I can’t die here. I can’t.
But, Beau is right.
I’m on my own here, and I need to find a way out.