Chapter 26
Kade
It’s nice to get out of bed without being bullied. To get up because there’s something important to me, something I need to do.
I gotta check on Allie, and I need to find these Utah fuckers and make sure they don’t get any ideas about harassing her.
And then there’s that idea that’s been prickling in the back of my head ever since Allie told me the real story of why Emma set up her marriage.
That’s not something I can settle on my own, but I want to get my shit together before I take it to my brothers. I want to be prepared.
When I go downstairs, showered, shaved, and dressed, Elena is in the kitchen. I never did eat last night like I meant to. Now my stomach is growling.
Elena is dressed the way she was at dinner a couple of weeks ago, in a floral-print dress with a cardigan over it and flat-soled boots. There’s color in her cheeks and a smile on her face when she turns from the stove at the sound of my footsteps. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” I still don’t know how to act around her. I’m not used to her being so alive. All it took was his death.
“Hungry? Your brothers already ate before heading out. I was about to fix myself something. I would be glad to whip something up for you, too.”
Why do I feel like she needs this? Because everybody wants to feel useful. “Sure. Thanks.”
“You still like them over easy?” She lays strips of bacon in a hot pan before pulling out a carton of eggs.
I pour myself a cup of coffee, nodding before taking a seat at the table. “Yeah, I do.”
“Do you remember back when you used to make a face on your plate with your breakfast?” She laughs softly, flipping the bacon. “Eggs for the eyes, then bacon strips for the mouth. You would make it talk, and Levi would laugh at the voice you gave it.”
Now that she mentions it… “I haven’t thought about that in forever.” And I can’t remember the last time there was anything close to a natural, comfortable conversation in this kitchen.
“These are the things you remember as you’re watching somebody grow up.” In another pan, she cracks a couple of eggs. “When I look at you now, I see that little boy who just wants to make his brother laugh. Time is funny like that.”
“I should try it again, see if it would make him laugh this time.” We share a smile that feels both awkward and earned, somehow. The way people look at each other when they’ve both been through hell and somehow made it out the other side.
“I’ve noticed you’ve been out a lot lately,” she observes. “More so than usual. Are you doing all right?”
This is different. There was a time not so long ago when she didn’t dare ask questions like that. Not that any of us would have given her shit for it, but Roman would have.
“I think so.”
“I hope you are.”
It only feels right that I ask. “You?”
“A little better all the time.” She plates the eggs along with probably too much bacon and slides the food in front of me at the table, then adds toast. “Dig in.”
I think I needed this more than the food itself.
Being reminded that even though I might have come from Emma, Elena is the woman with all of the memories.
Somehow, she managed to hang on through years of hell, and there are still good memories she holds on to.
There’s not a doubt in my mind that Roman thought she was weak—he never did have a high opinion of women in general.
They were something to be owned. Something to breed.
Over the years, he took whatever spark Elena had and crushed it, little by little.
He failed, though. He didn’t extinguish her completely.
She’s still here, looking better than I can ever remember her looking, and she’s not afraid to laugh.
I can’t help but wonder as I dip my toast into my egg yolks, what would’ve happened to Allie if she wound up married to that rapist fuck.
Would she have ended up shrinking a little bit more every day?
A little quieter, a little softer, fading out of her own life like a ghost?
It makes me wonder what Elena was like when she was Allie’s age.
Could she have imagined what her life would become?
When I’m finished eating, I thank her for the food. “I’d better get through some chores, or else Calder will have my ass.” We have to maintain tighter control over the fences than ever after those rustlers came through. This morning, my job is to check the east pasture.
I need this. Riding out, I breathe the crisp, cold air. There’s a purity to it. I fill my lungs while thin clouds pass in front of the sun, giving the sky a hazy sort of look. I know every acre of this land by heart. I’ve bled on it. I’ve sacrificed for it.
Yet my father didn’t consider me a full Bishop. I don’t want to think about him on a good day like this. He ruined enough good days when he was alive. In a way, he’s like those clouds, hiding the sun and casting shadows when he drifts past my memory.
But he isn’t strong enough to block out the light. Not all the way, not anymore.
I’m just about through with my section of the fence when a buzzing sensation in my pocket snaps me back to reality. To Allie.
Even I can hear the smile in my voice when I answer. “Good morning, little filly.”
“I’m fucked. I’m totally fucked.”
The panic in her tight whisper sharpens my focus. “What happened?”
“Tanner called.” Her whispering has a sort of echoing quality that tells me she’s hiding out in the bathroom or somewhere like that. “He wants me to come down to the station. Like, right away.”
My eyes close as I absorb this. She’s panicking, and we can’t have that.
She would hate it if she knew I was thinking about her like a spooked horse, but it makes sense in the situation.
The first thing you have to do is make sure they know they’re safe.
“I’m sure he only wants to get a statement to put on record.
He’s just doing whatever he can to keep Lowry off his back. ”
“I still don’t like it.”
That makes two of us. “You’ll go anyway, eventually.”
“On my terms,” she whispers fiercely. “I didn’t even want to go in the first place, but I thought I’d throw everything in Tanner’s face and blame him for not getting anywhere in the investigation. This changes everything.”
“It doesn’t have to.” I keep my voice level and calm as I head for my truck. “When you go, act like you’re relieved somebody’s finally doing something. Like you’ve been waiting to give a statement, and it took him too long to reach out. You can still get the upper hand and sell the whole act.”
Her sigh is shaky. “You think so? Really?”
“I think you can do anything. But you have to keep calm. The guy can barely tell his ass from a hole in the ground, but he’s got sharp instincts. You have to convince yourself and him that you’re desperate for answers and ready to help in any way you can. Got it?”
“Okay.” There’s resolve in her voice now. I’m grateful to hear it, along with what sounds like a door opening. I can imagine her getting up the courage to stop hiding and get ready for her performance. “I think I can do that.”
“I know you can.”
“What about you? You said he wanted to be around when I went to town to talk to Tanner, right?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you hanging.” Besides, this might mean getting a chance to see if anybody else follows her. Like a couple of guys in brand-new clothes, riding around in a scratched truck.
One thing is for sure: Allie should have been an actress.
I’m parked across the street from the sheriff station, waiting for her by the time she comes stomping down the sidewalk with her red hair flying behind her like a warning flag.
Sheriff Tanner is waiting for her, too, standing in front of the station with his arms folded and a stern look on his face.
“I wouldn’t want to be you,” I mutter. And I feel that way about him every day.
But today? She’s about to put on the performance of her life.
I can’t hear her, but I don’t need to. It’s like watching one of those old silent movies.
Her body language tells the story. She throws her hands into the air, gestures toward him, then toward the station next to him before pointing a finger at his chest. She’s accusing him of not doing his job.
He heaves a sigh that makes his shoulders rise and fall before gesturing with one sweeping arm for her to step inside. She throws her hands into the air again and says something that makes him shake his head before he follows her in.
Good girl. Pride is about to make my chest explode. Nobody would know she’s crumbling inside. Or that she was almost run off the road last night.
The thought makes me pay closer attention to the cars parked nearby. If those guys really work for Lowry, they’ll want visual confirmation that Allie was here today. I sit back and wait either for her or for the two of them to appear.
It’s the two of them I see first, approaching the sheriff station with coffees in hand like they were expecting this all along.
Did the sheriff tell them he was bringing her in?
It makes sense. Lowry’s probably on the phone with him day and night, pumping him for information, telling him what to do next.
He’s not difficult to manipulate. My family should know.
They’re trying to blend in the way they did last night, and they might do so to someone who isn’t on the lookout.
There’s nothing remarkable about either of them, nothing that stands out or would make a person give them more than a glance before moving on.
Nothing besides the way they study everything and everyone like a pair of aliens sent on a recon mission.
Good. Let them feel comfortable. I don’t want them to be suspicious.
Time drags on forever. I wish like hell I could be in there with her if only to watch her strip the sheriff of every ounce of dignity with that sharp tongue of hers.
One song after another plays on the radio, and it’s not long before I lose track of time while the world keeps moving.
Those two men stay where they are, almost like they’re guarding the building.
Oh shit. I should have realized sooner. They want her to see them. This is all intimidation. They are the symbol of her missing fiancé and his wealthy father. They want her to crack and reveal something. They don’t know she has me in her corner.
I breathe easier when I see her again. She almost bursts out of the station, calling back over her shoulder before letting the door close with a bang. She looks genuinely pissed—is this acting, or did he say something to set her off?
She doesn’t notice the men. Instead, her gaze sweeps the street until she lands on me. The corners of her mouth twitch, but she doesn’t react any more than that. She heads for the café instead of her car.
“No, don’t do that,” I whisper, calling her burner phone.
She picks it up on her way across the street. “Don’t say anything,” I warn her before she has a chance. “Pretend you just got a call from somebody you haven’t talked to in a long time. You’re happy to hear from them. Do it.”
Her mouth falls open. “Oh my God! Hi!” She says it loud enough to make a woman walking nearby flinch in surprise. She is good. “I thought you forgot I existed! How are you?”
“Good girl, now listen to me. I want you to go back to your car and get in, but don’t head home yet. Got it?”
“Why?” she asks through a laugh. Once she reaches the sidewalk, she comes to a stop, which makes things awkward for the two men trailing her.
“Do not react,” I warn. “They’re behind you. The guys from Utah.”
“You’re kidding!” She even sounds like she just got good news. I’m so proud of her.
“No. Get in the car and drive to Saint’s house.
Don’t go home. They’ll want you to lead them there.
” I don’t want Emma involved in this until I have a plan in place.
This is too delicate to risk her seeing them before we know how to explain things away.
Or to make sure she’s sure as shit on the right side of things.
She sets off for the car at a quick pace. “What are you planning to do?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just act like you’re heading to visit a friend and let me take care of the rest. Okay?”
“Sounds good.” It’s been too much for her. Her voice cracks at the end, and I hate the sound.
I hate waiting even more. Waiting for her to reach the car she parked at the far end of the block. Waiting for the two of them to climb into a black SUV—they must have switched vehicles.
Then I wait for her to pull out and for them to follow. I fall in behind them, keeping my distance, calling Calder once an idea takes shape in my head.
“What’s going on?” he asks when he answers the call. “How’d the fence look this morning?”
Like I care about a fence now. “Later. We have bigger issues.”
“Such as?”
He’ll hate this. But I can’t bring myself to care. “I’m gonna need you boys to get together and help me cut off a couple of unwelcome guests,” I tell him, keeping the SUV in my sight.