Chapter 28
Allie
Mom will hate this. Letting a Bishop in on our personal situation.
It doesn’t matter whether or not he’s her son.
She’s always had a lot of pride when it comes to the way the world sees her.
She wouldn’t want to admit she needs help, especially from a family like theirs.
After all, this isn’t only Kade we’re talking about.
All of his brothers were involved today, too. I owe them so much.
All I can do is hope they aren’t too much like Roman, because I can’t ever pay back this debt.
He would hang it over my head. Will they?
Kade texts when he’s getting close. That’s my signal to go down to Mom’s office, where she’s typing furiously on her keyboard.
The sound fills the room. It’s like she’s punishing the keys because she can’t punish anyone else.
She must feel like everything she put in place is slipping through her fingers.
“Mom?” I choke out, standing in the doorway. “Kade is on his way. You have to call down to the guardhouse and have them let him in.”
“What?” She barely looks away from her screen. “Why would I do that? I don’t have it in me to fight with him today. He had his chance.”
“It’s not like that. Please, listen to me.”
With a sigh, she turns to me, giving me her full attention. I guess I must look as anxious as I feel because her face falls a little. “What’s wrong? What aren’t you telling me?”
So much. We don’t have time for me to cover everything she doesn’t know. “We can talk about it when he’s here. Please. Call down and tell them not to give him any trouble.”
“I don’t like this, Allie.” It doesn’t stop her from picking up the receiver and pressing the button to the guardhouse by the gate. “Kade Bishop is on his way. Let him in when he arrives.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, relieved. That was the first step, getting him in here. Technically, I could have called down myself, but it will go more smoothly if my mom thinks she’s in control.
Now, things will get really interesting. “I’ll bring him in.”
“I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m being ambushed,” she calls out, but I’m already halfway down the hall, almost running for the door.
I can’t believe it, but he is pretty much the only thing getting me through this.
He has become my light in the dark. Of all people.
Maybe someday, when all of this is behind me, I’ll be able to look back and laugh at how it all turned out.
Something tells me that will be a long time from now.
The sight of him rounding a bend in the driveway makes my knees weak. What would I have done without him today? I don’t even want to think about it. Those assholes would have followed me home, and who knows what they would have done.
Instead of waiting for him, I meet him outside, wrapping my arms around myself and shivering as he parks and climbs out, looking every inch the delicious cowboy.
He’s so sure of himself all the time, looking confident, and that’s what I need more than anything.
To know how strong he is. He can handle what I can’t. He has to. Otherwise, what do I do?
I always used to believe I was strong enough to take whatever came my way. I guess covering up a murder is my limit.
“I thought you’d never get here,” I admit when he reaches the top step. “Is everything all right with your brothers?”
I don’t like the way he winces, but I know better than to think he’ll explain anything. “It’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about them.”
I lean in a little, craving his touch, but he gives his head a tiny shake. “Not here. Let’s go inside.”
This has to be a dream, right? Kade Bishop, acting level-headed for once.
“Wait a second.” I block his way, then ask, “What are you doing? Like, how are we handling this? She’s not just going to let you stay because you said so.”
“We’ll have to tell her at least part of the truth.”
Oh, because that makes me feel so much better. “How much of it?”
“I’ll handle this. You don’t have to say a word if you don’t want to.”
“Are you my lawyer all of a sudden?”
“If you want to think of me that way.”
I was joking. He is not. “No, really, what are you planning to say to her?” I don’t think anyone could blame me for still being a little nervous after he announced our parents’ affair in front of every wealthy, connected person in the area.
“I’ll tell her the basics.”
Like that’ll help. “She’s going to have so many questions.”
His dark eyes narrow. His already sharp jaw tightens. “That’s fine. I’ll answer them. You will not.”
I don’t know whether to be grateful to him or irritated. “I can still speak for myself, you know.”
“Make up your mind.” He rolls his eyes. “If you feel more comfortable explaining why I’m staying, be my guest.”
He makes a decent point. I definitely don’t want to explain all this.
“Allie.” He pins me in place with a heavy stare.
It’s not cruel, there’s no coldness behind it, but I feel its weight.
It’s almost like he reached out and shook me.
“You can’t keep letting your anxiety win.
I know you’ve been through a lot. We’re working on getting you out of it.
Keep reminding yourself how strong you are, and let me handle the rest. All right? ”
He’s right. I have to stop backsliding into my panic and giving in to this crushing weight on my shoulders. “Okay. Right. I need to chill out.”
“That’s my girl,” he says with the first grin I’ve seen since he arrived. “I won’t let you down.”
I sure as hell hope not because he is my only hope. I don’t want to think about how much worse things would be for me now if he hadn’t come to my rescue. He is my salvation.
He walks beside me through the house, and I lead the way into the office where Mom sits staring at the door, anticipating us. “All right. Now, can someone please tell me what’s going on?” she asks.
Kade looks my way out of the corner of his eye before shrugging. “I’m gonna stay here in the house for now.”
Oh fuck. I didn’t realize his plan was to walk in and ram her with a bulldozer like that.
“You’re what?” she asks before letting out a laugh. “I don’t recall inviting you to stay.”
I have to defuse this. And fast. “This is for me, Mom,” I explain. “He’s staying as a favor to me.”
She jerks her head back, her lips tight. “Whose house is this? Refresh my memory. Why would you invite him here without consulting me first?”
“Well, it’s because…” Because I killed the psychotic asshole you tried selling me to. Because if he doesn’t, I’m afraid of what will happen. Because he is the only thing making it possible for me to sleep through the night.
“Well?” she prompts.
“Something happened the other night I didn’t want to tell you about. I was on my way home after you called me, and…” Just thinking about it makes me shiver. I’m right back at that moment, scared for my life, frantically turning the wheel. “And I almost got run off the road.”
Her mouth falls open. “Why wouldn’t you tell me this? Who was it?”
“I didn’t want to scare you. I didn’t even know who it was. And I’m fine. Obviously. Not a scratch.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t just an accident? We’ve had a lot of snow lately.”
I don’t know if she’s lying to herself or being deliberately obtuse. “It happened twice,” I say, deadpan. “They didn’t stop after the first time, when I got back on the road.”
Color leaves her cheeks. “I see.”
I give Kade a panicked look from the corner of my eye. I’m floundering here. What else am I supposed to say?
Finally, he steps in. “Last night, a couple of strangers from Utah were at the bar. They left me with a bad feeling. I noticed them again today, waiting outside the station while Allie went in to talk to the sheriff.”
God, he’s good at this. So much better than I am, and I always thought I was pretty decent at thinking on the fly. “I noticed it looked like they were following her when she left, and I remembered the bad feeling they gave me. So I followed them.”
“She’s not your responsibility.” She must realize how sharp she sounds—if not, the horrified look on my face probably clues her in. “Thank you for looking out for her anyway,” she adds.
“Allie was on her way to visit with Saint, meaning they trespassed on our land, and we stopped them,” he concludes.
“My brothers and I. They didn’t give us much information, but it was clear they thought themselves untouchable.
They kept referencing their boss and saying they were only doing their job.
I made sure to let them know the Bishop name means something around here. We won’t be intimidated.”
“It has to be Joseph,” I whisper. “Who else would it be?”
“I just don’t understand.” Mom sighs shakily.
I can’t remember the last time I saw her look and sound this lost. Oh, yes, I can—the last time Kade showed up to talk to her.
She’s usually in control, holding it in her tightly clenched fist. “I’ve done everything I can to help Joseph figure out what happened to Jackson.
Why would he turn around and do something like this? ” she asks.
She shakes her head, and her shoulders slump. I would swear she’s aged ten years in the past week or two, between planning the gala and kissing Lowry’s ass to make this marriage happen.
And of course, the drama with Kade didn’t help things.
I swear, it’s like he can read my thoughts. “After that scene I made at your party,” he concludes, “I thought I could make it up to you this way. If those guys show up, they’ll see me. They’ll know you are not to be fucked with.”
Mom looks at me. “What do you think?”
I think we don’t have any choice, but that’s not what she needs to hear. “I think I’d feel a lot better knowing Kade is here if they show up again,” I reply, and it’s kind of a relief to be able to tell the truth for once.
“Yes. Fine.” With a heavy sigh, she unlocks her desk and pulls out a key, which she holds out across the desk. “Here you go. I’m trusting you, Kade. Please don’t make me regret it.”
“You won’t,” he promises as he palms the key, then tucks it into his pocket.
“How could everything have fallen apart like this?” she asks. She even looks at me, like I have the first idea what to say.
“I don’t know,” I reply, and I mean it. Why Jackson had to be a psycho, why I don’t remember anything about killing him.
I only know he’s dead, and even if I didn’t do it, I would be the first person everyone would blame.
So really, remembering wouldn’t change anything.
It wouldn’t even make me feel any better because who would want to remember something like that?
“In the meantime,” he continues, “it would be a good idea to inform your security staff that there could be strangers hanging around, since I doubt these guys will give up just because we told them to. It would be better for them to be aware.”
“You’re right, of course.” But Mom still sounds vague. A little lost.
“Do you want me to talk to them?” he suggests. “I will, just say the word. I can describe the guys and let them know who to look for.”
It’s so bizarre, the way she latches onto the idea. I watch her eyes light up before she nods. “That would be helpful. Thank you. I already have so much on my mind.”
“Of course. It’s not a problem.” He picks up the bag he left by the door. “I’ll just put my things away. All I need is a room.”
A shadow of suspicion floats past her face, but it doesn’t last long.
Like a part of her still wonders if she should let the wolf into the henhouse.
She’s probably weighing the options. Obviously, she knows she doesn’t have many.
“Allie, he can have the guest room next to yours. I’ll feel safer, knowing he’s close by. ”
Not like he couldn’t sneak into my room if he was farther down the hall, but still, I have to bite the side of my tongue or else I might laugh. Not that there’s anything funny about any of this. It’s better that we leave the room before she changes her mind about the whole thing.
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” I whisper, leading him to the stairs.
“She’s not stupid. She knows she needs help.”
“She must be so scared for the ranch.” I look around me as we’re climbing the stairs. This is the only home I’ve ever known. All of my memories are here. “I don’t know where we’ll go.”
“You never know. Things could change.”
That’s true. They could.
If he’s teaching me anything, it’s how quickly everything can change. I went from hating him to needing him, body and soul. He is the only thing holding me together, and not that long ago, I was sure he was going to tear me apart.