Chapter 14 Devlin
FOURTEEN
DEVLIN
We’ve all set up in the barn, waiting to see what Carson found out for us. One of the things I prided myself on when I was in the military was that I didn’t get nervous—not when we were in trouble, and not when I had someone pointing a gun at my head, asking me to betray my squad.
But this? I’m nervous about this.
Whatever we find out from Carson is going to potentially change our immediate future. After all of us get situated, and Carson pulls out a laptop, we give him our attention.
“There’s a lot of information here,” he starts, folding his arms over his chest. “There’s some of it I don’t actually understand, but I think we may have made a mistake messing with the Morrison Ranch.”
“I think you did too.”
We all turn around to the entrance, me faster than the rest of them, because that voice belongs to Atlee. “What the hell?”
She runs her hands through her hair and then tells us about the run-in she just had with Deputy Sanchez.
“I’m sorry I showed up here out of the blue, but when I got home and saw your truck wasn’t there, I knew you were still here,” she says as she grabs hold of my hand, entwining our fingers together. “I knew I had to tell you.”
“You did the right thing.” I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead.
The tension in the room is thick, and all of us are feeling the stress. Her eyes look back and forth between my brothers and Truett. “I can leave if you want me to,” she offers. “I just wanted to make sure you knew. I don’t have to stay here for the rest of it.”
Truett curses, throwing his hands up in the air. “She might as well. That way she knows what we’re up against too.”
Carson clears his throat. “Okay, so back to what I found out today.”
The way Atlee’s hand tightens in mine tells me she’s nervous, and I don’t blame her. I squeeze back, trying to reassure her even though my own gut is in knots. I guide her over to a hay bale where we can sit.
“Go ahead,” Jesse says to Carson, his voice tight. “What did you find?”
Carson opens his laptop, tapping a few keys before turning the screen so we can all see. “Noah’s been building a case against us for months. He’s methodical, I’ll give him that.”
On the screen, a grainy video shows a truck driving down a dark country road. The time stamp reads 2:14 a.m. from the night of the Morrison job.
“Doorbell camera from the Thompson place,” Carson explains. “Two miles from the Morrison Ranch. This was the night we hit their south pasture.”
I feel Atlee stiffen beside me, but I keep my eyes on the screen.
“And this,” Carson continues, clicking to another video. “Traffic camera at the intersection of Route 16 and County Road 8. Same night, forty minutes later.”
This footage is clearer, showing our truck with the livestock trailer behind it. My blood runs cold.
“Can they see the license plate?” Truett asks, voicing what we’re all thinking.
Carson shakes his head. “It’s too dark, and the angle’s wrong. But the make and model match our truck.”
“That’s not enough,” Jesse says. “Half the ranchers in the county drive the same truck.”
“True,” Carson agrees. “But there’s more.” He clicks through to a document, a police report filed by Richard Morrison. “Noah’s got a statement from Morrison claiming he fired at rustlers on his property. He says he thinks he hit one of them.”
I exchange a look with Truett, remembering the bullet that hit him that night. We’d told everyone it was from a fence repair gone wrong.
“There’s something else,” Carson says, his voice dropping lower. “Noah’s been keeping detailed notes on all of us. Especially you, Devlin.”
He clicks to another document, and my stomach drops when I see my name followed by Atlee’s.
“He’s been watching your relationship develop,” Carson explains, scrolling through the file. “Documenting when you’re together, where you go. He’s got notes here about putting pressure on…on Atlee.”
Atlee’s grip on my hand is now almost painful. “What does that mean?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
Carson looks uncomfortable. “He believes if he can get one of you to break, it’ll be you. He’s planning to use you to get to Devlin.”
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter, rage building in my chest.
“There’s more,” Carson continues. “Noah’s been meeting regularly with Richard Morrison, and not just on official police business. They go way back. Morrison’s been pushing him to make arrests, specifically targeting us.”
“Why?” Jesse demands. “I mean, yeah, we took some of their cattle, but we hit other ranches too. Why are they so focused on us?”
Carson hesitates. “That’s where it gets complicated. I found emails between Noah and Morrison discussing something called ‘Project Watershed.’ I couldn’t access all the details, but it involves buying up land around Grizzly River, including sections that border our properties.”
“Water rights,” Truett says suddenly. “The drought’s been getting worse every year. If they control the watershed…”
“They control who gets water,” Jesse finishes, realization dawning on his face. “And without water…”
“Our ranches are worthless,” I conclude. “So they want us gone.”
“And what better way than to send us to prison for cattle rustling?” Carson adds.
The barn falls silent as the full weight of what we’re facing sinks in. This isn’t just about the cattle we stole. It’s about our land, our future, everything our families have built for generations.
“How much time do we have?” I ask Carson.
He shakes his head. “Hard to say. Noah’s being careful, building his case slowly. But based on his notes, he’s getting ready to move soon. Weeks, maybe days.”
I look down at Atlee, who’s been quiet through most of this. Her face is pale, but her jaw is set in that stubborn way I’ve come to recognize. She’s processing, not panicking.
“Atlee,” I say softly, turning to face her fully. “You need to understand what this means. What I…what we’ve done.”
“I think I’ve figured it out,” she says, her voice steadier than I expected. “You’ve been stealing cattle.”
I nod, not trying to deny it. “We were desperate. After our parents died, we had to take care of each other. There wasn’t the money that there should’ve been. Both sets of our parents had mismanaged money, and we wanted to keep our families together. We had to keep them together.”
“So you started rustling,” she states, not a question.
“Just enough to keep the ranches afloat,” Jesse interjects. “We never got greedy.”
“And we stopped,” I add quickly. “Once we sold land and got some breathing room, we shut it down. We’re going legitimate now.” I stop for a second. “But now I wonder who actually bought that land. Hopefully, they weren’t connected to Morrison, and how does Noah fit into this?”
Atlee looks around at each of us, her expression unreadable. “And Noah knows? He has proof?”
“Seems like it. Proof is circumstantial,” Carson answers. “But he’s building something solid. And with Morrison backing him…”
“It’s my fault,” Truett says suddenly, running a hand through his hair. “I’m the one who suggested hitting the Morrison place. I thought they had so many head that they’d never notice a few missing.”
“We all agreed,” I remind him. “We’re all in this together.”
Atlee pulls her hand from mine, and for a moment, I think this is it, that she’s going to walk away. But instead, she stands up and faces all of us.
“So what’s the plan?” she asks, crossing her arms. “How do we fix this?”
The “we” doesn’t escape my notice, and something shifts in my chest.
“Atlee,” I say, standing to join her. “You don’t have to be involved in this. In fact, you should probably stay as far away as possible. If Noah is targeting you…”
“I’m already involved,” she cuts me off. “He pulled me over specifically to warn me about you. He’s using me, whether I want to be or not.”
“She’s right,” Carson says. “And having her on our side might actually help. Noah won’t expect that.”
I shake my head. “No. It’s too dangerous. If things go south…”
“Then I’ll be implicated anyway,” Atlee argues. “Noah has already connected us. Running away now won’t help either of us.”
“She’s got a point,” Jesse says, earning him a glare from me.
“So what are our options?” Truett asks, bringing us back to the problem at hand.
Carson closes his laptop. “We need to find out more about this Project Watershed. If Morrison and Noah are up to something shady themselves, maybe we can use that as leverage.”
“What about Lennon?” Atlee suggests. “She works for the best attorney in the state. Maybe she could help, or at least advise us.”
The thought had crossed my mind too, but involving Atlee’s sister means pulling another person into our mess. “Would she be willing to help, knowing what we’ve done? She offered, but I’m not sure if she realized it would involve this.” I gesture around us.
Atlee hesitates. “I don’t know. She’s by the book in a lot of ways, but she’s also fiercely loyal. If I asked her—”
“Let’s keep that as a last resort,” Jesse decides. “For now, we need more information. Carson, can you dig deeper into Project Watershed? Find out exactly what Morrison’s planning?”
Carson nods. “I’ll try, but I’ll need to be careful. If they catch me snooping in their systems…”
“Take whatever precautions you need,” Jesse tells him. “Truett, when you go to town to see Nora, see what you can find out.”
Truett gives a mock salute. “Will do.”
“And us?” I ask, gesturing between myself and Atlee.
Jesse thinks for a moment. “You two need to act normal. Go about your routines and don’t give Noah any reason to suspect we’re onto him.”
“That includes being seen together in public,” Truett adds. “If you suddenly start avoiding each other, it’ll look suspicious.”
I look down at Atlee, searching her face. “You okay with that? With keeping up appearances while we figure this out?”
She meets my eyes. “It won’t be an act for me.”
Those simple words hit me harder than I expected, causing a tightness in my throat. Even knowing what she knows now, she’s still here, still choosing to stand with me.
“We should head back to the cabin,” I tell her. “It’s getting late, and we’ve all got a lot to process.”
She nods, and I can see the exhaustion setting in. It’s been a long day for all of us.
“We’ll meet again tomorrow night,” Jesse tells everyone. “Same time, same place. Keep your phones on, but be careful what you say. Assume Noah is watching everything.”
As we all prepare to leave, I pull Atlee aside, needing a moment alone with her. “Are you sure about this?” I ask, keeping my voice low. “It’s okay if you want to leave, to distance yourself from all of this. From me.”
She reaches up, placing her hand against my cheek. “I’m sure.”
“Even knowing what I’ve done? What I’m capable of?”
“I’ve always known you were capable of more than you let on,” she says with a small smile. “The question is, do you want me to stay? Now that I know everything, am I a liability?”
The thought of sending her away, of facing this without her, creates a hollow feeling in my chest I can’t stand. “I want you with me,” I admit. “But I need you safe more than I need you with me.”
“Then let me decide what’s safe for me,” she counters. “I’m not walking away, Devlin. Not unless you tell me you don’t want me here.”
I pull her against me, burying my face in her hair. “I want you here,” I whisper. “God help me, but I do.”
I feel her relax against me, her arms tightening around my waist. “Then that’s where I’ll be.”
As we walk out of the barn toward my truck, the weight of everything we’re facing hangs heavy on my shoulders. But having Atlee beside me, knowing she’s chosen to stay even after learning the truth, makes that weight bearable.
Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together. And God help anyone who tries to come between us…Noah and Morrison included.