15. Exposed
FIFTEEN
Exposed
CARTER
I kept my face neutral, walking into Ash’s office, but under my skin my pulse hammered like a war drum. The sheriff tossed his hat on a chair, grim-faced, and remained standing. I took the other chair. Ash stood over me with arms crossed next to his desk.
“We have him here now, Chris,” Ash called.
“Chris?”
“Carter, it seems we have a situation.” His voice blared rough-edged from the speakerphone on the desk, knocking the wind out of me. I did not know he’d be in on this meeting.
Shit. “What’s going on?”
The sheriff leaned forward, knuckles on the desk. “We found a red Ferrari on Red Amos’s property last night. Totaled. My deputies traced the registration back to Carter Magnus. Since I only know one Magnus around here, I called Chris, who confirmed you’re indeed his kin.”
Chris’s voice jumped in. “You’re not in any legal trouble yet, Carter. But it’s best you tell the truth about what happened. If your Ferrari was stolen, why haven’t you said anything?”
“And why would it be on Red’s ranch? How is he involved?” The sheriff demanded to know.
The walls closed in. Sage’s face flashed through my mind—her smile, her trust, the way she’d looked at me like I was her cowboy. If I told the truth now, would Chris send me packing back to New York? Would I lose not only the money but the remaining time I had left with her?
I’d hate to ghost her again. She wouldn’t understand why her cowboy disappeared tomorrow without a goodbye. And she didn’t deserve that.
I rubbed the back of my neck, buying time. “Fine. I’ll tell you what I know, but it’s bigger than just a stolen car. And yes. Red’s hands are all over this mess.”
I laid it all out for them. How I’d left the barn dance and ended up at the biker bar.
Red had introduced himself to me and offered a place to play poker.
A cave in the middle of nowhere. I’d won big, several hands, but some of the regular high rollers didn’t appreciate it.
Red had drugged me with something I drank in a shot glass.
He and his brother left me on the side of the road in nothing but my boxers and boots, car and wallet and phone gone.
“Sage found me. I wouldn’t be here if not for her.” I added quickly, “But she doesn’t know any of this. No need to involve her. That night, I told her it was just a prank by the ranch hands that got out of hand with some locals at the biker bar. That’s all she knows.”
The sheriff’s eyes sharpened. “What exactly did you see that night? Where was this cave? What kind of activity went on there?”
I described the underground bunker and the entrance through a large cave opening behind some boulders. The neon lights and the poker tables. The names of the actor and the rancher I played cards against. I even mentioned seeing some Congressman taking Red aside, looking unpleased.
The sheriff’s jaw tightened. “Brewster?”
“Yeah. I think that was his name.”
“Anything else you’re not telling us? Because this is some bullshit. You should have told me the truth that first day you started here,” Ash barked.
I hung my head. “I know. You’re probably right. I fucked up, but I didn’t want to mess up working here.”
“Easy, Ash. We’ll deal with Carter later,” Chris offered a voice of reason. “Sheriff, what now?”
He didn’t waste time. “Do you think you could find this cave again?”
“I could try. But it was my first night here. I thought I’d leave and never come back, so paying attention to the directions was the last thing on my mind.”
“Leave? After I gave you the job you begged me for?” Chris balked.
“I didn’t realize until the barn dance that I was way in over my head here.” And then I’d met Sage, but I couldn’t tell them how she factored in at this point. “Do you have a map or something I could try to figure out where this cave is?”
“Nope. Come with me. We’re going to find this place together.” The sheriff grabbed his hat and put it back on his head.
I jerked back. “Right now? Do I have to?”
“That night you didn’t realize you were right in the middle of a whole shitstorm. But now that you know, I need you. This case I’m working could hinge entirely on you.”
Chris’s voice cut in, firm. “Cooperate, Carter.”
Ash nodded beside me, arms still crossed. “Best thing you can do for yourself.”
“Help us now, or this could get a lot more complicated for you if I have to get a court order.” The sheriff sighed when I still hesitated.
“I can’t force you, but with your assistance, we can nail Red faster.
And after what the son of a bitch did to you, leaving you on the side of the road? You want that revenge, right?”
I gave in. “Hell yes. Especially after I ran into him at the grocery store, too.” I told them the final piece of it, about how I’d met Red’s wife. “But in the parking lot, Red followed me and threatened me if I didn’t leave town soon or if I told anyone about his operation. Am I in danger here?”
“Not if we don’t act fast. Can I count on you?” He stuck out his hand. I shook it, but couldn’t quell the uneasiness in my stomach.
As we left the office, Chris added one last thing over the speaker. “We’ll have a serious talk later. And by the way—you’re paying for the ruined Ferrari out of your own pocket.”
The last bit of control slipped away, all hope of quietly finishing my thirty days lost.
“The roads look different in daylight,” I muttered, what with a light smattering of snow that had also fallen all day. I sat in the passenger seat of the sheriff’s SUV at the biker bar, stomach in knots, trying to retrace my journey from that awful night.
“We started here, then turned right out of the parking lot.”
The vehicle lurched forward.
“No, left,” I switched quickly. “We went left that night, following Red’s biker buddies. I had let Red drive the Ferrari because he’d said he’d never driven one.”
Sheriff nodded. “Left makes more sense. The Amos property is that way.”
I made a couple more wrong turns, frustration building as the landscape refused to match my hazy memories. Finally, after what seemed too long, I noticed a faint dirt road branching off, covered over by brush. A fallen tree beside it was familiar.
“There. Turn here.” I pointed.
“An access route for utilities. This should lead to the Amos Ranch.” We pulled off into some brush on the side of the road when I thought we were close. The sheriff grabbed his shotgun with a scope from the back. “Stay behind me.”
The idea of getting anywhere near the cave wasn’t a thrilling proposition, but what choice did I have now?
We hiked through the brush to a low ridge. He ordered me down on my stomach like him, snaking to the edge, and peered over.
I pointed in the general direction. “See that outcropping of boulders? How the road seems like it goes around, only it doesn’t. It splits the middle of them, down into a cave.”
Right then, we watched a car doing exactly that—disappearing right into the rock face, but it was all optics.
My heart pounded at the confirmation. “That’s the place.”
“I’ll be damned. Never would have noticed it,” the sheriff muttered and reached for his phone. He called immediately for a full raid and every deputy available.
“You’re raiding now?” My voice tight, gave away my fear. I followed him back to the SUV.
“We have the element of surprise. But you’ll stay in the car and out of our way while we work.”
He coordinated the raid over his cell phone. As soon as others arrived, the sheriff and his men converged, driving in a line, right into the entrance.
Everything happened fast. He and the men launched from their vehicles, telling everyone in sight to get down.
I cowered low in the seat, listening to shouts and orders.
Every time I closed my eyes I saw Sage—the way she’d looked at me this morning, sweet and hopeful, wearing my shirt.
If this blew up in my face, I might never get to explain.
After some time, curious, I sat straighter, peeking out through the windows.
More agents and lawmen had arrived. Many carried out boxes of things they were confiscating, and computers too. Armed deputies watched over a group of handcuffed men and women sitting on the ground.
The day passed. I had no idea of the time. Mid afternoon? My legs cramped, and I needed to relieve myself. There were enough patrol cars and SUVs and trucks around me; I slipped out and scoped a place to hide and stretch.
Big mistake. A surge of camera crews and reporters filed in, throwing everything into disarray. I ducked behind a truck.
“Who let them in? Get them out of here!” A deputy barked. Other deputies backed them up and established a wide perimeter outside.
“I’ll hold a media conference in town tonight,” the sheriff shouted.
He got on his phone with someone, and I was close enough to eavesdrop.
“We didn’t find Red or his brother. We think they fled the scene.
I found a trail that I thought was theirs leading to the mountain, but I lost it.
We’ll put out an APB for their arrest. I need eyes in the air scouring for them. ”
What did that mean for me? Two men, who’d already proved they could leave me for dead, were out there somewhere. I did my business and quickly returned to the SUV to hide, as if that’d protect me.
The sheriff drove me back to the Off-Duty Rescue Ranch afterward, quiet for a long stretch before he finally spoke.
“It’s a damn shame,” he started. “Red’s wife is a sweet woman.
We talked to her at the house, and she never thought this place existed on her husband’s ranch.
Knew nothing about his whereabouts. I believe her.
She’s got a disability that’s cost their family a fortune in medical bills.
Some years ago, there was a fire on their property.
They had to completely rebuild. I have a theory that when they did, they found a way to dig down into that cave and then to work with criminal elements to make use of it.
People do desperate things for money… especially when it’s done out of love. ”
He let that sit between us as we drove. Looking at my situation, I was desperate, willing to come to work here, pose as a cowboy, and lie through my teeth to everyone just to earn my inheritance.
“Sheriff… can I ask you something?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”
I took a deep breath. “You found out my real name is Carter Magnus, but can we keep that out of this? Make me an anonymous informant or something?”
“I’ll keep your name out of it for as long as I can, if that’s your wish. But understand that later, when we catch these assholes, if this goes to trial and your testimony is needed, your identity might eventually have to be disclosed.”
“Understood. Also, Sage doesn’t know who I really am, and I don’t want her finding out in connection with this. Not yet.”
The sheriff studied me out of the corner of his eye. Might as well tell him everything.
“My father’s will has this inheritance clause.
I have to survive thirty days with nothing to earn it, but I can’t use my name or anything to my advantage.
So Chris hired me on the ranch. He and Ash are the only ones who know me and the real reason I’m here.
If Sage finds out I’ve been lying to her this whole time… ”
The sheriff’s expression softened a fraction. “Not even Sage knows who you are?”
I shook my head. “She works for your wife at the Copper Cup. I didn’t mean to get so involved with her, but things happened.”
“As they usually do with a woman involved,” he chuckled.
“I don’t know how I’ll tell her at the end of all this, but I’d appreciate it if you could keep this from Harper for now.”
The sheriff was quiet until he pulled into the ranch, then nodded.
“In my job, there are some things I’ve learned I can’t tell Harper.
Mostly because legally I can’t. Sometimes, because the information would tear her or this town apart if it got out, as rumors often spread like wildfire.
Harper likes Sage, and I do too. Neither of us would want to see her hurt. ”
I let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
“When do you leave?”
“Just under two weeks.”
“Then what?”
I shrugged, suddenly unsure. “Back to my life?”
I got out and watched him drive away, the weight of everything pressing down on me. People do desperate things for money, he’d said. Red had. I had—in my own way, chasing an inheritance. That felt shallow now.
Sage was the one real person in this entire mess I didn’t want to disappoint. But I was probably halfway there.