24
A sudden noise jolted Levi upright. The sharp, frantic whinnying of horses. Something was wrong.
“Shit,” Levi muttered, instantly alert. His body moved fast as he jumped out of bed and shoved on a pair of jeans, yanking on a t-shirt that was tossed on his dresser by the bedroom door.
The scent of her clung to him, soft and sweet, in sharp contrast to the adrenaline now pumping through his veins.
Emery blinked awake, disoriented but jumping out of bed and following him through the house. “Levi…? What’s wrong?”
“The horses.” He was already at the front door, throwing it open. “Something’s got them spooked them big time.”
He turned to her, voice low but stern, serious.
“Listen to me. Stay here. Lock the door behind me. Don’t open it for anyone.”
Her brows knit. “Levi—”
“I mean it, Emery.” His eyes locked on hers. “Stay inside. I’ll be back as soon as I figure out what’s goin’ on.”
Then he was gone.
The front door shut behind him with a hollow thud, the bolt sliding home as Emery threw the lock and leaned against it, heart racing. Somewhere in the distance, a horse screamed again, a violent sound she’d never heard before.
Emery ran up the stairs and down the hallway, bare feet thudding softly against the floor. She threw her hair up into a ponytail and pulled on one of Levi’s oversized hoodies, dressing herself quickly and grabbing her phone.
Something was happening out there in the dark.
She wouldn't let Levi face it alone.
? ? ?
Levi’s boots hit the cold dirt floor of the barn, the familiar scent of hay and leather sharp in the night air. The horses’ noises echoed around him, their hooves stamping and their breaths ragged and nervous. At first, the barn appeared normal, nothing out of place, no obvious signs of trouble.
He moved cautiously, eyes scanning every shadow between the stalls.
“Easy, girl,” he whispered to a mare pacing in her stall near the barn entrance, his voice calm but commanding.
Then, from the shadows, Cole stepped forward, a slow, calculating smirk on his face.
Levi’s voice dropped low and hard as he stepped closer. “What the hell are you doing? Why the fuck are you here?”
“I’m sure you’ve pieced together that I’ve been behind the little inconveniences around here,” Cole said with a shrug. “But I’m not the only one who wants her gone.”
“You drunk? Or just stupid?” Levi snapped, slowly stepping forward again. “Maybe both.”
Cole just smiled wider. “No. I’m the only one with the balls to do the dirty work. You didn’t even put it together, did you?”
Levi paused, instincts kicking in hard. “What are you saying?”
Cole took a slow step forward, his voice low and mean. “Denny wants what she owes him; he’s behind it all.”
Levi’s stomach dropped.
“Yeah,” Cole said, eyes gleaming with cruelty. “He paid me to make things… difficult. Stir the pot. Make her crack. And I was happy to oblige. She doesn't belong here anyway.”
“You son of a bitch.” Levi’s voice broke into a snarl.
Inside the farmhouse, the clock ticked on, something in Emery’s gut twisted, something was wrong. Off. Too quiet.
She backed against the wall near the window with a view of the barn, holding her phone, hands trembling as she dialed.
Even though it was three in the morning, Jess sleepily answered on the second ring. “Emery, what's wrong?”
“Jess, I don't know what to do,” Emery whispered, moving toward the front door. “Something’s not right. The horses were going crazy, Levi ran out to the barn—and he hasn’t come back. I have to go out there.”
“I’ll be there in two minutes,” Jess said without hesitation. “I’ll take the back trail.”
Without waiting for him, she slipped out into the cold night and jogged toward the barn, the crunch of gravel under her feet the only sound.
She slowed as she neared the doors, hearing voices raised inside Levi’s, sharp and furious... and another familiar one? Cole.
A shiver climbed up her spine as she slipped around to the side door, peering around just in time to hear Cole’s voice dripping with venom.
“I’m tired of breaking my back around here, making you money while you spout orders and play house with your feet up every day.
You’re throwing everything away for a piece of ass?
” Cole sneered. “Hell, I doubt she’s even worth it.
Not that it’s going to stop me from taking a turn once you’re out of the picture. ”
Emery’s breath caught.
That was all Levi needed. With a roar, he lunged at Cole.
The two men collided hard, fists swinging, boots skidding in hay and dirt. Levi slammed Cole into the wall with a loud crack of wood behind them. Cole fought dirty—elbows and knees, but Levi didn’t back down for a second.
They grappled near the tack room, throwing wild punches. Levi landed a brutal right hook that sent Cole crashing to the floor. Blood streamed from Cole’s nose as he coughed, stunned but not done .
While Levi stood over him, chest heaving, Cole’s hand slipped into his jacket pocket.
The click of a lighter echoed in the barn.
A small flame flicked to life in his hand, and then he tossed it.
The dry pile of hay ignited instantly.
“No!” Levi lunged forward.
That’s when Emery came around the corner.
Smoke licked up to the rafters, but Emery’s movement distracted Levi for a brief second, and Cole took advantage of that. In another act of rage, he grabbed a thick 2x4 from the ground, jumped to his feet, and swung it like a bat.
The sound of it hitting Levi’s back was sickening, a sharp, hollow crack followed by his shout of agony.
Levi dropped to the ground, flat.
“Levi!” Emery screamed, running further into the barn, heart splitting.
But even through the searing pain, he turned his head toward her, eyes desperate.
“Emery, get out! Now!” he yelled as he pushed himself up and lunged for Cole again as he tried to run out of the barn.
The heat was rising fast.
The smoke was thick and heavy, Flames dancing across the hay like they'd been waiting for their cue, stretching up to the wooden rafters and cloaking everything in an orange glow.
Emery couldn't just leave; she wouldn't let the horses burn. Not wasting another second, she ran, her chest tight with panic, and she yanked open the first stall.
“Come on, girl,” she coaxed the mare, grabbing at her halter and guiding her toward the exit. The horse resisted, nostrils flaring in terror, stamping nervously.
Emery tugged hard, voice louder this time, firmer. “You’ve got to go now!”
The horse bolted, finally taking the opening, hooves thundering across the packed dirt and disappearing out the open doors.
Emery spun, coughing against the smoke already burning her throat, and went for the next stall.
“Three more,” she said under her breath. “Just three more.”
The second and third horses went smoother, adrenaline lending her strength she didn’t know she had. Each time she ran back through the haze, sweat beading and dripping down her back as fire crept along the floor, catching any straw and dry feed sacks in its path.
The final stall latch was sticking.
Emery braced her shoulder into the bolt, but it still didn’t give. Backing up, she kicked it hard twice, then three times. It finally gave with a snap, the wood cracking, and the horse inside screamed in panic, eyes wild.
“Come on, big guy. I know it’s hot, I know—” Her voice broke as she fumbled with the halter, nearly blinded by smoke.
A crash from behind made her flinch as the gelding reared back.
The flames were too close now. The fire had crept along the beams above, and something creaked loudly as a small section of the loft above fell in a cascade of embers just a few feet away.
The fight between Levi and Cole had spilled out of the barn and into the dirt just beyond it—raw, furious, and violent. Blood smeared Levi’s knuckles and dripped from his lip. His breath was ragged, ribs throbbing as he dodged a wild swing and returned one with all the anger burning inside him.
Cole staggered back with a grunt, spitting blood into the dust.
“You’re throwing away everything,” he snarled. “For a skank who’s gonna ruin you, just like she ruined Denny.”
Levi saw red.
He slammed into Cole with a snarl, taking him down hard.
Gravel dug into his knees, but he didn’t stop—his fists rained down, he didn't even see anyone else coming, but now Jess was pulling Levi off Cole.
“I've got it, Levi,” he said as he flipped Cole and put a knee in his back, bringing his hands together right as flashing red and blue lights painted the trees and shouts filled the air .
The Sheriff and deputies rushed toward them, voices raised, getting there fast thanks to Jess calling on his way over and them happening to be patrolling nearby. A deputy cuffed Cole, relieving Jess from holding him down in the gravel.
Levi was turning, eyes searching, breath caught in his chest, not from the fight, but from what he didn’t see.
Emery.
She wasn’t outside.
“Where is she?” he barked at no one in particular, panic gripping him by the throat. “Where the hell is Emery?!”
No one answered—because no one knew.
And then Levi saw the smoke pouring thicker out of the barn’s side.
“No. No—move!”
A deputy stood in front of him as he struggled to remain on his feet, his body beaten and exhausted from the brawl.
“Levi, you can’t go in there! ”
“Get the hell out of my way, she’s still in there!”
The man did not step aside.
“Jess!” Levi yelled, making eye contact with his brother, eyes pleading. He didn't need to say anything else.
Jess briefly struggled internally with what to do.
The last thing he wanted to do was to send his big brother running into the fire, but he knew what Levi needed.
Emery. He wouldn't be okay, not if she wasn’t okay.
“Fuck,” Jess said as he slammed a sideways shoulder into the deputy, knocking him out of the way.
Levi shoved past with more strength than anyone expected and disappeared into the inferno.
Inside, Emery slowed, choking on the thick smoke.
The last horse reared again, pulling against her grip, but she held steady as her lungs fought for breath.
She smacked the horse on the rear, and finally, the gelding shoved past her, bolting through the smoke, and Emery collapsed right after, crumpling into the stall, lungs refusing to cooperate.
The smoke was everywhere.
Then, Levi’s boots slammed over the scorched aisle, eyes burning, heart hammering.
“Emery!”
He spotted her in the last stall, unmoving.
“No, no baby, no! Come on…” He dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her up into his arms. Her skin was warm, damp, her face streaked with sweat and soot. Her breathing was shallow—too shallow.
He didn’t hesitate. He lifted her, shielding her with his body from as much of the smoke as he could and carrying her out.
They burst through the open side gate as the barn groaned behind them, the last remaining part of the roof collapsing inward with a roar of fire billowing into the dark sky.
Jess ran, meeting him halfway, pulling Emery gently from his arms and heading straight to the ambulance while Levi stumbled beside them, refusing to leave her side as the EMTs lowered a gurney.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, voice cracking, brushing soot from her face. “I’ve got you, baby…”
Emery’s eyes fluttered open just a little, lashes thick with ash, pupils sluggish.
Levi caught her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You’re okay,” he said softly, voice raw. “You’re safe now.”
Emery's lashes fluttered once, her fingers giving the faintest twitch around Levi’s hand, and then her eyes rolled back, and she went limp. Her breaths were slow, a wheezing stridor breaking through each shallow inhale that was ragged from the smoke.
The EMT monitoring her vitals looked up sharply. “She’s out again. Oxygen is way too low. We need to get her to the hospital now.”
Another medic was already pulling the gurney toward the ambulance. “Pulse is thready. Let’s move!”
“No, no—Emery!” Levi’s voice cracked like a whip in the chaos.
One of the paramedics grabbed his shoulder. “You riding with us? ”
“Damn right I am.” He didn’t let go of her hand for a second. As the gurney locked into place inside the ambulance, Levi climbed in and slumped back into the corner to give them room to work, but still gripped her hand like a lifeline.
She didn’t respond.
Her face was pale, too still, the oxygen mask fogging faintly with each faint breath.
The medic was adjusting the flow, pressing two fingers to the side of her throat to monitor the strength of her pulse. “We’ll keep her stable. Just hang on.”
But Levi barely heard him.
He was bent low, forehead nearly touching her temple, thumb stroking her soot-smudged hand. His voice came out hoarse, strained, like he was pouring every ounce of strength he had left into her.
“Come on, baby, don’t do this.”
The siren wailed above them, the flashing lights painting everything in frantic red and white as the ambulance raced toward the hospital, Levi refusing to let go of hope or her hand the entire way.
“I need you, Emery,” he begged.
Her chest rose with an unsteady pattern .
“I need you. I want it all. The farm, the house, the mornings,” his voice broke. “Hell, even the damn PTA meetings. I want every part of this life with you. Only you.”
He tightened his grip on her hand, brushing a knuckle against her cheek.
“I need you to come back to me. Because I can’t do this without you. I won’t.”
The ambulance jolted slightly as they took a fast turn.
“Hold on, baby,” he whispered again, leaning closer. “Just hold on a little longer.”