Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Owen
Keeping myself in my chair while I read to Daisy is a feat.
Her gaze stays fixed on me as I narrate the story of a wolf shifter in love with his sworn enemy's daughter.
The emotions and the goddamn sex scenes are almost too much to take.
The quality of the plot, combined with the sexy scenes, is a pleasant surprise.
And now I know knotting has nothing to do with ropes.
After nearly losing Daisy, it’s been hard to keep my hands off her.
For no other reason than to remind myself that she’s here.
Safe and sound. Alive! But I’ll be damned if this book isn’t making me want to touch her for an entirely different reason.
A few minutes ago, she reached for her water glass, and I used it as an excuse to move closer.
I’ve been sitting on the edge of the ottoman since, needing to be close enough to touch her.
Every time I look up, her big, whiskey eyes crash into mine, setting me on fire. This story is turning us both on, but the bruises on her face are a stark reminder that we aren’t playing house. She’s here, so I can take care of her and keep her safe. That’s it.
When she begins to nod off, I check the time on my phone. Two hours have passed, and I have a shitload of texts waiting for me.
She’s squinting, and I can tell her concussed head is killing her, so I carry her upstairs, give her ibuprofen, and tuck her in. She asks me to stay, and there’s no way I can refuse her. Maui and I join her on the bed, and once she’s out, I reach for my journal on the bedside table.
Not long after she falls asleep, she tries to turn onto her side, but with her foot up it’s a no go. Her eyes peel open and settle on me, taking in my journal. She looks at me funny, but when I give her a smile and squeeze her hand, she falls back to sleep.
Just before ten, I grab the dog and sneak out of my bedroom, down the stairs and out the back door, to find Daisy’s brothers waiting for me on my back deck where I had asked them to meet.
I implied I wouldn’t tell her brothers until tomorrow, but I didn’t make her any promises. When Cal called this afternoon with news about what happened at the ranch, in my gut I knew the incident was connected to Daisy’s fall. She’s in danger, and there’s no way in hell I’m waiting any longer.
Maui greets Callen, Angus, and Knox and I gather my strength, trying to figure how to approach this damn topic once again.
“What the fuck is going on, Swift?” Gus asks, arms crossed over his chest.
“Why don’t we sit?” I say, struggling to find the right words to start.
“What the actual fuck?” Cal says, pulling out a chair. “Why are we sneaking into your backyard at ten pm on a Sunday night when we have all this shit going on at the ranch?”
“Because Daisy is upstairs sleeping.”
Cal’s chair tips over when he springs up from his seat, ready to pounce. “What did you just say?”
“You’re an idiot if you haven’t noticed there’s something going on between them,” Knox says, surprising me. “Ryan and I picked up on it in New York. But why bring us here to tell us you’re sleeping with our sister?”
“For the love of God, that is not why she’s here.”
“Cal, sit the fuck down,” Angus spits. “It’s been a long day, and I’d like to get home at some point.”
They’ve been moving the cattle back and fixing the fence line all day, and exhaustion is etched into their faces. If Daisy weren’t here, I would have been there helping them.
“She’s why you couldn’t help us today, isn’t she?” Cal asks, straightening his chair and sitting.
I nod and get back to business. “Now, before I say anything, your sister made me promise not to call any of you. She’s gonna kick my ass for this.”
“I’m so confused. If this isn’t about you two hooking up, why are we here?” Knox questions as Cal bristles like he’s about to jump across the table and strangle me with his bare hands if Knox mentions me with his baby sister again.
“Okay, now, let me speak. No questions until the end.” I focus on Callen. “Okay?”
Each of the brother's nod.
“So, yesterday I was on duty, working an extra shift, when I heard a female matching Daisy’s description had fallen at Smith Rock.
” The brothers all shift in their seats, but I carry on.
“I knew she had that date with the climber from Colorado, so I left the city and drove like a bat out of hell, arriving the same time medical and fire did. Sure enough, it was her. Lying on the rocks just coming to. She fell nearly a hundred feet, knocking herself unconscious.”
In unison, the three of them ask, “Is she okay?”
“She has a concussion and a nice goose egg on the back of her head. She’s in a walking boot because she tore the tendons from her ankle. She’s covered in bruises and cuts, but, by some miracle, she’s okay.”
Their relieved comments blend together, but I don’t really hear them. All I can think about is what I have to say next.
“The thing is, her date was nowhere to be found. And a witness... fuck, this is harder than I thought it was gonna be... she saw him push her.”
This is the lightning rod that activates the brothers. Cal and Knox are out of their seats, pacing the deck while Gus stares at me, waiting for more, his military training kicking in. He needs all the information before reacting.
“Excuse me?” Knox asks, as though I’m speaking another language as he paces behind his now abandoned chair.
“The witness saw him push her and then run down the trail.
Other witnesses saw him run to his car and leave.
Daisy confirmed the car's description, and we have video footage of the piece of shit ditching his rental car in the lot at the Redmond airport. He boarded a flight to Seattle, where he took a connecting flight to Boston. His dating profile has been erased. Turns out Wesley Barnes was in fact from Colorado, but he died seventeen years ago.”
I wait to see if any of them pick up on what I’m telling them. It’s Gus whose mind gets there first.
“Wasn’t the asshole that threatened her about buying the property from Boston?”
“He was. And after some digging, it turns out Wesley isn’t his name, and he is that asshole’s second cousin.”
“What the actual fuck?” Cal says, running his hands through his hair.
Knox keeps pacing.
“Here is my theory. And it’s only a theory.
Daisy refused to relay Chad’s offer to the family.
I think they thought if they got her out of the way, the family would be distraught and accept an offer.
When they found out she hadn’t died in the fall, they paid someone local to cut the fence. I think it’s all connected.”
“What do the authorities say?” Gus, the levelheaded one, still in his seat, questions.
“We’ve got the Feds and local police involved.
I’ve also been in contact with a friend of mine from the police academy who works for Massachusetts State Police.
Turns out there’s more than meets the eye with the company making the offer on the ranch.
They’re linked to an organized crime family in, you guessed it, Boston.
He says they’re organized, well-funded, and dangerous.
Nearly impossible to investigate, but he’ll keep his ears open. ”
“Why would gangsters from the East Coast want to buy up cattle ranches in Central Oregon?” Knox asks.
“The minerals,” Cal says, before I reply with a non-answer, because I have no idea what their true motive is.
“What minerals?” Angus sounds just as confused as Knox and I look.
“After Dad passed and Knox got our tax debt in order, Howard did a thorough audit of both businesses. The store and the ranch. We went over the deed to the land. It turns out our deed includes mineral rights. This isn’t always the case.
You may own the land, but not the rights to any minerals on that land.
I thought little of it.” He shrugs and lets out a steady breath.
“Why do I feel like there's more to this story?” Knox sighs.
“Well, after the Clays got their offer from the Boston fucks, they looked into their deed, and they don’t have mineral rights.
Only surface rights. They haven’t been here long enough to know what they might be sitting on.
So, they hired a geologist, who confirmed the land is rich with sunstone.
As we all know, the high desert of Central Oregon is the only place on Earth you can find the gem.
Apparently, their land is riddled with it.
“And since their land butts up to ours and we have thousands of acres, our land is the most valuable,” Gus pieces together.
“It seems extreme to kill Daisy over some rocks,” Knox interjects.
“That’s the way these guys work. If they don’t get what they want, they do what it takes until they do.”
“If we know who they are, why don’t we arrest them?”
“If only it were that easy, Cal. I’m doing everything I can, though.
Tomorrow, the feds will bring some pictures to the house for Daisy to look at.
If she points out the guy we’re pretty sure it is, our contacts in Boston will arrest him if they can find him.
But we lack the proof that connects Chad to the fence and the fall.
He’s a legitimate businessman, and the Madden family is his biggest client.
Unless we get a confession, it’s gonna take a lot to prove my theory.
But I won’t quit until these fuckers are dealt with.
Until then, Daisy’s staying here, where I can keep her safe. ”
Cal hesitates, but finally says, “Thank you.”
I nod, relieved that’s all he has to say.
Daisy’s right. Cal’s reaction to his sister sleeping over wasn’t great and may be an issue when the time comes to tell him more. And it will come. His sister and I are inevitable. However, tonight is not the night for that conversation.
Knox pulls his phone out of his back pocket. “I’m calling Hopper, the band’s head of security. He’s based in L.A., but I’m sure he can get some bodies up here.”