Chapter 23 TESSA
TESSA
The bus ride back to Wrangler Creek is loud, messy, and absolutely perfect.
Daisy’s sitting beside me, hair still damp from swimming at the river just before we left, a lollipop sticking out of her mouth as she animatedly recounts how her team won the scavenger hunt.
Her laugh is infectious, that bright, high-pitched sound that always makes my heart feel like it’s folding in on itself—too much warmth for one small space.
The two-day camping trip was a lot of fun, more fun than I thought I’d have, and it’s all thanks to the blonde, bubbly girl currently wiping off her sticky hands on my jeans. It was the break I didn’t know I needed.
But our return comes with the anxiety of what I told myself I’d do—talk to Jace about the future of our relationship after coming clean about what brought me to Iron Stallion in the first place.
I’m nervous, thinking about what his reaction might be, but I also know the conversation has to happen if we are to move forward.
When we arrive at the school, Jace is supposed to pick us up, but instead, we find Duncan, the assistant foreman.
“Where’s Daddy?” Daisy asks him, speaking for both of us.
“Waiting for you back home,” he replies, loading up our bags.
“Why didn’t he come to pick us up?” she insists.
Duncan freezes before mumbling something about Jace being busy. He’s acting fishy, and my guard is immediately up. Nonetheless, Daisy and I get into the back of the truck, and he drives us back.
The drive to Iron Stallion is quieter, Daisy slowly running out of juice, the exhaustion catching up to her.
She leans against me, drifting in and out of sleep.
Every so often, I catch Duncan staring at me via the rearview mirror.
I want to demand answers, but I know he won’t be forthcoming, so I hold it in.
I’ll demand answers from the horse’s mouth directly.
By the time we pull into the Iron Stallion driveway, the sun has already begun to slide down the horizon, throwing the ranch into that soft, golden light I’ve come to love. It feels like home. Like something I shouldn’t get used to but already have.
I’m excited to be back, but something feels off.
The ranch is quiet. Too quiet. There are no horses in the paddock.
No cattle grazing or the familiar hum of the machinery.
Not even the low murmur of voices from the porch and stables.
The ranch is never this quiet, even on Sundays.
Now, only the faint breeze stirs the dust. I brush off the chill that crawls up my spine, hoping it’s just exhaustion.
Or is it?
The front door opens before we reach it. Ella stands there, pale and jumpy, eyes darting behind us like she’s checking for something. “Hey! You’re back,” she says, voice thin and too bright. It’s obvious she’s faking it.
Daisy, fully awake now, jumps off the truck and runs to hug her, holding up a colorful rock. “I brought you this, Auntie Ella!”
Ella forces a smile, taking it. “Thank you, sweetheart. I love it.”
Then she looks at me, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. She opens the door to let us in as Duncan follows with our bags.
I want to ask her what’s wrong, but Daisy is filling her in on our trip, leaving no room for my query.
Inside, the air feels heavy. Beck and Zane are in the kitchen, talking low, their expressions grim. Jace is there too, in his wheelchair, arms crossed, hair a little mussed, like he’s run his hands through it too many times.
The moment he sees us, something flickers in his eyes. Relief, worry, and something else I can’t name.
What is going on?
“Hey, Bug,” he says softly, opening his arms for his daughter. She runs to him and crawls onto his lap. “Did you have fun?”
“The best!” She beams. “We made s’mores and sang songs and collected lots of colorful rocks. I got one for everybody.”
He chuckles, but his laugh doesn’t quite land. He glances at me over her head, that same searching look Ella gave me. Like I’ve missed a memo.
“What’s going on?” I finally ask.
The silence stretches, skyrocketing my unease. Jace straightens, tucking Daisy’s hair behind her ear. “Hey, Bug, why don’t you let Auntie Ella help you unpack your things?”
Daisy’s brow furrows, noticing the tense air. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he lies easily, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Grown-up stuff.”
Ella takes her hand and leads her upstairs. I wait until their footsteps fade before I speak again.
“Jace?”
He exhales, facing me fully. “There was a break-in last night.”
Upon hearing this, the world tilts a little. “What?!”
“There was a storm, we lost power, and the whole ranch went dark, but the backup generators didn’t kick in.”
“That’s impossible. I checked the system before I left. It was running perfectly,” I say.
“I know. It was sabotage. Three men got onto the property and tried to kidnap Ella.”
I grip the back of a chair to steady myself. “Kidnap?”
“They sure as hell tried, but they didn’t succeed,” Beck mutters. “We made sure of it.”
My pulse hammers in my ears. Every word they utter comes through like static. The timing. The method. The precision. This isn’t random. This is him.
He found me.
Shit! I need to get out of here.
Jace’s gaze locks on mine. “You look like you already know who they were.”
His tone is accusing, which it should be, but I’m not about to affirm anything for him. I don’t have time. I need to leave. I was supposed to tell him everything, but that’s no longer an option. Not when I’ve put his family in danger.
I force my voice to stay even. “No, I don’t. I just—it’s a lot to take in.”
He studies me a moment longer, but he doesn’t press. Instead, he says quietly, “Everyone is safe. That’s what matters.”
Safe? Oh no. I’m not safe. Real safety went out the window the moment Richard learned where I’ve been hiding out. Iron Stallion is no longer safe for me.
Muttering some excuse about needing to rest, I dash out of the kitchen and bolt up the stairs. My legs feel like they don’t belong to me, moving too fast, then too slow, like I’m underwater.
When I get upstairs, the scent of bleach hits first. Then I notice the faint scuff marks along the hallway floor, the kind you get from heavy boots. A shattered picture frame lies face down on a side table, the glass swept into a neat pile.
My stomach twists. They came here for me, and when they couldn’t find me, they tried taking Ella instead. The Morgans are in danger because of me. This is a lot more than I was prepared for.
I make it into my room, shut the door, twist the lock, and press my back against it.
For a second, I just stand there, my hands trembling, breath coming in shallow, panicked bursts.
There’s a tightness in my chest that makes it hard to stand upright.
My heart’s hammering so fast I swear I can hear it echoing in the quiet.
I pace once, twice, then drop onto the bed and bury my face in my hands.
“Get it together, Tessa,” I whisper to myself. “Just breathe.”
But the images keep flashing over and over in my mind: Ella’s fear, her brothers’ anger, Jace’s panic, and the dead men. The realization that it was supposed to be me.
I reach for my phone and call Sienna. She brought me here, so she is going to get me out.
“Hey, Tess.” Her voice is bright and familiar, cutting through the fog for a second. “How was the—“
“They found me.” The words spill out before I can soften them. “Sienna, they found me.”
There’s a beat of silence on the other end, then a sharp inhale. “What do you mean, found you?”
“There was a break-in at the ranch. But I wasn’t here, so they tried to take Ella.”
“Oh my God,” she whispers. “Tess—no—how—“
“I don’t know!” I’m shaking so hard the phone slips from my hand, clattering against the duvet, before I pick it up again. “I’ve been so careful. Last week I changed everything—my number, emails… I have no idea how they found me.”
Sienna falls quiet, but I can hear her breathing quicken. Then, finally, she says, “I think I know how.”
“What?! How?”
“My phone.” Her voice trembles. “It got hacked last week. I didn’t think it was connected, but—“
My stomach drops. “Sienna, please tell me you’re kidding.”
“I’m not. I changed passwords, wiped everything, but if it was Richard—“
The name hits like a knife twisting between my ribs. “You’re a hacker. How do you get beaten at your own game?” I snap.
“I’m sorry,” she cries.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I scold as the room tilts.
I grab the edge of the dresser to steady myself. The phone feels like it weighs a hundred pounds in my hand.
Then she drops an even bigger bomb on my lap. “I just got an alert. He skipped bail yesterday. The FBI is looking for him, but no one knows where he is.”
The silence after those words is deafening. I can still hear her voice on the line, shaky, scared. My world’s narrowed down to the frantic thud of my heartbeat and the rush of blood in my ears.
“Tessa?”
I can’t speak. My throat’s closing, my pulse hammering too fast. I can feel the walls closing in, the security of this ranch, the one place I thought I was safe, crumbling around me like it was never real.
“He’s coming for me,” I whisper. “He’s really coming.”
My fingers tighten around the phone until my knuckles ache. I need to think. I need to move. I need to—
A knock splits the quiet. I flinch so hard the phone nearly slips from my hand.
“Tess?” Sienna’s voice crackles through the speaker. “What’s happening? Are you okay?”
Another knock follows, louder this time.
My chest constricts. Every instinct screams run, but my legs won’t move. The room is too still. Then I hear it—the voice that cuts through everything. Calm. Deep. Laced with something dangerous.
“Open the door, Tessa!”
Jace.
My pulse spikes. Relief and fear crash together so violently that I nearly pass out. Because I don’t know if I’m more afraid of what’s outside the ranch… or of the truth waiting on the other side of that door.
The phone slips from my hand and lands on the carpet with a soft thud. Sienna’s voice is still faint in the background, calling my name.
But all I can do is stare at the doorknob, frozen, as Jace knocks again.
“Open it,” he says again—quieter now, but it’s not a request.
My feet pad across the room, hand trembling as I reach for the lock.