Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
OLIVIA
I can hardly see through the dust that’s kicking up in front of me as I follow a random blue truck down the worn dirt road toward Wild Coyote. It’s a section of town blanketed by heavy darkness, no streetlights or other buildings to indicate a bar would be found back here. You’d have to know where it is to find it, but everyone from Saddlebrook Falls knows where to find it—it’s been here for generations.
Gravel crunches beneath my tires, the sound an echo of what my heart is doing in my chest as I wrestle through all the anxiety rocketing through me. Rhett said he’d be late tonight, and I swear I tried to keep it together and just wait for him at home. But I could hear it in his voice—the fear and uncertainty—and I couldn’t just sit idly by knowing something bad could be happening to him. He might hate me later for meddling in what he clearly wants to keep me away from, but as long as he’s here to hate me, it’ll be worth it.
I can’t explain the feeling in my gut, the instinct that he’s in trouble. I hadn’t even meant to call him so soon—not after last night and all the things we hurled at each other. I’d planned to make him wait a few days before starting a conversation again, just like he’d made me wait after disappearing from the diner. But I’d been a fool to think I could hold out—not when I know how alone he is with all that pressure and pain. Not when my stomach is roiling with the worry of all the desperate ways he could be trying to make quick money for his family.
His voice all but confirmed he’s already in the thick of something dangerous. Whatever it is, I hadn’t expected it to come so soon. I thought I’d have more time to convince him he didn’t have to face it alone.
I hated thinking I might be too late.
The truck in front of me makes a slow right turn into a near-empty lot in front of the quiet, unlit bar. There are no lights in the parking lot and no windows in the building that would allow for inside light to creep out. But there’s a neon sign on the roof—the words WILD COYOTE beneath the outline of the howling animal—that’s also dark.
Something isn’t right.
I spot two old men sitting on the front sidewalk. One of them drinks something wrapped in a brown paper sack while the other watches me through my windshield with curiosity. The truck I’d followed parks in the back, but the driver keeps the engine running, probably also confused by the lack of life here. I don’t see any other vehicles.
Rolling my window down an inch, I pull up next to the men on the ground, careful not to accidentally run over their feet. “Is the bar open?” I ask them.
The man with the sacked drink in his hand smirks. “Nah, door’s locked and we ain’t seen anyone around all night. Weird for a Friday.” He lifts the drink to make sure I can see it. “But I’m happy to share this with a pretty girl like you.”
I shake my head, forcing myself to smile. “No thanks!”
I roll the window back up and turn my car around.
The bar is closed.
I want to scream into my steering wheel.
There’s only one place left to go.
* * *
Almost twenty minutes later—a drive that would have been so much faster in the daylight—I pull up the long, winding lane to Bennett Ranch. The weight of what I’m doing presses down uncomfortably against my spine as the white house comes into view, because I know Rhett’s not in there. But his family is—people who are currently experiencing unimaginable pain—and I’m about to make things worse.
I started second-guessing myself the minute I turned onto their driveway. Rhett said he was with a friend—what are the chances it’s for a legitimate reason? I doubt he’d be out on a social call so soon after his sister-in-law’s death, but it’s totally plausible there’s a good reason for whatever Rhett’s up to. If that’s the case, I’ll be walking out of here with my tail tucked.
But simply seeing a friend wouldn’t explain the tone of his voice on the phone earlier. I might still have a lot to learn about who Rhett is, but I know him. I know him enough to be petrified.
The driveway spreads wide closer to the house and I pull my car far to the left where there’s an open spot next to the handful of other vehicles—mostly trucks—already parked here. The ranch is dark and quiet, but the house shows signs of life through half-open shutters sprinkled around the first floor. After pulling my key from the ignition, I sit and stare at it, wondering who might be home. I know Rhett has his own cabin, and I imagine the same is true for his brothers, so it’s entirely possible that it’s only his parents who stay in the big house at night.
I wish I knew how I could find Kasey’s cabin, or Wells’s. The last thing I want to do is come clean to Rhett’s mother—or his father—but without knowing where else to go, I’m just going to have to chance it.
I pull the latch of the door handle, forcing myself out into the night air, and briefly tip my head up toward the blanket of stars overhead. For a moment, I close my eyes and whisper an apology to the sky. Whatever happens next, I know I’ll never regret ensuring Rhett’s safety, even if it costs me his trust.
I draw in a deep breath, feeling my lungs expand as I set my sights toward the house’s front steps—and I almost jump out of my skin when I see the silhouette of a man standing in front of the door. It’s obvious he’s looking at me, but I can’t tell who it is because his face is obscured by the dark.
“Olivia?” a deep voice calls out. The man steps forward, down the first step, and when the light of the moon washes over his face, I see that it’s Kasey. “Is that you?”
“Yeah,” I call back, relief rolling through me. “I-I’m sorry to just show up like this.”
“Rhett’s not here.”
“I know. Um . . .” I move closer so we don’t have to keep shouting at each other. “That’s actually why I came. I think he needs help.” Up close, I notice the deep lines set around Kasey’s mouth, the downturn of his lips. He looks exhausted, like he’s hanging on by a thread, and my heart leaps. “I’m really sorry. I went to Wild Coyote first—I didn’t want to just show up like this.”
He nods. “Bar’s closed for the week.” He stares at me for a long minute, like he’s not sure how to handle this. “My brother’s wife died.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a beat. “I know,” I say quietly. “Rhett told me. I’m so sorry.”
“You said Rhett needs help?” he asks, brows pulling to a bunch at the top of his nose like he’s only just processed the words. “He told us he was going to see you.”
The words rake through me. I steel myself with another deep breath. “I’m just going to cut to the chase,” I say. “We got into a . . . a fight last night. It’s a long story, but he’s mentioned there’s a threat to the ranch, and I’m not sure what that means, but last night he alluded to needing money.”
Something came up with a friend of mine.
“ I called him a few hours ago,” I continue, “and he said he was with a friend but . . . something felt off.”
Kasey scrutinizes my face. “Off?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Like . . . like he was hiding something. Like he didn’t want me to worry. I don’t know the ways he might be able to get himself in trouble, but I was hoping you might know where to look.”
Kasey scoffs, shaking his head as he pulls his hands up to his hips. He studies the ground for a minute, and I’m not sure if I should keep talking or?—
He suddenly straightens, pulling his phone out of his back pocket to look at the time, or maybe the date? “ Fuck !” he curses loudly, eyes flying back to me. “That fucking idiot.”
My stomach plunges. “What?—?”
But he’s already moving, running for the house. I watch as he disappears inside, the screen door slamming shut before the wooden door thuds closed behind it. I stare at it, stare and wait and hope he’s coming back out to explain what just happened.
Thankfully it’s only a minute or two before he’s flying back outside, struggling to push his arms through the sleeves of a flannel jacket as he fists a shotgun in his hand. Wells trails behind him, a confused expression marring his face, and behind him is a baffled Layla.
“Kasey, what the fuck?” Wells says in a hushed tone, hurrying to keep up with him.
Kasey just looks at me. “Get in the truck, Olivia.”
I eye the gun before looking back at him. The dread in his eyes mixed with the demand in his tone sends me tripping over myself. I turn toward three trucks that are parked side by side, not knowing which one he means. But then the taillights flash on the closest two-door after Kasey unlocks it with a fob.
“Olivia?” Layla’s voice sounds from across the drive.
I hear Kasey say something low to Wells as I pull myself into the cramped back seat, heart hammering in my chest with a spicy heat of adrenaline coursing through my veins. And then Kasey’s sliding into the driver’s seat as I watch Wells briefly talk to Layla through the side window before he too is climbing into the truck.
Wells turns around to look at me as Kasey shoots the truck into reverse. “What happened?”
So I tell him what I told Kasey—about Rhett’s worry for the ranch, about our fight and the secret plans he refused to share.
When I’m done, Wells turns to Kasey. “Kase?”
Kasey doesn’t look at him. With his eyes glued to the road, he mutters, “He’s at Rustler Ranch. There’s a game tonight—a big one.”
Wells leans his head back against the headrest, eyes closed tight. “Fuck.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, looking back and forth between them. “What kind of game?”
Kasey’s eyes flick to me through the rearview mirror. “Cards,” he answers. “The Rustlers are . . . friends of ours. Cattle ranchers in Silver Ridge County—out in the hills. They host illegal poker games with dangerous people, and shit has a tendency to go sideways.”
“How sideways?” I ask.
But he doesn’t say anything.
“How sideways, Kasey?” I demand.
He sighs. “Criminals tend to be an unhappy bunch, especially when they lose their money. And they also like to carry things that can stab or shoot.”
Oh god , I think, eyes burning with tears as Wells curses again from the front seat.
And then he turns to his older brother. “Why is he doing this? Why do we need money?”
Kasey frowns. I don’t miss the way his eyes flash to me again before he responds. “Long story. Let’s just focus on getting this dumbass home safe, and then I’ll tell you everything.”
It surprises me that Wells doesn’t already know whatever it is that threatens the ranch. That the Bennetts keep secrets amongst themselves.
“Should we call the police?” I ask.
Both Kasey and Wells shout out a matching “ No .”
I blink as I look out the window. The night rushes past us as Kasey guns it down a four-lane highway.
“When we get there,” Kasey says, eyeing me through the rearview once more, “you stay in the truck.”
“What? No!” I argue.
“Yes.” Kasey’s tone is sharp. “Stay in the truck where it’s safe. If we . . .” He hesitates. “If we need you, we’ll come get you. But it’s going to be dangerous there, Olivia. And I need to focus on getting my brother out.”
He doesn’t trust that I won’t be a distraction, which I guess is fair considering he doesn’t really know me. “I won’t be in the way,” I assure him.
His jaw ticks. “I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about what we’re walking into. If you get hurt—if someone so much as touches you, Olivia—Rhett’s going to lose his fucking mind. And we need him to want to leave with us.”
“Do you know who’s there?” Wells asks.
Kasey shakes his head. “Ellis called me a few weeks ago to try and convince me to come. He mentioned some new boys from Cheyenne and a shitload of cash, but I don’t know anything else.”
Wells nods, exhaling sharply. And then he opens the glove box and reaches in. A flash of metal glints in the dark as he pulls his hand back out, and I realize he’s holding another gun.
Under normal circumstances, I’d probably be burning with fear knowing both of them are armed. I’m not sure why I’m surprised, considering the stories I’ve heard for years. But right now, all I can think about is Rhett—about getting him out of danger.
“Please don’t let him get hurt,” I whisper in the dark.
Kasey only looks at me through that goddamn mirror.