Chapter 40
JAKE
Ilet her go, watching her bare legs as she leaves the kitchen.
"You're being a psycho," Luke says mildly the second she's out of earshot.
"Fuck off." I rinse the dishes and stick them in the dishwasher.
"He's not wrong." Mason sits back, crossing his arms. "You're spiraling."
“This isn’t a mission where you have to control every single detail,” Luke adds.
I drag a hand through my hair, the tension in my shoulders coiled so tight it's painful. "She's going back to that ranch. Alone. And we don’t know what Turner’s play was."
"So install the alarm system like you said," Mason replies. "Put tracking on her phone—”
“Done.” I did that last night while she was sleeping.
“But you can't lock her down. She's not a prisoner."
Luke leans back in his chair, balancing on two legs. "You need to give her room to breathe, or she's going to bolt."
I roll my shoulders. "She's not going anywhere."
"You sure about that?" Luke grabs another strip of bacon and points it at me. "Because right now, you're acting like a controlling asshole, and that's a good way to push her away. Women don’t like that shit."
I know they're right. I know I'm being irrational, but I can't stop. I can’t compartmentalize like I normally do. The thought of Emma being in danger makes my knees give. "I'll back off," I say even though I don't mean it.
Mason gets up to refill his coffee cup. "If you scare her off, you're going to lose her. And this time, it'll be your fault."
I don't answer. I just stand there, trying to get my head straight.
But all I can think about is Emma leaving and how much I fucking hate it.