Chapter Thirty-Six Blaze
Chapter Thirty-Six
Blaze
I’ve been inside the federal building in Birch Falls so much over the past three days, they might as well start charging me rent.
Interviews with the DEA, FBI, and local sheriff’s office.
Everyone wants a piece of me now that my lawyer has gotten me an immunity deal and I can spill everything I know.
I’ve gone through almost a decade’s worth of intel about my work within Wilkerson’s organization.
Names, dates, jobs, locations. Every threat he made, every manipulation of me, my family, Nash, and Savannah.
Too bad it hasn’t done a damn thing to distract me from the fact that Savvie is gone. And I couldn’t do or say anything to stop her. She looked at me like I was a monster, like she couldn’t get away fast enough. Now she’s seen the real me.
Something I’d feared since I started working for Wilkerson.
I guess I always knew this time would come.
And now, with all of my past sins exposed, I know she’s right.
I really am that monster.
But I don’t want to be. I want to be the man she needs, the one she feels safe with, the one she knows would move heaven and earth to keep her safe and happy.
She used to see me that way until all of my skeletons were hurled at her like daggers, and I’m completely powerless to stop the bleeding.
I scrub a hand down the front of my face, bleary eyed as I stare at the top of the wooden conference room table.
“You need some coffee?” Richard Abrams, the federal prosecutor sitting across from me, asks.
I shudder at the thought. Hell no. My stomach lining has been eaten away over the past few days by the acidic sludge they serve here.
“Thanks, but maybe just some water.”
Abrams steps out to grab me water and makes a quick call before returning to his notes.
“Is there anything else we haven’t covered you want to add?
” When I shake my head he continues, “These are really great details. You’re a victim of coercion and manipulation, Mr. Hartman.
Your testimony will help us dismantle his entire operation. ”
I bring a hand to the back of my neck. “I’ll testify to everything. Just lock him up and throw away the key.”
Abrams nods and steeples his fingers. “You could have killed him at the warehouse. Why didn’t you?”
A humorless laugh escapes my lips. “And give him an easy out? Yeah, I could’ve shot him dead after Nash beat the hell out of him.
But that bastard deserves to suffer behind bars.
He deserves way worse than death after everything he did over the years, all the lives he ruined and the people he hurt.
” I lift an eyebrow at him. “Not like it wasn’t tempting, though. Can’t lie about that.”
Abrams smirks. “I’m sure. Glad you were able to control your rage. Otherwise we’d be having a different conversation.” He flips through some papers. “With your testimony and the evidence we collected at the warehouse, he’s looking at life without parole. Multiple life sentences, actually.”
“In some minimum-security, white-collar, country-club prison?” I say with a roll of my eyes. “Because of all the negotiating his sleazy, overpriced lawyer’s gonna do?”
“With what we have on him? Kidnapping, multiple counts of attempted murder, drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, money laundering?” Abrams shakes his head. “No amount of negotiating will whittle that down. And that’s not even the whole list of charges.”
“Good,” I say. “We done here?”
Abrams pushes back his chair and stands up. “Thank you for your time. We appreciate all of the information you provided today. And we’ll see you on Friday to discuss the overseas operations you carried out on his behalf.”
“Great,” I say. “Anything you need.”
“Thank you again for your cooperation,” Abrams says. “And I’m in discussions to have your dishonorable discharge case reopened under the circumstances. I can’t promise anything because it’s a long process, but with your testimony, we might be able to remove it.”
“Thanks for that.” I follow him out the door, rake a hand through my hair, and put on my hat. With a lead weight in my gut, I walk out of the building.
I squint in the early-afternoon sunlight. Colt stands against his truck, staring at his phone. He looks up as I approach.
“How’d it go?” he asks, sticking his phone into the pocket of his jeans.
“Same as yesterday. And the day before.”
“You almost done with those guys?”
“Friday, I think. They want to talk about the shit I was pulling overseas for that son of a bitch.” I pull open the passenger-side door and jump into the seat. “I just want all of it to be over.”
Colt gets in and turns on the ignition. He’s quiet as he pulls onto the highway, headed back to Whiskey Creek. “You know, Dad’s lawyer called me yesterday.”
My spine stiffens. “I don’t want to hear about that asshole.”
“I get it, but you should know he took a deal. He’s gonna testify against Wilkerson to reduce the charges against him.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Lemme guess. No prison time.”
“Heavy fines and restitution payments. House arrest. Probation. But yeah, he ain’t going to prison.” Colt taps on the steering wheel. “Dad always manages to come out on top.”
“Yeah, especially when he has his own kids do his dirty fucking criminal work.” I grit my teeth, staring out the window as we pass Lover’s Bluff. My heart aches like it’s being stabbed. “I don’t give a fuck what happens to him as long as he stays away from me.”
“I really wish you’d have told me about all the crap he had you involved with,” Colt says. “You didn’t have to handle it on your own.”
I slant him a look. “Come on, Colt. You wouldn’t have listened. You were climbing the ladder, and if there was a pot of gold at the top, you’d have stepped all over me to get there. But, hey, everyone has their priorities.”
“Don’t be a dick,” he says. “Yeah, I was suspicious at first. That whole story about Dad and Wilkerson was hard to swallow, but when you laid it all out for me and Wyatt, it was harder to shoot it down. We didn’t have the best relationship before you left, but things are different now.
” He pauses. “I think we just need to be honest with each other. Especially now. We’ve got a lot of shit going on with the ranch, the finances, the media. We need each other.”
“Yeah,” I say, rubbing my finger against the leather grain of the seat. “We do. You got a plan for what you’re gonna do while Dad is holed up at the house?”
“I’m sure as hell not staying there,” Colt says. “I’m looking for my own place. Got some feelers out there. Me and Wyatt were talking about moving in together. You interested? Make it a threesome? Not my threesome of choice, but for now,” he says with a waggle of his eyebrows, “it makes sense.”
“Maybe.” Nash invited me to stay with him at Red Rock for a bit, but it hurt too much being in the main house.
It still smells like Savannah. She’s infiltrated the whole place, and being there is torture of the worst kind, knowing she’ll likely never come back.
So I moved into the bunkhouse at Red Rock instead since there was no way I was going back to Dad’s after that shit show in Birch Falls.
“Oh, by the way, I was at Brixton’s this morning. The whole town is in an uproar over Tyler Burgess. Of course, some are saying they knew something was off with him.” He snorts. “Everyone’s a genius in hindsight.”
The road curves, and soon, Main Street comes into view. Folks living normal, drama-free lives as they walk up and down the sidewalks, smiling and talking to their neighbors, enjoying the weather.
Fuck, I’d give my right arm for a sliver of normal.
“People have been asking about Savannah,” Colt says. “They want to make sure she’s okay. I don’t think they know she left. They just think she’s keeping a low profile after everything that happened.” After a beat, he says, “You talk to her?”
“No,” I say sharply. “She asked for space, and I’m giving it to her.” My phone buzzes in my pocket, and my heart jumps high in my chest . . . until I see that it’s Nash calling.
Then it clenches tight.
“What’s up?” I say once I’ve clicked the Accept button.
“You busy right now?” he asks.
“Nah, Colt just picked me up from Birch Falls. I was planning on heading back to Red Rock to get some things in order.” For what reason, I don’t know. Maybe it’s my own self-imposed penance. But I feel like I have to do my part to keep the place running . . . just in case.
“Okay, just meet me here as soon as you can.”
My brows furrow, fingers squeezing the phone tight. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah . . . just get here.” Then he hangs up.
“Where are we going?” Colt asks.
“Red Rock. Something’s up.”
“With Savannah?”
“I don’t know.” But I didn’t like the tone of Nash’s voice. It was like he’s preparing me for something he knows I’m not gonna want to hear.
Panic grips me for the next twenty agonizing minutes before we pull into the drive leading up to Red Rock. Nash waits for us on the porch, pacing with a bottle of beer in his hand.
I jump out before Colt’s put the truck into park. “What’s going on?”
Nash’s jaw tenses. “Savvie put the ranch up for auction. She’s got the plans in motion already, been working with Kent Atwood on the details.
I got a call from him today. She told me she was going to make the arrangements before she left for Denver, but when Kent never reached out, I figured she’d changed her mind. ”
My lawyer is Kent’s niece. She never mentioned anything to me about any auction.
My head spins. “You mean she’s really giving this place up? Isn’t she . . . she said she just needed space . . . I didn’t really think she’d . . .”
Nash shakes his head. “She’s really doing it. The auction will be held in six weeks, and the proceeds will repay all the debts on the place. If there’s anything left over, she’ll get the proceeds.”
I sink onto one of the steps. “She’s really walking away for good.”
“I’m sorry, Blaze,” Nash says. “She . . . she said she’s done with Whiskey Creek. For good. She’s not coming back.”
I raise my head, my eyes sweeping over the last piece of Savannah’s family legacy.
“Fuck,” Colt mutters.
“I tried to talk her out of it,” Nash says. “Told her to give it some time before doing anything rash. But she wouldn’t listen.” He sighs. “She sounded . . . empty. Defeated.”
My heart slams against my sternum. All because of me.
“I wanted to tell you before you heard it in town. As soon as the news gets out, people will be all over it like flies on shit. I’ll keep it running until it’s sold.”
“I’ll stay to make sure things are handled,” I say in a gruff voice. “It’s the least I can do after running her off to fucking Denver.”
Nash nods. “Appreciate the help.”
I slowly get up. “I’m gonna take a walk around. I’ll see you guys later.”
Squaring my shoulders, I stick my hands in my pockets and walk toward the pastures, cringing at the evidence of all the damage I did over the past weeks. Cut fences, rusted equipment I tampered with, broken gates. All the Band-Aid fixes that were never meant to hold.
My footsteps get heavier and heavier as I approach the far pasture. I lean forward onto my arms, resting against one of the fences. The fields are lush and green, cattle quietly lowing as they graze peacefully and safely. Leaves on trees lining the property gently flutter in the afternoon breeze.
So much surrounding me tells the story of how I chose myself over Savannah, how I chose to sabotage her instead of going to the authorities. Yeah, I felt like I had no choice at the time, but in retrospect, there are always other choices to be made.
I could have broken free and still protected her.
I turn and head back toward the house when it hits me.
I still have a choice to make.
Colt and Nash are still outside when I get back to the house.
“I’m buying the ranch,” I say.
Nash balks. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I can’t let it go to a stranger. She worked hard to keep it running, and I know she had great ideas about how to generate income. I can fix it up, put some of her ideas in motion, take care of it, you know, just in case she decides to come back. It’d be hers. I want to buy it for her.”
“Where are you gonna get the money from?” Nash asks.
“I’ve got some cash saved up. Combat pay, hazard pay. It adds up. Since it’s a rural property in a distressed sale, it might go cheap.”
“It might not,” Colt says. “It’s got good water rights. A prime spot. Someone could easily bid it up.”
I shrug. “I don’t care. I’ll do whatever it takes. I want it for her.”
Colt looks at me for a long minute. “I’ll help.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“It’ll be too much for you to cover on your own. I can partner with you. I’ve got my own money, plus access to the stash Dad kept hidden away. It’d sure be poetic justice to use it to buy Red Rock.”
“Colt, I’d never ask—”
He holds up a hand. “And you didn’t ask.
But it’s the right thing to do. You’re my brother.
I want to help. Besides, Dad fucked up enough of your life.
His money should help you fix it. We’ll go see Kent.
He can set up an LLC for the purchase so your name’s not on it.
That way when Savannah sees the paperwork, she won’t know you bought it.
It might not go over well if she finds out before you tell her. ”
I nod. “Okay, thank you. I’ll call Kent to set up a meeting.”
“You sure this is what you wanna do?” Nash asks.
“I’m gonna fix everything I broke. Every fence.
Every piece of equipment. Every gate. And I’m going to rent out the land, just like she wanted.
And then when she’s ready . . . if she’s ever ready .
. . I’ll give it back to her. Restored and profitable, so she can have the future that she started to build. ”
A pang in my chest is a harsh reminder that I won’t be part of that future, but if she’s happy, then I’ll be happy too.
“That’s a hell of a gesture,” Nash says.
“It’s the least I can do. I wrecked it all. Now I get to fix it for her.”
Nash smiles. “And I’ll help. I fucked up too. I kept secrets, acted like a complete jackass. I have a lot to make up for.”
“And you know Wyatt and I will pitch in too,” Colt says.
The three of us stand at the fence line, gazing at the rolling lavender fields.
“I know my sister. She’ll eventually come back,” Nash says. “When she’s ready.”
My throat tightens. “What if she doesn’t?”
Nash shrugs. “Then you’ll have a beautiful ranch. And you’ll know you did everything to fix the wrongs and make them right.”
Minutes pass, and the late-day sun paints the ranch with streaks of orange and gold.
Her legacy. Soon to be my parting gift to her.
She may never come back to Whiskey Creek. She may never want to speak to me again.
I destroyed her ranch to save my own ass. Now I’m going to buy it to save something else . . . the hope that love and trust can be rebuilt the same way this ranch can.