Chapter 16
Ifeel sick.
Sick and terrified.
The club was blown away when I told them the deal I had made, and I know it makes their lives so much easier if they’re not dealing with any members of the cartel. So, they were more than happy to triple-check everything to ensure that it all goes to plan.
It looks good.
Now it’s just Zane and me; everyone else has gone. We can’t risk Ralston backing out or anything going wrong. I know for certain he will have eyes on the club to see if anyone is there, so we can’t risk it. They can’t be here, so it’s just the two of us.
“It’s going to be fine, Cal,” Zane says, squeezing my shoulder.
“I’ll be in the barn, hidden. The truck just needs to get as close as possible.
We have moved all the cows into the paddock closest, and it is close enough to take them out.
Once the truck catches on, it’s over. That thing will blow, especially when you put this under it. ”
He pulls out what I can only assume is a homemade explosive.
I stare at it, eyes wide. “You’re only just telling me I need to plant a damn bomb?”
I blink at him, and then at the device. Zane grins, all mad scientist, and for a moment I honestly think I’m about to puke right onto the explosive.
“It’s not even armed yet, relax. All you gotta do is slip it up behind the wheel well, under the passenger side.
They’re backing up the truck with a cage ramp.
When they go to load the cattle, you go in, sign the papers, distract the boss man, and I’ll finish the wiring.
” He taps a knuckle to my temple. Like I’m the smart one in this equation.
I shake my head. “If you blow up those cows, Zane, I’m going to murder you. They don’t deserve to die for this.”
His eyebrows pop up, and he snickers. “Cows are clear. We’re only going to get the men and the truck. Nobody else. The paddock is far enough away that it might scare the hell out of them, but they won’t get hurt unless he manages to bring one or two in, which is why we have to move quickly.”
My heart still thunders. “There’s no backup plan for if this goes wrong...”
“Relax, darlin’, we’re good.”
He hands me the device. I slip it into the duffel bag, careful not to jostle the wires, and stare out toward the highway. Ralston’s not due for an hour, but my skin itches like he’s already watching. It’s hard to tell if the paranoia’s justified or just my baseline now.
Zane goes over it again, the steps, the time, my exit route. “As soon as you drop it, text me ‘done.’ Then get to the house as fast as you can. And remember, don’t be a hero. If anything goes sideways—”
“I bail to the woods out back and run for my life. I got it.”
He grins. “Atta girl. Let’s do a walk-through.”
We run the play again.
“So you’ll be at the window, waiting for my signal when I am in the house,” I say, as we stand on the porch, staring down at the barn window.
Zane nods. “I’ll be watchin’, and the second you’re safe, I’ll set it up and get the hell out. I’ll have five minutes, if I’m lucky. I have an exit through the back, straight into the treeline. We’re good.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He laughs and bops me on the arm. “Win or lose, you got steel, darlin’. I’d never trust anyone else with this.”
I want to ask if that’s supposed to be reassuring, but the words jam up in my throat. I force out, “If you get blown up, I’ll never forgive you.”
He chuckles. “Won’t matter, I’ll be dead.”
“That’s not funny.”
He turns to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. “I’m takin’ my own risks, darlin’. This is my choice. If it goes wrong, just know that I would do it again, a million times over.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I whisper. “And please, don’t die.”
He releases me and pulls out a cigarette. “I’ll try not to, but for what it’s worth, I ain’t scared of death. Got people waitin’ for me on the other side.”
“Oh?” I ask, pressing my hands on the railing.
“My daughter.”
I flinch and turn to him. “You have a daughter?”
“I did, yeah. She died in her sleep, three months old.”
My throat tightens. “Zane, I am so sorry...I didn’t know.”
“Not many people do. I don’t go around talkin’ about my business.”
He is always so happy, it is hard to ever believe he has experienced that kind of pain.
“What was her name?”
“Kaylee. Fuckin’ angel, Callie. I never knew love that strong existed until I lost her. So, yeah, I’m not afraid of leavin’ this world.”
“Her mom?” I question, carefully.
“We weren’t together, one night stand, but she kept me involved the whole time. When we lost her, she moved away, and I haven’t heard from her for a good long time but I do know she married and had a couple kids. Seems happy now, but it nearly destroyed her.”
“As it would,” I say, softly. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”
“Anyway,” he says. “Let’s get this show on the road. I’ll be in the barn, you got this.”
He hugs me, tight, and then turns and leaves, disappearing into the barn.
It feels like an eternity before the parade of blacked-out SUVs and battered cattle haulers rumble up the driveway. I take a deep, shaky breath, square my shoulders, and walk down the front steps. I have to keep it together because if Ralston so much as suspects a trap, I am dead.
He gets out of the first SUV, not wearing a suit but the shirt that he has on is so crisp and white, he might as well be. I wonder if when he got dressed this morning, he knew that he was going to die in that shirt. I hope he made the right choice.
Guilt pings my chest as I watch at least ten men pile out of the SUVs and trucks, all of them armed. What if they have families? I have to push the thought from my mind because, in the end, choices have been made and they picked the world they’re in.
“Well, Callie, I see you’re all ready for us,” Ralston grins as I approach. “I hope my cows didn’t cause you too many problems when you were moving them.”
His cows.
I could deck him.
“Well, they don’t like dickheads, so I had no choice,” I throw back sarcastically.
He winks at me. “I appreciate it. I trust you have the paperwork ready?”
“It’s inside the house,” I say casually, walking past him so he can’t ask any more questions.
The men have parked the trucks right where Zane hoped they would and are lowering the backs. I pretend to help out by explaining the cows and which ones will cause trouble. Ralston watches, arms crossed, thinking he has struck gold.
Little does he know.
When he assists them in preparing the inside of the trucks, I take my chance to go and place the explosive under the wheel, like Zane instructed.
I move quickly, leaning down and shoving the explosive in as far as I can get it, pushing it behind the wheel so it can’t be seen, then I straighten and flick Zane a message telling him it’s done.
It’s now or never.
I can’t let them get the cows out.
“Before you load the cows, let’s sign this paperwork,” I say to Ralston, casually kicking the dirt as if I’m bored. “Just in case they decide to break an arm or a leg, as I said, they’re not fans of dickheads.”
He chuckles. “I have quite the touch with cows.”
“We’ll see. I’ll go get the papers.”
He nods, smug.
He thinks he’s won.
He is about to find out just how wrong he is.
I WALK INTO THE HOUSE, rifling in the kitchen drawer for a pen I know isn’t there.
I wait for Zane’s shape to flicker past the barn window, but it’s empty.
No movement, no shadow. I slip the papers from a folder, sign my fake signature out of habit, and lean toward the sink.
I count to thirty, expecting him to pop up, give the signal, anything. It stays dead-still out there.
I yank my phone out—no message. My chest contracts, each beat a hammer against my ribs.
I fumble with the coffee machine, desperate for distraction, but it only fans the panic roaring up my throat, thick and sour.
I stare at the clock, nails drumming an urgent tattoo on the counter.
He was supposed to check in. I text, “Ready?” Nothing. I text, “Are you alive?”
Nothing.
My legs move before I can think. I slip through the back door, heel scraping concrete, heart slamming.
I jog around the house, hands out to steady me as I cut low through the wet grass.
At the barn door, I pause—oil, burning insulation, and damp hay crash into me like a wave.
I clamp my mouth shut, then slip inside.
Darkness swallows me; my eyes blink twice before they focus.
There he is: Zane, crouched by the relay box, body rigid as a statue. Two fingers pinched on a tiny, blinking object. His face is hollow—cheeks sunken, eyes wild. The lazy curve of his smile has vanished, ripped away by whatever horror he’s tethered to.
“Zane?” I whisper, voice cracking. I stumble forward, panic ricocheting off every wall. His eyes meet mine—wide, glassy, raw with fear. My stomach drops.
He doesn’t blink. “If I let go of this,” his voice is grated but somehow fills the space, “it all goes.”
It’s a punch to the gut. I choke out, “What?” as if the word can buy me more time.
He breathes out, slow and terrified. “I fucked up in the line somewhere. If this fuckin’ button slips, this whole place blows.”
I stare at him, disbelief burning in my veins. I force a laugh but it tears apart in my throat. I edge closer, hands shaking so hard I can barely form the question: “What do I do? Tell me how to fix it.”
He shakes his head. “No time. Ralston’s men are here. If this goes off, you’ll die in the blast. You’ve got to go, Callie. Right now.”
My world contracts to the space between us. A sob rips free. “No—I’m not leaving you. Tell me what to cut, to fix, to do. What do you need?”
He shakes his head, eyes never leaving that blinking fuse. “You need to go. Tell Wolfe...tell him I didn’t mean for this. Tell him I’m thankful for everything he’s done and that I love him, that I love all of them.”
I wrench out my phone again and dial Knox with numb fingers. Zane’s hand lashes out, slapping it away. It skitters across the dirt floor. “Don’t call him. If he comes, he dies too. Don’t do that to him—or any of them. They’ll be killed.”
“They’ll come up with a plan,” I gasp, tears streaking down, “they can kill them all, you know they can. I’ll go back out, tell Ralston the deal is off, and we can call in the bomb squad.”
His laugh is a bark of pain. “No. Because Ralston will get word of it, and then he will kill you and everyone you love for trying to double-cross him. If the club tries to come in for an attack, the cartel will hunt them down forever. I won’t burden them with that.
There is no way out now, Callie. You need to get out. Now.”
I lunge instinctively for the detonator; he clamps it tighter, refusing to let go. “Callie, get out,” he hisses, voice raw.
“I—there has to be a way,” my words stutter into a scream-whisper. “There has to be an option here, Zane.”
His grin cracks his dead eyes. “You can’t fix this. It isn’t fixable. I need you to be a coward for once in your life, and I need you to leave me here and get the fuck out.”
“No,” I croak. “I won’t leave you.”
His free hand clamps my chin, turning my face so my eyes lock with his.
“I’m okay with this. I’m not scared to die.
I made a choice when I agreed to do this, and with those choices, there is a risk.
This is my decision, and I’m making it. Don’t let it all be for nothing. Don’t let Ralston win. Go. Now.”
My sobs come in ragged bursts as I collapse against him, arms clinging like vines. “I love you, Zane. Knowing you has been a fucking privilege.”
He wraps an arm around me, presses me close. “Right back at you, girl.”
I’m a wreck—snot and tears, fingers trembling against his jacket. “Please don’t make me leave you—”
It’s the last, ditch attempt to make this nightmare go away.
He leans in, forehead to mine. His voice is soft.
“You can. You will. I’ll haunt you if you don’t, and trust me, you don’t want that.
Please, Callie, if you can do anything, do this.
It’s the only way to get you all out alive.
We are running out of time, I need you to go now.
Because either way, this barn blows, and I’ll be damned if it blows with you in it. Knox needs you. Go.”
And in that moment, I know I have no choice.
I close my eyes and let out a noise that is half-scream, half-wail.
I want to stay, want to help, but I can see it in his eyes—this is already a lost cause.
The only thing left is leaving. He lets go of my arm, his finger never leaving the button.
“Go now. Don’t turn around. Run until you can’t hear the noise, then keep running. ”
I stumble to my feet, brain not really believing my body, and make it to the door. I look back, just for a second. His eyes meet mine, and for just a moment, he’s the same old Zane, the one who made me laugh, and he gives me a smile.
“Hey Callie,” he says, voice breaking. “Don’t fuck up, make it count.”
I nod, another sob ripping through me.
I burst out the barn door and run, tripping and slipping across the pasture, too blind with tears to see straight. I crash through the fence, crawl on hands and knees through the wet grass, body screaming at me to stop, to go back, to fix it, to do something.
I get a few hundred meters before I hear it—a sound like the sky being ripped open, a thunderclap that booms through my bones. The world goes bright white, then red, then black. I hit the ground and cover my head. My ears ring so loud it’s minutes before I even realize I’m screaming.
I look up, the whole barn in flames, the roof nowhere to be seen, smoke pouring up in a sick joke of a mushroom cloud.
The heat is so intense that it’s raining ash.
I scream again, but it’s swallowed by the noise.
I can’t lift my body off the ground, I lay there, sobbing as the world changes forever.
Zane is gone.
He’s gone.
Because of me.