Page 45 of What I Should Have Known

My heart raced in my chest, pumping blood like thunder into my ears. My elbows tingled as if electricity ripped through my body, not sure why he reacted like he had. It was just a branch breaking, and we were in the forest. But I didn’t fight it as I was cocooned within Bernie’s protective stance. The heat from his body enveloped me. As creatures of the night crawled out of their holes, Bernie didn’t move a muscle.

And then his gaze latched onto something over my shoulders.

“What’s with this sudden need to meet up?” Wyatt said. His voice was barely audible, and I clamped a hand down around the arm Bernie was using to shelter me.

It wasn’t just a sound of the forest, but Wyatt. Wyatt with another person, as he was clearly talking to someone. Bernie’s reaction and gut instinct had been right.

“Who’s with him?” I whispered.

“Three guys I’ve never seen before,” he replied under his breath without removing his gaze. He tucked tighter against me, and I could feel Muffin squirming against my belly.

“Shipment came in sooner, and if you want to keep the deal we’ve made, you’ve gotta do double this time,” someone new said.

Bernie tucked his head toward me. “Average height, skinny. Blond hair. Spider tattoo on his left wrist. ’Bout all I can make out with flashlights being the only source of light.”

I furrowed my brows. “Doesn’t sound like someone I know,” I quietly replied, and Bernie nodded quickly, then returned to staring around the tree.

“Seriously, why’d you follow me here? Someone might see you,” Wyatt continued, his voice cracking.

“We don’t fucking care who sees us. The product needs to move and now,” a second stranger said.

“This couldn’t have fucking waited until after the cattle drive,” Wyatt spat.

Bernie’s eyes twitched, his features mostly hidden beneath the night sky.

“Don’t get pissed at us when we’re just relaying a message. Or would you rather the cops get an anonymous tip?” a third stranger snarled.

“Don’t you dare.” Wyatt sighed heavily. “How long do I have?”

“Just because there’s more, doesn’t mean you get any extra time,” the first stranger added.

“And if you want payment, we expect you to follow through,” the second stranger continued.

“I’ll get it done; now fuck off!” Wyatt snapped.

“A week, Wyatt,” the first stranger emphasized.

Bernie remained pressed tightly up against me, as I watched his eyes tracking what I assumed to be the fading group. Leaves and dirt crunched beneath footsteps going in separate directions, and some mumbled cursing rose from Wyatt.

The moment silence fell around us, Bernie stood upright and dropped Muffin. “Ow,” he hissed and raised his shirt.

My eyes widened at the faint red claw marks scratched across abs I wanted to touch. Not deep enough to draw blood, but Muffin had clearly torn his shirt as he let it fall back down, and there was a mirrored image of the scratches through the ripped fabric.

Muffin aggressively chattered at him and then walked back to his legs, rubbing her body around his ankles.

“Damn you, Muffin. That hurt,” Bernie chastised quietly at his cat. But the gentle tone of his voice had me shaking my head. Only briefly did it pull me from the strange conversation we’d just overheard.

Bernie raised his gaze to meet mine. “What’s Wyatt involved in?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “What’s the other two guys look like?”

“Similar build, one with dark brown hair the other with light brown. They all had the same tattoo on their wrist. All the kind of guys who would mostly fly under the radar. So, I’m gonna ask again, what’s Wyatt messed up in?”

“I really don’t know,” I exclaimed and gestured to where Wyatt and the three guys had been. “Does it look like I am deeply involved in his life?”

“No, but he’s involved in yours.”

“What are you saying?”

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