Page 20 of Live for Me

“He won’t get here in time,” I argued, shaking my head. “We have to get the body out of here now. Leaving it would do me no good.”

“Why is that?” Mason asked, stepping forward, studying the body.

“Because I knocked the shit out of Billy before coming back here to save Abbie.” Mason’s gray eyes flicked up to mine, flashing with anger. “He made a comment. He knew where I was going, and he was trying to stall.”

“Because of the job?” Mason guessed, knowing the history of Billy and his son.

I grunted, confirming.

“Blame it on me.”

I whirled on Abbie, her suggestion stabbing me in the chest like a hot poker. “Absolutely not,” I growled.

“This is all my fault,” she blubbered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“None of this is your fault,” I said firmly, grabbing her shoulders. “We’re going to take care of the body, and then you’re coming back to Hallow Ranch. With me.”

“I—I need to go back to my mom’s,” she stammered.

Before I knew what I was thinking, I yanked her to my chest and slammed my mouth onto hers.

Our first kiss was short, rough, and possessive. It was everything I’d dreamed of.

When I pulled away, her eyes were wide with shock. “Beau—”

“—there’s no time, Abbie,” I murmured, stroking her jaw with my knuckle. “We’ll talk later.”

“You—you just killed a man and kissed me,” she breathed, grabbing the sides of my shirt, holding me in place.

I tilted my head to the side, my brows coming together in confusion. “I’ve been in love with you since the fifth fucking grade, Abbie. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,” I told her, finally confessing my feelings after years of friendship.

“Would you two kindly hurry the hell up?” Mason snapped from behind us.

I broke away from her then and helped Mason with the body. Thankfully, everyone had been distracted by the rodeo, and no one could hear us moving a body over the roar of the crowd.

Within minutes, we had the body in the back of Mason’s truck, underneath a tarp, and I was on the phone with Pop.

Within an hour, I was holding Abbie’s hand as we stood in front of the flames, the smell of death rising around us.

By midnight, the ashes of the man who touched my wildflower had been spread over John Langston’s mountain, and no one, not even Mason and I, spoke of that night.

It was a secret between the four of us; Pop, me, Mase, and Abbie.

Not even Denver knew I’d killed my first man at the ripe age of seventeen.

Chapter Five

Abbie

Present Day. Denver, CO.

“Abbie, listen to me,” Dave said, sitting in front of me, putting his warm hands on my shoulders.

I shook my head. “I don’t have the time for this. I have a—”

“—a deadline?” my best friend quipped. “That’s old news, Abbie. You are always on a fucking deadline. There is always something on your to do list. You don’t get to use that excuse anymore.” His grip tightened slightly, squeezing in a loving way. “You need to call the police.”

If I had the energy to roll my eyes into the back of my head, I would. However, today was a big day, and I didn’t have the time. It had been two weeks since my stalker broke into my home and I’d just gotten back from Chicago for a story. I hadn’t even been in the house for two minutes before Dave laid into me.

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