Page 16 of The Wrangler

Jesse leaned in, voice dangerously low. “You do what I say when I say it.”

Keely’s breath caught. Because there was no mistaking the undercurrent in his voice. The unspoken warning. The promise. Jesse wasn’t just talking about the job. She’d seen him in full Dom mode, and it was pretty impressive.

For the first time in her entire life, Keely wasn’t sure she wanted to fight him on it.

God help her.

6

JESSE

Jesse tossed the bag of uncut diamonds onto Reed’s desk, the dull clink of stones against each other punctuating the silence in the Silver Spur office.

Reed barely looked at them before pinning Jesse with a sharp glare. “And you’re taking her where?”

Jesse crossed his arms, unmoved by the challenge in his best friend’s voice. “My place. No one knows about it except the team. It’s safe.”

Reed’s expression didn’t shift, but Jesse caught the barely perceptible flex in his jaw. The protective older brother routine was understandable, but right now, Jesse didn’t give a damn if Reed liked the arrangement or not.

“Jesse...”

“She stays with me,” Jesse interrupted, voice hard. “No argument. No debate. I don’t want to risk moving her to a safehouse they might know about, and she certainly can’t stay here or the club—as they already know about both places.”

Reed rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re really pulling the ‘I got this’ card?”

Jesse held his ground. “Yes, because I do have it.”

Reed stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding. “Fine. But if anything happens to her, I don’t care how long we’ve been friends—I’ll kill you myself.”

Jesse didn’t flinch. “You won’t have to. If anything happens to Keely, I’ll already be dead.”

He turned slowly, picking up Keely’s suitcase, already packed with whatever essentials she’d thrown together in the chaos. She didn’t argue when he told her they were leaving, which—if Jesse had to guess—meant she wasn’t as unaffected by the threat as she wanted to pretend.

Good. She needed to take this seriously. Because whoever wanted that suitcase back wasn’t finished with her.

Jesse pulled off the main highway, steering his truck onto the dirt road that wound down to his home just outside the city on a few acres. Keely sat in the passenger seat, legs crossed, eyes on the rolling hills outside her window, the glow of the setting sun casting the landscape in gold and amber.

“This is yours?” she asked, voice softer than usual.

Jesse nodded. “Yes. I don’t enjoy living in town. I like to have some space around me.”

It wasn’t much—just land, space, and quiet, but it had been his since he’d left the Navy and returned to San Antonio. The house, a sturdy old farmhouse with a wraparound porch, stood at the end of the road, isolated, untouchable, safe.

That’s what mattered.

Keely let out a breath. “I didn’t know you lived out here. Somehow, I thought maybe you had a place along the river walk.”

Jesse slanted his eyes at her. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, darlin’.”

She met his gaze with something unreadable, and for once, she didn’t fire back with one of her usual smart-ass remarks.

He pulled up to the house, killed the engine, and grabbed both of their bags out of the back before opening her door for her. Keely followed him up the porch steps, her movements graceful despite the long day, despite the shitstorm she’d walked into.

“You coming inside?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Why? Are you going to make me taco pizza? Or maybe I’ll just sleep in the pickup's bed.”

Jesse ignored her sarcasm and pushed open the front door, guiding her inside.

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