Page 109 of Samuel

“There was a note left for you on her desk, Sam.”

“From Evie?” he asked.

“No.”

Hank handed the piece of paper to Sam, as bile forced its way into his mouth.

Taking Evie for a little stroll on my property. I have a few documents for you to sign, and then you can have her back. Be sure to come alone, Samuel. I’d hate for a crowd to scare my herdand have her get hurt.

“It’s Garrett. He has her at his ranch.”

“Remember the plan, Sam. You keep him calm and do whatever he asks so we can find Evie. Anything you sign will not hold up in court.”

Hank’s voice came over the tiny earpiece Sam had agreed to wear. Nearly half the on-duty deputies were called to Red River Ranch to help execute the plan, but Sam’s stomach still churned with uncertainty. It had taken too long to get a plan in place. Too long waiting for all the law enforcement pieces of the puzzle to come together. Garrett could have done anything to Evie in that time. Fuck. He didn’t care if Garrett ended up with the ranch. All he wanted was to have Evie and Jellybean back in his arms. Safe and sound.

Sam didn’t bother knocking at the front door. The asshole was expecting him, why bother with formalities. His footsteps echoed across the expansive foyer. He’d come to Garrett’s ranch a few times as a child, but could barely remember the layout of things. That didn’t matter in the end, because Garrett stepped out from a room to Sam’s right, a falsely bright smile painted on his face.

“Samuel. How nice of you to finally visit. Although, I am surprised that you showed up on your own. You’re making me believe in love again.”

“Those were the terms you set.” His fists clenched together by his side. “I want to know what the fuck you’ve done with Evie. Right now.”

“She’s perfectly fine. At least, she was when I stashed her away. Don’t worry. I know how brutally hot this Texas heat can be. I left her with a bottle of water. Although, that washours ago now. You certainly did take your sweet time realizing she was gone.”

“She’s outside? You fucking prick!” Sam charged towards Garrett, but the asshole just held up his hand and laughed before turning back into the room he’d just walked out from. Sam followed, biting the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood.

“There’s plenty of time for checking on her once I have what I want.”

“And what is that?” Sam ground his molars together so hard he thought he might break his teeth. “Why they hell did you take Evie from the ranch?”

Garrett opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a pile of papers.

“You have to understand, Sam, the Red River Ranch is mine. Whatever happens to Evie, if anything even happens at all, it is because of you and your father. I tried to get him to listen to reason. You were never supposed to inherit the land.”

“It’s been in my family for over a hundred years. Just because he asked you to come on as a silent partner doesn’t mean he meant for you to get it when he died. You’re delusional.”

“It’s what your father and I agreed upon when I invested and became a partner, son.”

“Don’t fucking call me son. Get to the fucking point so I can get to Evie.”

“I’m sure she’s having a lovely time with the herd.”

His head pounded. She was out in a fucking field? With cattle? The edges of his vision darkened. Christ, he was going to pass out.

“We heard, Sam. Keep him talking. I’ve got a deputy leading a team onto his property now.”

“Your dad went behind my back and changed his will just a few months before his death. If I had known, I never wouldhave drugged him until I got him to reverse his asinine attempt at keeping the ranch in your family’s hands.”

“You drugged him?”

Garrett shrugged. “I didn’t mean to kill him, if that helps. Poor bastard had a bad heart. Your mother tried for months before his death to get him to take time off, see an actual doctor. But he didn’t listen. I only meant to put him on the sidelines, to get the health clause in our business agreement enacted, but… well, you know how that story ends.”

His father might have been on his way to heart failure, but the heart attack that killed him wasn’t just nature taking its course. Garrett killed him.

“He died in front of me!” he spat.

“Yeah. I know he did.” Garrett had lost his mind. That was the only explanation. What the hell was he supposed to do, stuck in a room with the man who just so casually announced he was responsible for the worst day in Sam’s life. Everything that happened, everything he’d had to sacrifice since, was Garrett’s fault. Sam hadn’t been able to prove a single thing against him, and now Evie and the baby were in danger. “Why don’t you sign these documents, Sam. There’s plenty of time to talk about what it all means after.”

“You’re not an idiot, Garrett. You know this won’t hold up in court.”

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