Page 13 of Swallow Your Fear
Her jaw was clenched, her gaze unwavering as she leveled me. I’d let her be determined, let her think she had an inkling of control here, but I was in charge, and she’d listen.
A throat cleared behind me, and Henley, the blabbermouth that he was, said, “I lost the deed to the ranch in a bet with your ex.”
I bit my bottom lip so hard, I swore my teeth almost cut it clean off. Brynne fucking smiled at me, then squeezed out from between my body and the wall, walking over to the boys.
“Thanks so much, Hen,” she said, her voice all sweet and seductive.
Fuck her, and fuck Henley.
She leaned her elbows on the island, opposite Henley and Austin, popping her ass out. My eyes betrayed me, sticking to her plump ass like glue.
“So, you’re going to what? Lose the ranch?” she asked, pressing her arms together the slightest bit to put her cleavage on display. She knew exactly what the fuck she was doing.
Henley nodded as Austin looked to me for help.Henley couldn’t give a fuck less about the consequences, but Austin was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
She chewed on her lip, thinking. “And you want me to lure him here to what…? Get it back?”
Henley shrugged. “Or kill him.”
Austin pasted on a large, fake smile as he set a hand on Henley’s shoulder. “You see, Henley here is a little imaginative. What he means is to scare him a bit.”
Henley’s mouth pulled to one side as he thought of that as an option, as if it wasn’t before. “Yeah, or kill him. Whatever it comes down to.”
He was fucking admitting that he wanted to murder someone right in front of a woman who could easily go report him, and then we’d all be screwed.
“Henley,” I barked, approaching the island. “Shut your mouth.”
Brynne’s brows rose, as if my words really shocked her. We both knew they didn’t. “Still mad at him, Nightmare?”
The way she used the nickname, that I’d intended as a joke, pissed me off. “Henley’s fine. It’s you I can’t stand.”
She straightened, popping her chest out the slightest bit. “Is that so?”
I gave her a bored stare. “Yep.”
“Then why invite me into your home?”
“I’ve already told you?—”
She cut me off. “There’s other ways to get the deed from him.”
I stepped a foot closer to her. “Maybe I just wanted to have some fun in the meantime.”
She glared at me, then looked back to Austin and Henley. “What’s the plan?”
Austin and Henley exchanged looks, then turned to me. “You lure him here,” I answered.
“He’ll think it’s a setup,” she replied, not facing me. “There’s no reason I’d be on a ranch in the middle of nowhere.”
Austin shoved his plate forward so he could fold his hands together on the granite. “So we give him a few days to forget.”
Brynne arched a brow. “How are you so sure he’ll forget about the ranch that easily? I’m sure he’s eager to turn in the papers and take over ownership.”
“I’ve done business with him before,” Henley said. “He’s lazy and has to report all his earnings to his boss. I’m sure he’s not too eager to do that so quickly, so if I had to guess, he’ll hold on to it for a while.”
Brynne’s cheek moved as she presumably chewed on it in thought. “Okay. We wait a week, lure him here, then I’m free to go?”
I nodded. “You’ll be free to do whatever the fuck you want after.”
