Page 13 of Wait in the Truck
Shifting my focus from him, I survey our surroundings. There’s nothing as far as the eye can see. This spot is about as remote as it gets. No one will be coming out here anytime soon. I cut the engine, exit my truck, and wait for my brother to catch up. As I open the tailgate, my gaze narrows on the tarp-wrapped weasel. “Toby, we’ve come to the end of the road, you and I.”
Rhett pulls to a stop, dumping the calf from the bucket before he shuts off the skid steer and climbs from it. Hands on his hips, he looks around, clearly avoiding eye contact. “This is as good a place as I think we’re gonna find.”
I nod curtly, bobbing my head. “Better than the motherfucker deserves.”
Exhaling hard, he gestures to the ground in front of us. “I figure we dig down pretty deep, put him in, layer the lime, then drop the calf on top.”
“The lime’s gonna help with decomposition, and the calf carcass will disguise the human bones.” I grit my teeth.
“Agreed. Let’s fuckin’ do it.” Rhett gets back into the skid steer and begins to dig while I lean forward into the bed of the truck so I can reach Toby in his tarp. I grasp the corner of it and put my entire body into pulling his lifeless form to the edge. With one final hard yank, that useless cunt is on the ground. “Shit, Tobes. Didn’t mean to dump you on your fuckin’ head, man.” I smirk, then look up as Rhett joins me. I dig Johnson’s phone out of my pocket and toss it, letting it land in the dirt hole. Together, we roll him into his grave, bidding him one last farewell.
Was this my preferred method of disposal? No. Personally, I’d rather dismember him and turn him into pig feed. It’d make my heart happy to toss that sleazy cunt piece by piece to the hogs—I’m sure Miss Piggy and Sir Piggins would appreciate the natural, organic buffet. Unfortunately, Rhett talked me out of it, saying that burying him is a far cleaner option and less deranged. Rhett’s always playing dad, taking the fun out of everything. Eventually, because we’re overachievers, we’ll plant a protected species on top of ol’ Toby so no one will ever be able to dig him up.
I study our work. It takes a surprisingly short amountof time to make someone disappear from the face of the earth. No one’s gonna find him.
Rhett wipes the sweat from his brow with his forearm. “I don’t want another John Cena outta you for a long time, ya hear me?”
“Yeah.” I scrape my teeth over my lower lip, nodding my understanding. “I know it was a big ask. But when you get a look at Sage’s pretty face, swollen and cut up the way it is, you’ll understand why I did it. And if you look into her eyes, you’ll wish you’d done it yourself. Trust me.”
SAGE
8
Gravel crunches,and I sit straight up, blinking furiously.Where the fuck am I?Right. The hayloft. Someone’s driven onto our property and has parked in front of the house. My brow knits together as I suck in a gasp. Edging my way closer to the barn’s wall, I peek through a knothole in the wood.That’s my truck.And… that can only mean?—
It strikes me that I’ve got a potential problem brewing when I realize Kade’s arrival is what woke me up. “Shit,” I whisper to no one but the slumbering cat beside me.
Flying into action, I scramble out of the loft and down the ladder as pain radiates through my body. I ache. Memories from last night make a jumbled reappearance in my mind.Oh god, what a disaster.
Toby’s texts didn’t make me forgive or forget what he’d done. In the light of day, I wanna repay that dickhead forevery backhand and cruel word. He’s doing whatever the hell he wants, while I stay at home hiding what he did to me.Asshole.
I had every intention of picking up my truck in the next day or two. The last thing I expected was to see Kade climbing from the cab. He casually swings my bag over his shoulder as he closes the door with a quiet click. It sounds as loud as gunfire in my head. My eyes flick to the house, my stomach beginning to churn. At least he had the foresight not to slam it. Even so, if our neighbor’s arrival woke me up, it might have awakened my dad, as well. Kade’s presence didn’t matter too much last night, as Dad was out of it—like he is most nights—but now we run the risk of him losing his ever-loving mind. Rhett is the only Rivers allowed on this ranch.
Working the lock, I unchain the barn doors and slide one open, cringing at the noise it makes. “Kade!” I whisper-shout as he’s about to mount the steps to the porch. His head whips toward my voice, and I wave him to me, the entire time, watching the house for any sign of life inside.Maybe Dad’s too hungover to have heard anything at all?
As the rays of the rising sun are blocked from my view, my attention snaps to the man approaching me. He looks rugged. Six-foot-something of pure masculine energy. With a swallow, I glance down at myself, awkwardly standing in the goddamn barn, still in my pj’s. How the hell am I going to explain this? I cringe.Ignore it. Don’t bring it up andmaybe he won’t say anything. He’s a dude. Men don’t notice what women wear, do they?
Kade stops short of the doorway, cocking his head to the side. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, I lunge through the slight gap I created, grab him by the elbow and tug him into the barn with me. Making as little noise as possible, I slide the door shut, then rest my forehead against it for a second.
My heart is beating so hard, I jump when Kade murmurs behind me, “What are you doing?” I throw a hand to my chest as I spin around, stumbling. His dark brows furrow as his eyes trail leisurely over me. “Are you okay?”
I give myself an internal shake, finally gaining control of myself enough to meet his probing eyes. “I’m, uh… You really shouldn’t be here.” As I consider what else to say, I lift a hand to my forehead, rubbing at my temple.Oh my god, he’s got me stumbling over my words.The truth is his presence in my safe haven has thrown me like not much else does.
“Why not? I was here last night. What’s the difference?”
“I—” Blowing out a breath, I try again. “My dad won’t like you being here.”
“But… your dad likes you dating a guy who beats you?” Kade’s face falls, and he winces, holding up a hand before I can respond. “That was a low blow. I shouldn’t have thrown that in your face.” He removes my bag from his shoulder, offering it to me. “I figured you’d need your stuff and your truck.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I hurriedly whisper. “Rhett could have taken me into town.”
His brow raises at the mention of his brother, a sour expression sliding over his face. “Right.” He reaches up, gripping the back of his neck as he eyes me. “I was the one who suggested you leave it behind last night. Figured the least I could do was return it to you. Billy was at the bar early to accept a shipment and texted me in response to the message I sent. It was no problem, I was already running a few errands. It made sense to save you the trouble. I assumed you wouldn’t be up to gettin’ it today.”
“But you didn’t have to?—”
“Dammit, Sage. I wanted to do it for you. Can we leave it at that?” Kade growls, the deep vibration rattling me all the way to my bare toes.
The insistence in his tone and the searing-hot look he gives me leaves me a little breathless. I kinda like it. There’s a certain angst in his gruff lilt that has my heart skipping a beat.
