Page 25 of Wait in the Truck
“This was when?”
“When I went to clean up the mess. I fuckin’ took care of business. Thorough is my middle name. I made it look like he took off. That goddamn bag we buried with him was for his trip to hell, Rhett. You were there when we got rid of all the evidence. Anyway, my point being Toby didnotapologize and didnottell her he was going to fix things. I did what I thought was necessary and made Sage believe he’d taken off so she has closure and can move on. I needed to make sure no one would look for him.”
“Okay.” Rhett exhales harshly. “I guess I should have known better?—”
“Damn right.” I wet my lips. “Well, let’s get it all out in the open, then. What was the other thing you wanted to talk about? You said there were two.”Can’t imagine what the hell else has got his panties in a twist.
“This also came out of the conversation with Sage I had earlier today.” He grips the porch railing, looking away from me. “I think you’re scaring the shit out of her.”
My brows dart together, a hard line creasing myforehead. I’ve never taken my brother for an idiot, but I might have to start. “The fuck?” I mumble, wondering where this is coming from.
He shakes his head, letting out a heavy sigh as he stares at me like I’ve gone batshit crazy, which maybe I have, but it’s only because the memory of Sage’s huddled form in the alley haunts me day and night.
I release an exasperated sigh. “How am I scaring her?”
Rhett rakes a hand through his wavy hair as he stares pointedly into my dark eyes with his slightly lighter ones. “She feels like she’s being watched. Gave some examples of when she felt eyes on her—like mucking out the stalls and tilling the garden. You need to cut that shit out.”
My skin prickles.Nope. Not me.My eyes narrow on him. “Did she say anything more than that?” I work my jaw to the side, contemplating what I’ll do when I find out who’s messing with what’smine. “I’m pretty fucking careful. She doesn’t know I’m there when I am.”Hell, she’s usually sound asleep. Like in the barn loft.
“She said it’s happening more frequently. Just a weird feeling she has. I couldn’t tell if she thought it was Toby or someone else. Of course, she has no idea it can’t be him. It could only really be…you.” He stares grimly at me, crossing his arms over his chest. “Our families might have a past, but I like the girl, Kade. She wants to run that ranch someday. Did you know that? Going to take business classes so she’s ready when the time comes. If you’re gonnafuck around with her, maybe you shouldn’t also put the fear in her eyes that I saw earlier today. She was trying to hide it, but I saw it all the same.”
“Rhett. I haven’t been near her during the day. I’m telling you right now, neither of those instances were me.”
He snorts. “Liar. If our group text held even a nugget of the truth, you were getting very familiar with her just a few days ago.”
My jaw locks up, and it’s all I can do to breathe now that I’m aware Sage has a stalker who isn’t me. “Check your amusement for a sec. Think about when she’s telling you she feels uncomfortable. I’m not fucking available during the day for it to have been me. I’m off in the fields with the cattle or tending to business in the office. There’s hardly enough time during the day to get everything done. We’re going from sunup to sundown. I generally feel the need to see her at night, the exception being when I realized she was down by the river that one day. Even then, she never saw me—until I meant for her to see me.”
Rhett grasps the back of his neck, and he draws in a deep breath that he holds, his jaw twitching as he thinks. “You’re making me more nervous than if you said it was you.”
“Yeah, well, if I don’t want her to know I’m there, I make damn sure there’s no way she’ll spot me.” I pause, watching the blood drain from his face, then nod, raising my brows, waiting for it to fully sink into his head thatwhoever is setting off Sage’s internal alarms sure as fuck isn’t me. “Have I been watching her? Sure. But it seems as though Sage has more than one pair of eyes on her. This is exactly why she needs someone to look out for her.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do by being her friend.”
Perturbed at his familiarity with her, I ask, “And why do you reckon it should be you and not me?”
“I guess I’ve gotten to know her enough that she trusts me. And… I think I might be the only friend she’s got since Noah left.”
I’d whip out my dick and mark my territory, but I don’t have time for this. If someone is stalking Sage, I need to be there to watch over her. “Contrary to what you might think, Rhett, I know her on a deeper level than you ever will. A whole nine inches deeper.” With that, I place my hat on my head, wink, and get the fuck out of Dodge.Okay, maybe I did whip my dick out after all.
KADE
16
I rollinto the gravel lot of Boozin’ Boots just as the neon signs flicker to life, casting a glow that dyes the dusk blood-orange. Eight on the dot. The number of pickups and bikes crammed between the faded lines tells me something’s got the crowd stirred up more than usual. A band, maybe, or some kind of rodeo night. I cut the engine and sit for a moment, watching through the windshield as folks shuffle in and out, laughter spilling into the night air.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, tapping a rhythmless beat on the steering wheel with my fingers. Sage doesn’t need this kind of busy tonight; not when her mind’s tangled tighter than barbed wire with everything that’s happened lately. But then again, if the bar’s jumping, maybe she’ll have less time to dwell on shit.
I push the door open and step out, letting the cool evening breeze wash over me. My boots crunch against theloose stones as I make my way across the lot. I have one goal—nothing’s gonna stop me from seeing it through. I’ll stick around until closing, shadow Sage to her truck, and keep a discreet distance behind her on the drive back.I’m not some goddamn stalker, but her silent guardian.She won’t even know I’m there unless she needs me to be.
But hell, will that even cut it? That gnawing sensation in my gut says it won’t be enough. After my conversation with Rhett, I have a feeling there’s a bigger storm brewing inside the walls of her house, and I have a feeling it’s a tempest named Daddy Dearest.How do you protect someone from their own blood?
“Can’t solve that tonight,” I remind myself, shaking off the thought as I reach the bar entrance. I’m just a man with one aim—to make damn sure Sage feels safe enough to close her eyes when she hits the sheets. Whatever comes next, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
I can’t shake the image of what I saw when I stepped into her house, unannounced. Something about it felt wrong—too thick, as if it was smothering any life inside. Her bedroom door secured by that damn chair wedged tight under the knob. A makeshift lock. It sends a chill straight up my spine. To think she sleeps in there, knowing she needs to protect herself… What kind of fear must she live with? Is that why she seeks comfort in the barn?
“Can’t do a damn thing about that either,” I mutterunder my breath as I grip the door handle, pulling with more force than necessary.
The thick, heavy door resists for a second before giving way, and it’s like stepping into another world—one drowning in noise and dim light. The music hits me first—some twangy tune about lost love and whiskey—cranked so high it vibrates through the soles of my boots. Next comes the shouting, the clinking of glasses, the kind of laughter that only comes after too many shots—the soundtrack of people trying to drown out their own lives for a few hours. And then the smell. It wraps around me, familiar and unwelcome all at once. Stale beer mixed with the sharp tang of sweat and the earthy scent of peanuts crushed underfoot. They could scrub this place top to bottom, and it’d still reek of bad decisions and lost weekends.
