“Edge—”
I took her hand instead of touching her arm again. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“You said you had to find Decker.”
“It can wait.” I realized that I’d ridden here with Decker, and the truck was back at the house. “On second thought, stay right here.”
“I have work to do, Edge. We have to get ready for lunch.”
“Not today, you won’t be.”
She put her hands on her hips. “What did you say?”
I stalked back over and got in her face. “I said, you won’t be working today.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“I’m the fucking man you’re lying to, and we’re getting to the bottom of why.”
“You’re making way too much of a couple of plates.”
“Am I? Are you absolutely certain of that, Rebel? Tell me this, if you or someone else gets hurt because you aren’t willing to tell me what really happened, will I still be making too much of it?”
She didn’t answer. Didn’t so much as move her head.
“Wait here. Do…not…move.”
I flexed my hand as I walked away. The damn thing had been spasming the whole time I talked to Rebel, only serving to make me angrier. If she was in danger, if someone on the ranch had the ability to get to her, my bloody hand had to work. I had to be able to fire my fucking gun.
I couldn’t find Decker, so I rang him. “Where are you?”
“Office.”
“Have you figured out who it was?”
“Yep. I’m scanning the rest of the feeds for him now. My fear is he’s already left the property.”
“And if he hasn’t?”
“I’m putting the entire ranch on high alert. Full throttle protocol.”
“I’m taking Rebel back to the house. I need your truck.”
“Go ahead. I’ll let you know when I find the sonuvabitch.”
When I got back to the kitchen, Rebel wasn’t where I’d told her to wait. I pulled out my mobile and opened the tracking app. She was almost back to the house, and that meant there would be hell to pay.
19
Rebel
As I walked into the bedroom, I felt a tear slide down my cheek and cursed my damn self-pity. I threw myself on the bed and pounded my fists into the pillow, hating how powerless I felt.
The whole way back to the house, I went back and forth. Edge knew I was lying to him, but the guy who was sent to threaten me had made it perfectly clear that Tee-Tee would be the one in danger if I divulged what he’d said.
So what the fuck was I supposed to do? I rolled to my back and stared up at the ceiling. What had the guy said that was any different from what I already knew? I’d been arrested for murdering Possum. Wasn’t that me paying? And if I somehow got exonerated, wouldn’t that mean Edge or someone else had found the real killer? In which case, wouldn’t that person pay? How the fuck was I supposed to call “my dogs” and lawyer off if I couldn’t tell anyone what he’d said?
I wished instead of trying to walk away, I’d kicked the fucker in the balls. Done something. At least then I’d feel more like myself.