Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
“Are you kidding me right now?” I growl. “Since when do you all get to dictate how I handle my problems?”
“When they start to affect the rest of us. That’s when,” Calder snaps.
Fucking assholes. They can’t make me do anything. In fact, I want to do it less now that they’re demanding it of me. “You all can fuck off. I’ll do it when I’m ready.”
The look he gives me is almost amused. Almost. “You’ll do it today, or I’ll hog-tie you, throw you in the back of my truck, and drop you on her doorstep myself. And believe me, brother, I will enjoy every second of it.”
Levi snorts from the couch. “Fuck, hold on. Let me get the popcorn before you two start fighting.”
“Shut up, Levi,” I say, but there’s no heat behind it.
Sawyer finally speaks up from the end of the table, his voice measured the way it always is. “He’s right, Kade. Not about the hog-tying—although, yeah, he absolutely would—but about going. You can’t keep circling the drain.”
I want to continue arguing, to dig my heels in and tell them all to fuck off, but under the anger and the pride and the stubborn Bishop streak that Roman beat into all of us is something quieter. Something telling me that they’re right.
I think about Emma’s texts. The ones I’ve been reading and rereading like they’re going to change if I stare at them long enough. There is so much we need to discuss. I think about Roman’s voice in my head, telling me the truth about my mother like he was handing me a loaded gun. I think about Allie—and then I stop thinking about Allie because that road leads somewhere I can’t afford to go right now.
“Fine,” I say through my teeth.
Calder nods. There’s no victory in his expression, no smugness. Just the steady resolve of a man who’s been holding this family together with his bare hands since long before Roman was buried six feet under. “Glad you saw it my way.”
I stand so fast that the chair scrapes against the hardwood. “Just so you know, I’m not doing it for you. Or for her. I’m doing it because I need answers, and I’m tired of the dead man in my head being the only one who has them.”
“The only person you should do it for is you,” Calder says.
I nod and swallow, feeling vulnerable and weird because my brothers and I have never been the type to solve our problems with words and discussion. I’m tempted to tell them thanks, but I stop the words at the last second.
Without a backward glance, I walk out of the cabin and close the door behind me. The sun is high in the sky, and I pause on the porch, admiring the beauty of nature and soaking up a few rays. The ranch stretches out in every direction—land that was Roman’s and is now ours, land soaked in blood and bad memories and whatever the hell we’re supposed to build on top of the wreckage.
I pull my phone out and stare at Emma’s last message one more time.
There is so much we need to discuss.
“Yeah,” I mutter to myself and shove the phone into my pocket before I step off the porch. “I guess there is.”
Chapter 10
Kade
Idon’t go because Calder ordered me to. Well, I don’t only go because he ordered me to. There are things I need to know, and Emma is the only one who can fill in the blanks left behind by Roman’s cruel and careless reveal. The image of blood leaking from his mouth appears in my mind, and I shake my head as I hit the button to roll down the window, hoping some fresh air will clear my thoughts. It doesn’t. They just head in a darker direction.
Allie.
We haven’t spoken since the night I threatened her. Even though she left me a message, I didn’t respond. Mostly because I don’t want to fucking rehash everything. It’ll only be a matter of time before the truth of how everything went down comes out.
My father isn’t the first person I’ve had to take out, and he won’t be the last. I just know Allie will look at me differently if she—when—she learns the truth. I’m not ready to face that yet. Not her. She’s the only person in my life who has ever believed I could be someone other than Roman Bishop’s personal fuckup.
Something else hits me as I drive, squinting against the bright sunshine. What if Emma tells her? What if she already has? Too many questions and too many doubts swirl around like a whirlpool in my brain that threatens to pull me under until I drown.
I never responded to Emma’s text, so she doesn’t know I’m coming. Hopefully, the element of surprise will keep her lies and manipulations to a minimum.