Page 112 of Dirty Cowboy

“Tristan, stop!” Emma’s voice is sharp and desperate, but her brother doesn’t let go.

His forearm slams against my throat, pinning me to the wall. My lungs seize. “Caroline told us everything,” he snarls, his breath hot with fury. “She told us how you used Emma to save your pathetic ranch. About your little arrangement.”

My blood turns to ice.How the fuck does Caroline know?

“It’s not what you think.”

Julian steps through the doorway, his expression colder than a goddamn graveyard. “Not what we think?” His voice is a blade slicing through the room. “We trusted you to keep her safe. You were only supposed to be a distraction while Dad was dying. Instead, you brought her here, away from our father, just so you could use her for your grandfather’s money?”

The color drains from Emma’s face. “What?”

My stomach lurches. “Emma?—”

Julian slams his arm harder against my throat, cutting me off.

“Dad’s in the ICU,” Tristan says, his focus locked on Emma. “Has been for days. But you wouldn’t know that, would you? Because this piece of shit kept you here, feeding you lies about Huntz.”

Emma stumbles back, her breath coming in quick, panicked gasps. “No,” she whispers, shaking her head. She turns to me, searching for something—anything—in my face. “Tell me it’s not true.”

I open my mouth, desperate to explain, but Julian’s fist crashes into my ribs. Pain detonates through my chest, knocking the breath from my lungs.

“You were supposed to look after her,” Julian seethes. “Not seduce her. Not trap her here.”

Emma’s voice is barely a whisper. “Look after me?”

Julian lets go of me with a shove, and I suck in a breath, my ribs screaming in protest.

“Your brothers wanted to protect you,” I rasp, shame burning through me like acid. “They asked me to bring you here. To keep you occupied. But then I needed the engagement to save the ranch?—”

Emma’s breath hitches. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears. “You kept me from my father on purpose?”

I push forward, reaching for her. “I was trying to protect you?—”

“Protect her?” Tristan barks out a laugh, bitter and sharp. “You brought her to Lords Valley to save your precious fucking ranch.”

“Sending her here was your fucking idea. Not mine,” I grunt, pointing my finger into Tristan’s chest. Blood surges through my body.

Emma flinches, like the words slap her harder than Julian’s punch. “You knew they were sending me here to keep me away from my father?” She chokes out the words. “Why would you agree to do that?”

“They asked me to do them a favor.” The words taste bitter on my tongue. “I didn’t want to lie but?—”

“—but you were willing to do it to get me here.”

I shake my head, my pulse hammering in my ears. “No. Emma, we should?—”

But Julian doesn’t let me finish. His fist slams into my mouth this time, and blood fills my mouth again, the coppery taste coating my tongue.

“Enough!” Emma screams. “All of you, just stop!”

We all freeze. She stands there, trembling, her hands balled into fists, her cheeks streaked with silent tears. And it absolutely guts me.

I take a step toward her, but her brothers block my path.

“Emma, please,” I beg, reaching for her.

She jerks away like I’ve burned her. Her blue eyes, so full of warmth just hours ago, are now cold, sparking with anger.

“Don’t touch me.” Her voice is ice. “You know, I’ve come to expect my brothers to treat me like a child, but you?” She looks at each of her brothers and shakes her head. She looks at me again. “You knew how much I wanted to see my father…”

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