Page 202 of Ride the Sky

My gaze slides to the work bench along one of the walls. On top of the bench are vials filled with white powder. Strange veterinarian supplies. Resting beside the bench is my cane.

“That long.” Tripp hands me a bottle of water. I uncap it, needing it for my raw throat, for something for my shaking hands to do. “I love you, Fallon. I do. I’ve loved you all these years. Watching. Waiting my turn. But others had you first.

“It was just never the right time. You were always working. And then there was Aiden. But when you started riding bulls, I saw my shot.”

I gulp the water then ask, “What shot was that?”

“To be there for you. To help you.” Tripp’s expression turns dazed, dreamy. “You were up on that bull, and I knew you were riding for me. Everything you did in the rodeo, it was for me. You made me feel like I was right beside you. Only I needed something to make us closer. Something that could never tear us apart.”

Tripp’s face twists. “I already knew what Pappy had planned. I heard him talking one night. The fucking idiot. So I took my chance.” He shakes his head. “The plan was to help you, not hurt you.” He presses a hand to his chest. “I was going to take care of you and get you back on your feet. And then I knew you’d see that it was me. It was our turn to be together.”

His words sink in slowly.

That day I rode Goliath Jim comes back to me with extra clarity.

The dizziness in my head.

The ground rushing up to meet me.

Minutes earlier, Tripp offering me that bottle of water.

“You’re the one who hurt me,” I say slowly. I look down at the water bottle in my trembling hand.

Fuck.

Water. The nightmares. The man in my dreams. They were all telling me something. That Tripp Hendrix is a delusional fucking monster.

My eyes widen. Hatred and anger are like a blade in my chest. “It wasn’t Pappy who drugged my drink. It was you. You—you put something in my water the day of the ride.”

I glance over at Wyatt. Eyes wild, he’s pale and shaking.

“I—” I touch my temple.

Wyatt goes terrifyingly still like he already knows what’s happened.

Tripp grins. “Something wrong?”

I try to focus. Black spots dance in my vision. But I manage to gasp out, “You…asshole…”

The water bottle falls from my hands. It clatters on the cement floor. I try to back up, back away from Tripp, but I stumble.

Tripp takes me in his arms. His clammy hand palms the small of my back. “I got you.”

“Oh, Jesus, no,” I moan softly. My brain turns to fog, dizziness like that day in the ring.

Wyatt explodes, thrashing at his cage like a feral animal. “Get the fuck away from her!” His scream’s guttural, anguished. He can’t get to me. It’s killing him. “You’re dead! You’re in the fucking ground!”

Fierce and explosive rage rises in me. I hate him so much. “You’re as bad as Aiden,” I whisper, trying to hang on to the last bits of consciousness.

“No.” Tripp yanks me closer to him. Bares his teeth, finally showing me the monster inside him. “Aiden didn’t know what he had. I do.”

A wave of dizziness hits me. My head falls to the side, my eyes catching Wyatt’s before I pass out.

Iwatch in horror as Fallon’s fierce hazel eyes fade and lose focus. Watch as her beautiful face goes blank as Tripp cradles her in his arms. She sags against his chest, a muffled whimper parting her lips, and then goes still.

“NO!” I lunge for her, the chains rattling as I grip the wire of the cell. Fear has me by the throat, so tight I can barely breathe. “FALLON!”

“Shhh,” Tripp soothes, kneeling to rest Fallon on the cold floor. Her head lolls to one side, her eyes now closed. “I’ll take care of you.” He looks enraptured as he scans his gaze over Fallon, grunting with pleasure.

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