Page 64 of The Last Dance You Saved
Lauren put a shaky hand to her forehead, the fake bravado she’d put on in front of Puzo had disappeared.
As much as I loathed being the one to bring more anguish, more concerns to her life, I had to make her see the truth, if only to keep her and Fallon safe. So, I gentled my voice as much as I could and said, “If Adam owes Puzo money, it could explain what’s happening.”
Her eyes jerked up to mine. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“The rattler left in my bed, the person in your room last night, even the way the ranch is failing. They could all be warnings from Puzo.”
She shook her head. “N-no. The ranch has been struggling ever since Spencer took the loan out to give you your money.” Her face hardened. “Adam is right, Rafe. We don’t need you getting involved now. You’ve done enough already.”
She hurried after her brother, a wisp of the person she used to be. And for the first time, I wondered how long she’d been this way. Had she been fading away even before Spencer had died, or had his death truly triggered her slow dissolve?
Sadie was right. My hands were so completely and utterly tied. I had to let Puzo remain at the ranch this weekend, and it made me want to hit something until my knuckles were bloody and raw, until my outside matched the feeling inside my chest.
There issomethingyou can do, the devil reminded me. And there was. I could look into the ranch’s accounts. I could do what Spence had asked of me in that last voicemail. I could bury my pride once and for all and help my family.
The timing of Spence’s call, as much as the location of his accident, should have made me question his death sooner. Maybe I’d been too shocked to process it, or maybe I’d just gotten so good at putting up walls between my brother and me that I hadn’t wanted to let them down enough to see the truth. If Fallon hadn’t flown the Cessna to Las Vegas, I wasn’t sure I ever would have.
“Rafe…” Sadie’s voice was low and pained. Filled with sympathy for me. Pity I hated and was the last thing I wanted from her.
“Don’t,” I bit out. My voice was gritty and harsh, but she didn’t take offense. She just moved toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her touch, her warmth, the genuine caring in her expression almost brought me to tears.
I blinked fiercely, tugging on a lock of hair that had escaped her clip, and then told her the simple truth. “I’d like to finish what we started, Tennessee, more than I think you could possibly understand. But even more than that, I want to know you’re safe. I’d like you to get the hell out of here.”
Her chin went up automatically, and that fierce determination to stay with me, to not walk away from the battle, was almost as much of a turn-on as her siren-like eyes. When was the last time someone had stuck by me simply because it was me? I couldn’t remember. I wasn’t sure it had ever happened.
If I asked her to take my daughter, to get them both as far away as possible from Puzo and Adam and whatever ugliness had draped itself over the land, I thought she just might. But could I stand to have them out of my sight either? To have them where I couldn’t reach them?
It would be agony either way. To have them gone or to have them stay.
Wheels on the gravel drive outside had me moving away before she could respond. I opened the door and watched as a black SUV parked next to my Jaguar. The pressure in my chest eased ever so slightly when Jim Steele emerged from the driver’s seat. The passenger door opened, and Steele’s son, Parker, stepped out just as two wide-shouldered men got out of the back. Part of our security team, Noah and Barry traveled with me whenever Steele felt I needed extra coverage.
And goddamn did I need it now. Not for me, but for the people I needed to protect.
The pressure in my chest loosened even more. Not quite relief, but a feeling of being not quite so alone. With four men here to watch my back, watch my family’s, I might just be able to breathe.
“Thank the fucking stars.”
“Who are they?” Sadie asked.
“My security team.” She glanced from them to me, and I saw the tension ease from her shoulders as well. “Can I ask you to do me a favor?”
“Anything,” she said without hesitation.
“Can you stick by Fallon? Make sure she’s safe while I get them up to speed?”
“Of course,” she said. Then, she lowered her voice and said, “We still need to talk.”
We did. But I had to get Steele and my men caught up on what was happening, see what cameras we could get up quickly, and figure out how long it would take to overhaul the mansion’s antiquated alarm system no one had used in years. Then, I needed to peel back the layers on the ranch’s accounts and find out what had shaken my brother enough to ask for my help.
“We will,” I promised and meant it.
Instead of walking away as I expected, she glanced one more time at the men pulling bags and crates out of the SUV and then closed the distance between us. She cupped my face and brushed her lips against mine. The heat of her, the honeyed goodness, bled into me instantly, igniting the ever-waiting embers and sending a craving through me so strong it almost blocked out all the other bullshit.
And then, she was gone, leaving behind the smell of burnt ash in the air as if I’d been singed by a passing flame. Except, there was nothing passing about what I felt for her. I was hooked. By that mischievous smile and silky hair. By the mark of bravery on her skin. By the way she rolled up her sleeves and dug in to help without a hint of hesitation when she had zero reason to do so, other than to be kind. She’d seen me at my worst, angry and cold and selfish, and she still stood there looking like she wanted to devour me. As if she cared.
She moved farther away, walking backward so she could watch my expression as she said, “I’ve been turned on by you in more ways than I can count, but the way you love and protect the family who let you walk away without blinking…that’s sexier than hell. That kiss was to remind you that our unfinished business is about more than just talking. Do you remember what you promised me? I think you said something about begging and loss of control? I’m not leaving here until I’ve gotten what you anted up. Neither of us is folding.”
She winked and spun around, leaving me speechless.
