Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84377 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84377 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“You boys might be grown.” Dad nudges the white Stetson up his angry brow. “But I’m fixing to whoop your asses. You better have a damn good reason for barging in and disobeying me.”
“We do.” Jake sets the laptop on the desk.
While it powers on, I follow Raina into the hall.
“Hold up.” Out of view of the office, I grab her elbow. “Are you in trouble?”
She yanks free and steps back, folding her arms across her chest. “Trouble with whom?”
“You tell me.” I cock my head. “You know the old man is broke, right?”
“You’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” She pivots in the direction of Dad’s bedroom and strides away. “Stay away from me.”
Well, I tried. Maybe she just has a thing for older men.
With a shudder, I return to the office and close the door behind me.
“What the fuck is this?” Dad glares at the laptop screen, his face paling from furious red to ghost white as realization dawns.
The screen angles away from me, but I hear the video snippets. Captured with hidden cameras over the past couple of years, the recordings serve as evidence against Dad’s criminal activities. His discussions about the hits on Conor and Lorne, meetings with Rogan Schroeder and other dangerous moneylenders, illegal negotiations with Sheriff Fletcher—all of it would put him away for a very long time.
“How did you get this?” Dad’s dark eyes jump between mine and Jake’s.
“You underestimate us.” Jake removes a small camera from the nearby bookcase and rips the wires free.
I’m not a tech guy. Neither is my brother. But Jake found what we needed online and wired an amateur setup. It was easy enough, seeing how Dad still looks at us like we’re kids. Like we’re naive and simple-minded with aspirations that don’t stray from herding cattle.
At least, he did. He’s not looking at us like that now.
His bulging eyes are overly bright, his hands white-knuckling the armrests. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“We know Conor and Lorne own the land.” I lower into the chair across the desk from him. “We know if they lived here, they could revoke the Power of Attorney that allows you to drill on land that isn’t yours.” I lean forward. “We know your creditors are dead, your enemies gone.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“We know it was you!” Jake slams a fist onto the desk, making Dad jump. “You hired the men who raped and brutalized Conor. You put the hit on her and Lorne.” His face twists with five years of deep-seeded pain. “How could you, Dad? They’re family! And Conor…” His hoarse voice scorches the air. “She’s my entire fucking world, and you took her from me!”
“Calm down, son.” Dad’s breathing accelerates as he discreetly reaches for the desk drawer that holds his pistol. “Just listen for a—”
“Are you going to shoot us?” I direct my eyes toward his wandering hand. “Have you fallen that far?”
“You’re my sons.” A muscle flutters across his jaw, and he abandons the drawer to stare at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I’d put a bullet in my own head before turning a gun on you.”
Maybe so, but just in case, I removed the guns from this room this morning.
“What happened to Conor…” Dad steals a glance at Jake and frowns. “It was supposed to be quick. A quick, painless death—”
Jake launches over the desk, roaring and reaching for Dad’s neck.
I catch my brother around the waist, hauling him back and manhandling him into the chair. “Keep it together.”
Bloodthirst spikes through me, too, but killing our father is a last resort. Jake and I discussed this endlessly. As much as we want him dead and as many men as we already buried, murdering the man who raised us would alter us irreparably. It would make us as fucked-up as he is.
“Look, I’m sorry about Conor and Lorne.” Dad straightens, his deep voice soothing, seemingly trying to temper the confrontation. “I made some bad decisions that put everyone in jeopardy, and in the end, it came down to your lives or the Cassidys. I didn’t have a choice. I would do anything to protect you.”
Eliminating Conor and Lorne may have appeased his enemies and kept them from hurting Jake and me, but it was never a solution. If the old man doesn’t see that now, he never will.
“They’re our closest friends.” I meet his eyes. “Closer than blood. You had no right.”
“Do you know that Dalton beat her in Chicago?” Jake stares at his lap, his hands clenching. “He took out his anger on her for two years.”
Dad’s lips thin, and his head makes a slight shake. “I’m sorry, son.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re sorry. I don’t want to hear it.” Jake rises from the chair and paces beside me. “You should’ve told us about the trouble you were in. We could’ve worked through it together.” His voice explodes. “Before you tried to kill my girl!”