Trace pulled her into a hard, fast hug, took the warmers, and pressed his face to the wool scarf. He breathed in Kip’s scent, still clinging to it. “I’ve got her, Kenz. Do as Boone says and lock every door. Ruby, keep a loaded rifle close and don’t be afraid to use it if you need to.”
He tucked the cedar box with Kip’s promise pebble into his coat pocket, right next to the velvet ring box. Two promises pressed against his heart—promises he meant to keep. Now and forever.
CHAPTER 24
Kip cracked open her eyes to darkness and a pounding in her skull that made her teeth ache. A swirling sea of white filled the dark, like tiny piranha snowflakes trying to eat through the truck to get to her.
The world rocked beneath her, jolting every few seconds, and cold seeped through her jeans where her legs pressed against the door. A fierce wind howled outside, loud enough to shake the windows. Terror hit her first, raw and all-consuming. The storm. The snowstorm she’d watched build all day. The one that turned the ranch into a white death trap… at least, for her it seemed. She tried to sit up, but pain stabbed her temple, sharp and hot. Her hand flew to the spot, fingers coming away red.
Trace’s truck. She had to be in Trace’s truck, right? He must have come back from town, found her napping, and decided to take her somewhere safe from the blizzard. But the cab smelled wrong, like stale beer and old cigarettes. She knew, because that was the smell that clung to her clothes after waiting tables at the Broken Bridle. Yuck! Trace’s truck always smelled like leather and pine and him.
She turned her head, taking it slow because her vision was swimming. Silas Holt sat rigid in the driver’s seat with a death grip on the wheel. His eyes were locked on the whiteout ahead, as if he could see where they were going. He had his jaw clenched tight, but he appeared to be muttering to himself. She had no idea what he was saying, and she didn’t want to know.
Fear kept her from rubbing her throbbing temple. She wished she could remember why she’d gotten in Silas’s truck.
Then everything that had happened crashed back over her—stringing popcorn in the kitchen, the knock at the door, Silas with the present, walking out with him to his truck, his fist smashing into the side of her head. Instinct and panic took over as she bolted upright, her hand scrambling for the door handle. “Stop the truck. Let me out.”
Silas didn’t look at her. “Sit your ass down and shut the fuck up.”
Her heart hammered so hard she felt it in her throat. The dashboard clock glowed five twelve in the afternoon, but with how dark it was, it could have been midnight. How long had she been out? Were they still on the ranch? It was difficult to see through the whirling snow, but they were cutting through a sea of white, making it impossible to even tell what direction they were headed. One thing she was sure of, the lodge was far behind them, lost in the snow. No one had heard her scream. They probably didn’t even realize she was missing. Trace was still in town, coming home only to find she was gone.
Her fingers dove into her pocket for her promise pebble. If she’d ever needed it more, she couldn’t remember. Fear clawed too close, making it hard to breathe. She swiped her fingers back and forth but felt nothing. Her pocket was empty. She patted the other one, panic rising. It was gone. She must have dropped it when Silas hit her.
So, once again, she was fighting alone. She swallowed back asob that threatened to escape. She had no pebble. No Trace. Just Silas, the storm, and the hammering pain in her head.
“Why?” She wanted the word to sound like a demand, but it came out more as a plea. “Why would you take me?”
Silas finally glanced at her, and she wished he hadn’t. His eyes were cold and flat, like the eyes of a shark. Why had she never noticed his eyes before? “Because you are a pathetic whore. You’re just one more in a long line of women I know personally who aren’t worth the air they breathe.”
She pressed herself back against the door. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re all the same. A man works his ass off, and it’s never enough. You have to cut us down every chance you get.”
“I never… not all women are like that.” This man was bat poop crazy.
“The fuck you aren’t. You want me to list the women I know personally who are conniving bitches? Fine, let’s start with my mother. She left my dad and me when I was eight. Packed her bags one night and walked out. Didn’t even leave a note. But we knew. She thought she was better. Better than her own son. Better than the man who worked twelve hours a day to keep food on the table. So what if he gambled some of it away? She ruined him. He drank himself to death by the time I was twelve.”
Kip’s mouth went dry. “I’m sorry. But that wasn’t me.”
Silas barked out a bitter laugh. “No. You came later. After a string of girls in high school. Leading a man on with how they dress and talk, only to get upset when someone takes ‘em up on it. Like it’s his fault. And you came after that woman back east. She was good at hiding who she really was, too. I met her at a bar in Cheyenne. She led me on for weeks. Smiles, touches, promises. Me paying for date after date after date. When I finally tried to get a little something for myself, she cries rape. Cried to the cops, criedto the judge. I did two years for that lie. Two years because she couldn’t admit she wanted it.”
Kip’s stomach twisted. “That’s not?—”
“And then you.” Silas’s voice dropped lower. “Princess Privilege, born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Thought you could get even more by marrying some poor sot for his money. Lonzo Rios. Rich boy with Daddy’s fortune. You wed him, bed him, then killed him off as soon as the ink was dry on the marriage certificate. Thought no one would notice? Thought you could play innocent?”
What? She stared at him. “Lonzo wasn’t rich. That was his father’s money. Lonzo worked for him. We eloped because we loved each other. I didn’t kill him. It was an accident. I would never have hurt him on purpose. The car?—”
“Accident.” Silas spat the word. “You think I’m stupid? Lonzo had his own holdings. Properties. Accounts. Investments. Hundreds of millions. All in his name. You married him for it. You killed him to keep it. You ruined his family. Ruined everything.”
Kip shook her head, flaring the pain in her head higher. “No. That’s just… no! If he had that kind of money, he never told me. How would I know if he never told me? We lived in college dorms. Our cars were old. The apartment we were supposed to move into was tiny. I shopped at thrift stores. If he had money, he never showed it. I lovedhim. I did not kill him.”
Silas’s laugh came again, this time ugly. “Loved him. Sure you did. Like my mother loved my dad. Like that woman in Cheyenne loved me. Lies. All of you bitches lie.”
She tried to steady her breathing, but her thundering heart made it hard. The truck bounced over something and jarred her head. “I’m not lying. Yes, Lonzo died in a crash. And yes, I was driving. It was my fault for not seeing the car coming, but I looked. I didn’t mean?—”
“Shut up.” Silas’s hand left the wheel. She flinched away, leaving him to backhand the air in front of her. “You think I’m gonnabelieve you when you ruined my life too? Keeping me from the foreman job at the Three Eagles. Jack Clark promised that job to me. I put in six years of hard work. Then you show up, batting your eyes at the old man, spilling coffee to ruin our meeting. Then bam!” He slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Suddenly, I’m out. Passed over for some fuckin’ kid from Texas. So don’t try to tell me you don’t deserve to die. You do. And I’m gonna make sure it’s slow, cold, and alone.”
Kip’s fingers dug into her pocket once more, searching for the pebble she already knew wasn’t there. The empty space felt like a hole in her chest. She needed it. Needed the smooth stone to rub, to ground her, to remind her Trace was coming. But it was gone. Lost somewhere in the snow.
