“Shit.” The curse slipped from Aja’s lips as she realized her carefully tied bandanna had slipped when she turned her head, exposing her very bruised neck to Seneca and Brooklyn. “I promise, it’s better than it looks.”
She fumbled with the piece of cloth, trying to ignore their reactions.
“Aja,” Brooklyn continued. She could hear the reprimand in the stern way Brooklyn spoke her name. “Your neck looks like someone tried to choke the life out of you. Now unless you’ve got an asphyxiation fetish you didn’t tell us about, you get bruises like that one way. What the hell happened? And before you come at us with that bullshit security drill nonsense the newbies threw at us two days ago, know we’re not leaving until we get the truth.”
Aja looked from one to the other, hoping she could find less scrutiny in Seneca’s eyes than Brooklyn’s. No such luck. Seneca’s critical glare collided with Aja’s, and she knew she’d have to come clean.
“An intruder came into the house night before last. He attacked me.”
“Attacked you how?”
Aja could see familiar ghosts from Brooklyn’s past coloring her question. She slid her hand across the counter and placed it atop Brooklyn’s, hoping to offer some kind of comfort to her. “He tried to choke me. I think he meant to kill me. At least that’s what it felt like. But Jackson interrupted him before he could finish the job.”
Brooklyn laced her fingers through Aja’s and squeezed. “Thank God.” Brooklyn let out a loud, ragged breath before looking at Aja again. “Why would you try to hide this from us?”
“Brooklyn—” Aja tried to interrupt her. She could see the steam building up to what would be an explosive tirade.
“Didn’t you think we’d notice?” Brooklyn continued, her pitch climbing a half note higher than her last.
“Brooklyn, please—” Aja started but was cut off again.
“Why are you so damn calm about this? Like this was some irrelevant thing that slipped your mind.”
“Brooklyn!” Aja screamed as she slammed her closed fists on the counter. She shut her eyes and counted backward from ten in her head. Allowing the silence to bleed some of her frustration out before she spoke again.
“I’m sorry,” Aja whispered. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper, and I didn’t mean to keep you out of the loop. I need to process this my own way.”
“By pretending it didn’t happen?” Seneca asked.
Aja shook her head. “No, by handling it the best way I know how.” She opened her eyes, slowly dragging her eyes up to meet theirs. “I don’t have the time or the luxury to fall apart right now, Seneca. My land, my people, and my life are being threatened. I’ll lose everything that means anything to me if I crumble now.”
Brooklyn stood quietly as she watched Aja. “Aja, you have been good to us. You gave us a place to call home when no one else would. We’re more than the people who work for you. We’re family. And when you fuck with my family, you fuck with me.”
Aja knew Brooklyn wasn’t lying. She took family seriously—all one had to do was read her rap sheet to know that was true. But it was the sullen look dripping off the usually bubbly Seneca’s face that almost broke Aja.
“I didn’t mean to hurt either of you. I simply wanted to protect you from—”
“From what?” Brooklyn barked. “From knowing you were put in danger because of us?”
“Brooklyn,” Aja countered. “This is not your fault.”
“The hell it isn’t.” Brooklyn’s chest heaved as her anger became visible in the tight lines of her face. “This is a direct result of us being here. If you weren’t trying to help us, this wouldn’t have happened. We’re not worth all this trouble.”
The slight tremble in Brooklyn’s voice cut across Aja’s heart like a surgical blade. It was precise, clean, but so deep, Aja’s entire being shuddered against the pain.
Aja opened both her hands and turned them up on the counter. She waited for each of them to place a hand on top of hers, and when they did, she closed her palms, holding onto them as tightly as she could without causing them discomfort.
“The day you two came here, I promised I would allow no one to shame you because of your pasts. You’ve done the work, your debt to society is nearly paid, and I won’t allow anyone to make you feel undeserving of the benefits of your labor here. You two have earned the right to live beyond your yesterdays. You are worth more to me than anything on this ranch. I can handle what anyone has to throw at me. I chose to have you here. That’s not a decision I’ll ever regret. No matter what happens. Are we clear on that?”
The two women looked at each other and then peered at Aja, nodding slowly in unison. The pitiful looks on their faces had her heart in tatters. This was exactly what Aja had attempted to avoid.
She gave their hands one final squeeze before releasing them. “I am fine. Jackson came to my rescue. He heard the commotion and stopped the attack. The attacker got away, but he was at least able to save me from any real harm.”
“What does the sheriff have to say about all of this?”
Aja broke eye contact, circling her finger on the cool marble of the counter as she spoke. “The usual. He’ll look into it but can’t make any promises.” As the two of them took a collective breath, Aja lifted her hands in surrender. “Don’t worry about the sheriff. I’m taking precautions of my own. The security company will secure the ranch. It’ll be harder to get in here than Fort Knox. Get back to work. Everything will be fine. Trust me.”
She put on her finest smile, reassuring them as best she could. When they finally relented and headed for the door, she let a long sigh spill past her lips. If only she could believe the guarantees she’d given them, Aja’s day would be made.
