Outside, I stand on the wooden sidewalk, surveying the town my family essentially owns. That’s when it hits me—a realization that’s been circling at the edge of my thoughts.
The only people safe in this town are Bishops.
Allie's words echo in my mind, mingling with something Saint said once in church about good people being too afraid to stand up to bad ones.
Being a Bishop is the greatest form of protection.
The thought settles in my mind like a seed, small but persistent. I couldn’t. That’s not a solution. That’s just another kind of prison. But as I walk back to my truck, I can’t quite shake the idea. My phone buzzes. A text from my father.
Father: Meeting moved to noon. Don’t be late.
Three hours. I have three hours to figure this out.
I pull up a group text to my brothers:
Me: Need to meet. Now. Garrison’s back lot. Come alone. Tell no one.
The response from Kade is immediate:
Kade: Old man know about this?
Me: No. And it stays that way. This is just us. Important.
Sawyer: Sounds serious. On my way.
Levi:
I wait by my truck, watching the cars as they pass down the street. Within fifteen minutes, all three of my brothers arrive. Kade pulls up first in his mud-splattered truck, followed by Sawyer in his sleek SUV, then Levi in his Jeep.
“This better be good,” Kade grumbles, joining me. “I was in the middle of something.”
Sawyer shoves his hands into the pockets of his expensive wool coat, fixing me with his penetrating stare. “What’s this about, Calder? You look like hell.”
Levi leans against his Jeep, easy and relaxed. “Mysterious meeting. I’m intrigued.”
I look at them—my brothers, my blood, the only people who might understand. “I need your help. All of you.” I wait for one of them to say something, but all they do is nod, staring back at me, waiting for me to tell them the rest. “What I’m about to tell you can never leave this parking lot. It can never get back to Dad.”
The atmosphere shifts immediately.
“We’re listening,” Sawyer says carefully.
The dam inside me breaks, and the words spill out like vomit. I explain what happened. About Martin Everett. The chase. Saint witnessing the killing. My father’s order to eliminate her. My inability to follow through. About keeping her at the cabin. About our father’s plan to frame Allie Porter. And finally, my newest plan, the only alternative I’ve got—marriage.
When I finish, the silence is deafening.
“You disobeyed a direct order from Dad?” Kade’s voice is low, dangerous. “For some preacher’s daughter?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“No, it’s really not.” Kade’s expression is thunderous. “Jesus Christ, Calder. He finds out about this, we’re all fucked.”
“Not if we make it work,” I counter. “If we sell it right.”
“And what exactly are we selling?” Sawyer asks. “This marriage scheme?”
“Yes. I want to sell it as an obsession, possession. That’s something he’ll understand. Bishop men take what they want.”
Levi, who’s been quiet, finally speaks. “Okay, this could actually work. The forbidden aspect would appeal to Dad’s sense of conquest.”
