She smiles. “It’s not exactly what I could call a secret. I mean, he doesn’t know it’s progressed, but … it’s pretty obvious.”
My cheeks burn. I shut my eyes, shaking my head as it starts to pound. “I need to lie down.”
33
SAM
“You have an opportunity to make things right. You can tell us who you were working with, and we’ll let you live with the understanding that you never set foot in this town again or come within a thousand feet of her,” Holden says calmly, stepping back from him.
I pop my knuckles, adjusting my stance as I face him. “Or I keep working on my left hook. It’s getting really fucking good. So, I’m kinda hoping you don’t sing like a bird just yet.”
My boots are set wide in the dirt of the Redfords’ barn. Stanley is shaking so bad that his teeth are chattering. His arms are pulled tight above him by my ropes. Tying the knots only made me think of Dolly and how fragile she was, coming home from the hospital, which made me think of how pissed off I was that he’d been helping someone traumatize her further, which made me think about what Cain had done—the father he met once and yet was hell-bent on avenging.
Any sympathy I felt for Stanley has long since dissolved.
Duke, Cash, and Sterling are behind me, all watching the show and adding to the threatening aura. I thought Stanley had a set of balls until he pissed himself ten minutes after I started.
“You don’t get it. He’ll kill me.” His voice is barely a whimper. “He’s already been to jail once. He doesn’t care if he goes again.”
I bend down, dropping to one knee beside him so my face is level with where he dropped down to his knees.
My voice is low. “Do you think … I won’t kill you?”
He blinks at me, his bottom lip quivering as he whimpers again, shaking his head.
I wet my lips, a smile spreading across them. “Do you think I don’t care if I go to jail? Or any of them? Hmm?”
He sucks in a ragged sob. “I just wanted to avenge my dad! My uncle told me he was murdered in cold blood and he didn’t deserve it! He didn’t deserve to die! Someone has to pay. I sent the letters, and I lied about my age, and I tricked Dolly into thinking I wanted to date her. And I was supposed to take her out to the river where Cain had been killed and make her suffer. I was supposed to do what I could until he got there to finish it.”
“Your uncle?” Cash asks, stepping forward. “Who’s your uncle?”
Stanley shakes his head.
I lunge for him, wrapping both my hands around his neck and squeezing. “Tell us now, or you die.”
“Matthews! He works here sometimes!” He gargles. “He’s a daily ranch hand.”
I loosen my grip, staring at him. “Matthews is your uncle? On Cain’s side?”
He nods, shaking his head and crying. “He was Cain’s half-brother. And he’s the only family I have. He took me in when I aged out of foster care. He bought me a truck.”
He’s crying softly now. I turn away, wiping my knuckles on my jeans. Duke is studying me, his eyes on my bloodied hand. Sterling says something to him that I can’t hear, but Duke doesn’t acknowledge it.
“Isn’t Matthews the one you fought in the ring last time?” Duke asks.
“Yeah.”
“So, he was talking about her, about Dolly.”
I look him directly in the eyes, nodding. I brace for the impact of his fist to my face, but it doesn’t come. He turns to Sterling.
“Then we’d better go find him. He’s worked here for years when we need extra help and hire day hands.”
Duke turns back to me briefly, something calculating in his blue eyes.
Someone’s phone rings. I turn toward the noise, seeing Cash answer it.
“Hey, baby.” His eyes jump to meet mine. He shakes his head. “Where are you?”
