“He stole it?” Mavek asked, raising his eyebrows.
“No,” Cassia said quietly. “He took a job moving drugs out to Zhavek. I didn’t realize that’s what he was doing until he’d already left. And then when he didn’t come back, I went looking for him. It turns out he got robbed before he made it to Zey, so Zey told him he had to stay, pay off the debt.”
“He didn’t really get robbed. It was an inside job to get him in Zey’s debt and unable to go to the lawmen,” Sath interrupted. Cassia looked up at him, a startled expression on her face. “He found out a few days ago he wasn’t the only one. Zey—well, go on.”
“I spent weeks out here trying to find him and get him to come home,” Cassia said. “He told me he didn’t even want to leave, that he liked it out here, with the outlaws. That he finally felt free and he wanted me gone from his life. I refused to leave. When Zey realized I knew where the hideout was and what kind of stuff they were doing there, I guess he got worried I’d talk…”
“I don’t think Zey wanted you dead,” Sath said. “The way I figure it, he was trying to get desperate guys to work for him andhe was worried you’d actually make Rylan leave. He didn’t want to face a hanging for murder. He just wanted Rylan to focus on the job.”
“But they left her in the mountains. You saw the state she was in,” Aevrin argued, anger boiling in his blood. "She would havedied."
“I’m not saying it wasn’t real bad stuff,” Sath said. “But, think about it. If they really wanted her dead, she’d be dead. It’s notthathard to kill someone, if you got your mind set on it.”
“Well, that’s true,” Mavek said solemnly.
“But I could have talked,” Cassia said.
“I think they gambled you wouldn’t, to keep Rylan safe.”
“So he stayed,” Cassia whispered. Aevrin saw his Gramma shaking her head disapprovingly. Sorven’s eyes were the widest he’d ever seen them. “Only Rylan finally decided to run… and now…” She drew a shaky breath, lip trembling, and added: “I can’t see him hung.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Sath said, his voice even and strong and sure. “Cassia, it’s alright. I talked to Boone for a good bit while Rylan waited outside, before he came in and turned himself in. Alright? Boone’s got a lot of power here. Rylan gave Boone all kinds of information about Zey and his operation. Rylan knew everything from who was buying and selling, who was running the books, the rustling…”
“Rustling?” Gramma Prisca asked sharply. “Don’t tell me it was one and the same?”
“Zey bought that ranch on the other side of the mountain, the one that sold a month or two back,” Sath said. “He set up a new operation there. And we think he was stealing cattle, too, to make it look like a real ranch—not to sell them off. Rylan said new ones kept showingup.”
Mavek whistled.
“Right next to us this whole time,” he said.
“So what happens now?” Prisca asked.
“Boone will take care of it. They haven’t set Rylan’s punishment yet, but it’ll be small.”
The man who’d hurt Cassia was going away, Aevrin realized. Maybe not immediately; they didn’t have him yet. But the danger was coming to an end. The secrets were out in the open and she could start moving on with her life, without needing to look over her shoulder.
“Can I talk to him?” Cassia asked.
“Not yet, Miss Cassia. He’s in jail for the night at least. We’ll find out more tomorrow, but you can breathe deep.”
“He did the right thing,” Prisca told her. “He didn’t just get himself caught up in a mess, girl, he got you caught up, too. He’s doing the brave thing and getting that whole operation taken down.”
“There’s nothing more we can do tonight,” Sath said.
“Thank you,” Cassia told him, and then looked around the whole room, teary-eyed. “Thank you all. I’m sorry I didn’t tell it all, up front. I was terrified of losing Rylan. I thought if I kept my mouth shut…”
“You had a family member to keep safe,” Prisca said. “I think we’ve seen enough of you at this point, Cassia, to trust that was your only involvement.”
“That’s what family does,” Mavek added. “Keeps their lips shut and helps you hide the bodies.”
“But I didn’t hide any bodies,” Cassia started to protest.
“He’s joking, Cassia,” Sath Riveker said dryly.
Cassia
Cassia’sheadspunasshe and Aevrin walked back upstairs. Rylan was safe—but he was, potentially, in more trouble than ever. The situation with Zey was over—but the outcome wasn’t written in stone yet. Relief and anxiety spiraled together, a whirling eddy. She felt sick, and she felt tired. And she didn’t want to feel either of those things anymore.
