As I step out into the cold evening air, I make a promise to myself. Tonight, I’m going to get answers, one way or another.Because whatever storm is coming, I need to know exactly what we’re facing, together.
FOURTEEN
DEVLIN
We’veall set up in the barn, waiting to see what Carson found out for us. One of the things I prided myself on when I was in the military was that I didn’t get nervous—not when we were in trouble, and not when I had someone pointing a gun at my head, asking me to betray my squad.
But this? I’m nervous about this.
Whatever we find out from Carson is going to potentially change our immediate future. After all of us get situated, and Carson pulls out a laptop, we give him our attention.
“There’s a lot of information here,” he starts, folding his arms over his chest. “There’s some of it I don’t actually understand, but I think we may have made a mistake messing with the Morrison Ranch.”
“I think you did too.”
We all turn around to the entrance, me faster than the rest of them, because that voice belongs to Atlee. “What the hell?”
She runs her hands through her hair and then tells us about the run-in she just had with Deputy Sanchez. “I’m sorry I showed up here out of the blue, but when I got home and saw your truck wasn’t there, I knew you were still here,” she says asshe grabs hold of my hand, entwining our fingers together. “I knew I had to tell you.”
“You did the right thing.” I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead.
The tension in the room is thick, and all of us are feeling the stress. Her eyes look back and forth between my brothers and Truett. “I can leave if you want me to,” she offers. “I just wanted to make sure you knew. I don’t have to stay here for the rest of it.”
Truett curses, throwing his hands up in the air. “She might as well. That way she knows what we’re up against too.”
Carson clears his throat. “Okay, so back to what I found out today.”
The way Atlee’s hand tightens in mine tells me she’s nervous, and I don’t blame her. I squeeze back, trying to reassure her even though my own gut is in knots. I guide her over to a hay bale where we can sit.
“Go ahead,” Jesse says to Carson, his voice tight. “What did you find?”
Carson opens his laptop, tapping a few keys before turning the screen so we can all see. “Noah’s been building a case against us for months. He’s methodical, I’ll give him that.”
On the screen, a grainy video shows a truck driving down a dark country road. The time stamp reads 2:14 a.m. from the night of the Morrison job.
“Doorbell camera from the Thompson place,” Carson explains. “Two miles from the Morrison Ranch. This was the night we hit their south pasture.”
I feel Atlee stiffen beside me, but I keep my eyes on the screen.
“And this,” Carson continues, clicking to another video. “Traffic camera at the intersection of Route 16 and County Road 8. Same night, forty minutes later.”
This footage is clearer, showing our truck with the livestock trailer behind it. My blood runs cold.
“Can they see the license plate?” Truett asks, voicing what we’re all thinking.
Carson shakes his head. “It’s too dark, and the angle’s wrong. But the make and model match our truck.”
“That’s not enough,” Jesse says. “Half the ranchers in the county drive the same truck.”
“True,” Carson agrees. “But there’s more.” He clicks through to a document, a police report filed by Richard Morrison. “Noah’s got a statement from Morrison claiming he fired at rustlers on his property. He says he thinks he hit one of them.”
I exchange a look with Truett, remembering the bullet that hit him that night. We’d told everyone it was from a fence repair gone wrong.
“There’s something else,” Carson says, his voice dropping lower. “Noah’s been keeping detailed notes on all of us. Especially you, Devlin.”
He clicks to another document, and my stomach drops when I see my name followed by Atlee’s.
“He’s been watching your relationship develop,” Carson explains, scrolling through the file. “Documenting when you’re together, where you go. He’s got notes here about putting pressure on…on Atlee.”
