Chapter 11
“Cord?”He ignored Samantha’s questioning tone and stalked out of the barn and back into the house, throwing the ramp a dirty look. He should have put two and two together the minute he stepped foot in this damn place. There were far too many ranch hands for a place this size, and each one had some kind of injury. Even the damn horses were recovering fromabuse.
And Clint Fury had sent him right into the middle of the exact situation he’d hoped toescape.
His blood boiled up his chest, heating his neck and face. He slammed through the front door, stomped to his bedroom and yanked his cell off its charger. He’d dialed Fury’s number before the bedroom door snicked shut behind him. Fury picked up on the third ring. Cord didn’t give him a chance to speak. “I’m going to killyou.”
“Cord? Is that you? What’s up?” Fury’s lighthearted tone didn’t fool Cord in theleast.
“Do you think I’m fuckingstupid?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t have hired you if I thought that,” came Fury’s quickreply.
“Did you think I wouldn’t figure out this is a home forcripples?”
“Hope Ranch is a legitimate therapeutic facility. Not a home for cripples,” Fury stated matter-of-factly.
Cord nearly crushed the cell phone in his grip. “I didn’t ask for a summary from the goddamn brochure. Did Mack put you up to this? Is this some sort of game you two are playing?” He’d left the hospital in Fort Benning because he didn’t need therapy. Of any kind—despite what Tamera Reidthought.
Then another thought occurred to him, and this one was a real slap in the face. “Did you know about Sam and me? Was she a part ofthis?”
A knock sounded at his door, followed by Samantha’s timid voice. “Cord, is somethingwrong?”
Giving the door his back, he glared at the wall, his chest squeezing at the thought she might have been in on the plan to get him some backdoor therapy. “Fury?”
Fury blew out a long breath. “I did know it was an equestrian rehab facility. My brother met Samantha at some big charity ball where Sam was fundraising for her ranch last year. It’s how she knew to contact me when she started having a securityproblem.”
Sam knocked again. “Cord, are you inthere?”
His leg started to throb. Cord shoved a hand through his hair and jammed the phone closer to his mouth. “Did you know about me andSamantha?”
The loose brass doorknob rattled, and then the door swung open. “Cord, why did you storm off likethat?”
Cord spun on his good leg and glared at her, trying to reconcile the sinking sensation that Sam may have been in on some secret pet project with Grey andFury.
He studied her for any traces of guilt. All he could see were her big, beautiful eyes, bright with worry. “Were you in onthis?”
She took a step back. “In onwhat?”
Fury cleared his throat through the phone. “Cord, Ididn’t—”
“Shut up, Fury, I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Cord bitout.
Sam’s hand inched toward him, hanging in midair before she pulled it back. “Has this got something to do with yourleg?”
He tried to draw in a breath, but he felt like there was a vice clapped around his rib cage, squeezing the air from his lungs. “Did. You. Know?” Cord punctuated each word, his voice dripping withbetrayal.
If she had known, what had last night been? Pity sex? His hand tightened instinctively. A tiny cracking sound sounded near his ear. Cord pulled the phone away to see he’d fractured hisscreen.
“Cord, did you hang up on me?” Fury’s voice came through the speaker loud andclear.
Cord eased the phone to his ear. “Was this a setup?”
“Cord Carter, dammit.” Fury had clearly pulled the phone away from his mouth and was now talking to someone else. “The bastard hung up on me.” The line wentdead.
Cord held out his cell phone and stared at the fractured screen with growing fury. Without thought, he drew back his arm and chucked the phone across the room. It hit the wall, landed on the mattress and bounced on the floor with the completely un-satisfyingslide.
“Cord, please tell me what’s going on,” Samantha beganhesitantly.
