“Mom, it hurts,” Dylan whimpers, his brave facade crumbling at the sight of his mother.
The doctor steps back, giving them space.“I’ll give you a moment.I’ll be back with more information shortly.”
Amelia carefully inspects the temporary splint on Dylan’s arm, her fingers trembling.“The doctor thinks it’s broken?”she asks, looking first at Dylan, then at me for confirmation.
I nod.“Clean break.They’re still determining if they need to reset it.”
Her face transforms instantly, fear morphing into rage as she whips her attention to me.“Why weren’t you watching him?How the fuck did this happen?”Her voice rises, drawing glances from nearby staff.
“Mom—” Dylan starts, but Amelia cuts him off.
“No, I want to know why my son has a broken arm when he was supposed to be safe with you!”
“Mom, stop!”Dylan says more forcefully.“It’s not his fault.Someone broke the fence, and he had to fix it.These men came while he was gone.”
Amelia’s eyes widen.“What men?What are you talking about?”
The realization hits me like a freight train.The cut fence wasn’t random vandalism—it was a deliberate distraction.Those fuckers lured me away to get to the barn, to get to Dylan and Della.My stomach twists with guilt.How did I not see this coming?
“They took Della,” Dylan continues, his voice shaking.“They were gonna take me too, but she made them take her instead.”
Amelia turns back to me, her eyes blazing.“You said we’d be safe at the ranch.My son has a broken arm.Your sister is missing.What the fuck is going on, Maddox?”
The accusation in her voice cuts deep, but I can’t argue with her.I promised to protect them, and I failed spectacularly.
“I don’t know,” I admit, running a hand through my hair, “but I promise I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”I step closer, lowering my voice.“Shadow has everyone out looking for Della.We’re going to find her.”
Before Amelia can respond, a nurse approaches.“Mr.Meadows?There’s a Tyler Henderson here asking to see you.We can’t let him back here—there’s a two-person occupancy rule.”
“Tell him I’ll be right out,” I say, turning back to Amelia.Her eyes are still bright with anger, but there’s fear there too.
“Amelia, I need to talk to Tyler.He might have information about Della.”
She nods stiffly, pulling herself together for Dylan’s sake.“Go.”
I squeeze Dylan’s good shoulder gently.“I’ll be back soon, kid.Your mom’s here now.”
In the waiting area, Tyler paces like a caged animal.When he spots me, he rushes over, lowering his voice.
“I came as soon I got things squared away at the ranch,” Tyler says, his voice tight.“Wanted to check in on the kid and see if you needed anything.”
“Appreciate it.Dylan broke his arm.Waiting for the doctor to cast it—” I pause, studying his face.Something is off with him.His shoulders are too tense and his eyes are daring around the room like he’s expecting a ghost to jump at him.“What’s wrong?”
Tyler steps closer, lowering his voice.“Guess who I saw when I was parking the truck?Loitering in the parking lot.”
“Who?”
“The CEO of Landry Oil.”
I kept my dealings with Landry close to the vest, never spoke a word of it to Tyler or anyone on the ranch for that matter.I never wanted them to worry about their jobs.How he knows about Landry is a fucking mystery.
“How do you know about that?”I demand.
Tyler’s expression hardens with frustration.“It’s my job to know what’s going on, man, and to take some of the stress off your shoulders.I’ve known for a while.Been waiting for you to tell me yourself.But after you went partners with the MC, I figured it was handled.”He shakes his head.“You’re missing the point, Maddox.Landry wasn’t alone.He was with Amelia’s ex-husband.”
“What?”
“There’s more,” Tyler continues.“They were having a heated discussion.I specifically heard Russell go on a rant saying it wasn’t supposed to be Dylan.”
