“It’s fine,” he said coldly.
“Jameson’s due to arrive home tomorrow. Do you mind switching to the ranch schedule so he can patrol? It calms him. He ran into another dead end. Maybe you can peek at the file and see if you notice any inconsistencies. We’ve pored over it enough times, we know it by heart. We want this woman found,” Julio said. “We owe it to her.”
“I’ll talk to Jameson tomorrow,” Garrett said, swiping the damn bag from the hood of his truck. No longer interested in giving it to Riley, he tossed it in his back seat.
Returning home, he stopped by the barn long enough to give Julio enough time to pick up Tara. Despite her complicity, he blamed her sister.
Garrett banged his fists on the steering wheel and yelled with rage. After seeing the scum boyfriends Bernice always brought home, he vowed he’d never hit a woman. Thinking back, he picked apart everything Riley said as they watched the funny sitcoms. Did she really like ranching? Did her mother really die as she described? The only thing his heart concluded was she played him like all the other women of his past.
Bernice and Kenny probably got the laugh of a lifetime. He vaguely wondered why Kenny and his gang showed up in Embers. Then again, his mother seemed relentless about the money. Almost every week, she sent him scathing letters about how he screwed her over. Ha. She didn’t qualify as a sucky mother. Even they stayed present in their child’s life. With every new boyfriend came a fresh set of fists, a different town, a secret place to hide.
His anger grew, his chest hurt, and his heart felt broken beyond repair.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Riley waited until Tara left before dashing to the shower. She shaved her legs, washed her hair, and added moisturizer. Blow drying her hair, she chanted, “candles, music, lipstick and bed.” Butterflies hit her stomach as she imagined Garrett walking in and seeing her.
She dabbed a bit of perfume Rachel gave her on her wrists, behind her ears, and behind her knees. Slipping the baby doll nightie over her head, she fluffed her hair and added the red lipstick, promising to drive her man wild. Riley sat on the bed and recalled the poses Rachel and Delaney taught her. After trying one she felt the most comfortable with, she adjusted the pillow and rested her elbow on it. She brought her silky tresses to the front, feeling a bit uneasy about the lingerie's low cut.
The cabin door opened and slammed shut. Riley smiled, thinking Garrett must’ve felt as excited as she did.
Hearing his keys drop on the kitchen table, she waited nervously for him to appear. Time seemed to drag, and she didn’t hear him moving about, searching for her as usual.Hoping nothing happened on the ranch, she slipped from the bed and entered the kitchen.
Garrett gripped the kitchen chair, struggling with himself. When she caught his eye, he turned to face her. His eyes seemed to shoot daggers at her and she stepped back, feeling wary at the stormy expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.
“Get your shit and get out of my cabin,” he said in a low, gravelly voice as if he fought with himself.
“What?” she asked as she took a step forward.
“Don’t come anywhere near me,” he said, holding her at arm’s length. “Did Kenny send you here to sleep with me?”
“The biker?” Riley swallowed, realizing what it must look like. “I gave him what he wanted. He claimed he wanted more, or he refused to let Tara go,” she explained slowly. “Garrett, what has you this upset?”
“Did you set me up?” Garrett snarled.
Riley felt naked as he stared intensely at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Damn it, Riley. Did you know about the money?” he growled.
She shrugged. “You gave me the money.”
“Don’t you dare turn this back on me. Of course, I gave it to you. I believed I hit you with my truck,” he said sarcastically.
“You gave me a concussion, you dumb ass,” she exclaimed. “Did I stage the scan, too?”
“Kenny claimed you already sported it before I hit you,” he ground out.
“If Kenny told you the sky was green, would you believe him?” she asked, completely taken off guard.
“How long have you worked at the club bar?”
Riley wished she covered herself, feeling humiliated. “Iworked there eight months on top of working for the Taco Shack. Does it make me guilty? I’m not even sure of what I’m getting accused of at this point. You knew I gave the money to the bikers.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Kenny?” he spat out. “Did you promise to sleep with me to get your information?”
Riley swallowed again. Not wanting to cheapen their time together, she pleaded for him to understand. “Garrett. What happened to make you doubt me? Kenny threatened Tara. She’s all I have. I gave him everything to let her go.”
