Page 115 of Roped

“’Cause we’re fate, you and I,” he says, or more like vows. “And no one, least of all your piece-of-shit daddy, will win and keep us apart.”

“I—”

“But I will say this,” he keeps going. “I am a monster. Not because of what your father did to me but because of what I’m gonna do to him. And what I’m gonna do to that cockroach Anderson. And every other motherfucker out there who dares to hurt you. Today, tomorrow, and every single day until the end of time. ’Cause I realized being a monster ain’t my flaw, darlin’, not when it’s to protect the girl I love. So I’d happily let him come out and play if my Princess is threatened. You’re what makes me human, and I don’t mind bein’ a monster for you.”

My breaths are quick and noisy, and my belly flutters as I ask, “You have my father, don’t you?”

His jaw pulses in response and I know.

“That A-Anderson guy too?”

Another pulse and I get my answer.

My brother wouldn’t tell me what happened to them. Every time I brought it up, he told me not to worry about it. But I had a feeling I already knew the answers to my questions. “In one of your cabins at Rawhide?”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice low and rough.

I bite my lip. “Are you going to kill them?”

“Eventually.”

My heart races and I fist his shirt harder. “What if… You won’t get c-caught, will you?”

From what I understand, Joshua Anderson is a big businessman from California. If he dies, someone will come looking for him, maybe even people from the media he was talking about. Not to mention my own father. I’m sure Breck will help the Graysons cover up his murder, but still. Everyone will know, or at least people who are in the know will know it was Radisson who did it, and I don’t like that. What if it comes back to haunt him later? My plan would’ve been better.

“By the time I get done with ’em, there won’t be any bodies to find,” he rumbles, his voice deadly and threatening. “Or a crime to investigate.”

Chills race down my spine and goose bumps erupt on my skin. It shouldn’t make me feel safe, his words that sounded more like a promise. It also shouldn’t make me feel as excited as I am, or as relieved and happy that the man I love will finally have his closure. That my father will finally get what he deserves, and my Radisson will make sure of that. But I do. I also shouldn’t feel this other—bigger—dose of excitement thrumming through my bones, but it’s there and it’s undeniable. It could all go horribly wrong, this thing between us; I’m still not completely convinced that we could build a life together, not after everything that’s come to light. But what if we can? What if there’s some hope?

I study his face then, his beautiful features, his wicked scar, as I whisper, “You really think we’re fate?”

His features change, somehow both soften and become determined at my question. “Yeah.”

I swallow, my eyes going back and forth between his. “And I’m really that girl.”

His arms flex around me as he replies, “You are.”

My heart races in my chest and I let a moment pass before I ask, “What does that mean?”

He takes his own moment where his eyes melt, and he brings his hands up to my face. He wipes the trails my tears have left on my cheeks with his thumbs as he rasps, “It means I get to take you away.”

“Where?”

“To my ranch.”

“And?”

“And keep you.”

My heart’s beating so fast that I’m almost dizzy with it. I’m almost dizzy with my love for him as I ask, “And what if I run?”

He shakes his head, his hands still framing my face, cradling my cheeks so tenderly I could weep. “You won’t be able to.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause every turn you take and every road you run on will lead back to me.”

I go up on my tiptoes, fisting his shirt. “So maybe to save us both time, you should tie me to your bed.”