Page 78 of Branded Betrayal

My palms shake, anger snaking around my limbs like white-hot flames as I push open the door to his conference room. Wilkerson reigns at the head of the table like a fucking king, his peons scattered around him like adoring fans.

His eyebrows fly upward. “Hartman, this is a private meeting. Who let you back here?”

I approach him slowly, watching him back slightly away from me.

“My brother almost died today. Interesting timing, don’t you think?” I say.

Wilkerson stares at me, then looks at the group. “Let’s take a few minutes.”

His men scatter like cockroaches, practically tripping over themselves to get out of the room.

When we’re alone, Wilkerson pushes back his chair. “How dare you interrupt me like this.”

“And how fucking dare you go after my brother to intimidate me?” I grip the back of the chair tight. “I told you I’d do your job. And I did. So you fucking stand down. Do you understand me?”

“Don’t you come in here threatening me.” Wilkerson slams his chair against the table, fury glittering in his beady eyes. “I didn’t have anything to do with your brother.”

“I don’t fucking believe you. I think you’ll do anything to make your point known, and I don’t trust you. At all.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck whether or not you trust me. But you owe me. Let’s not forget that. And I’m tired of waiting around while you drag your feet in getting me that ranch because you’re being led around by your dick.”

I suck in a sharp breath. “I can destroy you with everything I know about your organization.”

“More likely that I will destroy you, and we both know it.” He slowly walks toward me. “I broke you. I own you, and you will never be free. So if you so much as think of exposing anything, just remember how much power I have over you and your family. I can hurt any of you at any time.”

The bastard is right. He’s got so many fucking dirty cops and politicians in his pocket. He loves having power over me, over everyone. And betrayal of Wilkerson is an unforgivable sin that would put targets on the heads of everyone I love.

I can’t do a damn thing.

“So if you don’t want that to happen, you’re going to create chaos at that ranch. I want the Carlson girl gone in two weeks. No excuses.” Wilkerson steps closer, his cologne polluting the air around me.

“What more am I supposed to do?” I ask through clenched teeth. “I’ve done your sabotages. Taken pictures, gotten you proof of what I’ve done. She’s gonna see this through because she doesn’t want to let go of her family’s legacy.”

“Unless there isn’t any bit of her family’s legacy to hold on to.”

My heart sinks. “What the hell does that mean?”

The corners of his lips curl into a malicious smirk. “Cut the fence. I want the livestock to escape. Can’t run a cattle farm without cattle. And it’ll be your job to make sure that’s what happens.” His smirk fades. “Do it tonight. Make her realize she can’t hack it as a rancher.”

Heat crawls up the back of my throat, scorching my tongue before I can tell him what I really think of him and his damn plans.

Because if I let those words out, I will be severely fucked.

“And by the way, Blaze.” Wilkerson leans in close. “If I’m going to launch an attack on you, it won’t be a surprise. I’ll make sure you know it’s coming. Today? That was just life. Don’t confuse the two.” His expression twists into something bordering on demonic. “Or I’ll have to show you the difference.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Savannah

“Jesus, Savannah. How many times are you gonna let yourself get kicked in the teeth before you realize that he’s a black hole and you’re just the sucker he pulled into it? You’ll never be anything more.”

I turn to look at Nash. He glares at the windshield and presses his foot on the gas. Outside, the sky is dark and foreboding. Like a warning that something is coming. Something bad.

A shudder ripples through me, the ice in my brother’s words chilling me bone deep.

“Is this your way of showing brotherly concern?” I ball my fingers into tight fists. “Because quite frankly, you can shove your warnings and anger up your ass. Okay? I needed a ride, not another lecture. Especially not from you.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”