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He lunges for me. I try to make my move, but that big, meaty hand grabs hold of me, and then he takes me by the throat with both hands. He’s not strangling me—yet.
But being held by the neck over a cliff isn’t where anyone wants to be.
“Women who make trouble, like you, used to be quietly dealt with. We’d write it off as an accident. Whoops, they fell down the cliff, the clumsy idiots they are. You’re well past the troublesome point.”
“I don’t think killing me is going to improve your reputation. What will you even accomplish with killing me?” My words are strained. I’m trying to reason out of this, because I don’t see a physical way out. He’s holding me up in a way I can kick at him, but he’s not tall enough where I can kick something particularly tender. “Sarah and Jack’s wedding will still happen. And people will still know Jack’s eye wandered away from her. You’re still out of a farm.”
“But you’ll be gone. I’ll spit on that jackass’s dreams. Break his heart. I’ll hurt him, and I think that’s all that matters to me anymore.”
I keep wriggling. The lightning crackles in the distance, thunder following. Water starts to sprinkle down on us, and it’s clear it won't be long until it evolves into a full-on downpour. I shudder. Some foolish girl coming up on the cliff, slipping on some mud, and tumbling down on the rocks below. Sure, people would be incredibly suspicious of him, but there’d be enough reasonable doubt that Max could rally his defense to get free.
I didn’t want to die. Especially after I’ve found the happiness that I never thought possible.
I’m breathing deep. This refrigerator of a man is too strong to escape. Do I try biting? What else could I possibly do?
8
JACK
I want to get to Lily, I told her to meet me at the bluff, and all I want is to pull her close, and kiss that perfect mouth of hers.
I just gotta wrap things up with the Sherriff first, let him know what was going on down here at the ranch.
“Yeah, he’s wasted again,” I say into my phone. “No, he doesn’t seem to be carrying a gun with him. He’s never been good at concealing them, so I just think he’s being his annoying, rowdy self. All right, as long as you keep an eye on him. Thanks, Sheila.”
I hang up and set my phone down. This isn’t the first time I had to call the sheriff about Max. The man has some serious problems and only knows how to take it out on people other than himself.
Although, I guess his liver takes a pretty good beating from his habits.
It’s just another reason why I wanted to help Sarah get rid of him.
I head back out and grab Rush, one of my stallions. I’m ready to put all this behind me for a while and spend some time with my girl.
God, I’m thinking of her as 'my girl’ now. Lily, what are you doing to me?
As I begin to ride out, I notice something at the edge of the ranch. I take a quick detour, and there’s an old beat-up pickup truck at the edge of my property. Max’s old beat-up pickup truck. I ride toward it, wondering if he has had an unsurprising breakdown with that old piece of crap, but no. It’s off, and no one is inside it. It’s on the side of the road, so it’s not in the way.
I grumble, having a bad feeling about this. Max isn’t one for suddenly obeying drinking-and-driving laws. He’s not on the road, looking up and down it, so my next guess is he’s lurking around my ranch, looking for some way to cause trouble.
Again, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with him. Max is terribly boring and predictable like that. The hair on the back of my neck perks up as I ride out and begin my search. Last time he did this, he set something on fire and it could have gotten a hell of a lot worse if it wasn’t a day like today.
I sniff the air. I think I’m wrong about my weather prediction. Oh well.
I comb the area. He’s not near the fence, or the stables. More riding about, until I spot Misty, the mare Lily has taken a liking to. And then I find Max.
As well as Lily.
I swallow, fear hitting me as hard as it ever has in my life.
The bastard is holding my girl by the throat, leaving her dangling over a cliff.
“Put her down, Max!” I shout, riding up, and hopping off Rush. “Put her down, or this is going to get messier than it already is.”
He turns his head to me, sneering. “You did this! You made me a fool, Thomas!”
“Whatever you want to think, this isn’t worth committing murder over. Put Lily down, and maybe we can discuss things.”
“What’s there to discuss? Everyone is laughing at me!”
