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Two days went by, and I thought maybe everything would be okay.
But then the sheriff came to our house.
Dead body found on your property.
Young rookie cop. Out hunting. Got shot.
The words buzzed in my ears—phrases and fragments.
A dead cop.
Someone was going to have to pay.
Without thinking, I started talking. I told them Hawk and I were out doing some target practice. A bullet must have gone off course and we didn’t realize it.
Hawk and I both gave our pistols to the sheriff, and I lost more sleep, wondering if the bullet had actually come from Eagle’s gun after he’d dropped mine.
Nope .
It came from my gun.
My brother had killed a cop. With my gun.
And I took the blame.
I awake to the buzzing of my phone. The sun is setting through the window as I untangle myself from Savannah and find my pants to retrieve my phone.
It’s Hawk.
“Hey,” I say into the phone.
“Falcon, I’m sorry to bother you your first night home from the hospital, but I’ve got something important that can’t wait.”
“What is it?”
“Can you speak freely?”
Savannah is snoring softly, but I leave the room anyway, pulling on my pants as I go.
“I can now. What’s up?”
He pauses a moment.
“For Christ’s sake, Hawk. What is it?”
“It’s bad, Fal. Really bad.”
My pulse accelerates. “God, not Raven.”
“No, no. Of course not. Last I heard she was helping Savannah bring you home.”
“Yeah, she did. She left a while ago.” I heave a sigh of relief. “What is it then?”
He pauses. “I just got out of a meeting with Dad, a couple of his foreman, and his land attorneys. He wants to expand, Falcon. He wants to begin clearing that parcel of land by the border…where that old barn sits.”
My heart drops.
“Fuck,” I say.
“I know. They’re going to start taking some soil samples within the next week or so, check out water sources, make sure there aren’t any wetlands issues that would violate the Clean Water Act.”
“There aren’t,” I say dryly.
“I know. I didn’t tell them that, of course, but you and I know that piece of land better than anyone.”
“Fuck.”
“Turns out, permits are already in place, so once they assess the property and determine that there are no legal issues, they’re going to begin clearing. With bulldozers. And when they start digging…you and I both know what they’re going to find.”
