“What was he looking for?” Her voice was no longer teary from earlier, but hard.
“He must’ve heard us and left in a hurry,” I gritted out, uncocking and stuffing my gun in my waistband. “Stay here and lock the door behind me. Look to see if you’re missing anything.”
“Reed—” she began, reaching out to stop me, but I was already walking back out into the dark.
The campground was silent, except for some distant crackling of fire and laughter and crickets. I scanned our camp again, peering into the shadows to see if anyone lingered in the trees.
Then I saw him, ducking under a branch. He was quick, but I was quicker. I ran after him, drawing my revolver. I reached out for anything I could grip, grabbing his arm and using his momentum to carry him into the side of my truck. His cowboy hat flew off his head, revealing dark, sweat-matted hair and a crooked nose above his chew-streaked beard.
I leaned the weight of my forearm into his throat while I gripped his shirt collar and pressed the barrel against the underside of his jaw, forcing his head back to look me in the eyes. His brow furrowed, and he bared his teeth like he was the fucking predator in this scenario.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing breaking into a woman’s trailer at night? Sicko!” I slammed my weight harder against him. He gave a choking noise. For a moment, his eyes flashed with surprise before returning to their original glare. “Why the fuck are you going through her things? Did you find what you wanted, asshole?”
He was silent for a beat, then he leaned into my arm, straining his neck, his voice raspy with the chokehold. “I took nothing.”
“Empty your pockets,” I gritted out. He didn’t move, his eyes bravely drilling into mine. “Now!”
He didn’t even flinch. Heaving a sigh, the revolver still trained on him, I fumbled through his jean pockets, tossing his wallet and cell phone into the bed of my truck. Producing a switchblade from his back pocket, I growled, returning the full weight of my elbow into his jugular.
“Were you planning to fucking use this on her? Were you hoping you could force her at knifepoint?” I was fucking fuming now, the potential fear and threat to Lina making me see red. I had a million questions. “Who the fuck are you? I swear to God, you need to tell me now, or I will not hesitate to use this on you.”
“Bullshit,” he hissed through his teeth.
It was my turn to bare my teeth at him. “No bullshit here. We’re in a region where if someone comes onto my property whom I deem to be a threat, I have every right to shoot first and ask questions later. The law will be on my side here.” I watched as blood drained from his face as it dawned on him. “Name. Now.”
He cleared his throat to eke out, “John Wayne.”
I scoffed, but none of this was fucking funny. “You do realize I’m now in possession of your wallet. Might as well make this easy on yourself. Who are you? And why are you stalking Lina?”
An evil, tobacco-stained grin spread across his face. “Check my fucking ID. It’s Wayne Urban, and my interest in Lina Larsen has nothing to fucking do with you.”
“The fuck it doesn’t. Donotsay her fucking name. Do you know Junior Matheus? Do you know Elise?” His expression did not crack once at the mention of their names. This man was a fucking psycho. “Do you know who the Larsens are?”
“Everyone knows who the Larsens are,” he seethed.
“Do you know anything about the vandalism on Thornbrush Ranch?” I know I wasn’t giving him any time to think, but I needed to know what the fuck he wanted.
“Feeling a little territorial? Is she your little plaything, too?” he asked, his chin nodding toward the trailer. “Need to piss on her so the rest of the dogs stop sniffing around the porch?”
I fucking growled liked a deranged beast. “You’re pushing your luck. Answer my fucking questions.” I cocked the gun this time.
“She likes it from behind, doesn’t she?”
“Fuck you, asshole. Do you have a death wish?”
He gurgled a laugh. “Yeah, I know Junior. He may’ve learned about my little obsession with Lina.”
“Don’t. Say. Her. Fucking. Name,” I warned again, more sternly this time. I could feel my control slipping. Themurderous rage rattling my bones. My mind begged me to pull the trigger, but something was holding me back. Penn and Lina flashed across my vision. Them snuggled in bed together. My future. “What did Junior tell you?”
“Just that I should keep doing what I’m doing … that eventually, she’ll put out.”
My mind was reeling, trying to process this. Trying to think what his angle was. But my brain was foggy with the anger pumping through me. I needed to reel it in so I could make some sense of this.
“Why the fuck would he tell you that?” Other than the fact he hated the Larsens.
Wayne shrugged, no longer fighting against me. “Said it could be a good distraction. Whatever the fuck that means.”
What the fuck is Junior up to?
