Page 66 of Branded Betrayal

I jump at the sound of footsteps behind me.

“Blaze, what the hell happened to your arm?” Wyatt asks, his eyes widening. “Jesus, you need to get to a hospital.”

I push past him. “I’m fine.”

But he’s a persistent fucker. He edges in front of me, blocking my path. “Stop being such a stubborn ass. I can help you—”

“No,” I say through gritted teeth. “You can’t. I did this. I need to fix it.”

“Look, I don’t get why you’re keeping all these secrets and shit.” He lets out an exasperated sigh. “You don’t have to handle everything on your own, B. You never let anyone in. It’s okay to ask for help when you need it.”

“It’s fucking not okay. Not for me.” I lean in close, my voice low. “Just forget you ever saw this, you got it?”

I reach the hallway at the top of the stairs and head into my room, locking the door behind me. Collapsing into my desk chair, I let out a low groan.

My real phone, not the burner, buzzes this time. I grab it out of my pocket and stare at the notification on the screen. I open the text from an unknown number.

It’s another picture of Savannah. Tonight, from the time stamp. Blood rushes between my ears, a flood of red coating my vision as I read the accompanying message.

Revenge knows no limits.

Who the hell is fucking with me now?

Chapter Twenty-One

Savannah

“I’m sorry I’m moving a little bit slow this morning, guys.” I hoist the feed can over my shoulder and shake the grain into the troughs. “But I haven’t been sleeping well the past few days. Well, not at all, really.”

I mean, how can I when Blaze’s confession has been looping through my mind like a broken record since the day of the town festival? I’ve been wandering around here like a zombie in a fog because I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that he really said those things.

Things that could get me into a whole lot of trouble if I allow myself to believe them.

I walk over to the pasture and peek into one of the water troughs. It’s full, thank God.

Well, actually it’s more like “Thank Blaze,” if I’m giving credit where credit is due.

I lean back against the fence as the cattle gather around to eat and drink. Miss Bea stops next to me, nudging me with her snout.

“Hey, Miss Bea,” I murmur, stroking her ears. “Men are so impossible, you know?”

She makes a soft mooing sound and steps closer to me, nuzzling my arm.

“He told me he can’t get me out of his mind and that he can’t stop thinking about our kiss.” I hug my arms around my chest. “I can’t forget it either. But I also know that he has the nasty habit of saying one thing and then doing something completely opposite and devastating. So how can I really believe that this is real for him?”

Her large brown eyes regard me for a long minute, almost as if she’s waiting for me to say more.

“Or is it just all about him keeping me under his thumb because he wants to make sure nobody else can get to me? Like a power play?” A sigh slips from my lips. “That would make it about the chase for him, holding power and command over someone else because it keeps him in control. Maybe that’s why he keeps coming around here too. Helping me out.”

She noses past me and dips her head into the trough again. I stroke her back as she munches on the grains. Ginger walks up next to her and joins in the feeding.

I dig the toe of my boot into the ground, carving out a capital B. “Dammit, Blaze, what do you want from me? And why do I even care?”

I push off the fence in a huff and sweep up the floor of the barn.

I can’t open myself up to that kind of pain again, no matter what he meant the other day. It’s too risky.

So he can take his big confession and shove it right up his ass because I’m done with him.