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It had taken days of convincing Warren to let me, but I called Keith and he and his father agreed to meet me at the Geiser’s restaurant. Warren insisted that he was at least nearby and that we met in a building where he knew the layout. I was certain, too, that Eddie and Lucky were in the truck around the street corner.

The bruise on my forehead was deep brown and purple, which I tried to cover with some makeup. I knew it would affect Keith, revealing the truth of his father’s actions. He wouldn’t be able to see the bruised ribs or discoloration along my hip, shoulder, and back.

I walked in to find them already seated at a table, and Keith rose as I approached. He looked at my face and his expression fell into one of horror. Victor only sipped the whiskey in his glass and watched me from the corner of his eye as I sat across from them. It was a large, circular table meant for eight, which meant a vast chasm spread between us, so fitting of our situation.

“Finally ready to make a deal?” Victor asked.

“It’s time for this all to stop.” I looked at Keith. “Someone is going to die if you keep doing this.”

“We aren’t doing anything.” Victor shrugged. “You certainly have no proof if we were.”

“You might have the sheriff on your side,” I said, “but there are other law enforcement agencies in this country.”

“Oh, is your captain pulling strings now?”

I bristled. “I’m pulling strings.”

“You’re nothing without this army that you’re paying through the nose for, I’m sure.” Victor pointed upstairs to the hotel rooms. “I bet that captain of yours is here right now.”

“Of course he is,” I said.

Keith glanced around as if looking for signs of Warren.

Victor growled. “You’ve scraped together enough to keep from foreclosure. For how long?”

“For as long as I have to.”

“I can only speculate how you manage to keep so many men so loyal to you.”

“Must be my feminine wiles,” I said flatly.

“Or something more unseemly.”

“Father,” Keith hissed, but instantly recoiled. I knew the look he had—the same one he as a young boy had whenever he showed up with a different kind of bruise, the kind he got when his father struck him.

Victor gave Keith a look that silenced him and made him shrink back in his chair. Did Victor hold such sway over his son, though Keith was a grown man?

“What if I pay you double the value of your land?” Victor said, eyes flashing.

Birkstrom was worth quite a lot. Would these development plans of his really be so fruitful?

“Eva.” Keith sighed. “The land is too big for you to manage. Take the money and buy a smaller plot with an arena and barn. It just makes more sense.”

“Not to me.” I shot him a glare.

“I can bide my time,” Victor said. “You and that gray colt won’t qualify for the national show and all your contracts will dry up. It happened year after year for Bill too. Why would you be any different?”

The words drove a knife into my chest, even though I had braced myself for all insults from this vile man.

“At least I win or lose with my integrity intact,” I said. “I’ll never stoop to your level.”

Victor rose, the chair clattering to the side. “Then we don’t have a deal?”

“I guess not,” I said.

The elder Merrick stormed out.

Keith gave me an apologetic look and stood to follow him. “I’m sorry, Eva.”