AllFreeNovel
Share Us
West had driven the hornets from the nest, but he hadn’t used a fire, he’d used a bomb. It was about to take them all out.
Funches was already running to his truck. His friends knocked anyone out of the way who tried to stop them.
Porter let Eva lead him to one of those black SUVs. He clambered into the passenger side as she found her way to the driver’s seat. She slammed the door behind her. Her delicate bracelets jangled together as they peeled away from Funches’s junkyard.
Porter took a minute to catch his breath. His heart pounded; a few bruises under his ribs did too. Lacy’s men knew how to make short work of their enemy without leaving a mark. Holding his stomach, he glanced over at Eva as she shot them down the country road after Lacy. She maneuvered them through the potholes like a regular hot shoes riding the wave. His mind was completely scrambled. “Do you know what’s going on?” he asked her. “Are you working with West?”
She gave a slow smile. “A girl doesn’t give away her secrets.”
Was that so? She’d tell West everything, he’d bet his life on it. Groaning, he leaned back into his seat, throwing on his seatbelt. Eva Trout was one wild driver—she’d give Nash a run for his money—and he needed to stay in one piece to help Cadence.
Why had Porter ever listened to West? He should’ve swept up Cadence into his arms and run some place where Lacy would never find them. He watched for the line of trees where all his phone calls got dropped.
As they neared, he took out his phone. His finger rested on Cadence’s number.
Eva sped over the invisible line that separated Funches from civilization. Porter hit the call button. After three rings, he realized that she wasn’t picking up. He tried texting her next. “Cadence! Lacy is after you! Get out of there now!”
Porter called West next. His brother answered, sounding wary. “You’re still alive?”
That’s all he could say? He was about to get an earful. “What are you pulling, West? That’sreallyour land and they’re going after Nash now. Crawley and Stein are trying to get him to sign the papers.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“That’s our home, you idiot. You’d just let it go to Lacy?”
West grunted in frustration. “Let me get this straight. They’re going after Nash because Lacy still wants to go through with our dealaftereverything that’s happening?”
Strangely enough, yes. “Crazy, right?” Porter said. “The creep probably thinks it’s the only thing that will save him. What are we going to do about Nash? I can’t get there in time to stop anything.”
“Relax, Nash isn’t at the concert.”
At least that. He’d better not be. They could lose everything to Lacy… along with Cadence. He was going after everything that Porter cared about. “You couldn’t let me in on more of your plan?”
“Don’t worry about it,” West said, “and don’t worry your pretty little head about Crawley and Stein, either. I’ve got them. This is still going to work.”
“What’s going to work?” The muscles of Porter’s stomach tightened like the rope going over a calf’s neck as he thought over what West was saying. In an instant, Porter put it all together. “There reallyisoil on Funches’s land. West, you idiot! You want to get your hands on that oil, don’t you?”
Eva’s brows went up. Her hands tightened over the steering wheel.
“I wouldn’t sell us out for it,” West said with a chuckle. “I know what I’m doing. Stick to the plan.”
Porter had enough. “Lacy’s going after Cadence. He knows where she is. I’m heading him off.”
“Good, then we can find him and finish what we started.”
“None of that is going to happen just for you to get your oil. That’s the last time you get to play me.”
West snarled in irritation. “Do I have to do everything myself? You came to me. You’re going to have to trust me. I’m helping us both.”
“How? You’re only out for yourself.”
“Stick to the plan, Porter. You want your girl? You want Lacy to leave her alone forever? That’s our plan. You agreed to go with it, and it’s the only way to make this work. Don’t lose sight of that again. I’ll be there soon.” With that, West ended the call with a decisive click.
Porter ran his hands down his face. What had he got them into? They should’ve just ruined Lacy and left it at that, but West wanted more out of him. He always wanted more. “Why’s he doing this to me?” he moaned.
“Why not, silly?” Eva said. She ran her delicate fingers through her long blonde hair. “There’s oil on Funches’s land. It’s worth a lot. He’d be a rich man after that.”
Their mother and father had built their home from scratch—everything they hadn’t given their sons, they’d given to that ranch. Disappointment ran a bitter trail of revulsion through him. “So this is all about West getting his hands on some oil?”
