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Rhys rolled his eyes. “No. I talked to Ghost and got some things straight.”
“I don’t need you interfering.”
“I’m always going to protect you, just like you protect me.”
“You really think he… loves me.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with taking things slow if that’s what you want.”
My face heated as I thought about what I’d just let him do and how much I’d wanted more. “I’m not sure what I want, except not to be stupid or—”
“You’re not stupid. You’re caring. You want to please people, but you only need to please yourself right now.”
I thought about what Ghost had said about me doing something just for me. I’d pretended that’s what the rodeo was, but it had been an escape and a way to earn more money than I could any other way. I didn’t truly love it.
I loved the thought of staying here and helping to build up a breeding stable and train foals as they grew. And I loved Ghost.
40
GHOST
That evening, I finally felt normal except for the soreness in my foot and ankle. I truly was better. Hobbling around didn’t hurt as much, but I knew if Rogue saw me walking, he would yell at me. The thought made me smile because it meant he still cared.
Sending him out of the room earlier was one of the hardest things I’d ever done, but I needed him to be thinking more clearly before things went any further between us, and I would do whatever I could to make sure we had a solid chance because if he sent me away, I knew my heart would never recover.
We all gathered in the command center to discuss our plan for preventing the Russos from making a strike against me or the ranch. I didn’t like to be the center of attention or the cause of a situation, but having Rogue sit next to me made it easier.
The FBI wanted nothing to do with cleaning up what they saw as my mess, but X joined us by video call, and I explained everything I knew about the men I’d been watching at the warehouse as well as the weapons dealer I thought they were waiting for.
“So they were all low-level assistants?”
“As far as I know. There were none of the family leaders or anyone else I recognized from my investigation at the warehouse.”
“Will that make them more or less likely to take the time and energy to track Ghost down?” Rogue asked.
“He’s FBI,” Grant said. “If they know who he is, they’re going to come after him.”
I hated how right he was. “Our best option is if these idiots from the warehouse try to handle this themselves rather than passing their information to the higher-ups.”
“How do you know they haven’t already done that?” Rogue asked.
“We don’t,” X said. “And it’s unlikely, but they could try to cover their asses by tracking you down.”
Grant sighed. “Let’s hope they do. They won’t be nearly as hard to eliminate as someone higher up in the organization.”
“I’m going to keep checking in with my contacts,” X said.
I dreaded talking to Danielson again, but I probably needed to. “Do you want me to check back in with my team?”
X shook his head, and I felt his annoyance through the screen. “They are just as likely to want to kill you as the Russos’ minions. If we need FBI help, I’ll get Niall to coordinate it.”
That worked for me. I’d happily kill Jones, and Danielson was high on my shit list. “What should I be doing?”
“Whatever Grant tells you to.”
Grant smiled. “That sounds perfect.”
I flipped him off.
“You should be making sure you don’t put yourself in danger again and rest your foot.”
“I’m not just going to sit around.”
Rogue snarled at me. “The hell you’re not.”
All we could really do was wait to see if anyone made a move. The tension of not knowing made the atmosphere at the ranch tense, bordering on unbearable—or at least it would have been if not for Rogue.
He spent as much time with me as he could. It took a lot of work, but I managed to convince him that I was going to lose my mind if I stayed in bed another day. My best tactic was reminding him that while I was supposed to rest plenty, I needed to keep moving around some or my foot was going to stiffen up too much.
When I started asking him to give me chores to do in the barn, he realized I must be dying to get outside.
Rhys showed me the list of what each horse got for breakfast, and I filled their buckets and brought them their food. My foot ached after walking around, but the pain was no longer sharp and nauseating.
Rogue walked in with a bale of hay which I didn’t think he should be carrying. “How are you feeling?”
