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“Not a chance.”
Laughing, I couldn’t take my eyes off the moon. “Believe it.”
“You might think I’m very young, but I was forced to grow up at an early age. I’ve learned how to spot integrity and you are one of the most honest men I’ve ever known.”
There were so many other things I wanted to say to her. I needed to scream at her that she should run far away from me, but I didn’t have the courage to watch her walk away.
The love was even more terrifying now that I’d exposed the ugliness.
She leaned against me, caressing my shoulders. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“I do with my life.” I took her into my arms, wishing that releasing the heavy burden had brought me any peace. Maybe she was right in that I would need to face the demons head on.
As I heard my phone ring, my instinct kicked in. “Shit.” Easing away from her, I grabbed my jeans, yanking my phone from the pocket.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s the station. Just hold on.” As I answered, the bad feeling only intensified. “Wentworth.”
“Phoenix. We have a situation. I need all hands on deck,” Stoker said, distress in his voice.
“Where?”
“Base of the Sapphire Range. Gonna need you on the bird.”
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
Was karma trying to kick me in the balls?
“I’m on it, Cap’n.” As I ended the call, Wren had already turned on the light.
“A fire?”
“On Sapphire Ridge.”
She frowned. “You’re thinking someone is seeking retaliation for what happened with Belle. Right?”
“I don’t know, Wren, but the coincidences are starting to mount up. I don’t like anything I can’t control.” I yanked the gear bag from my closet before grabbing a fresh tee shirt. “I need you to do something for me.” I had no other choice at this point. My initial hesitation wasn’t about trusting her. It was about the fact I was now positive that somehow, some way, the value of the land had put me square in the target mode. Maybe this had something to do with the events at Sapphire Ridge or maybe it was a ploy to fuck with my mind. Yeah, maybe they wanted to drive me away from Missoula. Whatever the case, the asshole or assholes would use anything against me possible.
Including the woman I loved.
“What do you need?”
I grabbed the bag where I stored my weapons behind the shoeboxes on the top shelf. I’d been conscious of Justin’s curiosity, keeping the ammunition in a lockbox in another location. As soon as I wrapped my hand around one of the pistols, she sucked in her breath.
“What’s that for?”
“Just in case, little bird.” I forced it into her hand, placing my other one on top. “I need you stay here until I get back. I can’t promise you when that will be. A day. Five days. There’s enough food, but you can call Gage if you need anything. I’ll also leave the keys for my car in case you have an emergency.” I didn’t wait for her to answer, grabbing a pen and a piece of paper from the drawer of my nightstand.
“Whoa. I don’t know how to care for a child. And now we have a dog. I mean you have a dog. I mean…”
“Stop worrying. After what I saw with Justin earlier, you’re going to do just fine. Listen to me. I’m going to give you two magazines of ammo, but you need to find a place to store them where Justin can’t get to them and the kid searches everything when he gets in one of his moods. Okay?”
She said nothing as I unlocked the box, grabbing two magazines, loading one for her then returning the weapon.
“Phoenix. I’m afraid.”
I grinned to try to calm her nerves. “You’re going to be fine.” I yanked on my fire-retardant jumpsuit before grabbing the paper, writing down both Gage’s and Betty’s numbers. “Here you go. I put Betty’s phone number on there as well. I’m sure she’ll come to your aid if you just can’t handle Justin, but I have faith in you.” I patted my hand on the note I left on the dresser before double checking I had everything in my bag.
