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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DEACON

I go into South Platte to see my lawyer before I show up at the mediation. Jay Reed’s office is dark and cool, located in the lower level of a house turned into an office in South Platte. It smells like the coffee he’s got in his Styrofoam cup, on his desk by his boots. When I walk through the door, a bell chimes, and he looks up.

“Speak of the devil,” he says.

“Who was?” I say, taking my hat off and sinking into the chair opposite his desk.

“Me,” he says. “You’re the devil, and I’m speaking of you.”

“Alright. Coffee, and let’s hit the road.”

He stands, going to the coffeemaker in the corner. “We’re having this meeting in city hall. I proposed that location because I can’t have you throwing punches.”

I look down at my knuckles. They’ve got too many telltale scars to pretend I don’t like a good bar fight. I rise, and he hands me a foam cup and gets his briefcase. We step outside, and I stand under the overhang while he locks up.

“Let’s go,” Jay says, putting his hat on. “Before the rain hits.”

The sky roils. City hall is just across the street, so it doesn’t take long to duck into the front room. The floors are plain brown, glazed, and the walls are rustic wood. There’s a bull’s head over the front desk and a police officer playing on his phone behind it.

“We’re here for a meeting with Aiden Hatfield,” Jay says.

I throw my cup away, my mind going back to what I just did to Freya. I should be ashamed of myself for feeling so smug about it.

But I’m not sorry. Not even a little.

The door opens behind me. Aiden Hatfield comes through the door, followed by his oldest son, Ryland. The quiet one is nowhere to be seen. They’re both in suits, hair brushed back, but no hats. Maybe they don’t wear hats back in Kentucky. I take mine off, cross the glossed floor, and hold out my hand.

“Nice to see you,” I say.

If he’s taken aback, he hides it. We shake hands. I wonder if part of him knows I’m putting his stepdaughter through the mattress every opportunity I get, but I doubt he does. He’d be livid. I know men like him. In his eyes, everything and everyone who depends on him is property.

“This must be your son, Ryland,” I say.

Ryland shakes my hand, and I release him quickly. His father is built like me—big, tall, but lean, with tattoos and rough edges. The son is similar but lacks his confidence. Out of all the Hatfields, Aiden is the one I need to watch closely.

He’s smart, confident. That makes him dangerous.

“Thanks for coming in,” he says, offering a tight lipped smile.

“Oh, my pleasure,” I say, turning and beckoning to Jay. He comes over, taking off his hat, and extends his hand. “This is my lawyer, Jay Reed.”

That gives Aiden some pause. Clearly, he took a look at me and made the assessment that I don’t keep my ass covered. There’s a hair less confidence in the handshake he gives Jay. Ryland doesn’t offer his hand.

The officer shows us to a meeting room. There’s a table in the middle, big, round and made of wood. I sink down at one end, spreading my knees, and lean back. Jay sets his things down and puts his palms together .

“Anybody want a coffee before we start?” he asks.

I shake my head. Aiden gets one from the table on the far end. Ryland sits, his chin in his fingers, and watches me, like he thinks he can intimidate me by staring.

I’m not intimidated by much. I think all that got scared out of me before I turned ten. What I can’t get with my lawyer, I’ll get with my fists.

“Alright, you want to tell me what this is about?” I say.

Jay clears his throat. “I have the papers you sent over with a plan for the zoning council and city government. Before we get into it, this is an informal meeting. We’re just talking, seeing if this can get resolved before it needs to be kicked somewhere more serious.”

Aiden jerks his head. His smugness makes me hate him. I’m silent because I know it’s what Jay wants from me, but inside, as I listen to what they want, deep anger sparks. As it sinks in, the flames climb high.

My suspicions were correct.

They plan on getting an easement across the strip of land that separates the Hatfield farm from the McClaine’s property line, across the western point of Ryder Ranch. Then, they’ll run a road up through Aiden’s land and sell out the entire southern side of the McClaine’s land to real estate developers.

Over my dead body.

I grew up with one truth being ground into my head, day in, day out—I came from nothing and I deserved to die with nothing. No parents, no money in my pockets. Dropped on a doorstep, made to work for every meal. Ryder Ranch is the result of years of hard work, determination, and the willingness to do the unspeakable.

Nobody is going to take a square foot of that land from me. I keep my eyes on the table. Not for their sake, but for Jay’s. He’s handling them. There’s a reason he’s the best lawyer in the area.

But fuck, I want to put my fist through Aiden’s face.

Aiden has a bunch of business jargon he pulled out of his ass, probably. But the upshot of what comes out of his mouth is, he’s planning on getting rich. And all he wants from me is that easement. He says that all casual, minimizing it, like I don’t know what that really means.

Because it means I’m about to get fucked.

To my credit, I keep it together all the way to the end, but I let Jay be the one to shake hands and close the meeting. I’m silent, blood thumping like a fast-approaching war drum as we stride from the room.