Page 35 of West Bound

“Ha!” She mocks me with a fake laugh, but her eyes light in amusement. “I meant to thank you for that.”

“You were a little too busy torturing me to thank me.”

“Did you die though?” A little smirk plays at her pretty lips.

“Not for lack of trying.”

“How’s it looking?” she asks, grimacing a little as she remembers.

“Not great. Feels pretty rough too.” I hover my hand over the bandaged spot on my abdomen. I don’t dare touch it because it still hurts like hell. It's gonna be weeks before it really starts to heal.

“More or less painful than the one on your chest?” She sneaks in the question. The mention of it causes a raw flash of memories. I’m used to seeing it in my reflection in the mirror when I get ready. A reminder of my past. But I've grown used to it, and the mention of the day I got it brings an old wound to the surface. I clear my throat and take another bite of food instead of answering immediately. I don't want to talk about that. Not yet. Maybe never.

“Don’t change the subject. You could have killed me drugging me like that, you know,” I admonish her, but she merely shrugs one shoulder in response.

“You could have killed me too. Besides, we might be even soon. Given you’ve put both our lives in danger now.” Her tone flattens.

“I’ve got extra security on alert. If he tries to get on this ranch, we’ll know about it,” I reassure her.

“It’ll be too late if he’s already here.” She sounds sad, like another memory is passing through her mind.

“You’re very certain of his capabilities.”

“Yes, well… I’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

“How so?”

“Before him, I had an almost normal life. Friends. A boyfriend. I went to college for a while.”

“I know.”

“Of course you do, stalker.” A smile comes and goes as fast as it appears.

“And then what? He took you away from all of that?” I ignore the attempted dig. It’s true, after all.

“He and my father decided it was bad for me. That those people were bad for me. I’d be better off spending more time with Corey. He would look out for me and my interests. He could help me manage my money, and didn’t I realize how much he cared for me? No man would ever care about me as much as he did or work as hard as he would to protect me. I needed protection, according to my father. Our family had so many enemies that it wasn’t safe for me to be on the street or attending classes. Any of those people could try to steal from us, lie about my father, hurt me. Corey was the only one my father claimed I could trust, and so he put us together more and more.”

“Because he wanted you to marry him.”

She nods, a melancholy look overtaking her countenance and making me wish I could see what she was seeing in her memories. Whatever they wanted from her, I’m doubtful she deserved the life they forced on her.

“Was he really in love with you, or was it a business arrangement?”

“Both. Or so Corey claimed.”

“But in reality?” I counter.

“In reality, my grandfather left me a large sum of money in his will. I was the only grandchild, and he did well in life. He was an antiques dealer with some one-of-a-kind auction finds. He worked all the way up until the day he died. Hence all the travel in Europe and beyond.”

“He left it to you instead of your dad?”

“He was my mom’s dad.”

“Why not leave it to your mom then? Or your siblings?”

She frowns and then looks down at her plate, pushing a bit of scrambled egg around and then glancing up at me. Her lashes lower as she tilts her head.

“Oh. Not quite enough stalking then.”