“An intruder came into the house night before last. He attacked me.”
“Attacked you how?”
Aja could see familiar ghosts from Brooklyn’s past coloring her question. She slid her hand across the counter and placed it atop Brooklyn’s, hoping to offer some kind of comfort to her. “He tried to choke me. I think he meant to kill me. At least that’s what it felt like. But Jackson interrupted him before he could finish the job.”
Brooklyn laced her fingers through Aja’s and squeezed. “Thank God.” Brooklyn let out a loud, ragged breath before looking at Aja again. “Why would you try to hide this from us?”
“Brooklyn—” Aja tried to interrupt her. She could see the steam building up to what would be an explosive tirade.
“Didn’t you think we’d notice?” Brooklyn continued, her pitch climbing a half note higher than her last.
“Brooklyn, please—” Aja started but was cut off again.
“Why are you so damn calm about this? Like this was some irrelevant thing that slipped your mind.”
“Brooklyn!” Aja screamed as she slammed her closed fists on the counter. She shut her eyes and counted backward from ten in her head. Allowing the silence to bleed some of her frustration out before she spoke again.
“I’m sorry,” Aja whispered. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper, and I didn’t mean to keep you out of the loop. I need to process this my own way.”
“By pretending it didn’t happen?” Seneca asked.
Aja shook her head. “No, by handling it the best way I know how.” She opened her eyes, slowly dragging her eyes up to meet theirs. “I don’t have the time or the luxury to fall apart right now, Seneca. My land, my people, and my life are being threatened. I’ll lose everything that means anything to me if I crumble now.”
Brooklyn stood quietly as she watched Aja. “Aja, you have been good to us. You gave us a place to call home when no one else would. We’re more than the people who work for you. We’re family. And when you fuck with my family, you fuck with me.”
Aja knew Brooklyn wasn’t lying. She took family seriously—all one had to do was read her rap sheet to know that was true. But it was the sullen look dripping off the usually bubbly Seneca’s face that almost broke Aja.
“I didn’t mean to hurt either of you. I simply wanted to protect you from—”
“From what?” Brooklyn barked. “From knowing you were put in danger because of us?”
“Brooklyn,” Aja countered. “This is not your fault.”
“The hell it isn’t.” Brooklyn’s chest heaved as her anger became visible in the tight lines of her face. “This is a direct result of us being here. If you weren’t trying to help us, this wouldn’t have happened. We’re not worth all this trouble.”
The slight tremble in Brooklyn’s voice cut across Aja’s heart like a surgical blade. It was precise, clean, but so deep, Aja’s entire being shuddered against the pain.
Aja opened both her hands and turned them up on the counter. She waited for each of them to place a hand on top of hers, and when they did, she closed her palms, holding onto them as tightly as she could without causing them discomfort.
“The day you two came here, I promised I would allow no one to shame you because of your pasts. You’ve done the work, your debt to society is nearly paid, and I won’t allow anyone to make you feel undeserving of the benefits of your labor here. You two have earned the right to live beyond your yesterdays. You are worth more to me than anything on this ranch. I can handle what anyone has to throw at me. I chose to have you here. That’s not a decision I’ll ever regret. No matter what happens. Are we clear on that?”
The two women looked at each other and then peered at Aja, nodding slowly in unison. The pitiful looks on their faces had her heart in tatters. This was exactly what Aja had attempted to avoid.
She gave their hands one final squeeze before releasing them. “I am fine. Jackson came to my rescue. He heard the commotion and stopped the attack. The attacker got away, but he was at least able to save me from any real harm.”
“What does the sheriff have to say about all of this?”
Aja broke eye contact, circling her finger on the cool marble of the counter as she spoke. “The usual. He’ll look into it but can’t make any promises.” As the two of them took a collective breath, Aja lifted her hands in surrender. “Don’t worry about the sheriff. I’m taking precautions of my own. The security company will secure the ranch. It’ll be harder to get in here than Fort Knox. Get back to work. Everything will be fine. Trust me.”
She put on her finest smile, reassuring them as best she could. When they finally relented and headed for the door, she let a long sigh spill past her lips. If only she could believe the guarantees she’d given them, Aja’s day would be made.
Chapter 20
Aja sat at the desk in her kitchen, trying to focus on the numbers in front of her. Unable to concentrate, she gave up trying to get any work done and decided a midday break was in order. A quick trip to the fridge and she poured sweet tea into frosty mugs before she headed out to the front porch where Jackson was now pacing back and forth.
“You think you can stop wearing a hole in the wood on my porch long enough to have a drink?”
“Yessum.”
She handed him a mug and took a seat on the porch swing. She patted the cushion next to her and waited for him to sit. “How are you?”
He turned to her with furrowed brows. “How am I? I think I should be the one asking you that question. Your entire life is being upended for this investigation.”
“It’s true.” She took a sip of her drink and let the familiar flavor soothe her before she continued. “My life is filled with chaos right now. But I can’t stop being me because some lunatic has it out for me.” She waved a dismissive hand before meeting his eyes again. “Anyway, you seemed tense. If you’re going to be shadowing me all day, I can’t have you looking like a bomb slowly ticking toward detonation. I figured it would be easier to offer you some sweet tea and ask you what’s going on instead.”
The intensity of his glare was a palpable thing that slid down the length of her before returning and settling on her face. “You knew I was purposely sticking close?”
“Wasn’t hard to figure out.” She took a sip of her sweet tea. “Aside from when you took your truck to the back forty this morning, you’ve been either in or around the house all day. Smart money says if I actually needed to get work done outside the house today, you’d be walking in the fields right beside me.”
“I’d say that’s a fair assumption.”
Aja laughed and nudged his arm with her shoulder. “What’s going on?”
“This person who’s after you, his aggression is escalating. He started off with things that could almost be considered harmless pranks. He went from that to trying to burn down your barn with you nearly in it. And when that didn’t work, he tried to kill you with his bare hands. I want him caught and you safe. But we’re shorthanded. I’d usually connect with local law enforcement on a case like this to increase our chances at a successful outcome. But Hastings is negligent, almost criminally so.”
Cold flooded her nerve endings, making her shiver, and she put down her cup on a nearby end table. He wasn’t pulling any punches. Part of her was glad about that. But the very human part of her that worried about her mortality bristled at how tenuous this entire situation was.
“Any word from forensics?”
He shook his head. “It’s way too early for that. Jennings and Gleason picked up the evidence we collected yesterday before you woke up. We collected prints, but since he wore gloves, they’ll probably belong to you or someone that has usual access to your room. We’re hoping there was some transfer of DNA between him and you during the struggle. All the swabs we took from you are being processed now. But until then, we only have the bracelet we found. I
f we can get a hit on where it was made or sold, we might use that to generate a suspect list.”
“Bracelet?”
Jackson pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped through the screen until he found what he was looking for. He handed her the phone, and she examined the picture of a broken bracelet plate in an evidence bag.
“Do you recognize that?”
She shook her head. It was a small gold plate, the words “Mañana no está—” on it. “No, I’ve never seen it before.” She handed him the phone. “Do you think it belonged to the attacker?”
“No way of knowing. We won’t know anything until we can get the forensics back. Until then, we’re fighting in the dark, Aja. I don’t know who is after you, and I don’t know which direction to look.”
She was about to ask more questions when Jackson’s phone lit up in his hand. “Dean. What does he want? Hold on.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and tapped the mute icon on the screen, then turned to her. “Eli Bennett is at your front gates. He says he wants to come speak with you. You up for seeing him?”
She calculated all the things he’d said to her as she pieced together the unsaid things in his question. “You put security at my front gates?”
Jackson leaned over, bracing his elbows on his thighs. “I had my father add plans for a security booth. Once it’s completed, you can hire security of your own. Until then, there’s a patrol car at the gates being manned by two of my father’s employees who have a background in protection details.”
He tapped his finger on the screen a few times again. She looked up when her own phone vibrated. “I sent you the numbers of the men sitting at the gates, in the event you need to leave them instructions of some kind.”
She didn’t check the text. Not then. She was too busy attempting to process that she needed to live under lock and key now. A prisoner on her own land.
“Outside of a short list of people, no one is allowed to enter without prior authorization. If they show up unannounced, security has to contact one of us for clearance.”
There was something about the way he said the words short list that made her brain cells twitch. “Who’s on that list? How d’you cultivate it to begin with?”
“It’s based on necessity. There are a handful of people that need unobstructed access to you and the ranch. Your aunt and uncle, Brooklyn and Seneca, and me and my men. Other than that, everyone else needs to make an appointment.”
“And what about Mat Ryan?” She watched his lips tighten into a flat line at the mention of the man’s name and shook her head. “You cannot bar him from the ranch. He is Brooklyn and Seneca’s parole officer. He needs access to them.”
Jackson frowned, dismissing her displeasure. “So they can’t go into town and have their meetings with him there?”
“This is a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Why would I subject them to the humiliation of walking into Mat’s office in the middle of the town square? People can be cruel, Jackson. Sometimes without meaning to. If I can spare them that embarrassment by having him meet them here, that’s what I’ll do.”
“I understand all that. But it doesn’t change my mind about how this needs to play out. This person will come for you again, Aja. The best way I can protect you on a place this size is to limit the number of people who have access to you.”
“He’s harmless.”
“Good.” Jackson lifted his brow. “He’ll remain that way with scheduled appointments like the rest of the population.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but he lifted a finger to stop her and unmuted his phone. “Send him up.”
She waited a beat for him to end the call before she spoke. “After finding this out, I don’t think I’m in the mood to talk to Eli after all.”
“Aja, you know my men have tried to pin him down for an interview. They even used your assault to force some face time with this guy. We’ve got nothing. Without probable cause, I can’t force Bennett to talk to us. This may be my best chance to get anything usable out of him without the presence of his high-priced attorneys.”
She gently pulled the inside of her cheek between her teeth to keep her cool. She knew he was attempting to protect her, and everything he’d implemented made more than a little sense in their current situation. But considering his previous reaction to Mat, she wasn’t at all certain Jackson wasn’t penalizing the parole officer for some unseen crime that had nothing to do with the attacks on the ranch.
“There’s got to be another way, Jackson.”
He shook his head. “Bennett’s smart. If he is involved, no way in hell he was gonna tell two Rangers that. But he might slip up in front of his rival and her foreman.”
Juggling her annoyance with Jackson over Mat pressed her patience. Trying to add Eli Bennett to her overworked tolerance was probably not the best thing. But again, her hand was forced by circumstances she had no control of. And that realization was setting her anger off more than Jackson’s behavior.
By the time she’d cooled down enough to speak instead of yell, she saw Eli Bennett’s large blacked-out truck barreling up the road toward her house.
“We’ll discuss this issue with Mat later.” Aja watched Jackson bristle at her edict. Good, he knows I mean business. “I don’t have the energy to deal with you and this joker at the same time.”
She saw the dismissive cut of his eyes in her direction and leveled an equally contemptuous one at him in return. She was willing to follow his lead regarding this investigation, but she couldn’t allow him to do anything that would force Mat Ryan to make life difficult for her Pathways participants.
When the truck stopped in her circular driveway, she stood and braced a hand against Jackson’s arm when he attempted to follow. She was grateful that he easily agreed, sitting back against the swing without argument. She wasn’t lying about her dwindling energy levels. Too much had happened in the span of a few days, and having to deal with Eli Bennett’s unsavory ass would probably drain what little strength she had left and require a nap afterward.
Eli’s lean and diminutive body jumped down from the monster truck, and Aja fought to keep the smile off her face. He was barely taller than her petite stature, but everything he owned had to be larger than life. His truck, his house, his land, all of it had to be bigger and better than everyone else’s. Even the ridiculous ten-gallon hat he insisted on wearing that made him look like a cartoon character purposely drawn out of proportion for the comedic benefits.
Aja leaned a hip against the porch railing and crossed her arms. Before Eli could place his boot on the bottom step of her porch, she stopped him in his tracks with a cool greeting. “What can I do for you, Eli?”
“Howdy, Ms. Everett. I heard about the trouble you had two nights ago. I wanted to come by and see for myself that you were all right.”
More like see if the job was done or not. “How did you hear about my supposed ‘trouble,’ Eli?”
“A couple of Texas Rangers stopped by my spread yesterday asking me about it. Like I’d know anything about something terrible like that. Everyone on my land is a law-abiding citizen. I told them they might want to ask the women who worked for you, seeing as they’re known for running with the criminal element.”
She said nothing, simply continued to bite the inside of her cheek and waited for him to go on.
“Are you all right? You don’t look much the worse for wear for someone who was assaulted.” He pulled his large cowboy hat off his head and held it against his chest as if that made this obvious act seem more sincere. “But to be neighborly, I thought it would be best for me to come in and check on you. Is there anything I can do?”
“Everything’s fine here. I have it under control.”
Eli attempted to place his foot on the first step, but Aja pushed off the railing she was leaning against, making her stance wide and placing her
hands on her hips for effect. Eli moved his foot back to the dirt where it belonged, and a satisfied ripple of electricity buzzed in her chest. He’d gotten her “You’re not welcome” message loud and clear.
“Aja, we’re neighbors. We should look out for each other. This place is too big for a little lady like yourself to handle. The rough terrain of a ranch is no place for a gentlewoman. Let me help. My bid to buy the land still stands. You could take my very generous offer and live comfortably back in the city. You don’t need to do this. You’ve got nothing to prove.”
“I know I don’t.” She owned the land free and clear. She didn’t need to prove a damn thing to anyone. That wasn’t what this was about. Unfortunately, someone as money-hungry and small-minded as Eli Bennett would never understand that. He would always see a woman’s need to thrive and succeed as just a silly little tantrum to prove something to a man. “This is my land and it will remain so. I’ve told you before, I’m not interested in selling it.”
Aja watched as the feigned concern dripped from Eli’s face and was replaced by the nasty curl of his top lip. “It’s not safe for you, Aja. A wise woman would accept my generous offer.”
“Doesn’t matter how many times you offer or whether you serve it up with honey or vinegar, my answer will always be the same. No.”
He watched her for a moment, then moved his gaze over to a still-sitting Jackson and back to Aja. “Well, you certainly seem determined. I hope your stubborn pride doesn’t end up costing you something you can’t replace.”
The creak of the swing behind her told her Jackson was up on his feet. Before he could take a step toward them, she held up a finger to stop him. “Good day, Eli. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get off my land now.”
He took a moment to take in the scene, and more than likely Jackson’s imposing frame, before he put on his hat and turned toward his vehicle. A few seconds later, he was tearing up the road, kicking up dust as he headed toward the front gates.
The heavy press of Jackson’s hand against her shoulder was reassuring, helping Aja relax slightly as she watched Eli’s truck disappear down the road. “I dislike that man, Aja.”
Jackson Page 15
