Saddles & Sabotage

by Nellie K Neves

  Silence hovered for a moment, and then seized the room all at once. It was Tate who said, “We wish you both all the best.”

  I tried to read Isabelle before I left, but she’d already returned to the solace of her forest view.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  The killing stopped. For two weeks my life was normal as Cassidy Billings. Sure, Dixie and I complained about each other. Alexis threatened to throw me off the top of the hay stack if I didn’t learn to tighten a cinch her way, and Wiley Fox still glared at me whenever he thought I wasn’t looking, but it was normal.

  I was a normal girl with a normal boyfriend who loved her. He even brought me a daisy, my favorite flower. The stem was broken, and the petals were dusty, but I’d never gotten flowers before and his sentiment lit me up.

  The days were hot, and I did my best to ignore the pain as it set in, pins and needles, crushed joints and burning sensations I couldn’t shake. It was the only reminder I had of my disease, and I clung to every promise Dallas made me about cool weather in the Grand Canyon for the fall season.

  As I packed Cassidy’s stuff, my stuff, for our departure the following day, I tried to press the nagging doubts from my mind. Wiley’s argument with Dallas, his violent past, and the special errands he often ran for Tate, not to mention Dallas’ confession that he’d disappeared hunting with Tim.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I told myself aloud, “the case was solved.”

  I’d decided to turn my back on my career as a P.I. I sent a letter to Uncle Shane because I knew I’d never make it through a phone call. I promised him I’d make contact once I was settled. We’d been through a lot together, and he was the only part of Washington that I regretted leaving behind. If Jackie ever made contact, I’d let Shane do the footwork. But I knew those hopes were close to impossible.

  I smiled at the picture of Dallas and me on my night stand. Dixie had taken it after work about a week before. My smile beamed back at me. His arms wrapped around my collarbone with ownership and commitment. Dallas had given it to me a couple days before. A future with him outweighed my sacrifice. I’d solved my last case and I planned to bury my past once and for all.

  Slipping the picture frame into my bag, I stacked it next to the door. I wondered if I would ever tell him my real name, or explain the circumstances that had brought me to the Rockin’ B. Fate ruled his life in such a way, I was afraid the truth might break us. Maybe one day, when the timing was right, or maybe I’d ride it out until something gave way beneath me.

  My thoughts betrayed the doubts that nagged at the back of my mind. Details had pointed to a master-apprentice relationship, and I’d never found resolution for those. A quick look at Wiley’s cabin might assuage some of those persistent worries.

  I clenched my jaw and stepped out into the early evening. Wiley and Dallas were helping the cooks prep food for the horse drive. Dallas would never have to know that I’d suspected his friend. As I slung my bag over my shoulder, I rationalized my reasons. I had to drop my bags off at Dallas’ truck. I could pop in for a second, take a quick glance around. I’d promised Isabelle, and I owed her my best.

  After dropping the tailgate, I shoved my bag into the bed of the truck and slammed the metal grate closed again. I stopped and listened but nothing came. A familiar hammer began in my chest, the beat of my heart when it knows that I’m about to do something stupid. I crept to the cabin, turned the knob and slipped inside.

  An empty room welcomed me. I knew Wiley’s bed because I’d seen Dallas on his bed the night we’d kissed for the first time. The elimination helped my timeline drastically. I moved some dirty laundry, the straw hat he and Dallas shared, and Wiley’s guitar case to the opposite side of the bed. I opened the nightstand, but found nothing I didn’t expect to find. I lowered myself to the floor and slipped a hand into the darkness beneath Wiley’s bed. My hand closed around something smooth and glossy. With effort, I pulled it free and examined the anatomy text book.

  I found three others beneath the bed, two more medical texts and a diagram of the circulatory system of the human body. It was circumstantial; I didn’t know what he did the rest of the year. For all I knew he was pre-med. A part of me wanted to leave behind the sneaking and the lock picking, but at my core I had to know. Shoving my hand between the mattresses, my fingers locked around a hard lump. I could feel the cloth, but it wasn’t wrapped tight. Careful not to leave prints on hard surfaces, I pulled the object free.

  Dried blood stained the cloth. Even before I unwound the cloth, I knew it was the knife that had been used in the murders. My hasty fingers rewrapped the weapon and shoved it back into the pocket between the mattresses. Feet stopped and grated against the step outside. I looked for an escape.

  Too late.

  The door swung open and my mouth went dry.

  “Cass,” Dallas said as he caught me in a pile of Wiley’s hidden things, “what are you doing?”

  I shoved the text books under the bed in one quick surge of power and scrambled for footing. “Dallas, I can explain, but I need to talk to you alone.”

  “Why are you in here?” he asked again as if he hadn’t heard me.

  “I needed to look through Wiley’s stuff before we left. There were questions I needed answered and—”

  “I don’t understand.” His voice was not much more than a whisper. “Why?”

  I stood on my toes and peered through the window. Wiley Fox and Dixie were headed for the cabin. I grabbed Dallas’ hand and pulled him, but he jerked back.

  “Please?” I let the desperation drag on my voice.

  But nothing.

  Not able to wait for him, I ducked out the door. I jogged up the hill to my cabin and slipped inside as I heard Dixie’s laugh turn the corner. A moment later my door opened and Dallas stepped through. The click of the door pulling shut echoed in the stiff silence. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows as if to encourage me to get on with my answers.

  My hands trembled with anxiety as I tried to think of the best way to explain my presence. A lie would have been easier, a mission from Tate, investigating for Dixie, all of it easier than the truth. But if I wanted to run away with him, our only chance was honesty. After a season of lies, it wouldn’t be easy.

  “My name isn’t Cassidy Billings. My name is Lindy Johnson, and I’m private investigator. The Billings family hired me to investigate the killings here at the ranch, and so I came, undercover, to solve the case. I know it might sound crazy, but Wiley is involved. It wasn’t just Tim. In fact, I don’t think Tim was a part of any of it, maybe nothing more than an unfortunate scapegoat.”

  I waited for a reaction, anything other than the utter shock that gripped his features, but he gave me nothing.

  “I think Tate is the one who’s been killing, I don’t know why, but it has to do with the blood. My feelings for you are real. I’m crazy about you, Dallas, and it’s out of character. This isn’t me, but I don’t know, maybe you’re right, maybe fate brought us together in some roundabout—”

  “Ryder isn’t your cousin then?” His words startled me, knocked me off balance. He didn’t care about the rest, the murders, the case, none of it. He needed to know where our relationship stood. That was all that mattered to him.

  “No,” I admitted, “he’s a friend of mine.”

  He started to sink onto Dixie’s bed, but immediately straightened. “More than a friend, I’d wager, from the way you looked at him. I thought it was weird, but family can be over protective and cautious, but no, he hurt you, and you hurt him.”

  I could see my new life slipping through my fingers. “We had a history, but it’s over. It was over the night I came to your cabin and you kissed me.”

  The shake of his head was slow at first, but became more adamant with time. “No, I saw you with him at the bonfire. It isn’t over.”

  He pushed passed me and I reached out to grab his arm. He shook me off and tears sprang to my eyes. “Please, don’t walk out. I still w
ant to come with you,” I told him.

  Disbelief showed in his elevated eyebrows and open mouth. He didn’t trust me and he had no reason to. Everything I’d told him was built on a lie. “I need to get some air.”

  I watched him disappear around the cabin as I slid against the wall to collapse into my own regret. A moment later, his truck fired up and lumbered away.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Isabelle wasn’t home when I stopped by the cabin that night, and with the door locked and not even bobby pin, I was out of luck for a call to the detective. I started back for my place, a knife firm in my grip in case of trouble. A saw a light on and wondered if Dixie was back from her prep for the horse drive, but when I pushed open the door, I was surprised to find Dallas. He held up a hand to stop me before I could speak.

  “Lindy, right?” His words stalled for a moment before he began again. “I can’t believe you lied to me for so long, but I guess I understand. You had a job to do, and it came before me.”

  “Dallas, I never meant to hurt you.”

  Muscles pulsed as he clenched his jaw. “I get that, I really do, but you did. I’ve been driving around trying to figure what’s real, and what you made up. Our first kiss was real, the one in my cabin, but I don’t know if every other kiss has been. I think our time at the pond was real, but I wonder if you were laughing at me when I said I loved you.” I tried to speak, but his look stopped me. “I was ready to drive away forever, but I found your bag in the back of my truck.” He reached behind his back and produced the picture of us. “You packed this, and I can’t figure out why.”

  It was my last chance to redeem myself, a moment that was a gift from the universe.

  “Because I really want to be with you. Because every time you said Cassidy, I wondered what it would be like if you said Lindy instead. Because I never lied about my feelings for you.”

  Dallas stared hard at the photograph, as if he could pull apart the lies and truth from within our smiles. “I want to believe you, I really do.”

  I took a cautious step forward and set a hand to his arm. When he didn’t recoil, I touched his jaw, then let my fingers slip down the length of his neck. “Trust what you feel.”

  His blue eyes found mine again, and slowly he tipped his head into me. The kiss was timid, a little scared, but the passion, though weak, remained.

  As he pulled away, Dallas shook his head. “Come away with me, maybe we can still figure this out.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  I locked the door that night even though Dixie never came back. For all I knew she was in on it, or at least staying over at Wiley’s.

  In the morning, as I dressed for my last day at the Rockin’ B, I pushed, pulled and manhandled my mattress back onto the second tiered frame and wished it a fond farewell. The air was electrified with guests and wranglers alike who were set to leave for the horse drive the next day. I had to admit I was a little jealous myself. The idea of galloping through an open field exhilarated me, but I had a new future with Dallas and I was excited to start it.

  Wiley Fox sat across from me at breakfast with Dixie to his left. On one hand I was glad he hadn’t slaughtered her in the night, on the other hand, I worried that she was possibly the next apprentice in the family tree. Tate didn’t sit in on breakfast, but as we cleaned up our plates, he called Wiley and Dallas outside. Before he left, Dallas kissed my cheek and I considered it a good sign. I returned to the corral and said goodbye to my horse, Toby. We’d been through a lot together and I was sure I’d miss him.

  I said my goodbyes to Dixie, Two-Bit and Alexis as well. Alexis surprised me by sneaking in a hug. I didn’t think it was physically possible, but she proved me wrong. As I passed by the haystack I thought about the blue handled knife I’d hidden in the base. I considered grabbing it, but the idea that a part of me would remain thrilled me.

  I stopped by the main cabin, but found the door locked tight. Worry played on my thoughts, concern for Isabelle and her safety. Without the landline, or a few quarters, my hands were tied. I returned to my cabin and grabbed my cell phone. I pulled up Ryder’s name and typed a short text:

  You wanted me to be happy, and I am. I’m leaving with Dallas, I don’t know if I’ll ever come back. Wiley Fox is a murderer. His knife is between his mattresses. I can’t find your mother, and I’m starting to worry. Send help if you can. I can’t trust Tate.

  It wasn’t my best choice, but it was all I had at the moment. I pressed send, but knew it wouldn’t find its way out until Dallas and I were on the road within the hour.

  Dixie stepped up into the cabin and my presence startled her. “I thought you left.”

  “I’m waiting on Dallas,” I said as I plugged my phone into the charger. “I don’t know where he went.”

  “Wiley told me Tate wanted them to clean out the old cabins. You know, the ones by Tumbleweed’s? They’re tearing them down over the winter. Tate said he wanted no more loose ends, whatever that means.”

  I didn’t want to go back there, not again, but I wanted to be long gone when Dayton stormed the place. I said another quick good bye to Dixie and took the river trail toward the meadow. It took maybe ten minutes, but the closer I got to Tumbleweed’s cabin, the heavier my feet became. The hot weather didn’t help. My right side lit up like I’d set kerosene on fire. I wondered again what role Tim had played in everything. Was he an innocent man in the crosshairs like Isabelle insisted? Or had he been depraved, maybe insane? Had I let my prejudice blind me to Tate’s master plan?

  As I neared the cabins, I thought I heard shouting on the wind. I pulled the knife from my boot and flipped the heavy three-inch blade free. It wasn’t a 9mm, but it was all I had.

  I followed the shouting from cabin to cabin, noting how the intensity grew. As I neared the final cabin, I spied Dallas through the window. His arms were raised above his head, defensive and surrendering. My breath caught and my heart stalled as I watched my worst nightmare play out. Without thinking, I kicked the door in and wielded my knife like it was a three foot sword.

  Wiley’s attention faltered for a moment and the gun shifted to me.

  “Don’t shoot her!” Dallas yelled in my defense. “Point it at me, not her.”

  “What are you talking about?” Wiley asked his friend. “She’s the problem, can’t you see that?”

  I waved the knife with my most intimidating strokes and shouted, “Put the gun down, Wiley!”

  “Is she for real? This is the girl you say is, ‘the one’?” Wiley laughed like it was a joke. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Dallas kept his hands high. “I’m serious. Leave her alone.”

  Wiley turned his attention back to me. “You’re kinda stupid, you know that?” He cocked his head to one side. “You know Dallas is dangerous, right? A real psychopath. He’s finally lost it.”

  “He’s trying to get you to turn on me. Read him. You’ll see it,” Dallas’ words begged me to listen to him. “You know me.”

  Rolling his eyes, Wiley mocked Dallas. “You know me.”

  Overwhelmed by the chaos, my thoughts became jumbled and confused. “Stop talking, both of you,” I commanded.

  “You’re such a fool,” Wiley said, letting his contempt for me show.

  In horror, I watched as his finger hovered over the trigger, gun leveled at Dallas. I had less than a second to react. With all of my strength, I flung the knife at Wiley Fox, just as the gun fired. The bullet crashed through the window behind Dallas, but my knife sunk deep in his thigh. The gun clattered to the ground as Wiley dropped to his knees screaming. Red pooled and spread around the hilt of the knife.

  Dallas let his breath out all at once. “That was amazing!” His smile was shaky, but broad. “You’re amazing!”

  Wiley’s groans and unintelligible words swelled as he screamed in pain. Dallas reached a hand out to me.

  “It’s over. We can give him to the police. We can disappear and start our life.”

  Something held me in place.
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  Fear.

  But fear of what? Dallas? Our future? Where did it come from? I watched Dallas’ hand with apprehension and willed myself to reach out to him.

  “Trust me,” he said and I thought of the pond and the way he’d kept me safe. He took a step forward, hand still extended toward me.

  “Trust me, Lindy.”

  There was something sweet about my name, my real name, from his lips. I slipped my hand into his and let him pull us together.

  Wiley pulled the knife from his leg and his screams became one single phrase of warning. “Watch out!”

  My heart raced with adrenaline, but the light flashed blue out of the corner of my eye. Every muscle went stone stiff as Dallas let me crash to the floor.

  Chapter 28

  Stale, hot air filled my lungs. Tiny needles pressed in at my neck and cascaded over my collarbone in waves, radiating pain without end. I tried to breathe through it, but the sweat that dripped from my hair stung as it rolled over the irritated skin. Heavy eyelids shrouded my world in darkness. Sweat cut down the center of my forehead. The gravity of my stooped body pulled it to the tip of my nose before it pooled and dropped. Another bead followed the same path and the sensation tickled and itched. I tried to wipe it away, but my hand jarred and stalled. With more force, I pulled again.

  “Oh good, you’re awake.”

  His voice slammed against my conscious and my eyes widened in an instant. Fear gripped me before confusion ever had the chance. The room swam in my vision as I tried to understand my circumstances. No matter how long I focused on the space, I couldn’t comprehend it. I blinked the blur from my eyes to clear my vision.

  “Where am I?”

  “Come on, Lindy, you know.” The voice belonged to Dallas, but I couldn’t find him in the room, even as my eyes cleared and the cabin materialized.

  “We’re in the old cabins?” I asked with caution, as if I could change our circumstances with my tone alone. The blue flash surfaced in my memory. He’d used the stunner on me, but why?

  “Very good,” his voice came from behind me. As I regained consciousness, I heard other sounds as well, metal on metal, tools clattering on a counter, and the creak of my chair as I shifted my weight with unease. “I’m glad we’re alone again. We have a lot to talk about.”