by Devney Perry
“Right. Dinner then home.”
I could endure.
Nick and I had survived but dinner had been a disaster.
“How are we going to make it until Wednesday?” I asked.
“It’ll be okay,” Nick said. “We just have to get through the hike and then another dinner.” Nick was taking my father on a hike tomorrow for the man-date Steffie had requested while us girls were spending the morning at the Prescott Spa.
“He was so rude!” I shouted as I threw my purse on the dining room table. “His behavior tonight was awful! I wanted to snatch that phone from his hand and dump it in my water glass. And did you notice how every time we touched, he would glare at us?”
“I noticed,” Nick said. “Why do you think I started touching your leg under the table? It was either that or cause a scene by telling him to fuck off.”
“Obviously this whole trip was Steffie’s idea. He does not want to be here and couldn’t have made that more clear.”
“My favorite part of the night was when he started talking about your ex,” Nick said. “I really enjoyed listening to what a shame it was that you didn’t make it. Oh, and how well-bred your children would have been.”
“I’m so sorry, Nick.”
“Don’t you dare apologize for him.” He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms.
“Okay.” I sagged further into his chest, giving him my weight.
“This fucking sucks.”
I nodded in agreement as my stomach churned. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Draven
When my fist connected with the man’s cheek, I felt the bones break before the loud crack echoed through the room.
“One more time, Wrecker. How many times did you break into my daughter-in-law’s house?” I asked.
Wrecker was currently duct taped to a metal chair in the basement of the Tin Gypsy compound.
The Warriors had honored their agreement to hand over Jinx and Wrecker. Jinx was history. Wrecker would be too, but not before I found out if the Warriors had been the ones breaking into Emmeline’s house.
“Just that once,” Wrecker mumbled through a bleeding mouth full of broken teeth.
“I think he’s telling the truth, Prez,” Jet said by my side.
“Yeah.”
When Emmeline had mentioned that her house had been broken into more than once, I’d gotten an uneasy feeling. Motorcycle clubs like the Gypsies and Warriors rarely made mistakes. Fuck-ups meant jail time. Or death. It didn’t sit right that the Warriors would mount two failed break-in attempts before finally grabbing her on the third.
Now I knew why I had been feeling so uneasy.
Nick and everyone else had made the wrong assumption. The Warriors weren’t the only ones that had gone after Emmeline. There was someone else.
I had promised Nick I would make things right. For once, I wanted to follow through on a commitment to my son. I hadn’t been able to keep his mother safe. I could make damn sure his wife was out of harm’s way.
Someone else out there was threatening my family and they would pay.
I just had to figure out who.
Nick
“Are you sure you’re okay? I can cancel the hike,” I told Emmy.
“I’m fine,” she said, waving me out of the bedroom.
“You’ve been sick all night.”
“It’s just stress and nerves. As soon as I get to the spa and can relax, drink some cucumber water, I’ll be as good as new. And I’m looking forward to catching up with Steffie. I’ve missed her. We need some girl time.”
“Cucumber water? That sounds disgusting,” I teased.
“It’s delicious.” She smiled. “Now get out of here. I need to jump in the shower and you can’t be late to pick up my father. Let’s not give him any more ammunition.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’m taking him up the same trail I took you on. The cell coverage is good so if you need anything, just call.”
“Okay. Love you,” she said, climbing out of bed.
I bent to kiss the top of her head as she walked to the bathroom. “Love you too.”
I felt like an asshole for leaving my sick wife. It was this entire visit from her father. She was as tense and anxious as I’d ever seen her. I doubted Trent wanted to go on this hike any more than I did but the bastard would probably hold it against me forever if I canceled.
At least it would give us a chance to talk without Emmy around.
I’d seen it in his eyes last night at dinner. He had some things to tell me. Fine. I had a few choice words for Trent myself. Today we’d both get the chance to speak our minds, and Emmy, hopefully, would be none the wiser.
So it came as no surprise that the minute I picked Trent up, he didn’t beat around the bush.
“I don’t approve of your marriage to my daughter,” Trent said.
“I don’t give a fuck. Neither does Emmy.”
“You’ll never get your hands on our money.”
I scoffed. “This may surprise you, Trent, but not everyone is like you. I don’t give a fuck about your money. Keep it.”
“All people want money.”
“Not me. I’ve got everything I need,” I said.
“Forgive me for not believing you,” Trent said. “I find it much too coincidental that after years of estrangement, you decide to rekindle a relationship with my naïve and stupid daughter just a year after her trust was released into her charge.”
My blood started to boil and I clutched the steering wheel, fighting to keep control over my temper. “I didn’t convince Emmy to move here in some elaborate scheme to get her money. The only coincidence here was that she randomly chose to move to the town where I’d been living for almost a decade.”
“That’s quite a coincidence. Surely, you can understand my skepticism,” Trent said.
“It’s crazy but true. You might as well accept it. I’m not going anywhere so you’re stuck with me.”
“We’ll see.”
“Yeah, we’ll see,” I said. “Oh, and if you ever call Emmy naïve or stupid again, or any other insult for that matter, I’ll break your fucking nose. Watch how you talk about my wife.”
“She’s my daughter. I’ll talk about her any way I see fit.”
“Not anymore. Last warning, pal. Don’t fuck with me on this.”
Trent sank back into his seat but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
I fucking hated this guy. All of Emmy’s goodness must have come from Collette and her grandparents because her father was a piece of shit.
How could Trent have so little respect for his own daughter? Emmy was smart and funny. She loved completely and forgave easily. Her warmth and beauty drew you in. Five minutes in her presence and you never wanted to be without her again.
It’s why Gigi and Maisy had so quickly added Emmy to their girl squad. Why my friends had never given me shit about spending all my free time with her. They knew how special she was and how lucky I was to have her.
“Why are you even here?” I asked Trent.
“Steffie insisted we visit Emmeline and I give you a chance.”
“You didn’t want to see Emmy?” I asked.
“Why would I? Eventually she’ll come to her senses and move home. I can see her then.”
“She’s not moving back.”
“She will,” Trent insisted.
This guy was fucking delusional. He actually thought Emmy would be back in New York soon.
All of the things I had wanted to tell Trent were pointless, so I kept my mouth shut. He had no clue what kind of person his daughter was and he didn’t seem to care that she had found happiness in her Montana life. All he cared about was making sure I wasn’t after his fortune.
Change of plans. I passed the turnoff for the trailhead I had planned to take.
I wasn’t going to give Trent the easy hike that I’d planned. Instead, I was taking the fuckwad up the steepest trail I had ever hiked. I couldn’t punch Emmy’
s dad but I could make his life miserable for the next three hours.
“How much farther?” Trent panted. He had stopped again on the trail and was bracing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
I checked my GPS watch. “About half a mile. Let’s go.”
Trent groaned but pressed on. The trail was rocky and narrow. The steep inclines were long and the flat spaces between them short.
I had to give the man credit, Trent was in fairly good shape and was doing better than I had expected. And since we were about the same height, he had been able to keep up with my long strides.
If not for Trent’s presence, this would have been an awesome hike. The morning air was still cool and fresh. The sun shone brightly in the light blue sky.
Emmy would love it up here but it would be a tough hike for her short legs. The trail was actually close to the cabin I had rented for our anniversary.
I looked over in its direction. I couldn’t see the building through the trees so I tipped my head up to the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of an eagle or a hawk, but I jolted to a stop when I spotted a thin stream of smoke coming from the direction of the cabin.
In the winter, I wouldn’t have thought twice about the smoke. But this was the middle of summer. Seeing smoke this time of year meant trouble. Why would someone start a fire when it was forecasted to get into the low eighties today?
I stared at the smoke for a minute and took a few deep breaths. There was no smell, which was a good sign.
I looked back to my GPS. We were closer to the cabin than I had originally expected. I’d been pushing Trent up the trailhead hard and fast.
“What?” Trent said. “Are we done? Can we turn back?”
“No.” I took in a few more breaths, searching for the slightest scent of burning wood. But all I got was evergreens.
Then I listened. Forest fires, even small ones, gave off a unique roar as trees sizzled. All I could hear was a light breeze rustling the trees and a woodpecker carving a new home in the distance.
I tipped my head back again and studied the smoke. It wasn’t getting any heavier or darker so I decided to continue hiking and keep an eye on it.
“Let’s go,” I ordered Trent.
Five minutes later, I stopped again and looked to the sky. This time the smoke was thicker and turning gray. “Something’s wrong.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Trent panted.
“See that smoke?” I said, pointing to the sky. “We need to check it out.”
“I’m not moving toward a fire!” Trent said. “Are you insane?”
“Fine. You can find your own way back.”
“Wait!” Trent grabbed my arm before I could run off the trail. “You can’t leave me alone. What if I get lost? What if I get attacked by an animal?”
“You’ve got two choices, Trent,” I said, shaking off his grip. “You can either follow the trail back down or you can come with me. But I’m not fucking around here. You come with me, you keep up. I won’t stop and wait for you to catch your breath. I will leave your ass in the middle of the woods. You’ve got two seconds to decide. What’s it going to be?”
“I’ll keep up.” Trent nodded.
“Hope you’re in shape, old man.”
Jogging through the trees wasn’t easy. The rough ground was covered in pine needles and fallen branches. Occasionally I would stop and look for the smoke, checking to make sure we were running in the right direction, but other than that, I ran with determined silence. Trent crashed around behind me but kept up with my fast pace.
“You okay?” I called over my shoulder.
“Yes!”
I slowed up a bit. I didn’t want to give Emmy’s dad a heart attack by pushing him too hard. And I just might need the extra set of hands, depending on what we found at the end of that smoke plume.
As we got closer, the smell I had searched for earlier filled my nostrils. Something was definitely on fire. I just hoped that it was the cabin and not the forest. The house could be rebuilt quickly but the destruction from a forest fire took years to repair. And there were other homes in the area. A forest fire threatened them too.
The air in the trees became hazy. We were close. Ten yards in front of me was the clearing.
I pushed my tired legs, sprinting the remaining distance, and burst through the tree line.
Fuck.
The cabin where Emmy and I had spent our fantastic anniversary weekend was burning down. Smoke was pouring out of the windows, and flames were visible through the open door.
A coughing noise had my head spinning toward the shed off the driveway.
An elderly man was dragging a hose toward the house. His face was covered in black soot and he was struggling to stay on his feet.
Rushing to his side, I helped him stand. “Is there anyone else inside?”
“My wife!” the man yelled. “I need to get her. She’s trapped upstairs!”
“I’ll get her. Stay here.” I helped the man sit on the ground and spun around to the house. “Here!” I shouted to Trent who had just cleared the trees. “Use this and call 9-1-1. Tell them we’re at the cabin up Old Haggerty Trail. Got it?”
Trent scrambled to catch the phone I had tossed him. “What are you doing? You can’t go in there!” Trent shouted.
I ignored him and took the front steps two at a time. The second I crossed through the door, a wave of heat assaulted my skin. Smoke choked my throat and burned my eyes.
I had just run into a wall of flames.
Emmeline
A white stick, two minutes, one word, and my entire life was different.
Pregnant.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, tears falling from my eyes.
I started laughing and crying at the same time. Was this real? It was such a profound moment in my life that I had a hard time believing it was true.
The dread that I’d felt earlier at the prospect of dealing with my father had vanished. He could criticize as much as he wanted for all I cared. It was inconsequential.
I had much more important things to concern myself with.
Like how I was going to share this amazing news with Nick and how I was going to decorate the nursery.
“Good morning,” I told Steffie.
“Hi,” she muttered.
I had just let myself into the house and found her sitting on the living room couch, typing something into her phone.
“Do you want to get some breakfast at the café before we head to the spa?” I asked.
“No. I want to stay here.” She set down her phone and stared out the living room window, refusing to look at me.
“Okay.”
I sat quietly for a few minutes while I waited for Steffie to say something. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet. She was always so outgoing and wonderfully loud. She hated silence. In college, I’d had to study exclusively at the library because our apartment had always been bustling with activity.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked. Maybe her pregnancy was troubling her. I was glad Nick and my father were busy on their hike so I could talk to her about how she was really feeling about becoming a mother.
If it weren’t for Nick not knowing yet, I would have told Steffie about my own exciting news so we could celebrate together.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine,” I said.
She turned to me and snapped, “You’re right. I’m not fine.”
“Let’s talk about it. I want to help.”
She laughed dryly. “You want to help? That’s ironic.”
I held my hands up in surrender and resumed my silence.
“Oh, look, she’s pouting. There’s a surprise.”
“Steffie,” I said, hurt. “Why are you acting like this? What’s wrong?”
She looked down at her phone and a twisted grin spread across her face. What was going on? She had never looked so cruel.
“Steffie?”
“Shut up.” She dismissed m
e and went back to typing on her phone.
“Okay,” I said, standing from the couch. I didn’t need her attitude on this special day. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, if you’re just hormonal or mad at me for something, but you’re being mean. So unless you want to explain to me what’s going on and start acting like my friend, I think it would be best if we skipped the spa.”
I turned to leave but stopped when she called my name.
“Do you remember that guy that was stalking you at NYU last year?” she asked.
My body jolted as every muscle tensed. “Yes.”
“He’s coming over.”
“Excuse me?” What was she talking about? How did she know my stalker? Why did she know my stalker?
“He’s coming over,” she repeated, “to kill you.”
I blinked a few times and replayed her words then I relaxed and rolled my eyes. “Funny, Steffie,” I deadpanned, “though I’m worried that your sense of humor is becoming a little morbid.”
“No, really. He’s on his way here right now. I hired him to kill you and make it look like a burglary gone wrong.”
The tension immediately returned to my body. Her tone was undeniably serious. Before I could react, Steffie shocked me again by standing from the couch and pulling a small black pistol from the waistband of her jeans. When she aimed it at my chest, my hands instinctively wrapped around my belly.
“Do not move,” she ordered. “You’re going to stay right where you are until your biggest fan gets here.”
My head started whirling. This had to be some kind of prank. I had to be in one of those nightmares where, even after you wake up, it haunts you for hours. This had to be a dream. My friend was pointing a gun at me.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“It’s not complicated, Emmeline. You have what I want.” My blank stare made her sneer. “Money.”
“You want my money?” I asked, still completely confused.
“Well, it’s not like you’re going to use it,” she snapped. “You’re worth over one hundred million dollars, Emmeline. You might be willing to let all that money sit untouched in the bank, but I’m not. Your father isn’t as rich as he likes everyone to think. Did you know he put me on an allowance?”
