Page 8 of Savage Rancher
"I know."
She blinks. "How do you know? Did someone mention it to you? Jim Blocker?”
“I talked to Blocker about it.” Not a lie, because I don’t lie to Emma—ever. But I’m not telling her that I’m the one who contacted Jim. And no fucking way am I telling her that I’ve been watching her.
"Emma," I say again, taking another step toward her. Being this close to her for the first time after eighteen years is doing things to me I don't have time for right now. "You need to leave. If anyone finds out you saw this?—"
"I didn’t see anything." Her voice is steady now, certain. She meets my eyes without flinching. "He deserved this. He deserved worse. He’s beaten more women than I can count and God knows what else, and his lawyers always get him off without even a slap on the hand. Plus, this was self-defense, right?"
I could say yes without it technically being a lie. His knife, and he attacked me. But it’d feel like a lie if I say it to Emma, so I don’t say anything.
She steps closer, close enough now that I can reach out and touch her. Close enough that I see the way her pulse jumps in her throat. Close enough that if I bend forward, I could find out if she still tastes the same.
The air between us crackles, charged with something dangerous and electric. My blood runs hot, and my body is primed—not for violence but forher. And she's standing here in the aftermath of death, looking at me like I'm some sort of hero.
I’m not. I just do what needs to be done.
And what I need to do right now is get Emma out of here.
10
EMMA
Jake’s gaze drops to my mouth, just for a second, but it lands like a touch. Heat blooms low in my stomach, sharp and immediate. My lips part before I can stop them, breath catching, giving me away.
This is a mistake.
Wrong time. Wrong place.
Right man, though. He always was. And right now, with a pulse of heat that steals my better judgment, even though he’s in front of me like danger wrapped in darkness, I know he still is.
11
JAKE
She looks at me like that, like I’m the only thing in the world that matters, and it hits harder than the blood on my hands ever could.
But I don’t get to have her right now. I grab her wrist, low and rough, and pull her away before she gets tangled up in what I’ve done. "Come on."
"But Jake?—"
"Not here." I guide her away from the body, my grip firm but gentle, moving her toward her RAV4. I look around, walking faster when I see we’re clear.
She doesn't resist and keeps up with me. Her heart races beneath my palm as I steer her to the RAV4. When she speaks, her voice is quiet but firm, final. "I’ll go to the sheriff with you, Jake. I’ll tell him it was self-defense."
Is she that naive, thinking Dan Garrett would believe that and let me off with anything less than life?
Yeah, she is. I shake my head. “I’m not going to the sheriff.”
She frowns up at me as we walk. I don’t know what she sees, but she lifts her chin. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t say anything, Jake,” she says, and it sounds like a vow.
My hand tightens on her. Does she know what she’s promising me? Does she know what that sort of pact means to a man like me? That a declaration of loyalty means more than one of love?
Does she realize she sealed her fate? Because she means every word, and there’s no taking that back. There's no walking away.
I won’t let her.
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