Page 64 of Promised to the Cowboy

For a moment, the room settles.

Coffee mugs. Soft conversation. It’s... peaceful.

Then Daniel clears his throat.

Conversations taper off one by one. Coffee cups lower. The easy smiles fade.

Daniel waits until he has everyone's attention before he speaks. “I wish we were getting together under better circumstances. But we got confirmation this morning that Marlon Ennis didn’t die in an accident.”

Nobody flinches. As if they’ve been waiting for this.

Henry exhales quietly. “So it’s murder.”

“We don’t have enough evidence to call it that officially.” Daniel’s voice stays level. “But somebody wanted him permanently unavailable.”

Jacob’s jaw tightens. “Marlon knew too much.”

“He handled loans across three counties,” Ethan says. “Land transfers. Financial records. He knew who’d been approached, who’d refused to sell, which shell companies were connected.”

“And who was paying them,” Jenna adds.

I don’t interrupt. I’ve already heard most of this from Gabriel yesterday.

Instead, I find myself watching the people around the table. Nobody looks shocked. Just… tired. Worried. Like they’ve been carrying this fight for years.

“We gave the FBI the name Vance mentioned when Jenna and I confronted him in town,” Ethan continues. “The higher-up who’s been directing everything. The land purchases. The intimidation. The poisoned well. The fire that nearly killed Luna. The forged documents that almost tore this family apart by making it look like Gabriel had betrayed us. Marlon Ennis’s murder.”

My head turns so fast my neck protests.

I stare at Gabriel.

Forged documents?

He never told me that.

Someone had tried to convince the people he loved that he’d turned against them.

My heart twists. My fingers tighten around his.

He glances at me. “You okay, darlin’?” he asks quietly.

I nod automatically. Too quickly. Because the name Ethan mentioned stirs a memory somewhere deep in the back of my mind.

We gave the FBI the name Vance mentioned…

Vance.

I know that name. I’ve heard it before. At a charity gala. Men in tailored suits talking while I smiled for photographs I never wanted to be in. My father introducing me to people whose names blurred together because none of them were there to meetme.

Julian Vance.

I can almost see him. Expensive suit. Perfect smile. The kind of man my father surrounded himself with. The kind of man who made everyone else in the room feel as though they should be grateful for his attention.

A prickle runs down my spine.

Gabriel’s thumb strokes the back of my hand. “Evie?”

I drag my eyes back to him and force a smile. “I’m fine.”