Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(103)

“The ranch? Why?” Mother asks.

“Now, now, Mrs. Molly, that part’s a tightly guarded secret.” Avery walks over, eyeing us one at a time, then stops in front of me and shrugs. “I suppose, considering your predicament, I could let my guard down just this once.”

Ugh. Just get on with it already, I think.

“Turns out, the richest shale in the entire damn Bakken Formation is right beneath the Reed homestead. Acres and acres of it. Jonah never drilled a single well on his own property. He didn’t need to. Had enough money coming in from all the other places North Earhart operated. That’s virgin land he left untouched.” He points to his chest. “His loss. My gain. Oil, minerals, maybe some goddamn dinosaur bones. I’ll bring the boom back to North Dakota so big, Dallas won’t even need any stinking handouts from the Reed Foundation. With Jupiter at the helm, we’ll drag this place kicking and screaming into becoming a real town.”

It’s amazing how easy it is for him to savage me on every level. But I just shake my head again. “The town won’t sell you the ranch, Briar. It won’t be theirs to sell.”

He nods, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “Bullshit, it will.”

“Wrong. You left one thing out.” I return a slow, angry smile as ugly as his. “Because when I die, my husband inherits everything.”

He laughs. “Your husband. That’s funny, Annabelle.”

Mom’s eyes light up. “She’s telling you the truth. You know Drake, don’t you, Avery?”

“You aren’t married to Drake Larkin,” he snarls. “Not anymore.”

Pride, along with a wave of warmth despite the evil surrounding us, fills me. “Yes, I am. Guess your spies didn’t get the memo.”

He paces across the floor, slaps the side of the truck, and laughs.

“This just gets better and better.” Stepping away from the truck, he kneels down in front of me. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, darling, but my son already killed your husband.”

My heart clenches at the thought, but it can’t be true. I saw Drake’s truck. Unless there was another man, there’s no way his son pulled off a hit.

“Guess again, liar. Drake was still at the ranch when I left. Healthy as ever.”

For a second, Avery glares at me, then darts across the room and grabs Adam by the front of his shirt. “What the hell’s she talking about? You mean to tell me–”

“I didn’t need to kill him, Dad,” his son says, flashing an empty smile. “I told you, she met me at the end of the driveway. Easy.”

For a second, everything goes still.

Then Avery shakes his son in a fit so violent his hat falls off. “You stupid little bastard! You fuckass punk. I knew I shouldn’t have sent you out there alone to do a man’s job.”

He’s breathing like he might collapse. I hope he does.

But Avery lifts his head, red as a cherry. “How many times do we have to go through this again? Drake Larkin is the reason I had to send you to the offshore rigs, you little idiot. He knows you’re the one who killed that woman from the reservation. He knows you were the one pimping her little brother to sell your stupid fucking drugs, putting us at risk for pennies. He knows about the other sites, too. The other women. He knows everything!” Teeth clenched, he shoves his son backward, into the big metal toolbox.

Adam doesn’t fight. He slides to the floor, covering himself before he says, “No, Dad. Nobody knows. You took care of that. You said you did!”

My insides sink. Jesus.

So he had killed Drake’s ex, his friend, whoever she was.

Avery punches the truck fender. “Fuck! I wish I had you arrested and knocked off in jail instead of that decoy. Your idea. Do you know how hard I had to look to find someone as stupid as you? I had him eighty-sixed just so Larkin and that lazy sheriff would think that was the end of it. The end of you!”

I’m actually amazed.

They don’t know the same Drake I do if they believe he’d be fooled so easy.

Regret rises up inside me for getting so angry at him. Jealousy, that’s all it had been.

I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on him and Angie. I was just getting candy canes for Edison and the kids when I heard them yelling, and then I couldn’t stop listening.

“But...what if he saw the real me?” Adam asks, running a nervous hand through his thick hair. “Shit. Do you think–”

Avery grabs him off the floor and hoists him up. “You don’t think a goddamn thing. That’s the problem. And that’s why I told you to kill him! Take him out. End fucking Larkin and then bring all the Reeds here for disposal!”

With one more wild-eyed look, he lets go, turning with a vicious sigh.

The son shoves his hat back on his head. “I’ll go now, Dad. Let me take care of this. I won’t fuck up again. I promise.”

Avery shakes his head slowly. “It’s far too late for that, you dolt. The first thing you’re going to do is go hide my truck and that white car. I need a minute to think.” Shoving him aside, he says, “Then hurry up and get your ass back here. I’ll know what to do by then, and you’ll remember how to listen.”

I look at my parents, wishing so bad I could offer some hope.

But I can’t.