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“She didn’t screw with you for the fun of it.”
“No, that was your doing.”
“I did it because it needed to be realistic.”
“Bullshit,” I spat. “You did it to teach me some lesson. Just like you sent Max and Christa off to get married, but neglected to tell them they didn’t actually go through with it.”
“That was different,” he said, his body stiffening.
“Yeah? It was different because it was for their own good, or because it was your idea and you liked fucking with their lives?”
“Believe what you want. Maybe I did fuck with Max, but this was all about keeping Raven alive.”
“And you didn’t think I could play the part, or you didn’t think I would like the choices you had made?”
His jaw clenched in anger. “We were all there. We never would have let anything happen to her.”
“Well…good for you that you knew it was fake.”
“We didn’t do this to piss you off or teach you a lesson,” he shouted as I stood to walk away. “We only had a small amount of time to get things in place. I knew if I told you, it would blow the operation. You weren’t prepared to handle something like that, and having a discussion about it wasn’t an option. It had to happen whether you like it or not.”
I heard what he was saying, and part of me actually believed the bullshit spewing from his lips. But I was too angry to deal with it right now. Whether it had to happen or not, they allowed me to believe that I had failed Raven—that she had been killed right in front of me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those three bullets hitting her chest. I saw her fall back and her body go limp.
Yeah, she was a fucking great actress, and she had to be, but I couldn’t reconcile what they were telling me with the images in my head. And until I got past it, I couldn’t be around any of them. I couldn’t risk losing my shit like I had on Raven earlier.
I walked out of the bar and headed for my truck, but I didn’t get far. Something hard hit me on the back of the head and I fell to my knees. Dazed, my head lolled to the side as I was hoisted up by my arms and hauled across the parking lot. My toes dragged along the asphalt, bumping on cracks and potholes. I knew I needed to fight back, but as my head spun, I couldn’t find the energy as the blackness slowly crept in.
I heard a door open and then I was tossed in the back of a van. My body jolted at the impact, and when I rolled to the side, I caught sight of a metal object just before something pinched the skin at the back of my neck. I fought the ripples of darkness threatening to take over.
For a brief moment, I considered that this was some sick joke by Cash, trying to prove a point. But he would never inject me with something to do that. The light faded around me until I had no choice but to fade with it. I would know soon enough who was behind the attack.
This was the second time I had woken up tied to a chair in the last day. Though the accommodations were better, I had a feeling the situation was more dire. That is, until Cash turned around and narrowed his eyes at me.
“Fuck,” I grumbled. “Seriously? Can’t you just give me a fucking minute to adjust to the fact that my woman is alive?”
“Not sure what you’re talking about,” he said, tilting his head to the side.
“Look, I get it. You think I’m being unfair to her. But it’s not up to you to decide how I handle this shit. And you definitely didn’t need to stick a fucking needle in my neck.”
“You didn’t go down when I knocked you out,” he said, shrugging slightly. “I did what I had to do.”
“Bullshit. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you.”
“I seem to get a lot of the blame these days.”
“Since you’re the one who set up the whole fucking thing, I’d say my anger is warranted.”
He shoved to his feet, strolling over to me. “Though I’m sure I’m to blame for many things, whatever happened with Raven is not one of them.”
“How can you say that? You’re the one who decided to fake her death.”
A smirk crossed his face as he cocked his head at me. “I see my brother is still pretending he’s blameless.”
“Your—” Groaning, I let my head roll back. “You’re Rafe.”
“That would be correct.”
“Seems a little strange that you would call Cash out for his actions when you’re just as bad.”
