Page 112 of Branded

His entire body goes rigid. “When?”

“Just now. About five minutes ago.” I study his reaction. “Sebastian, what’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Pete!” Sebastian is already moving toward the door, phone in hand. “I need security on the barn. Now. Check for signs of intrusion, anyone who shouldn’t be there.”

“Sebastian,” I shout, making him stop and turn back to me.

“Stay here. Lock the doors. Don’t go outside until I come back.” He’s already out the door, moving fast toward the barn.

I stand in the kitchen, adrenaline spiking, trying to understand what just happened. Sebastian’s reaction is too extreme for a feeling I might have imagined. Which means he knows something. Suspects something. Something he hasn’t told me.

I pull out my phone and call Caroline. She answers on the first ring.

“Lennox? What’s wrong?”

“Sebastian just went full security mode because I felt like someone was watching me in the barn. What’s going on that he’s not telling me?”

Silence on the other end. Too long.

“Caroline. Tell me,” I demand.

“Marshall’s men have been more active lately. Making moves we don’t fully understand yet. Sebastian doesn’t want to worry you.”

“What kind of moves?”

“Surveillance. Testing our security. Looking for weaknesses.” Caroline pauses. “He’s trying to protect you.”

“By keeping me in the dark?” Anger flares hot. “That’s not protection, Caroline. That’s control.”

“I know. And I told him that. But he’s scared, Lennox. More scared than I’ve ever seen him. Marshall crossed lines with Adam’s sister. Used a teenager as leverage. Sebastian thinks they might…” She lets her words trail off.

“Might what?”

“Might come after you. To get to us.”

The words hang in the air, and suddenly everything clicks into place. Sebastian’s tension. The increased security I noticed but didn’t question. The way he watches me leave every morning, like he isn’t sure I’ll come back.

“I’m coming down there,” Caroline says. “Stay in the house. Lock the doors. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” She hangs up before I can argue.

I lock the front and back doors and check the windows I know are already secure. I pace the living room while watching through the windows as Sebastian, Pete, and several ranch hands spread out and search the barn and surrounding area. Looking for someone who probably isn’t there any more. If they were there at all.

But the feeling was real. I knew that bone-deep certainty that comes from being watched. My phone buzzes. Unknown number. Texas area code. I almost don’t answer. But something makes me pick up.

“Hello?”

Silence. Just breathing on the other end.

“Hello?” I repeat, my voice sharper.

“Mrs. Drake.” A man’s voice. Older, rough, with a Texas drawl. “I hope you’re settling in well to ranch life.”

My blood goes cold. “Who is this?”

“A friend of the family. I just wanted to check in. Make sure you’re being treated right by your new husband.” A pause. “Though from what I hear, you didn’t have much choice in marrying him, did you?”

How does he know? How could he possibly?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”