Page 124 of Branded

“Is she okay?” Cage asks.

“She’s fine,” Dad says. “Little shaken up but fine. Boys, help get her to the trucks. We’re heading back to the Drake ranch.”

They help me into the truck. Sebastian climbs in beside me, and for a moment we just sit there in silence.

“I’m sorry,” he finally says. “That you had to see that. Experience that. All of it.”

“You killed them all.”

“Yes.”

“Because they took me?”

“Yes.” His hand finds mine. “They were loose ends that couldn’t be allowed to survive.”

The honesty is brutal. But also expected. This is who Sebastian is. Who his family is. Who my family is, too, apparently.

Sebastian squeezes my hand. “I should be horrified.”

“But you’re not?” he asks.

“No.” And that’s the scariest part. “I’m not. I’m just grateful. That you came.”

“I’ll always come for you, Lennox.” He starts the truck. “Let’s go home. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

The convoy forms up behind us, all heading back to Sebastian’s ranch. The Marshall compound burned. Fifteen bodies inside. A family empire destroyed in a single afternoon.

And all I feel is relief.

40

SEBASTIAN

The drive back to the ranch is silent. Lennox sits beside me in the truck, her hand in mine, staring out the window at nothing. Behind us, a convoy of vehicles follows: my ranch hands, Warren’s rental truck with Cole driving and Nathaniel coordinating cleanup crews via phone.

I keep glancing at Lennox, watching for signs of shock or trauma or a breakdown. But she just sits there, eerily calm, her thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand.

“Are you okay?” I finally ask.

“I don’t know.” Her voice is quiet. “Ask me tomorrow. Or next week. Right now, I’m just numb.”

“That’s normal. After what you went through.”

“After what we all went through,” she corrects. “Sebastian, I watched your father kill a man, your father, who I was sure hated me, killed someone in front of me. For me. I watched you and your brothers fight like this was just another day. Watched Caroline coordinate a military operation like it was routine.” She turns to look at me. “Have you done this before?”

The question hangs in the air between us.

“Never me personally,” I say carefully. “But paid people to handle problems that needed to disappear? More times than I can count.”

She nods slowly, like that confirms something she already suspected. “I always thought that my family built their legacy through honest work.”

“They did. But honest work doesn’t mean clean hands. Not at this level.” I squeeze her hand. “Lennox, every family with real power has done terrible things to protect it. That’s just the reality of what we are.”

We pull through the ranch gates just as the sun is setting. Our house waits ahead, lights on, looking peaceful and safe despite everything that happened over the last sixteen hours.

Caroline is already here, her car in the drive. She meets us on the porch.

“Sheriff bought the story. Ruled it a justified rescue operation. Tragic loss of life, but necessary given the circumstances.” She looks at Lennox. “You’ll need to give a statement tomorrow. Just stick to what we discussed.”