Page 65 of Branded

The room temperature drops ten degrees.

“Dad,” Nathaniel starts.

“No.” Dad’s eyes stay on Lennox. “Think about it. We have a leak. Someone who shared our plans, who set us up for that ambush. And now, hours later, Sebastian’s wife, whom we barely know, suddenly has all the answers. Knows exactly how to fix everything.”

“You think I’m the leak?” Lennox’s voice is steady, but I can see her hands trembling.

“I think it’s awfully convenient that you showed up right before all this started. That you’ve inserted yourself into every aspect of ranch operations since you got here, and now you somehow manage to recover stolen cattle without Marshall noticing.” Dad’s face is stern. “So yeah, Miss Briggs. I think you might be the leak.”

The accusation hangs in the air like poison.

And I realize with cold certainty that everything Lennox and I had built, fragile as it is, is about to shatter completely.

22

LENNOX

The hospital room goes deadly silent. Walker’s accusation echoes in my ears—you might be the leak—and I feel the floor tilt beneath me. Every eye in the room is on me now. Caroline’s sharp and assessing. Nathaniel’s uncertain. James’s shocked. Sebastian’s unreadable.

They’re all wondering if their patriarch is right. If I’ve betrayed them.

“That’s bullshit.” My voice comes out stronger than I feel. “I’ve been on your ranch for two weeks. Two weeks. You think I orchestrated a cattle theft with people I don’t even know, an ambush and a recovery operation in two weeks?”

“Stranger things have happened.” Walker’s eyes are cold despite the pain medication blurring his edges. “It’s convenient timing, you show up and we’ve got problems,” he says.

“I showed up because your son bought me at a fucking auction and forced me to marry him. A system which your barbaric ancestors set up. Then you summoned him home. The issues he created by stealing land have ended up having consequences.”

Walker shifts in the bed, wincing. “For all I know, you’re a plant. Someone Thomas Marshall put in place months ago—like, say, when you started working at Sebastian’s resort. Someone they’ve been grooming for exactly this kind of operation.”

“Dad, that’s insane. Maybe we shouldn’t discuss this when you’re high on pain meds,” Sebastian says, but his voice lacks conviction.

“She’s conveniently there when we ride into their ambush. And now she’s got some brilliant plan that puts her alone with you on Marshall land in the middle of the night.”

“Where we recovered your cattle!” I cut him off, anger replacing shock. “Twenty-three head that you’d written off as lost. I risked my life going back onto that property to get your animals back, and this is how you thank me?”

“Or you risked nothing because you knew there wouldn’t be anyone to shoot you.” Walker’s jaw is set. “Maybe the whole recovery operation was just smoke and mirrors. A way to make yourself look useful while reporting back to them about our security, our weaknesses, our next moves.”

“That’s ridiculous.” I look around the room again, hoping to find someone in my corner, but if they’re not looking at me with accusation, they’re avoiding my gaze.

“Is it? You’re conveniently right there when Sebastian needs help. Saving him. Making yourself look like a hero.” Walker’s voice gets harder. “Classic infiltration technique. Establish trust through manufactured heroics.”

“I didn’t manufacture anything!” My hands clench into fists. “Those bullets were real. The man I shot went down. There was nothing fake about any of it.”

“So you say.”

“So I know!” I take a step toward the bed, and Nathaniel moves instinctively between us. “I was there, Walker. I lived through it. And if you think I’m working for Marshall, then explain why I’d risk getting shot to save your son’s life.”

“Because he’s worth more alive to you than dead.”

“I did it because I’m his wife.” The words come out raw, louder than I intended. “Like it or not, I married Sebastian. I’m part of this family now. And I don’t appreciate being accused of treason by a man who doesn’t know the first fucking thing about me.”

“That’s exactly my point.” Walker’s voice goes quiet, dangerous. “I don’t know you. None of us do. You’re a stranger who showed up with my son. Two weeks isn’t enough time to earn trust. Especially not when there’s a traitor on this ranch.”

I look at Sebastian, waiting for him to defend me. To tell his father he’s wrong, that I can’t be the leak, that I’ve proven myself.

But Sebastian just stands there, his face unreadable, his jaw tight.

He’s considering it. Actually considering whether his father might be right.