stutter in my voice betraying me right away. “Something's happened. I really, really need you to come over here and take a look at this.”
V: Survival Instinct
I'd never seen him so angry before. As soon as he looked at the skull grinning in the dark garbage can, he flushed red, fished it out, and hurled it at the cement steps leading up to my house.
The bone clattered loudly to the ground with a new hole punched in its side. I patted his shoulders cautiously, urging him to take deep, slow breaths.
Jesus. And here I thought I was the one who needed calming down.
“What's up with you, baby? Why are you acting like this?”
“You can't stay here now,” he said simply, grabbing my hand and leading me inside. “Sit down.”
We plopped down at the kitchen table, staring across at one another. He must've seen the messy confusion in my eyes, just as I saw the inexplicable outrage lighting up his.
“If I were you, Cat, I'd call up my closest relatives and pay them a visit for a good, long while. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.” He unfolded his hands and cut through the air, giving added emphasis to words that really felt like overkill.
“That's crazy!” I burst out. “I can't leave this place now that things are finally running. And with all that money up there –“
“Yeah, the money. I'd bet every dime to my name that it's the number one reason you had this skull show up on your poor father's site. They know it's here somewhere, and they will be back.”
“Okay, Ethan. I need you to tell me right now who they are. What the fuck is going on here?” I stopped, balling my hands into fists and not unclenching them until I filled my lungs completely full of sorely needed oxygen.
“There's active drug runners around here. Some cartel or something that's using nice, out of the way places like this as a staging ground on the last leg of their trip up to Canada.” He paused, watching my face wrinkle.
“Damned police won't admit to it. It's been like this for a couple years now. I wanted to say something sooner, but you were still reeling from your Pa's death.” He looked up, eying my face cautiously.
I exhaled sharply. Part of me, I knew, should've been angry.
Or at least irked that the one man who could've given me all the information after Pa's murder hadn't been totally forthcoming. But then, he had a good point.
I shook my head slowly. It was a lot to take it.
“I'm not mad. I just need to know what you do. Please, tell me the rest. All of it.”
“There isn't much more to know. I bought myself a newer shotgun last winter. The cold months are pretty dead for them – they don't come around. But as soon as Spring hits, the bastard are back, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna end up like Mister Nichols.”
“I'm not either. And I'm not leaving!” I slammed my fist onto the table, reinforcing my determination the only way I knew how.
“I don't want you to go, little Cat. God, I don't.” He took off his hat, running one hand over his forehead through the short crop of hair. “But you aren't safe here. Hate to point out the obvious, but your Pa was involved with those bandits somewhere along the line.”
“He wasn't a criminal!” I snapped.
“I know. Nobody said he was. These guys thrive on blackmail sometimes. Could've been as simple as forcing him to store their loot here, maybe even their drugs. Do you see now, Cat? We're decent people, and it's a battle just to understand anything about their world. How can you be safe if you don't even know your enemy?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He got me.
“I just...I can't leave this place. It's all I have left. If I need to, I'll burn every last fucking dollar up there. I swear that I will. I won't be forced off my family's ranch.”
Ethan stared at me in cold silence. When he moved again, he reached across the table, grasping my hands tightly in his.
“I understand what it's like to be bound to your land. This
V: Survival Instinct
I'd never seen him so angry before. As soon as he looked at the skull grinning in the dark garbage can, he flushed red, fished it out, and hurled it at the cement steps leading up to my house.
The bone clattered loudly to the ground with a new hole punched in its side. I patted his shoulders cautiously, urging him to take deep, slow breaths.
Jesus. And here I thought I was the one who needed calming down.
“What's up with you, baby? Why are you acting like this?”
“You can't stay here now,” he said simply, grabbing my hand and leading me inside. “Sit down.”
We plopped down at the kitchen table, staring across at one another. He must've seen the messy confusion in my eyes, just as I saw the inexplicable outrage lighting up his.
“If I were you, Cat, I'd call up my closest relatives and pay them a visit for a good, long while. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.” He unfolded his hands and cut through the air, giving added emphasis to words that really felt like overkill.
“That's crazy!” I burst out. “I can't leave this place now that things are finally running. And with all that money up there –“
“Yeah, the money. I'd bet every dime to my name that it's the number one reason you had this skull show up on your poor father's site. They know it's here somewhere, and they will be back.”
“Okay, Ethan. I need you to tell me right now who they are. What the fuck is going on here?” I stopped, balling my hands into fists and not unclenching them until I filled my lungs completely full of sorely needed oxygen.
“There's active drug runners around here. Some cartel or something that's using nice, out of the way places like this as a staging ground on the last leg of their trip up to Canada.” He paused, watching my face wrinkle.
“Damned police won't admit to it. It's been like this for a couple years now. I wanted to say something sooner, but you were still reeling from your Pa's death.” He looked up, eying my face cautiously.
I exhaled sharply. Part of me, I knew, should've been angry.
Or at least irked that the one man who could've given me all the information after Pa's murder hadn't been totally forthcoming. But then, he had a good point.
I shook my head slowly. It was a lot to take it.
“I'm not mad. I just need to know what you do. Please, tell me the rest. All of it.”
“There isn't much more to know. I bought myself a newer shotgun last winter. The cold months are pretty dead for them – they don't come around. But as soon as Spring hits, the bastard are back, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna end up like Mister Nichols.”
“I'm not either. And I'm not leaving!” I slammed my fist onto the table, reinforcing my determination the only way I knew how.
“I don't want you to go, little Cat. God, I don't.” He took off his hat, running one hand over his forehead through the short crop of hair. “But you aren't safe here. Hate to point out the obvious, but your Pa was involved with those bandits somewhere along the line.”
“He wasn't a criminal!” I snapped.
“I know. Nobody said he was. These guys thrive on blackmail sometimes. Could've been as simple as forcing him to store their loot here, maybe even their drugs. Do you see now, Cat? We're decent people, and it's a battle just to understand anything about their world. How can you be safe if you don't even know your enemy?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He got me.
“I just...I can't leave this place. It's all I have left. If I need to, I'll burn every last fucking dollar up there. I swear that I will. I won't be forced off my family's ranch.”
Ethan stared at me in cold silence. When he moved again, he reached across the table, grasping my hands tightly in his.
“I understand what it's like to be bound to your land. This
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