I smirked. "June made her choice, Jed. That makes her none of your fucking business."
Jed's expression turned dark. "I always knew you were bad news, you know. Even when you came back before, when everyone in town hailed you as a hero, I knew better."
"You and June were never going to work, Jed," I said. "She's not interested. And picking me up, harassing me, isn't going to make her want you any more."
He ignored me, kept on talking. "I asked around about you two, you know. Made a few calls. Picked up your little buddies too."
"What the fuck are you talking about, Jed? Who the fuck did you pick up?" My chest felt tight. Dragging me down here was one thing, making calls to find out about Crunch and I was another thing entirely.
"Called over to one of my old buddies down in Riverside, not too far from your motorcycle club, couple days ago," he said, ignoring my second question.
"Jed," I said, fear finally beginning to settle over me. "What the hell did you do?"
"Old buddy of mine from school," he said. "On drinking terms with a few clubs out there."
"You idiot." I needed to get out of here. My mind raced with the possibilities. We'd stayed too long out here, been too careless.
Because of me. Because I couldn't let go of June. I'd gotten comfortable, convinced myself we were in the clear. What the hell had I been thinking?
Jed didn't seem to notice, just continued talking. "Rumor has it your little motorcycle club is working as part of a smuggling ring, Cade. So you're coming back here, bringing your shit to West Bend, bringing your shit to June..."
His voice droned on and I thought about reaching across the table and choking him right now, then walking out of here. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Who the fuck did you pick up - what buddies are you talking about?"
Jed wrinkled his brow. "What I've done? What the hell are you thinking, coming back here, getting June involved in whatever illegal shit you have going on?"
"I haven't brought anything to her," I said, though I knew it wasn't true. I was dragging her down, with my shit. What was I thinking, buying her a ring? It was laughable, the thought that I could somehow escape the club unscathed, bring June with me, that we could somehow leave everything behind. My darkness would always follow her. There was no escaping it.
"I want you out of this town," Jed said. "Do you understand that? You're not welcome here. Your kind isn't welcome here."
"You don't have to worry about that," I mumbled, distracted by my thoughts. In fact, I needed to leave, right now. "How long ago?" I croaked, my throat dry.
"How long ago what?"
"How long ago did you pick up my little buddies?"
Jed shrugged. "A couple hours ago. Not bikers, though."
Jesus Christ. "What are you talking about, Jed?"
"The guys following you, the suits."
What the fuck was he talking about?
I needed to leave. I stood up.
"You're not going anywhere, Cade."
"If I'm not under arrest, I'm free to go."
Jed's radio squawked, and he picked it up suddenly, turning up the volume to listen. "Engines en route to County Road Twelve. Reports of heavy smoke from a structure fire. EMS dispatched. Fire department is fifteen minutes out."
My stomach lurched, my head spinning so much that I could barely hear every other word. I didn't even need to hear the address. I knew where it was. I knew what was happening.
When Jed looked up at me, his face was pale, no longer colored by his hatred of me. "It's your dad's ranch," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What have you done?" I asked.
What had I done?
It's all my fault.
Just a structure fire, I told myself. Just the barn.
The problem was, I knew it wasn't.
"You can ride with me," Jed said.
"Crunch," I croaked out as we headed to the door.
He shook his head. "He and the kid stay."
June
The second I saw the smoke rising from Stan's ranch, I made the 911 call, my hands trembling. Stan's barn was on fire, I could see it clear as day.
The horses.
Stan and April.
They were okay, I reassured myself. They were inside, cooking. Not in the barn. Stan had plenty of experience with fires. A barn fire wasn't that unusual, not out here.
The horses.
I rode, my heart racing, digging into the horse's flanks, urging her on as fast as I could get her to gallop.
Everything would be fine.
It had to be.
Axe
Fear clung to me, a vise grip on my heart so tight I could barely breathe. Jed raced along the back country roads, hugging the turns and driving like his life depended on it, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. He tried to say something to me, but I couldn't hear him. All I could think about was them.
June, my dad, April.
If anything happened to them...
Jed pulled in the driveway, two police cruisers and an ambulance blocking the front of the entry. The barn was consumed by fire, and the local volunteer firefighters were trying to contain it.