Page 48 of Fall or Nothing

After some time, curious, I sat straighter, peeking out through the windows.

More agents and lawmen had arrived. Many carried outboxes of things they were confiscating, and computers too. Armed deputies watched over a group of handcuffed men and women sitting on the ground.

The day passed. I had no idea of the time. Mid afternoon? My legs cramped, and I needed to relieve myself. There were enough patrol cars and SUVs and trucks around me; I slipped out and scoped a place to hide and stretch.

Big mistake. A surge of camera crews and reporters filed in, throwing everything into disarray. I ducked behind a truck.

“Who let them in? Get them out of here!” A deputy barked. Other deputies backed them up and established a wide perimeter outside.

“I’ll hold a media conference in town tonight,” the sheriff shouted. He got on his phone with someone, and I was close enough to eavesdrop. “We didn’t find Red or his brother. We think they fled the scene. I found a trail that I thought was theirs leading to the mountain, but I lost it. We’ll put out an APB for their arrest. I need eyes in the air scouring for them.”

What did that mean for me? Two men, who’d already proved they could leave me for dead, were out there somewhere. I did my business and quickly returned to the SUV to hide, as if that’d protect me.

The sheriff droveme back to the Off-Duty RescueRanch afterward, quiet for a long stretch before he finally spoke.

“It’s a damn shame,” he started. “Red’s wife is a sweet woman. We talked to her at the house, and she never thought this place existed on her husband’s ranch. Knew nothing about his whereabouts. I believe her. She’s got a disability that’s cost their family a fortune in medical bills. Some years ago, there was a fire on their property. They had to completely rebuild. I have a theory that when they did, they found a way to dig down into that cave and then to work with criminal elements to make use of it. People do desperate things for money… especially when it’s done out of love.”

He let that sit between us as we drove. Looking at my situation, I was desperate, willing to come to work here, pose as a cowboy, and lie through my teeth to everyone just to earn my inheritance.

“Sheriff… can I ask you something?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”

I took a deep breath. “You found out my real name is Carter Magnus, but can we keep that out of this? Make me an anonymous informant or something?”

“I’ll keep your name out of it for as long as I can, if that’s your wish. But understand that later, when we catch these assholes, if this goes to trial and your testimony is needed, your identity might eventually have to be disclosed.”

“Understood. Also, Sage doesn’t know who I really am, and I don’t want her finding out in connection with this. Notyet.”

The sheriff studied me out of the corner of his eye.Might as well tell him everything.

“My father’s will has this inheritance clause. I have to survive thirty days with nothing to earn it, but I can’t use my name or anything to my advantage. So Chris hired me on the ranch. He and Ash are the only ones who know me and the real reason I’m here. If Sage finds out I’ve been lying to her this whole time…”

The sheriff’s expression softened a fraction. “Not even Sage knows who you are?”

I shook my head. “She works for your wife at the Copper Cup. I didn’t mean to get so involved with her, but things happened.”

“As they usually do with a woman involved,” he chuckled.

“I don’t know how I’ll tell her at the end of all this, but I’d appreciate it if you could keep this from Harper for now.”

The sheriff was quiet until he pulled into the ranch, then nodded. “In my job, there are some things I’ve learned I can’t tell Harper. Mostly because legally I can’t. Sometimes, because the information would tear her or this town apart if it got out, as rumors often spread like wildfire. Harper likes Sage, and I do too. Neither of us would want to see her hurt.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.”

“When do you leave?”

“Just under two weeks.”

“Then what?”

I shrugged, suddenly unsure. “Back to my life?”

I got out and watched him drive away, the weight of everything pressing down on me.People do desperate things for money,he’d said. Red had. I had—in my own way, chasing an inheritance. That felt shallow now.

Sage was the one real person in this entire mess I didn’t want to disappoint. But I was probably halfway there.

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