Page 103
Pulling off the road in the middle of nowhere, I stop us under a tree and cut the engine.
Harloe doesn’t ask what I’m doing, and she doesn’t wait for my hand before climbing off my bike. She tosses her helmet at me, pacing in the dirt as she storms back and forth.
I climb off next, leaning against my bike with arms and ankles crossed. “What did Zander say?”
Her eyes turn molten as she stops in place. “It doesn’t matter what Zander said. It’s about what you didn’t.”
Fuck.
My stomach sinks, and I have a feeling I know where this is going.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the message left on the truck at the farmers market?” Her arms cross, eyes narrowing. “I’m guessing it was about me.”
“You and me.”
“What did it say, Shane?”
I rake my fingers through my hair. “It said that we’re both going to pay.”
For Harloe’s sake, I edit the message slightly because it pisses me off that they called her a bitch, and I’m not repeating it.
“Pay for what?” Her eyebrows furrow.
“We haven’t been able to figure it out.”
“We?” Her eyes widen. “Let me guess. You, Lawson, Aiden, East… and my brothers.”
My tongue clicks on the roof of my mouth, and I know there’s no more lying about this. “Yeah.”
She shakes her head, laughing with absolutely zero amusement. “Of course. All of you knew and refused to tell me what was going on.”
“We were trying to—”
“Don’t you dare say you were trying to protect me.” She cuts me off.
I lift off my bike but don’t step closer because it’s clear she needs her space. “We have no idea who left the message or why.”
“Yet you didn’t ask me in case I might know?”
“Do you?”
Her face falls, and I sense the reality of what’s happening starting to hit her.
“No, I don’t.” She sighs, tipping her head back and pinching her eyes closed.
I dare to take a step closer. “Did anything happen while you were gone all those years? Something that could have followed you home?”
Her chin drops. “No. I went to college. Worked odd jobs and hopped around. But there’s nothing that would send someone after me. What is happening?”
Harloe doesn’t back up when I draw closer. Her anger slowly slips away and something else starts to take its place.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“Right.” She nods sharply. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me the truth.”
“That was a fuckup on my part.”
“I don’t need you to protect me, Shane. I have three overbearing brothers who have already been doing that my entire life. And in case you forgot, I’m capable of sticking up for myself. What I need is for you to be honest.”
