The Wicked Horse Boxed Set (+Wicked Bond [5])

by Sawyer Bennett

  "I'm sorry," is all she says.

  "Who the fuck are you?" I grit out, my hands clenching into fists.

  Sloane rolls out of the bed, dropping her phone on the mattress. When she walks up to me, her eyes are apologetic but pleading with me for understanding. She goes to lay a hand on my chest but I step out of her reach, my fists still balled tight.

  The sadness in her eyes intensifies at my reaction.

  "My name is Sloane Preston. Meyers is my mom's maiden name. I work for--well, used to work for a political magazine in D.C. I was sent here to find out about The Silo and to try to connect it to Governor Hayes."

  My breath hisses out through my teeth as my rage intensifies.

  "When I couldn't find a link to the governor," she continues on in a shame-filled voice, "I was ordered to try to find some dirt on Callie. They wanted me to write a sordid piece on her, and they'd connect the governor with a very weak political spin so they could publish it. They wanted sales and ratings."

  "And what the fuck was my part in all of this?"

  She swallows hard but doesn't drop her gaze. "You were my way into the club."

  "Son of a fucking bitch," I roar as it suddenly hits me that everything I had with this woman was a fucking lie. My hand shoots out and grabs her by the upper arm. She gasps in pain, but I don't care. I drag her to the bed, picking up her phone with my free hand and throwing it in her purse on the nightstand. Then I grab the purse, shoving it into her chest, where she makes an awkward grab at it.

  I immediately start dragging her out of my bedroom. "You fucking bitch," I hiss at her.

  "Wait, Cain," she cries out, trying to dig her bare feet into the carpet. "I couldn't go through with it..."

  "Yeah, I heard that part," I sneer at her as I pull on her hard. She stumbles, goes to her knees, and I drag her down the hallway. "Convenient how you said that only after I walked into the room and you knew you were busted."

  "That's not true," she blurts out and I stop, yank her to her feet, and start pulling her across my living room. "I had planned to quit when I made that call."

  "Don't fucking lie to make this easier on your conscience. I'm not buying it."

  "Just wait," she yells at me, trying to jerk her arm free. Just as I reach the front door, she manages to rip away from me and take two steps back.

  I turn on her, my breath coming in shallow bursts. My fury burns hotter as I take in the deceitful woman who turned out to be no better than Rachel was.

  Actually, worse since my feelings were deeper.

  "I was going to quit before then," she says hurriedly as she reaches into her purse. She looks in, shuffles through something, and pulls out an envelope. Her hand reaches out, attempting to hand it to me. "I wrote this letter to you explaining everything. I was going to leave tonight... leave this with you... telling you the truth of everything. And I thought... if you could forgive me, then maybe we could--"

  I lunge at her, dismissing everything that comes out of her mouth, knowing I'll never trust her or another woman again as long as I live. I take her arm again, yanking her roughly to the door. She tries to pull against me, but I'm having none of it. I know my grip is so hard on her that it will leave bruises on her skin.

  So fucking what. They'll match the bruises on my heart.

  I jerk the door open, shoving her through it onto my front porch. She stumbles but catches herself before she goes down. Sloane spins quickly to look at me, her hair flying and covering a portion of her face. Tears are streaming down her face, and I have to wonder why in the fuck she's crying.

  She hands the envelope toward me again. "Please, will you just read it?"

  Glancing down to the envelope, I look back up to her. I narrow my gaze at her and put every bit of emotion into my words when I say, "Get the fuck off my property and don't ever come here again. You so much as come after Callie or anyone involved in The Silo, and I will end you. There won't be anywhere you can hide from me."

  Sloane gives a tiny sob and nods at me in understanding, tears pouring so hard from her eyes that they drip off her chin onto my porch. "I understand. And don't worry. I won't do anything to hurt you, Callie, or anyone. That was never my intention."

  I watch as she bends over, drops the envelope on the porch, and turns around to trot down the steps. She hustles into her car, and I watch until I can no longer see her taillights in the dark.

  I look down at the envelope one more time, then turn around and walk back into my house.

  Chapter 26

  Sloane

  I pull out onto 191 and head toward Jackson, but my eyes are so blurred with tears that I can't see the road. Slamming on brakes, I pull over onto the shoulder, feeling the crunch of gravel and wild sagebrush under my tires.

  Placing my hands at the top of my steering wheel, I lay my forehead on them and just go ahead and let the sobs out. I let myself purge all the pain and heartbreak I'm feeling, because I still have important things to do and I have to let this go sooner rather than later.

  Oh, God... I didn't realize it would hurt this bad when Cain found out the truth. I didn't realize how badly it would clearly hurt him, and his reaction very much hurt me. The mere fact he wouldn't listen to my explanation... wouldn't even touch my letter explaining it all... it leaves me so empty feeling I'm not sure how I can ever reconcile this all within my conscience.

  Cain has no reason to believe me based on what he overheard with Brant, but I had made the decision to tell Brant to go fuck himself yesterday after Callie and I had lunch. I thought of the connection I had with her, and the amazing relationship I was developing with Cain, and I weighed it against my abhorrence over hurting two people I came to care about and admire in a short time. I realized I couldn't go through with what Brant wanted of me, so I came back to my apartment and drafted my letters.

  I wrote down exactly who I was and what I had set out to do.

  The one I wrote to Cain lays on his front porch, where it will probably blow away and disintegrate from the elements.

  The other I wrote to Callie.

  I kept them in my purse, assured I would not hand them over until I had exhausted all efforts to get Brant to back off. I had no clue when or if that could happen. I know tonight was my first true attempt to get him to see reason. As soon as Cain dropped me off at his house and left to go back to work, I was filled with compulsion to make this all go away so I could try to make an honest effort at having something real with this man who had just willingly sacrificed a big part of his life to be with me.

  In the matter of a few hours' time, I had gone from thinking Cain was all wrong for me to knowing he was the one. I was willing to leave D.C., relocate here permanently, and try to figure out a new path in life. I was at peace with that decision, knowing that in the end, I'd get what was most important.

  But fuck... when Cain walked into that room and I saw the condemnation tinged with hate in his eyes, I knew time was up. I had to cut my ties with Brant. He was screaming at me that he was bringing my mother and me down when I hung up, but I couldn't worry about that right now. I had to start making amends to the immediate people who were going to be hurt, and that was namely Cain and Callie.

  Cain's a bust. He's not listening, nor does it appear he has room in his heart to forgive my betrayal. And honestly, I don't expect him to. What I did was too deceitful to even expect him to consider listening to a damn thing I have to say.

  But maybe Callie will, and since she was the one I targeted, it's just as important to me that she understands I couldn't go through with it. I know Cain doesn't believe that was my intention all along, but perhaps she will.

  Reaching with a shaky hand into my purse, I grab my phone. I know it's late, but I still pull Callie up in my contacts and hit her number.

  She answers on the third ring and sounds fairly chipper despite the late hour. "What's up, buttercup?" she says.

  My heart squeezes, because that's probably the last time I'll hear a friendly tone in her voice. "
Callie..."

  "What's wrong?" she butts in with concern heavy in her voice. She can hear the quaver in mine.

  "I need to see you... tonight," I whisper, my throat clogging up with emotion.

  "I'll come to you," she says quickly. "Where are you?"

  Clearing my throat, I say, "No. I'd like to meet you at The Wicked Horse. And I need Woolf and Bridger there too. I know it's late, but it's important."

  "Woolf and I are on our way," she says, not even questioning why I want to meet her at the bar. "We'll call Bridger and have him there. Just have the guy at the door show you to his office."

  "Okay," I say and have to choke down another sob. "And Callie?"

  "Yeah, babe?"

  "I'm really sorry," I say morosely.

  "For what?" she asks, and I hear a tinge of fear in her voice now.

  "For everything," I say before hanging up.

  *

  All three stand in Bridger's office as I requested, looking concerned over my appearance.

  Tearstained face, wrinkled clothes, and dirty, bare feet. My shoes and bag of overnight clothes are still at Cain's house.

  "Thanks for meeting me," I whisper as I reach into my purse, pulling out the envelope for Callie. I hand it to her. "I'd like all three of you to read it. I was going to give this to you eventually, once I had worked a few things out, but unfortunately, it has to be tonight."

  Bridger looks intrigued, Callie looks worried for me, and Woolf looks at me skeptically. "Where's Cain?" he asks.

  "At his house," I say calmly and don't elaborate.

  Callie takes the envelope and breaks the seal. Hers is a little thicker than Cain's. Why is immediately revealed when she pulls out the letter I wrote plus a small, digital recorder. Her head snaps up, and she looks at me with confused eyes.

  "The letter," I say in a raspy voice. "It explains everything."

  Bridger and Woolf step into Callie's sides, and they start to read it over her shoulder after she unfolds it. I watch their faces and can tell by their expressions exactly how they're feeling.

  Bewildered.

  Betrayed.

  Angry.

  Sad.

  It tells them everything. What my intentions were, what I found out, and most importantly, that I wasn't going through with it. That I was going to leave town and quit my job, but that I wanted Callie to know what I had done in the hopes she'd at least forgive me. I even signed it with my real name... Sloane Preston.

  Callie finishes first, handing the letter to Bridger. She steps toward me, and Bridger and Woolf close ranks to finish reading. She steps up to me and takes my hands. I can't bear to meet her gaze, so she says, "Sloane... look at me."

  I tilt my head, drag my eyes up to hers, and almost reel backward from the keen disappointment. "What's on the digital recorder?"

  "Our conversation at The Merry Piglets. I didn't copy it. That's the one and only recording. I didn't turn anything over to my editor," I hastily tell her. "Everything I learned is in my head, and I'm not telling another soul. You have nothing to worry about from me."

  "Does your editor have anything that ties me to The Silo?" she asks, her brows furrowed with concern.

  "Absolutely nothing other than an anonymous tipster," I assure her.

  "Colton Stokes," Bridger says confidently as he takes the letter and throws it down on his desk.

  "I can't reveal that source," I say carefully, but then hopefully reassure them when I add on, "but I do believe that source is dried up and has no intentions of opening his or her mouth again."

  "You do realize the risk you put us all at," Woolf growls at me, and I can see... he's just as pissed as Cain.

  Callie reaches back and touches her fingers to his wrist. "Leave it, baby. Sloane wasn't going to do anything to hurt us."

  "At first she was," Woolf says as he pulls his hand away and stomps over to the couch. He throws himself down on it, glaring at me.

  "Just so I'm sure I understand everything," Bridger says as he leans his butt on his desk and crosses his arms over his chest. "According to your letter, you came here to flush out a story about Governor Hayes' ties to The Silo. You quickly found out he had no knowledge of it, then you were ordered to try to tie Callie and possibly Woolf to it, so they could publish a "guilt by association" type of story about the governor?"

  "Yes, although Woolf wasn't really on my radar," I admit.

  Bridge waves a hand at me. "That's because he sold out all his interest to me last month."

  "For fuck's sake, Bridger," Woolf snarls from the couch. "Just tell her everything, why don't you?"

  "She's not going to tell anyone," Bridger says with all confidence.

  "I'm not," I assure him. "I swear it. I couldn't. And I am so damn sorry I did this to the three of you. You'll never know how sickened I am with myself."

  Woolf gives a snort of disbelief and rolls his eyes.

  "What I don't understand is..." Callie says softly, and my gaze slides to hers. "Why didn't you just drop it the minute you realized there wasn't much there?"

  "I wanted to, tried to really, but Brant threatened my mom," I murmur. "I didn't put that in the letter because I didn't want you to think it was an excuse. I wanted you to know I took responsibility for my actions, and I wanted you to know before I left town that this was all on me."

  "Threatened your mom how?" Bridger asks, his head tilted in curiosity.

  "My father is Jared Preston," I say simply, and Callie gasps.

  "Who the fuck is that?" Woolf asks.

  "A United States senator from Tennessee," Callie says as she turns to look at her husband. "Forced out of office about five years ago after using federal funds to perpetuate an affair he was having with an Argentinian woman, I think."

  "Brazilian," I clarify.

  Callie gives me an apologetic smile and continues, "It was a huge scandal. There were impeachment hearings, and he left in disgrace. And if I recall, he left his wife, son, and daughter, married the Brazilian woman, and now lives life as a beach bum with new twin daughters, right?"

  "That's the gist of it," I say bitterly.

  "But what's the connection to your mom?" Bridger asks.

  "Everything I told you about my mom was true. The surgery, the painkillers, the suicide attempt. She's been in and out of mental hospitals since then. What my dad did destroyed her. Her first attempt at suicide was when she found out about the affair. It hit the news channels."

  "Fuck," Woolf says, and the sympathy in his voice is clear.

  "Brant tried to blackmail me. He said if I didn't produce the story, he was going to run a follow-up piece to the Senator Preston scandal and focus on my mom's most recent hospitalization, which coincided with the anniversary of their divorce."

  "Fucking prick," Woolf growls as he shoots off the couch.

  "Oh, Sloane," Callie says as she reaches out to take my hands again. "That's terrible."

  I pull my hands quickly away and step back from her. "Don't," I say forcefully. "Don't you dare feel sorry for me. I made my bed and now I'm lying in it. Yes, he was blackmailing me and I eventually didn't cave to it, but I considered caving. I could have told him to kiss my ass days ago, and I didn't."

  "Because you were trying to figure out a way to protect everyone," Bridger says, his tone matter-of-fact.

  "Doesn't matter," I say as I fold my arms across my chest. "I just wanted to explain everything. I'm going to catch a flight out of here tomorrow."

  "What about Cain?" Bridger asks.

  The tears well up in my eyes again, and I blink hard to make them go away. "Let's just say Cain didn't want to listen to my explanations."

  Everyone is silent, not sure what to say. Finally, Bridger clears his throat and stands up from his desk. "Callie... Woolf. Why don't you two head home? It's late, and I want to talk to Sloane for a bit."

  Callie looks like she wants to argue, but Woolf puts his arm around her shoulders, intent on ushering her to the door. She pulls free and throws her arms
around me. Giving me a fierce hug, she whispers, "I forgive you and thank you for telling me the truth. It was very brave."

  "Thank you," I choke out, the tears now breaking free. I squeeze her back briefly, and then Woolf is pulling her out the door. He gives me a curt nod of his head, and then they're gone.

  I'm really going to miss her.

  I turn to face Bridger and it occurs to me that I hadn't considered being intimidated by him at all this evening, but now that I'm in the room alone with the big man, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed.

  "Want something to drink?" he asks.

  "No thank you," I say almost primly. "I'm tired and need to get to my apartment. I want to get an early start tomorrow."

  "Don't leave," he says as he takes a few steps toward me. I resist the urge to back away from him, because although he's seemed to accept my story and apology, he hasn't quite said those words. For all I know, he wants to pound me into the ground. Hell, maybe he had Callie and Woolf leave so he can kill me and dispose of my body in secret.

  Plausible deniability.

  "Don't leave?" I ask as he takes another step toward me.

  "Don't leave," he says simply and stops. "Give Cain a chance to cool down. Did you write a letter explaining everything?"

  I nod.

  "Then give him a chance to read it."

  "He didn't want it," I say adamantly, because I'm afraid to believe there's still a chance with Cain. If I believe, then I hope. If I hope, then I hurt when he snubs me again.

  "Look," Bridger says softly. "You two clearly have something deep. It's new, but it's tangible. I could fucking see it a mile away. So stay and give it a chance."

  I refuse to hope. "I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, I'm not sure I want to be with someone who wouldn't even give me the courtesy of listening. You, Callie, and Woolf listened, but he couldn't?"

  "You're on the verge of falling in love with him," Bridger says so confidently, I almost believe him. I hadn't thought of the "L" word when it comes to Cain before, so I refuse to give it credence now when I have one foot on my way out the door.

  "I am most certainly not falling in love with him. He's too closeminded and stubborn. In fact, I'm lucky I'm rid of someone like him." All lies, but Bridger doesn't know that.