Chapter 20

I shook my head. It was already done. But I could still change things for Bambi. “Either they go after me for stealing it, or they go after you. And that can’t happen.”

She chuckled, then leaned back on the bed. Sweat beaded on my arms.

Did she not see the danger in this?

“How much do they have?” she asked. “Like, where do they keep the biggest chunk of it?”

The locked box in the Calving Barn flashed in my mind. “Don’t be stupid,” I said.

“What?” She picked up a loose stick of gum off of the nightstand and threw it at me. “They killed some other farmer, right?” she asked. ‘Rancher’ was the term, but we didn’t have time to get into specifics. “They don’t suspect you then. You might as well take advantage of the situation.” I crossed my arms, and her expression dropped. “It’s not like they need it.” “You want to get killed?” I asked.

“I’m sure you’re not the only one who steals. You think they have enough for me to leave?”

I didn’t know the answer. How much did it cost to leave a town with enough money to cover your tracks and change your identity so that your psychotic ex-boyfriend/pimp didn’t find you?

“Where do they keep it?” she asked.

“Bambi,” I said.

“I could go by myself. I could—”

The door beeped and opened. Green’s eyes fell on me, a smirk on his face.

“Babygirl finally came back,” he said. He ran a hand through his blond hair. “I knew that fancy car had to be from someone special.”

I sucked in a breath. I had to play nice. I didn’t want to open any old wounds.

“Visiting,” I said. I smiled at him, then stood, taking the keys from my purse. “Seriously, Bambi. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“But you would,” Bambi said. “And you did.”

I clutched my purse. “I wouldn’t do that. Not anymore. It’s not worth

it.”

“Do what?” Green asked. His shoes squeaked as he came closer. He didn’t stop until my back was up against the wall. “Do what, baby girl?”

“Nothing, Green,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”

He sneered down his nose. “You’ve got a lot of balls showing up here after what you did to us.”

I tapped my fingers on my side. “You sold me to Forrest for an arranged marriage. Stop complaining.”

“But you left us with nothing. Or maybe you just left me.” He licked his lips, dragging his thumb across my chin. “But you’re still such a good girl. Always bringing the goods back to Daddy.”

I snarled. He had the Feldmans’ money. He didn’t need Bambi’s cut too.

“You’re a leech, you prick,” I hissed.

He thrust a hand forward, grabbing my throat, and cutting off my circulation. Blood rushed to my head, my face puffing. Using his free hand, he pressed my hand to the wall, digging his nails into the scar.

“Careful now,” he said. “Don’t you forget your past? I made you, Crystal. Married or not. You wouldn’t be where you are without me.”

The door beeped, then slammed open. Green pulled out his gun, aiming it at the entrance. Wilder’s broad shoulders took up the doorway. Green straightened his aim. Wilder stared into the barrel of the gun, his eyes remaining soulless. Green shot the gun, but Wilder jerked it out of the way, then grabbed it by the barrel. Green strained against him, trying hard to push back until finally, he let go and the pressure of the gun smacked him in the face.

Green held his chin. “What the fuck?” he asked.

Green lunged for Wilder, but Wilder grabbed Green’s forearm and threw him at the motel desk’s edge, a loud snap breaking through the room. Green gaped, speechless, his eyes watering. Wilder motioned for me to get behind him.

“If I see you touching Maisie again, I will rip your throat out.” Bambi’s eyes widened, and she held her mouth, holding back a gasp.

“You owe me, Crystal,” Green’s hoarse voice called out. “A million dollars.”

Bambi lowered her eyes. She had told him, then.

After Wilder said he’d have a rancher come pick up my car, I climbed into the passenger side of his SUV. The vehicle hummed as we made our way back to the farm. I held my breath, then let it out slowly. I could figure this out. I would find a way. I always did. I could make it on my own.

“Did you tell them where we keep the money?” Wilder asked, his voice low, his eyes on the road.

“No.”

“What about the key?”

I was willing to do a lot of things, but after I saw exactly what Wilder did to people who stole from his family, I wasn’t going to let that happen to Bambi.

“Have you ever stolen from us?”

I bit the inside of my lip. “No,” I lied, gripping my pants. Was it stealing if his father would eventually owe me that money anyway? Especially when his father hadn’t told me how difficult it would be to have sex with Wilder?

Wilder sighed, then adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. “You know what my family is capable of,” he said. “You know better now.”

I sunk into my seat. That was why I had raced here, to see what I could fix. To make sure that Bambi was safe. But she would never be safe until she left Green. And until I left the Feldman Farm.

In some ways, the two of them were the same. Green and Wilder were not good people. But Wilder had never fooled me. He might not have answered my questions, but when he did, he was honest. And in the end, he had saved me from Green. Told him to never touch me again.

Wilder could have even killed me, knowing that I might have been stealing too. But he didn’t.

“Why did you save me?” I asked.

He switched lanes, never losing his focus. “I didn’t save you,” he said.

“You broke Green’s arm and stopped him from hurting me.” I threw up my hands. “Like it or not, you saved me, Wilder.”

He swerved to the side of the road, slamming on the brakes. We surged forward. He cut the engine. My heart palpitated.

“I did not save you,” he repeated, his eyes completely absorbed in me. Blood vessels in his neck and forehead vibrated with rage. But he kept it inside. Every emotion tempered. Every feeling held back. He bent toward me, sucking in a long breath. “I saved the farm.”

A bumpy sensation filled my stomach. I still didn’t believe him. If he wanted to save the farm, he would have caught on to my stealing. But he hadn’t been watching me carefully enough.

He started the car again, merging back with traffic. I thought back—he had sighed earlier when I said that I hadn’t stolen anything. He knew I was lying.

He was on my side. And it wasn’t because of our legal agreement. It was something else.