Southern Secrets (Southern #7) - Natasha Madison Page 0,83

minute I told that fine piece of ass that I was in town, you would be out on your ass and no one would be protecting you." He sneers at me. "I thought for sure when I hired that fucker to knock her out, you would have left. But did you leave? No, not my son. Why do I have to have sons who protect their women?" I lunge forward, surprising him, and grab the collar of his jacket, yanking him to me so his face is right in front of mine.

“If you fucking touch her,” I hiss in his face, my nose almost touching his, "I’ll kill you with my bare hands."

"Asher." I hear Jacob walk into the barn taking in the scene. "Don’t do it."

"Oh, look who it is," Liam says, and I let him go. He steps back, smoothing down the front of his jacket. "The other shmuck who got stuck raising my kid."

"You’re a fucking waste," I say. "Your father was right about you." I look at him. "What was it that he put in the letter he gave me?” I take a second to remember it. "You’re pathetic and a swine, nothing like a real man should be." I know the words hit right in the chest. "Nothing like he was. Nothing like he raised you to be. Instead, you were the pussy of the family." I shake my head. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah." Jacob nods his head.

"Get what?" Liam asks, his hair falling more and more in his face.

"Your confession," I say. "You were so eager to tell me how you planned to fuck me over." I shake my head. "Forget that you were stupid enough to light the match to burn down the barn and then smoke a cigarette, leaving your DNA at the scene." I laugh at how pathetic he is. "And the fact we found the money wire from you to the man you hired to take out Amelia. The fact that you cut the wires to the alarm system at this barn. Oh, and let’s not forget the motel room you’ve been renting out for the last month." He looks like he’s seen a ghost. "Little did you know that we’ve been on to you for the last three days. You see what you did wrong there, dear old Dad?" I say. "You showed your hand too soon. Thought your three of a kind would win. What you didn’t know was I had the full fucking house." I open my arms to my sides and laugh at him. "You did all that, and in the end, I. Still. Fucking. Win." I look him straight in the eye when I say the next line, the sound of sirens off in the distance. "And. You. Fucking. Lose." He reaches behind his back, and I see the gun come out as he aims it at me.

"Asher!" I hear yelled right before the sound of the shot rings out.

Chapter 34

Amelia

The ride back to the barn takes forever, or at least I think it takes forever. The sound of sirens off in the distance makes my whole body go stiff. "Leave the horse." Willow rushes out of the barn when we get back. "And go. Quinn is already on his way there, and we are locking down the barn," she says, and I look over to see all the other workers starting to close everything down.

I get off my horse. My grandfather is already five steps ahead of me, running to my car. He starts the car when the phone rings in his hand. "You’re on speakerphone. I’m on my way," he says right away.

"Dad, do not come here," my uncle Casey says, and I can hear sirens coming from his phone along with the sound of him running.

"I’m with Amelia," he tells him, and my uncle groans.

"We’re closed off," he tells him. "They aren’t letting anyone in." My heart sinks.

"What’s happening?" I ask, and he stops running.

"Someone said they heard a gunshot." The minute he says the word, my eyes close. "I can’t confirm it yet, but we have the EMTs coming."

"She isn’t going to sit at home," my grandfather says, and we pull up as close as we can. I open the door before he even has a chance to say goodbye. The sheriff's truck is stopping anyone from getting any closer to the barn. My eyes go to the barn as I spot Asher’s truck parked there with four other trucks surrounding