Page 36 of August’s Cowboy Braxton

“She’s probably just nervous about tomorrow. I’ll go check on her,” I said.

“I can come with you,” Evie offered.

“No.” I forced a smile. “Stay here and keep the rehearsal from falling apart.”

Something flashed across her face. Then her familiar smile returned. “You’re so good with them.”

She touched my arm.

I covered her hand with mine. “Just doing everything you taught me.”

I walked away before my smile broke. Braxton followed. I got twenty feet, then thirty. It was going to be okay. The panic button was tucked under my belt. The microphone was hidden under my shirt. Torin and two deputies were nearby. I wasn’t alone. My hands shook anyway.

We stopped at the edge of a training pen and waited a few minutes. When I glanced back where Evie had been, she was gone.

“Are you ready for this?” Braxton nudged my shoulder with his.

“I need to know.” Glancing up into his eyes, I could see what my decision was costing him. Still, he didn’t try to stop me.

“I’ll be right outside.”

I nodded and turned toward the stock trailer at the far edge of the grounds. As I got closer, I confirmed there was no crying child. No volunteers. I climbed the steps. The door opened before I reached for it. Evie stood inside.

“You found her?” I asked.

“Come in, honey.”

Every instinct I had screamed at me to turn around. For years, Evie had taught me to ignore that feeling. Tonight I listened to it. And stepped inside anyway. Because this time, the choice was mine.

The door closed behind me. Evie turned the deadbolt. The click sounded incredibly loud.

“Where’s the girl?”

Her smile disappeared. “There isn’t one.”

I let myself feel the fear instead of burying it. “Then why am I here?”

Her gaze dropped to the bag over my shoulder. “You know why.”

“The album?”

“Give it to me.”

I took one slow step back. “How do you know I have it?”

Her jaw tightened. “Because it’s not here.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out the decoy.

Evie took it immediately. She opened the cover. Turned one page. Then another. Her face went cold. “This is fake.”

“Yes.”

Everything soft vanished from her expression. She was no longer my mentor or my friend. Just the woman who’d been hiding underneath both.

“You set me up.”

“I needed to know.”