Free Cheyenne by Lisa L Wiedmeier

the word.
    “ Yes.”
    I had thought my whole life had turned upside down when my parents died, but this…this was worse. It made it even worse to know it wasn’t an accident. I loved them so much. How could someone deliberately hurt them?
    Colt drew his arm around me, trying to comfort me. I looked up in confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me?” My thoughts ran wild. Was that why I would get weird feelings about being watched? The sheriff said strange things were going on at the house. Was it the murderer? Were they looking for me next? A shiver ran down my spine.
    Colt’s eyes filled with sympathy. “I didn’t want to scare you. You needed to finish high school, Cheyenne. Why do you think I was around even more than before?” His fingers brushed my hair aside tenderly.
    Fury burned beneath my chest, but I kept my expression guarded. He’d withheld this information from me; what else had he decided to hide from me? The weight of his question swirled in my head. “I thought it was because you wanted to be around me,” I said faintly, as the realization sunk in. “I thought it was because you were my best friend.”
    I inhaled a shaky breath. The emotional roller coaster I’d been riding for months was rising again. It took a few moments to regain my thoughts. I didn’t move as Colt’s arm tightened, and I watched my fingers begin twisting the ring on my index finger. “Why were they murdered?”
    “ They were protecting a secret,” Callon replied. He squared his jaw and looked me in the eye.   “ You .”
    I shook my head. This couldn’t be true. “ Me? A secret? I don’t understand.” I looked up, wide-eyed.
    “ You won’t understand yet, but you’re very special. When the time is right, we’ll explain. You need to trust us.”
    “ Trust you?” I turned to Colt. His cool eyes seemed unsure. “How can I trust someone who’s been deceiving me?” His face softened, and I looked away. How could I have spent so much time with him and not suspected he had an ulterior motive? As much as I wanted to give these three men the cold shoulder, I couldn’t. They held all the answers. The trio sat silently as they awaited my next question. “Do you know who murdered them?” I was assuming they would know, since they said   I   was the secret. Colt and Callon exchanged uncomfortable glances, and finally Colt nodded. I studied their silent communication. What was up with them?
    “ A very dangerous man.” Callon’s jaw was rigid. He shifted in his seat, crossing his arms, and it was clear he wouldn’t tell me more.
    “ So, let me get this straight.” I closed my eyes briefly and shifted forward in my seat, away from Colt’s embrace. My fingers massaged both of my temples. “Colt and my parents have been protecting me because I’m a secret. A secret you say I won’t understand right now, but in time you’ll tell me.” I paused, thinking again. “My parents were murdered by a very dangerous man because of this secret,   me . You’ve been helping Colt protect me, but I was never told. I’ve been kept in the dark.” My temper flared. “And you expect me to trust you?”
    “ Yes.” Callon’s voice was cold, irritated that I hadn’t accepted his order without question.
    “ How long?” My eyes narrowed as I lifted my head towards Callon, my hands falling to my side in tight fists.
    “ How long what?”
    Was he doing this just to aggravate me? “How long have you been watching me?”
    “ A while.”
    What a pathetic, unclear answer! Figures.   “More than two years?” Colt had been with me for that long, and only now did I see why he never talked about his parents. He had to be older than he’d let on. He didn’t live with his parents, and my parents never brought up the topic. They had to have known.
    “ Yes,” Callon confirmed.
    I continued, a mixture of anger and anxiety rising. “Did you know my parents?”
    “ Yes.” Callon’s reply was so devoid of emotion it bothered