“I need to go out there and talk these assholes down, and I can’t do that if I don’t know you’re safe inside, alright?”
“And what if something happens to you?”
“Well, then my trigger-happy little brother will probably blast every single one of them away.”
I smile wryly. “No getting hurt, okay?” I mutter, prodding his hard chest.
Colton grins as he leans down to kiss me. “Yes ma’am,” he murmurs against my lips before he turns, nods at Shepherd, and moves to the front door.
Don’t you dare get yourself hurt, I mutter to myself, my heart racing as I watch the man I’ve fallen for step out into the night to face the danger.
Chapter 13
Colton
“Seems we got a situation here, don’t we Colton?”
Lawson Banner’s rough, whiskey and tobacco voice rumbles from his broad chest as he steps out of his pickup truck, his eyes fixed on me. Law’s around forty-five, with dark hair going silver at the temples, and a close cropped silver goatee. His bright blue eyes glint in the light from my front porch as his six-foot, two-inch frame stalks with confidence right to the bottom of the steps. Behind him, five other guys packing heat follow from the assorted trucks and jeeps.
I don’t have to size him up to know if this came down to fists, it’d be a pretty even match. Even with him being, what, fifteen years or so older than me. The guy is in ridiculous shape for someone his age. Fuck, he’s in good shape for someone my age. So, I’ll give him that, even if he is the head of the biggest crime ring around these parts.
Behind him, Jessie comes sputtering and fuming out of a pickup — not the one I shot to shit, I notice.
“A situation?!” His face is all red, steam practically fuming out of his ears as he storms over, the exact opposite of his uncle’s cool demeanor. “A situation? This sonofabitch shot the fuck out of my truck!”
Law glares at him at the outburst, but slowly turns and narrows those eyes at me.
“Like I was saying, Colton. This is a bit of a situation now isn’t it?”
Whatever either of us says next is what this whole thing hangs on, and we both know it. Law might be the head of the Banner crime ring, but the man isn’t stupid. He’s also always given me the respect of never harassing me in any way, honoring that I’ve always kept my distance from whatever bad blood is between his family and mine.
…Well, until his bullshit fake mining company tried to rip off my ranch, that is.
I nod my chin at the barn off behind the house. “The situation might have something to do with your nephew kindly installing some new aerodynamics into the side of my barn.” I turn, leveling my eyes hard at Jessie. “Guess it should cut down on all that wind resistance, huh?”
Law chuckles darkly, crossing his big arms over his chest.
“Heard you came running out with your dick swinging when you took a shot at my nephew.”
I don’t say a word, but Shepherd snorts behind me. Law’s eyes drag from me to my brother, and whatever trace of a smile was on his face fades away. Like Tucker said, bringing Shepherd over to back me up facing off against Law Banner is like trying to put a campfire out with diesel. Still, flammable backup is better than no backup, especially when it's more than just me I’ve got to think about. Me getting my ass kicked, or worse, for shooting at Jessie is one thing. Tara getting pulled into this more than she already is, or getting hurt in any way...
My jaw tenses at the thought.
No fucking way.
“Your brother’s got a big pair of balls to be here knowing I was gonna show up,” Law growls, his words directed at me as he eyes Shep.
“You wanna see ‘em, you just gotta ask nicely, old man.”
I turn, glaring at my brother. But Law only chuckles darkly, that thin, dangerous smile crossing his face. “Watch yourself, son.”
“Say the word, old-timer,” Shepherd mutters, fingering the gun at his waist. “Name the time and place, and we’ll see who—”
“Shepherd,” I hiss, snapping his attention to me. “Shut up.”
My brother scowls, but at least he shuts that mouth that's not in any way helping the situation.
“Your nephew shot at my barn, while I was in it, Mr. Banner,” I say evenly. I make a point of lowering my shotgun and easing it against the porch railing. “I didn’t know it was him when I came out to defend myself and my property, but,” I don’t blink as I hold Law’s eyes. “Even if I did, I can’t say I wouldn’t have returned fire.”
Law just keeps smiling that dangerous looking smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Just you, all by your lonesome up in that barn, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Naked as a jaybird.”
“Sir, what I do on my own property is my bus—”
“Oh cut the bullshit, Colton!” Jessie spits, shoving his way forward. “I know damn well she’s in there!”
My eyes narrow, but before I can say anything, Law clears his throat. “Colton, seems you’re harboring someone who stole something of my nephew’s.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Banner, that’s bullshit.”
The smile fades from his face. Fast.
“Why don’t we bring her out here and hash this out?”
I don’t move. He turns and nods at one of his guys, who starts to take a step like he might walk up my porch stairs.
…He stops pretty quick when my shotgun and both of Shepherds guns level at his chest.
Suddenly, every gun present is out and cocked, and Law hoots a laugh.
“Well well! Seems we found a pressure point!” He eyes me. “Bring her out, or my guys will bring her out for you. And, well…” he sighs. “These boys, they’re on the rough side, if you know what I mean.”
My blood sears like raw fire through me, my eyes narrowing like daggers at him. “Try it, and just see what happens.”
He smirks. “You’re fast, I’ll give you that, rodeo. And your dipshit brother might be fast too, but there’s seven of us.” He arches a brow. “And I’m even going to account for that Ranger cousin of yours who I’m sure is tucked away somewhere with a long range scope. Shores up your odds a little, but I guarantee, the bullets start flying, and neither of you is walking off this porch alive. And your girl inside most definitely isn’t.”
My nostrils flare, muscles clenching as my teeth grind together. I want to snap, and just lunge at him with my bare fucking hands. But, the odds are bad. And again, it’s not just about me, it’s about Tara.
I lose, she loses. And that’s not happening.
“Put the guns down, boys,” Law growls.
“She didn’t steal anything.”
“Jessie says otherwise.”
“It’s not her fault he hired her for his bullshit coal mining company.”
“Colton—” There’s a warning edge to Law’s voice as he narrows his eyes at me. But I ignore that as I glare at Jessie.
“So what’d she steal, huh? Cause it’s a fuckin’ mystery to her. Come on, tell me. Tell me what this big fucking thing is, and I’ll go in there and get for you myself.”
Jessie spits into my driveway. My lips pull back in a snarl, and he grins. “Hey, wasn’t your porch,” he needles, knowing he’s pissing me off when I can’t do anything about it. “And just bring that thieving bitch out and I’ll—”
My gun is up and pointed right as his fucking chest. But then, so are six other guns, pointed right at mine.
“Goddamnit, Colton,” Law hisses. “Out of respect for your mother—”
“You keep her the fuck out of this,” I spit.
Law’s jaw tightens. “Well out of respect for her, I’m giving you this one chance. Drop the gun, son, or this is not going to go how you want it. Fast.”
“What did she steal?”
Jessie swears violently. “Company stuff, man! She’s got that laptop, maps of mineral deposits. Shit like that!”
My brow furrows. “A laptop and maps? You want
to tell me you got your uncle to bring his crew out here ready to play shootout at the O.K. corral because of a laptop and fucking maps?”
Even Law slowly turns to his nephew, his eyes narrowing. “There better be more than that, Jessie,” he growls.
“There— of course there is! Look, Law, you had me run this mining op thing, right? I told you, you just gotta trust me that I know what I’m doin’, okay?”
Law takes a second, but slowly, he nods. He turns to me, and then to some of his guys. “Go in and get her.”
I move before I can even think of what a bad idea it is, lunging at Law with a roar. Three of them intercept me, tackling me to the dirt in a thrashing heap. The two other guys slam Shepherd down next to me, his face livid as he bellows and tries to shove them away. But suddenly, there’s cold steel pointed at my temple, as well as his.
“You got that out of your system!?” Law hisses, fuming as he glares at the both of us. “Jessie, get her.”
Jessie winks at me, licking his lips as I roar and thrash. He steps up onto my porch, turning to look me in the eye as he hauls back and spits right on the porch.
“Sit tight, Colton, I’ll be right out with your little girlfr—“
The sound of a shotgun racking a cartridge has every single one of us darting our eyes to the front door. And right there, standing in my doorway looking like the hottest, craziest badass in the world, is Tara. She’s got an old Browning hunting rifle I keep above the bookshelves in the living room pointed right at Jessie’s chest, my baggy sweats and t-shirt hanging off her like a cloak, and a fierce damn look in her eyes as she glares at him.
“I believe the man told you not to spit on the damn porch.”
Law’s guys dart their heads back and forth, trying to figure out what the fuck to do about this new development. I lock eyes with Tara, and she winks, flashing me a quick smile before she turns her glare back.
“I think you’re in over your head here, little girl,” Law growls lowly, his eyes narrowing at her.
“Coal isn’t a mineral.”
He frowns. Hell, I frown.
“Pardon?”
“Coal.” Tara swallows. “I know your coal business isn’t a real one, but I also know that the whole point is to get the properties for cheap and then sell them to a real coal company, that right?”
“Looks like you found yourself a smart one, Colton,” Law mutters. He yanks a huge pistol out of his belt, cocks it, and suddenly, that fucker is pointed right at my head. “You’ve got five seconds to make a point and lower than gun, little girl.”
“Coal isn’t a mineral.”
“You said that,” he spits.
“I was listening inside, Mr. Banner, and your nephew Jessie here said that I had maps of mineral deposits.”
I look at the woman I’ve fallen for, trying to figure out where she’s going with this and also trying to figure out how fast I can get between her and Law’s bullet, if it comes to that.
“And?”
“And it got me looking at what I did have from the company office. Colton’s right, all I’ve got are maps and a crappy laptop. But that comment got me looking at them again.” Her eyes dart to me, and something flashes in them as her cheeks flush and she swallows thickly.
“The places marked on these maps aren’t coal deposits.”
Law’s face darkens, and even from the dirt, I can see the wheels turning in his head as he slowly drags his gaze to his nephew.
“So what are they?”
Tara shakes her head. “No idea. But I know coal doesn’t collect in straight lines across low-lying land straight across a county like this.”
Slowly, Law brings his gun down. “Show me.”
Tara’s eyes snap to mine, and I nod. “Show him, darlin’.”
She steps around Jessie keeping the gun on him as she comes down the steps of the porch, the topographic map in her hand. Law nods, taking it from her and spreading it wide.
“Law, you’re not listening to this shit, are you?”
“Shut your mouth, Jessie,” the older man snaps.
“Law! Seriously! This is some bullshit to try and get out of—”
“To get out of what, Jessie?” Law spits.
Jessie goes quiet, and his uncle growls. “You two stand up,” he mutters, gesturing to his guys to pull Shepherd and me off the ground. He turns his eyes back to the map, dropping it to the hood of his truck, his eyes narrowing as his fingers trace the little dots marking “coal” across it. And sure enough, it’s in a straight damn line, keeping to the low-lying parts of Sugar County as it crosses right over it, from Durnville to Bucks County.
…And something furious crosses Law’s face.
“Jessie,” he growls quietly, his shoulders tensing and his arms clenching.
“Law, if you give me a second to—”
“You think I’d never have spotted this?”
“Uncle, just—”
“Leave them,” Law hisses, his face dark and furious as he turns to his guys. “And get that traitorous piece of shit over here.”
“Whoa, hang on a second here!” Jessie shrieks as three of the guys grab him, yanking him off the porch and over to Law. I glance at Shepherd for one second before I move right for Tara, scooping her in my arms and holding her so fucking tight, like I’m never going to let her go.
“Explain, Jessie.”
Shepherd clears his throat. “Uh, what the fuck just happened?”
I shoot him a “shut it” look, but Law keeps talking.
“The spots marked on this map are old hideouts from the underground railroad, from way back. They go clear across Sugar County, and once upon a time, I had the idea that they might make a nice alternative to taking product over the main roads.”
By “product,” he’s not talking about televisions or fucking heirloom tomatoes.
“It was a good idea, uncle!” Jessie spits.
“It was a too expensive idea is what it was, seeing as it’s all on private land.” Law’s eyes turn to daggers as they narrow at Jessie. “But it seems you found a way to get them cheap.”
Jessie grins sheepishly. “Well, you know how I—”
“So when exactly were you going to tell me that my substantial investment in your little coal scheme was actually building you a private, un-policed shipping highway across Sugar County?”
Jessie’s face goes white. And shit, I’m no detective, but even I can see what Law just did there, accusing him like that. An innocent man would’ve responded better. The guilty man turns white and sputters, looking for an excuse.
…Jessie is the latter of the two.
“Son of bitch,” Law hisses. “You ungrateful, backstabbing piece of—”
Jessie moves faster than I’d have ever given him credit for being able to do. He snags a gun right out of one Law’s guys’ hands, and he’s bring it up to bear right at his uncle when a shot cracks across the night.
Jessie shrieks, blood pouring from the sudden hole in his hand as the gun drops like a rock from it. The whole crew explodes in chaos, and this time, I move. One of them swings gun around to point at Tara, but I’ve got my fist connecting with his face, feeling the cartilage of his nose giving way as he shrieks. I whirl, throwing my shoulder into another one and flipping him up and then down onto the ground with a thud. Shepherd grappling with a third on the ground, and a fourth guy starts to make a move towards them when another huge crack explodes across the night. A bullet hole erupts in the dirt right in front of that fourth guy, and suddenly, Law’s voice bellows out.
“That’s enough!” he booms, and everyone freezes. His fierce eyes scan the trees way over at the other side of my north field, his mouth going tight.
“Enough,” he growls, turning to eye me. “That your cousin I’m assuming?”
I shrug. “Probably.”
Law nods, turning to his men. “Get up. We’re done here.” His eyes narrow at his nephew, whimpering in the dirt clutching that hand that Silas just put a bull
et clean through. “Bring this piece of shit.” He looks back at me, mulling over a thought in his head before he speaks. “We square here?”
Shepherd growls, spitting. “Are we fucking square?” he hisses. “No, old man, we’re not fucking—”
“She’s done,” I say quietly, cutting my brother off as I look Law in the eye. “She’s done with the coal thing. Clear of all of it.”
Law nods.
“You don’t come after my land with any sort of underhanded scheme again.”
Law clears his throat, nodding. “I can agree to that.”
“Then we’re square.”
He smiles thinly, turning to Tara. “Appreciate the tip off, miss. Colton,” he nods at me and turns to leave.
“Law,” Shepherd drawls out sarcastically at his back.
Law doesn’t turn. “Colton? Do yourself a favor and keep your shit-heel brother out of my sight.”
He gets into his truck, his guys dragging Jessie away as they all pile into the other vehicles and peel out of the driveway.
“You’re fuckin’ crazy, you know that?” I growl, scooping a shrieking Tara into my arms. She melts into me, and when my lips find hers, she kisses me right back with all the heat and passion in the world.
“Should I have mentioned that before?” She giggles.
“Might’ve been nice to know.”
“Would it have gotten you to keep your distance from me?”
“Not a chance, darlin’,” I growl, kissing her fiercely. “Not a damn chance.”
Shepherd clears his throat. “Would you have…” He raises a brow at her. “”Would you have really blown Jessie away?”
She shrugs. “Absolutely.” She turns back to me, grinning impishly as she mouths “probably not” to me. I do notice that it’s not a “no,” though. Which makes me grin. Oh, she’s a little bit crazy alright. A little bit wild. A little bit reckless, and whole lot of fiery sass.
…And I fucking love it.
“Shepherd?” I level my eyes at my brother over Tara’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go grab Silas?”
“He knows the dust is settled, he can—”
“Shepherd,” I growl. This time, he grins.