by Madison Faye
…If this is the day, then it’s been worth it. If this is how we go out? Fighting for her? Protecting her? Then so be it. She’s worth it, and we both know that without even a second’s hesitation.
The driver’s side door handle twists with a metallic groan, and when the door starts to open, the both of us roar as we lunge up, leveling both guns at—
...Lawson Banner.
He’s a got a huge fucking shotgun aimed right at us, but then, I’ve got the sawed-off and Tucker has the pistol pointed right back at him.
“Mr. Banner,” I growl.
He brow furrows. “What say we lower these, huh?”
His deep, resonating voice rumbles out as his eyes dart between us. I glance at Tucker, he glances at me.
“You two want to fuckin’ sleep on it?”
I turn to glare at Law, before I take a deep breath and lower my weapon. Tucker does the same.
“Heard someone was after my possessions,” Law growls. “Had to take care of it.”
I look past him at the carnage outside which almost looks like a scene out of Afghanistan. Spent casings litter the ground, sprinkled on top of all of Lenny and all of his guys — all of them dead and sprawled across the pavement.
“Holy shit,” Tucker mutters.
“I let one go,” Law smiles thinly. “I’m gonna make sure he can tell the rest of those fucking hillbillies down in Georgia or whoever they are about what happens when you try and jack my shit this close to home.”
He glances past us, raising a brow as he spots Sierra still behind us.
“Miss,” he growls, nodding his squared chin before he glances back at us. “That my cargo too?” he grins.
“Watch it,” I snarl.
Lawson chuckles. “Pretty sure I’m old enough to be her father, kid.” He shrugs. “Not that that would stop me.”
“Try anything and you’ll see how fast I stop you,” Tucker hisses.
Lawson grins. “Good,” he purrs, nodding slowly. “Good. I like a man who’ll throw down for what’s his. Even to me. And especially if he counts my cargo as “his” while he’s hauling.”
Tucker and I glance at each other before I turn to him.
“Listen, Mr. Banner. We didn’t mean for this to—”
“I know,” he mutters. “But it did happen, didn’t it?” His eyes narrow. “Why don’t you boys step on out of there and we’ll talk?” He nods past us at Sierra. “Maybe you should stay put, miss.”
I turn to her. “Look, this is gonna get messy, darlin’. Stay here and, we’ll figure out what he—”
“I want messy.”
She says quietly, and I blink.
“I want whatever comes with you both.”
“Sierra—”
“No,” she spits, shaking her head fiercely. “No, don’t tell me what I do and don’t want, okay? I know what I want, and I want you two, okay?”
She bites her lip, reaching out and grabbing us both by the shirt as she looks up into our eyes.
“So whatever comes attached?” She shrugs. “We’ll deal with it, and we’ll figure it out. Together.”
I kiss her fiercely, crushing my lips to hers and letting her feel every ounce of what I feel for her. And even if we haven’t said it yet, I know the kiss does.
…That kiss says that I love her, with everything I am.
Tucker takes over, pulling her into him and kissing her slow and deep, letting her melt into his lips as he does the same. We pull back, Sierra’s face flushed, her lips swollen, and her eyes wild with fire.
“Let’s do this,” I growl, nodding at Tucker.
It’s time to face the music.
Chapter 12
Sierra
I swallow as Walker lifts me down from the truck cab, setting me down on my feet. I turn, a gasp catching on my lips as my hand flies to cover my mouth.
Holy shit.
The road between the big rig truck and the line of trucks that were blocking our way is littered with bullet casings, blood, bodies, and shattered glass. Tucker and Walker’s truck itself only took a few bullets it looks like — two in the passenger door and one shattering the driver’s side window. But Lenny’s trucks are a mess of bullet holes, shattered windshields, and ripped tires.
“Miss,” The older man with the silvered hair at the temples tips his hat at me. He’s maybe in his late forties — rough and hardened and a little dangerous looking, with dark hair silvered at the temples, and these staggering sharp, gorgeous blue eyes. The man is the same size as Tucker and Walker, and just as built, which is sort of incredible given that he’s easily fifteen years older than them. A hand with an assortment of masculine, metal rings on the fingers comes up to stroke a silvered goatee and mustache as his piercing blue eyes take me in.
“You didn’t make it to Kentucky.”
Tucker clears his throat. “Mr. Banner—”
My eyes narrow. This is Law? This is the criminal who had the men I’ve fallen for hauling dangerous cargo with a gang of other criminals trying to kill them?
Suddenly, I snap.
“You know what?!” I hiss, jabbing a finger in his face. “They made it pretty damn close, and considering what you had them hauling? And who was chasing us the whole time!?”
“Sierra—”
Tucker puts a hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off.
“No, you know what?! For what you had them hauling, you needed at least four more guys. You needed an armed escort!”
I purse my lips, glaring at the older man. I don’t know him, except that he’s at the top of some sort of crime family. But, he looks dangerous, and a little scary. And powerful.
And I don’t give a single shit.
Not when he had the two men I love carrying cargo so dangerous that all of this shit could fall on them.
“You listen to me!” I spit, jabbing a finger at him again.
But slowly, the cold, hardened look on his face starts to crack. And slowly, he grins, those bright blue eyes crinkling at the corners. He turns to raise a brow at Tucker and Walker.
“Well shit, boys. Got yourself a real firecracker here.”
“Now you—”
“Simmer down,” he growls, those eyes narrowing at me in a way that suddenly shuts me up, my pulse jumping.
“That was a compliment, missy.”
I purse my lips, and he grins again.
“She’s both of yours, it looks like?”
“Yes sir,” Walker says without even pausing.
Law’s brow raises, but he just shrugs. “Well, to each his own.” He slowly nods. “You boys did good.”
“Sir, if we’d known there’d be this much heat—”
“You didn’t though,” Law shrugs at Tucker. “But you handled your shit. You didn’t call until it was necessary. You kept off the radar.”
“Boss.”
Law frowns, turning as one of his guys jogs over, a rifle slung over his shoulder. The older man steps aside with the man, who mutters something serious looking in his ear. Law’s face darkens, and he nods at the man, who then whistles to the rest of the crew and beckons a few more over. A couple of guys start heading towards the big rig, and Walker and Tucker glance at each other.
“What are they doing,” Walker growls.
“Relieving you of your secondary cargo,” Law mutters, glancing up at the sky.
“Sir—”
“I already told you, you boys did good. You got close enough, and you’re still getting paid.” He turns back, glancing at all three of us. “But my radar boys just told me that Lenny Carter and his crew of dipshits weren’t the only ones after my shit.” His brow furrows. “The A. T. Fucking F is on its way.”
Shit.
“Load it up, boys!” he bellows, gesturing to the truck. A number of the pickups his crew arrived in start up, peeling around the shot-up trucks of Lenny’s crew and heading for the big rig. Other’s open the back, swinging the big doors open, jumping up, and starting to pull out wooden crates.
/> Tucker frowns. “You really think those pickups are going to hold everything in the back?”
“Not everything.” Law grins. “See, you boys are going to stay here and say hello to the feds when they show up. I’m taking the guns and the weed. The construction materials stay. Let ‘em come tear the whole damn cargo apart and find a bunch of nails and aluminum siding. Hell, the only thing of worth they’ll find is that spool of fucking copper wire.”
Law’s gaze moves over my two men.
“When they show up, just so we’re clear, I was never here.”
Tucker grins, glancing at Walker and nodding. “I don’t even know anyone named Banner. Do you?”
“Nope.”
Law smiles. “Good boys.”
I frown. “And the bodies? The bullets everywhere?”
Lawson chuckles. “Shit, can’t get a thing past this one can you?” He grins as he turns those sharp eyes to me. “Lenny is definitely on the Fed’s radar, and that asshole had all sorts of people wanting him dead in a highway ditch. You can tell ‘em you came around the bend in the middle of the shootout and just caught the other guys heading out.”
His eyes narrow at me.
“Think you can handle that?”
“I’m a big girl, Mr. Banner.”
He hoots out a laugh, shaking his head. “Good luck with this one, boys. She’s gonna keep you on your toes.” He nods at me with his chin. “Do that, by the way. These two need someone keeping them on their toes sometime.”
He clears his throat. “Also, after you deal with the ATF, why don’t you two lay low for a while.”
Walker frowns. “Lay low?”
“Disappear for a few weeks and just stay off the radar. Lenny had some friends down in Miami who are gonna have questions about him going out the way he did.” He nods slowly. “I’ve got a cabin up in Old Crow Holler — pretty off the grid, but there ain’t no one who’s gonna find you up there. It’s yours for the next couple weeks.” Law grins wickedly. “Bring whoever you want.” He turns and winks at me, and my face goes red.
Law turns back to the truck, nodding as his guys finish unloading the last of the guns and drugs into the backs of their pickup trucks.
“We good?”
“All set, boss!” the man from before yells back.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here then. Feds’ll be here in ten.” He turns back and nods at Tucker and Walker. “I’ll be in touch, gentlemen. Good work with this haul. Miss.”
He tips his hat again before he turns on his heel, strolls over to one of his trucks, and jumps into the back. He taps the roof of the cab, and the whole convoy starts to pull away, cutting around Lenny’s shot-up trucks and hauling off back down the way they came.
And then, we’re alone.
“So…huh.” Walker snorts, shaking his head. “That was…”
“Unexpected?” Tucker whistles, raking his fingers over his jaw.
“Yeah, just a little.” Walker turns and grins as he pulls me close, kissing the top of my head. “You okay?”
“I— Yeah, actually.” I smile. “I am.” I frown, looking up at the sky. “Wait, so, now what?”
“Now?” Tucker chuckles as he slides his arm around my waist, pulling me into him and kissing me.
“Now we wait to meet your dad.”
Chapter 13
Sierra
Thirty minutes later, we hear the helicopter first. Then it’s the sound of SUVs roaring around the bend, then the sound of men with guns shouting and screaming as they advance.
Yeah, it’s pretty much as chaotic as you might think it is. The ATF, local police, a SWAT team — all of it. Tucker and Walker roar as men in uniform grab them, ignoring me screaming at them as they shove my two guys to their knees and start to handcuff them.
“Hold on.”
I whirl at the sound of my father’s voice, swallowing as he strolls over. He looks the part — he always has. Dark suit, dark tie, the kind of sunglasses that only Federal agents wear.
“These two,” he barks, pointing at Tucker and Walker. “Get those cuffs off and get ‘em up.”
The agents holding them glance at each other, but they nod, pulling the cuffs off as my two men get to their feet and turn to face my father.
“Are you two the ‘friends’ my daughter’s been traveling with?” His face darkens, a scowl creeping over it as he eyes the two much older, rough-looking men standing behind me. I glance back at them, and then back at my dad, and I’m about to try and figure out a way to sugarcoat it, but finally, I just nod.
“Yeah, they are.”
My father’s scowl deepens as he turns to them, “And you’re aware that you pulled my daughter away from a very important interview that I’d set up for—”
“Dad, I’m not going to law school,” I say quietly, but with this strength I’m not sure I’ve heard in my voice before.
His eyes dart back to me. “Sierra—”
“No, Dad, stop. I know you’ve got this idea for what I should be doing, but it’s not me, and I’m not going to go down that path you think I should be going down.”
He swears under his breath. “Sierra, you’re wasting your damn time and your smarts at that party school!”
“I know.”
He blinks in surprise, like he wasn’t expecting me to agree with him. A few months ago, I’m not sure I would have either, even if it was just out of stubbornness.
“I’m not going back there either.”
He sighs, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Well where the hell are you going to school, honey?”
I bite my lip, and slowly, I turn to Walker and Tucker.
“I was thinking about somewhere in Kentucky.”
Part of me freezes, and I’m holding my breath as my eyes search their faces. For as close as we’ve gotten, and as real as I know this is, what I’m saying is more than anything we’ve talked about. This isn’t just some wild fling we’ve been having, but moving to where they live, even if it isn’t with them, is bigger than, well, anything I’ve ever known.
And suddenly, I wonder if I’ve overstepped.
But then, slowly, like the sun cresting over the clouds, the both of them start to grin. And those grins turn to beaming smiles ear to ear as they both nod, like they can barely contain themselves from just scooping me up right here.
My father sighs. “For what exactly, Sierra? You’re just going to ‘figure it out’? Is that it?”
I turn back to him, and I nod. “Yeah, actually. That’s exactly it. Dad, I’m young, and there’s so much more to the world than I’ve ever seen. And I know if I just decide right now what I’m doing for the rest of my life, it’ll be a mistake.”
My dad shakes his head, looking away before he sighs. And I swear, there’s a hint of a smile on his face.
“Stubborn as your mother, you know.”
I grin.
“You are, you know,” he grumbles.
“If Sierra is anything like her, then your wife sounds like a hell of woman, sir,” Tucker says quietly.
“She was,” my dad nods, turning his eyes back to the two big men behind me. “I’m allowing this—”
“Dad, I’m an adult—”
“I’m allowing this,” he growls, his voice a little edged as he addresses Tucker and Walker. “And I’m trusting that my daughter has the instincts to not spend her time with anyone who might not be deserving of it. Do not make me regret thinking that.”
“Sir,” Walker growls “Our only goal is to protect your daughter.”
My father nods slowly. “You’d better.” He eyes them both, peering at them like he’s trying to get a deeper read. “You two serve?”
“Yes sir,” Tucker stiffens, Walker along with him — the both of them standing a little taller and squaring their shoulders military-style.
“Marines,” Walker says. “Kabul, Mazari Sharif, Baghdad.”
My dad’s brows raise, his hard look turning into something that looks more like
recognition. Like he’s impressed.
“Semper Fi,” he growls. “I was Lieutenant back in Saigon and Khe Sanh in Vietnam.”
Walker and Tucker instantly stand in formation-style, saluting sharply. I mean, rank is rank, I guess. Even after the war is over.
My dad smiles. “That was a long time ago, boys.”
“Sir, maybe all of us could grab dinner, and we could explain—”
“I need to run, actually.” There’s a stiffness in my dad’s voice for a second. And I can see it in his eyes. He knows these are more than my ‘friends’. But I can tell he’s not quite ready to go there in his head, and this is the military man in him closing down on it.
Walker frowns, but nods. “Sure. Absolutely sir. You’ve got a job to—”
My dad sighs long and slow, and his look softens. “Look, I’ve got a training in Knoxville in about three weeks. Maybe then?”
I smile, moving to throw my arms around him. “I’d like that, Dad.”
“Trucks clean, Sir.”
We all turn at the agent’s voice.
“Searched top-to-bottom. Just construction equipment. It’s all on the manifest.”
“Dad!” I snap. “You can’t just search their—”
Tucker laughs. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure he definitely can,” he says with a grin. “And it’s totally okay with us if he does.”
He raises a brow at me, and I grin back, knowing all three of us are thinking about what was in that truck thirty minutes ago.
My dad puts an arm over my shoulder. “Honey, you know I never mean to force you into anything. I get it, alright? I guess it’s just that when I was young, I did know what I wanted to do. I wanted to serve, and then keep serving my country.” He sighs. “We’ll talk at dinner when I come visit, but, I’ll lay off, okay? I know you’ll figure it out. You’re a smart girl.”
“That she is, Sir,” Walker says quietly with a smile on his face.
My dad clears his throat. “You two are both invited to some dinner when I’m in Kentucky too, of course.” His looks hardens a little. “I’m not an idiot, gentleman. And I know there’s more to whatever is between you and my daughter than any of you are saying— No,” he holds a hand up as I start to protest.