Brody smiled up at the waitress whose eyes twinkled as if she had a crush on Hunter.
“It’ll be our secret.”
She mouthed the words thank you, and then headed off to the back of the counter.
He’d gotten to the diner early just as the owner had unlocked the front door. He knew Tara opened the shop at six. As pathetic as he was, he wanted to catch a glimpse of her. She didn’t want to see him. Not the way they’d been together at the ranch. It didn’t seem right for him to just drop by her store with no reason at all.
She’d called once to say she’d commissioned some pieces for the house with Shana. But they wouldn’t be done for a few weeks. He’d have to wait until Shana was done making the new pieces to have a valid reason to go to her store to see her.
Only one other couple had come into the diner when he had, which left the waitresses waiting together behind the counter for more customers. Word had it that the rodeo was in town today. It had been years since he’d been to a rodeo. There’d be a lot of people from out of town here to attend the event, so these waitresses wouldn’t be waiting long for business.
He took a sip of black coffee and felt it burn as it made its way down his throat. When he set the coffee cup down on the table again, he saw Hunter fly through the diner’s front door, and then search for him. Brody lifted a hand to wave to Hunter and then saw the panicked expression on his face.
Hunter rushed over to the table. “We have to get out of here. Pay for the coffee and let’s go.”
“What’s going on?”
“Just do it.”
Brody quickly pulled his wallet from his pocket, sifted through it, and tossed a ten-dollar bill on the table to cover his coffee. Then he rushed out the door with Hunter, only vaguely aware of the bewildered expression on the waitress’s face as they ran.
* * *
She’d forgotten. On the one morning she hadn’t locked the back door after Norma made her delivery, Tara had forgotten to lock the back door. And someone had snuck in without her knowing. She’d been so busy in her office going over the insurance claim paperwork, to make sure she’d received everything she was supposed to get in order to re-order new stock, that she hadn’t seen him until she’d walked into the store and found him standing by the cash register.
“Open it,” the man said. He was holding a gun in front of himself. And it was pointed at her chest. Tara could hardly move or register the command he’d just made. She’d seen a gun before. Many times, in fact. Her brother Doug had one at one point until her father had gotten rid of it for fear Doug would one day use it for the wrong purposes.
“I have to get the key,” Tara said, her voice shaky with fear. She fumbled with her purse and pulled out her shop keys. As her fingers trembled, she slipped the key in the lock and turned it.
“There isn’t much here,” she said. “I never leave that much in my register. Just enough to start the day. I haven’t even had a chance to open—”
“Shut up!” he hissed. He glanced at the store door and then inched his way to the side until he was semi-hidden from the sidewalk by a display. “Give me what you have. Then go to your safe and give me the rest.”
Tara shook her head. “I don’t keep cash here. Most people pay me with credit—”
“Liar!” the man said. There was something vaguely familiar about him. The anger. The wildness of his eyes. She’d seen it before in her brother. She’d forgotten how much she hated it, and how much it scared her. In some ways, it scared her more than the gun that was pointing at her.
“I’m telling you the truth. Why would I lie to you? Here you can take all of it.” Tara started pulling out the money she had in the drawer and held it out to him. “I only keep about a hundred and fifty dollars in my drawer. Hundred fifty dollars is a lot of money. Please, just take it and leave. I won’t try to stop you.”
The man grabbed the money from her hands. “I know you have more. And I’m going to get what’s coming to me.”
* * *
“What’s going on?” Brody asked Hunter as he walked out onto the sidewalk. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I’m pretty sure I just did.”
“Who?”
Hunter glanced across the street to Sweet Sensations. “I saw Tara’s car behind the store. Do you have her cell phone number?”
“Just the shop number. Why?”
So many times Brody had wanted to call Tara over the last week. Calling her at work to talk would have been wrong. He was sure there were ways he could have gotten Tara’s cell phone number, but it would have been wrong to breach her trust that way. If she’d wanted him to call, she would have given it to him. Instead, she’d told him she didn’t want to see him.
Hunter hesitated. Brody couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Hunter this rattled.
“I think we better call the police. I already called the store number and she didn’t pick up. Tara already had one break-in and I think I might know who it was.”
“Tell me.”
“Do you remember Ox.”
Brody sputtered. “I try not to. He’s the guy that supplied Doug Mitchell and got Marie hooked on drugs. Did you see Ox around here?”
“I can’t be sure. But I think I just saw him now. He didn’t see me. And I didn’t really want to see him. But then I saw him go to the back of the building behind Sweet Sensations.”
Panic nearly leveled Brody. “Call Caleb or Zeb. Get them down here quick. I know from talking to inmates that sometimes they go back to the same place they robbed again because the owners aren’t expecting it a second time.”
Brody started to run across the street but then he heard Hunter calling after him.
“Brody, wait. He may have a gun.”
Brody didn’t bother to turn back. “And Tara’s inside without one.”
Brody ran to the back of the building where Tara’s car was parked next to a small dumpster. The delivery door was open. But he couldn’t see Tara anywhere. Hunter ran up behind him.
“I called the police. I told them not to use sirens. Caleb is down the road.”
“Are you sure you saw Ox come behind the building?”
“Yeah. Geez, I thought that guy died a long time ago. He’s just a shell of a person now. But it was him.”
“I don’t see anybody behind here. But the door’s open.” Brody searched the surrounding area hoping to find Ox outside the building. That meant that Tara would be safe inside. But he found nothing.
“Brody, I told them you are with me. I don’t want them to come to the wrong conclusion.”
“I don’t care so much about that just yet.”
He walked slowly toward the building, trying not to make any noise on the pavement with his boots so he wouldn’t rouse any attention. To anyone who might be watching from a distance, he and Hunter would look like burglars trying to break in. They’d have to be careful.
They reached the door and Brody paused to listen for any kind of movement inside the building. He knew that there was a stockroom and he was fairly sure this door led to that. For all he knew Tara could be in the front room arranging her pastries in the bakery case like she did every morning and Ox could be in the back waiting for her.
He turned to Hunter. “Go to the front of the building and see if you can see Tara in the store. Then send me a text and let me know what you see. Keep it on vibrate. I’m going to go in through this back door.”
“Be careful,” Hunter said. “He’s got nothing to lose.”
“Yeah, but I do.”
Hunter ran to the front of the building and Brody stepped inside the building into a small hallway. There was an open door a few feet in front of him, so he paused and listened. He couldn’t hear any sound as he inched his way forward. Then he glanced through the doorway into what looked like an office. It was empty.
He cursed silently, disappointed he hadn’t found Tara yet. At least if she’d been in the office, he could have had her lock herself insid
e while he looked for Ox.
He heard the sound of the cash register drawer opening and then slamming shut in the other room. But he couldn’t see anyone. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his phone just as it vibrated with a text from Hunter.
I see her.
She’s behind the counter.
Someone is with her. But I can’t see who it is.
Be careful. I see the gun.
Pointing at her.
Fury grew inside him. If anything happened to Tara…
The police station wasn’t far down the road, but Brody couldn’t be sure where the officers on duty were located or how long it would take them to arrive.
He wasn’t waiting.
As he rounded the corner into the stockroom, he saw the open door into the store. Tara was standing by the cash register, which was now turned over on its side. He didn’t see the person standing next to her but he saw the gun and heard the anger in the man’s voice.
“Don’t screw with me!” the man yelled. “I know you have more somewhere in the store. You’re holding out on me!”
Something took over him. Instead of retreating and waiting for the police to arrive, Brody rushed forward and quickly ran through the door into the store. He tackled the man with the gun until they were both rolling on the floor. He heard Tara’s scream, but it only made him grab onto Ox and hold the hand that held gun tighter until it felt like a death grip.
“Get down, Tara.”
Brody could tell that Ox was on something. He was high as a kite and stronger than any animal he’d ever had to tame.
“Run!” he called out again to Tara as he continued to roll on the floor trying to wrestle the gun out of Ox’s his hand.
They struggled for a few minutes until he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. In one fell swoop, Ox grunted and then fell back. The look on his face was dazed, but crazed.
“Watch out!” Tara screamed.
“Get out of here, Tara.” he heard Hunter yell. “Watch for the police.”
“I’m not going back to jail,” Ox yelled as he lifted himself up.
Brody only had a few seconds to get his bearings before the struggle started up again.
In the confusion, Brody had no idea where the gun was. He took a blow to the chin and his head snapped back. The fight or flight instinct in him had him lunging forward and pushing Ox against a table display. All the items on the table fell over and crashed to the floor. Brody and Ox tumbled over the table and fell onto the glass-filled floor. He didn’t have time to react to the pain and most likely Ox didn’t even feel it.
Memories of that day on the reservation when he’d found Doug giving drugs to his sister filled his mind. He didn’t want to go back to jail. Not for trying to save someone. But Brody didn’t have time to think about whether or not this time would be different. All he knew was that, as with his sister, he didn’t want Ox to hurt Tara. The terrified look on her face was laser printed in his mind. That fear. His sister hadn’t had any fear. She’d been too drugged herself. And that’s why she hadn’t supported him when he’d been arrested.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow then. But the bigger brutality was that his sister never stopped using. To this day, she was somewhere. Probably using. And this man had been a big part of getting her hooked.
Anger surged through him as he lifted from the floor. As Ox stumbled to his feet, Brody saw the blood on the back of Ox’s neck and his stomach lurched. This can’t be happening again.
“It’s over, Ox,” Brody said, trying to take a step back as Ox took another swing at him. Ox was so wasted that he could barely stand.
“You going to get killed or kill someone else, Ox. Just stop it. It’s over.”
Ox lunged at him again, but Brody darted out of the way just in time to avoid the blow. When Ox fell to the floor, he saw that the gun was gone. He wasn’t exactly sure where the gun had fallen. But at least Ox no longer had it. He didn’t need to fight him. He just needed to hold on long enough until the police arrived.
Minutes later the place was filled with police officers. Zeb can came rushing through the back room first and tackled Ox to the ground along with Caleb and two other officers Brody didn’t know. They were able to contain Ox despite the massive struggle Ox put up.
When Brody was sure that Ox was no longer a threat. He took a step back and then realized Tara was no longer inside the store. He turned and searched for her, finding her in the stockroom moments later. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. As soon as she saw him, she rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him, crying uncontrollably.
“It’s okay,” Brody said, trying to catch his breath. “You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you.” He held Tara’s trembling body in his arms and thanked God that she was safe and hadn’t been killed. The store was a wreck. So many of the beautiful pieces she had told him about were now destroyed.
But none of that mattered. The real beauty and treasure was in his arms and he didn’t want to let go. Everything else could be replaced.
“Oh my God, you’re bleeding.”
Tara pulled back and looked at her hand. It was covered with his blood.
“Am I?” he asked. “I guess I don’t feel it yet.”
“You will,” Caleb said, coming into the stockroom. You’re not as bad off as this guy is, but you’re bleeding. Mia is on her way over with the ambulance. She’ll take a look at you. I’m amazed you’re not worse off given how much destruction happened in there.”
Ox let out a loud scream from inside the room, which startled Tara. Brody held onto her.
“Don’t worry,” Caleb said. “He put up quite a struggle but his legs and wrists are zip tied. He’s not going anywhere.”
Caleb moved to the back of the stockroom to talk to Hunter, giving Tara a clear view of the store. Her eyes welled up with tears again.
“I’m sorry, Tara,” Brody said. “I wasn’t thinking of what would happen to your shop.”
She shook her head. “Don’t. They’re just things. I was so afraid you might be killed.”
“Funny. All I could think about was you.”
Sweet Montana Outlaw: Chapter Ten
It had been years since Tara had felt so scared. Even seeing the gun pointed at her at the shop hadn’t brought her to her knees the way being alone in her apartment was making her feel now.
There was a time after Doug had died that she had been afraid of everything. Her world had been rocked. She’d been angry and grieving. At the shop today, she had been numb. It wasn’t until she’d seen Brody and Hunter standing there, that she realized what was actually happening.
But now that numbness was gone. And she was alone.
A tear trickled down her cheek and she quickly swept it away. She went through her apartment and turned on all the lights. If she had to sleep on the sofa with the light on, she would. Something told her she wasn’t going to get any sleep at all.
Her heart beat strong in her chest. Even putting her hand over her chest couldn’t calm it.
“You are insane, Tara. You’ve been living here for five years and have never been afraid to be alone.”
She heard a loud crash in the kitchen and bolted to a stand. She didn’t want to go in there. But she knew in her mind that it was only Dexter. Her cat had a habit of knocking things off the counter onto the floor when Tara ignored her when she got home.
She slowly walked to the kitchen and peeked inside. Then she laughed when she saw Dexter standing by a nearly empty food dish and an empty water bowl. The can of tuna fish she’d left on the counter was nearby on its side. Dexter gave a very loud meow in protest.
“You can’t scare me like that,” she said reaching down and scooping him up from the floor. When she felt lonely, Dexter usually made her feel better. But tonight her faithful cat did not have the same effect at calming her nerves.
Tara put the cat back down on the floor and busied herself for a few minutes by filling the water bowl and adding dry food to the c
at’s dish. As soon as she set both bowls back in place, Dexter ignored her.
She should be hungry, but she wasn’t. Making dinner would probably kill at least thirty minutes of time and keep her mind off her nerves.
Or she could bake a cake. She’d purchased some frozen huckleberries at the grocery store the other day. Of course, then she’d have to eat the cake. And it probably wouldn’t come out as good as Norma’s delicious pastry goods.
She gasped, as she thought of Norma. She probably heard of what happened at the shop today, but in her fear and in the day’s events, Tara had somehow forgotten to call her to let her know that she wasn’t opening the shop in the morning. It might be several days before she could open her shop again given the damage that had occurred.
She rushed into the living room and grabbed her purse. Then she pulled out her cell phone. Norma’s telephone number was on speed dial so she quickly dialed and waited for Norma to pick up.
“I was wondering when you were going to call,” Norma said. “I didn’t know if you were home from the police station yet.”
“I’ve been home for about an hour,” Tara said, nervously flipping a strand of hair behind her ear and looking around the living room at everything and nothing at the same time. “Sorry, I forgot to call you.”
“News travels fast. Of course, I heard about what happened to you, you poor thing. Are you okay?”
“Oh, you know me,” she said, lying through her teeth. “I’m fine. But I am staying closed tomorrow. Probably for the rest of the week. I’m not sure if the police are going to need to come back and do any type of forensics like they did the last time.”
It was another lie. Caleb and the other officers had already done an exhaustive investigation. Caleb had said they wanted to make sure their case against Ox, who was the man who broke in, was ironclad.
It would be impossible to open the store tomorrow. But now that Tara was home and feeling so isolated, she wondered if that had been a bad decision. At least at the shop, there would be activity just outside her door and inside as people came into town.
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