Nate was watching Stef through the rearview mirror. His jaw tightened. “I won’t let them hurt Callie. If it looks like they’re going to make a move, I’ll take them out.”
Zane turned quickly. “They won’t get the chance.”
“They won’t.” Nate wouldn’t let it happen. He wouldn’t even allow himself to think about it happening. “We’re going to have them surrounded once Max and Rye get there. If I can’t take them out, the Harpers will. If you get a decent shot, you take it.”
Stef slid out of the car and into the woods like a wraith. Zane held his rifle to his chest.
“Let’s go,” he said. “You stay close to me.”
Nate got out of the car. He let his mind roam and remembered everything about the day he and Callie had come here. The place where he was supposed to go was right inside the clearing. If he and Zane were quiet, they should be able to sneak up on Worthington and Leander.
There was the loud report of a rifle. The sound made his heart speed up and his gut clench. That sound meant something had gone wrong. Zane took off, and Nate ran to keep up. He pumped his legs, adrenaline flowing through his body. There was another shot. This one sounded like a handgun. Had Max and Rye already made it into position? Why would they have started shooting without the signal?
There was only one answer to that. Callie. They would have started shooting to save Callie.
He forced himself to go cold, to push the panic and terror that threatened to engulf him down. A fleeting image of Callie’s body on the ground flashed across his mind, but he pushed that down, too. He couldn’t afford to panic, and he couldn’t let Zane panic, either. He pushed himself, trying to keep up with Zane, but the big bastard was fast and had longer legs.
“Damn it, Zane, stop.” He tried to keep his voice down, but Zane either didn’t hear him or ignored him. Desperate, Nate launched himself at Zane and tackled him, pulling him to the ground. “Calm down.”
“She could be dead right now.” Zane’s low whisper sounded tortured.
“You think I don’t know that?” God, he was right back where he’d been that day when the Barbarians had Zane. His heart hurt, but he was going to do the same thing he’d done that day. He would have done anything to spare Zane the pain, but he would rather have Zane hurt than dead. Whatever they had done to Callie, he and Zane would heal her. And if those bastards had killed her, then it didn’t matter. His badge would mean nothing. He would kill them, and slowly. “We follow the plan. Any deviation could mean her life. We have no idea what we’re going into. Please trust me.”
Zane got to his knees. In the gloom of the forest, Nate could see Zane’s nod. “All right. This is your show.”
He got to his feet, leaned down, and helped Zane up. “You go left and stay in the trees. I’m going out to the right. When we get sight of them, we’re going to surround them. Once we’re all in place, they won’t have anywhere to go. We’ll take ’em out from the high positions if they won’t give up Callie.”
Zane’s eyes suddenly went wide, and his gun came up.
Something cold and hard pressed into the back of Nate’s skull.
“Or we could just have it out here and now, Wright. Drop the weapon.” There was a nasty lilt to Worthington’s voice as he put a hand on Nate’s shirt.
He ran through a hundred possibilities, every single way they might get out of this. None of them worked. They all ended in his head getting blown off his body. He let the rifle fall out of his hands.
“If you want to live, I would let him go.” Zane was much calmer now, to Nate’s everlasting gratitude. His training seemed to have come back online. Zane had been a damn fine agent, despite the fact it didn’t come naturally to him.
Nate searched the woods in front of him, hoping for any sign that Stef or the Harpers were out there. He glanced behind Zane’s back, praying he didn’t see Leander walking out from the trees. So far the woods were quiet, with the exception of the tense standoff they were in. Where had those shots come from? Rifles weren’t standard issue DEA weapons. He doubted either of the agents was using a rifle. That meant someone else was out there, or had been.
“Where’s Callie?” Nate asked.
“Leander has her.” There was the slightest tremble in Worthington’s voice that scared the shit out of him. If Leander didn’t actually have her, what had happened? “If you want her to live, you’ll put down that fucking gun, Hollister.”
Zane shook his head. “I need proof of life, asshole. You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. You produce her, and I’ll think about not taking your head off.”
Nate kept his voice calm, even as his heart raced. “You better listen to him. He’ll let you kill me, you know. He’s still mad because I left him in El Paso. Now that he knows you’re the one who gave him up, I think he might rather have his revenge on you. Producing Callie is the only thing that will keep you alive.”
Nate’s heart nearly stopped as Leander came out of the forest behind Zane. Then he got a look at the agent’s face. It was stark white, and his hands were empty and in the air. And thank god, Stefan Talbot was behind him.
“I caught your friend,” Stef said. “You’re about to be surrounded. Let Nate go and lay down your weapon or I’ll blow his head off.”
Calmly, Worthington pulled Nate close, lifted his gun, and fired. The report nearly took Nate’s ear off. His head rang as Leander’s body slumped forward. He looked down at the hole in his chest, and then the light in his eyes died. Leander slumped forward, hitting the ground.
Worthington’s hold on his shirt became vicious. “I never meant to leave that idiot alive. He’s served his purpose. And I don’t buy the crap you’re selling, Sheriff. Hollister would never hurt his fuck buddy. He ‘loves’ you. Bunch of freaks. Now here’s how it’s going to go down. Hollister, you’ll put the rifle down, and so will that other asshole. You’ll let your friend there cuff you and put you in the trunk of my car, then you and me and Wright will take a ride. Otherwise, I can simply kill Wright here and now.”
“You kill him, and I kill you.” Zane held his position.
Worthington’s laughter was an ugly sound. “You won’t do anything to put him in danger. I saw the way the two of you were looking at each other in that pathetic excuse for a meeting. You would never hurt your partner. Now, put the gun down, Hollister, or I start taking your boy’s body parts off. I’ll start with his dick and see how you like that.”
Nate saw the instant Zane made up his mind. Zane’s hand tightened slightly on the trigger, and his eyes flared. He’d worked with him long enough to know what was going to come next. Fuck, this was going to hurt. His body tensed.
“You don’t scare me at all, Worthington, and you never did.” Zane pulled the trigger. Nate felt his shoulder fly back as he and Worthington were sent off balance. The bullet went straight through his left shoulder like a freaking arrow on fire. Nate hit the ground. It wasn’t more than a second or two before Zane was hauling him up. He turned to see that the bullet had struck Worthington in his shoulder. Nate groaned as his body started to shake. His left arm wouldn’t move.
Zane stood over Worthington. The agent panted and held his shoulder. Blood was squeezing out from between his fingers, but the asshole would live. Zane had his rifle pointed straight at Worthington’s head.
“Nate can handle a little pain.” Zane looked fierce in the dim light. Stef came to stand beside him. “Tell me where Callie is, or Stef and I will start filling you full of bullets. I am inclined to let you live now that I really think about it. I think Ellis might have a few things to say to you when you hit the prison system, and I am really looking forward to your execution for killing a federal agent, but if you don’t tell me where my wife is, I’ll make sure you go out real slow.”
“She’s alive,” Worthington replied quickly. “She got away.”
Zane’s sigh of relief mirrored his own. He nodded shortly and turned to Stef. “Call it in. We need at least one ambulance.
Tell Stella to call Del Norte for backup. Nate, you got some cuffs on you?”
Nate leaned back against a tree and then thought better of it when every nerve on his left side sparked to painful life. “On the right-hand side of my belt.”
He gingerly moved aside his jacket to give Zane a chance to get the cuffs. He really hoped that ambulance got here soon and brought large amounts of painkillers with it. Getting shot fucking hurt.
“There they are.”
Nate turned and saw the Harper twins coming up from behind them and Callie, thank God, was with them. She had a shotgun in her hand and was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
“What happened? Is everyone all right?” Callie rushed toward them.
“Looks like we missed all the fun, Rye.” Max Harper slung his rifle over his shoulder. “Sheriff, we found Callie holed up with Mel in a sniper position. Nell’s not going to let Callie into her pacifist club anymore. Logan is helping Mel down. He took a bullet to the thigh. We’ll have to make sure the doc who works on him is fully human. Looks like you could use a doc, too, Sheriff.”
“Oh, Nate.” Callie stared at his shoulder.
“Yeah, maybe it’s time I found this town a doctor,” Stefan mused.
Nate turned in time to see Worthington reach behind his back with his good hand. He started to shout a warning, but Zane was turning to cuff the agent. Nate tried to get between Zane and the bullet Worthington was about to put into him. He wasn’t thinking, merely running on pure instinct. He saw a flash of metal and then there was a horrible blast.
Worthington’s gun fell uselessly to his side as he slumped down. Callie stood over the body. Her hands started to shake and the shotgun she’d used to blow half of the DEA agent’s head to hell and back fell to the side. Zane managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
“She passed out.” Zane cradled her gently against his chest. “She killed him.”
Rye Harper looked at the mangled body of the man Callie had killed. “She did a damn fine job, too.”
Stef joined him. “Nah, she still pulled to the left. I never could get her to shoot straight.”
“Yeah, well, it was effective,” Max interjected. “Hey, now Callie can join Marie and Rach in their ‘I killed a son of a bitch’ club.”
He heard what they were saying, but he was staring down at Callie. He winced but used his good hand to smooth back her hair. “Baby, are you okay?”
Her eyes fluttered open. “Nate?”
Zane’s arms tightened around her.
“I’m here, baby. I’m fine. Zane’s fine, although he did shoot me.” He was going to use that to get all the sweet affection from her he could.
Callie’s eyes came wide open now. “What!”
Zane stood with her in his arms. “He’ll forgive me, babe. Come on. Let’s get her to a place where the EMTs can find us easily. I want them to take a look at her. She’s got blood on her arm.”
“It’s okay. I got grazed when…oh, I killed him, and I’m not even sorry.” Callie’s eyes were wide with tears.
Nate kissed her gently. He would have to be careful with her because this would haunt her for a long time. “It’s going to be okay, Callie. It was us or him. You made the right call.”
Her hand came up and pulled him close. She kissed first him and then Zane. His eyes met Zane’s. They held for a moment of perfect harmony, and then Zane turned and began to walk. Nate gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move. They were his family. He would follow them anywhere.
Chapter Sixteen
Callie stood by and watched as Zane flipped the light on. The whole front of the building was lit up in electric blue and red.
Trio was open for business.
Zane grinned as he turned, and she couldn’t help but go a bit gooey at the sight. His dream was coming true, and way faster than they’d imagined. This ceremony was strictly for show. Most of Bliss was sitting in Trio’s booths or at the bar when the place was officially opened. There was a great cheer as the beer started to flow.
“Congrats, little sister,” Stefan said, sliding an arm around her shoulder.
“Thanks.” She watched as Zane accepted the heartfelt congratulations of his friends. “And thank you for giving him the loan.”
Stef nodded. “I figure if I’m trusting the big bastard with my little sister, I can trust him with some cash. And I was right. The place looks great. I think it’s going to do well.”
Stef looked around the bar. There was a blank look on his face that was replaced with a forced smile the minute he realized she was looking at him. Callie sighed. He’d been that way ever since the night Nate had been shot. The next morning, Jennifer Waters had taken a bus out of town, and Callie hadn’t heard from her since. Stef refused to talk about Jen or what happened that night after he let her out of the cell.
She let it go. He would talk about it when he was ready. As for Jen, she’d left without even a good-bye. It worried her to no end, but she had to believe Jen had her reasons.
Even without her friend, the three months they had spent putting together Trio and rehabbing Nate’s shoulder had been the best of her life. Even when Nate had been crabby, she’d felt like she was working toward something. She was building her future with her husbands. She glanced at Zane. On paper, he was her legal husband, but Nate had stood right beside them at the courthouse, and when the town had thrown them a reception, he’d taken the congratulations right along with Zane.
Now she wished her other hubby would get his sweet tushy home.
Zane pulled her away from Stef and into his arms. “Like it, babe?”
“You know I do.” She went on her toes to place a kiss on those amazing lips of his. “I just wish Nate had been here.”
“Where the hell is Nate anyway?” Stef asked. “Wasn’t his plane due at four?”
Nate had been in El Paso for three days clearing up all the paperwork he needed to end the case. Once the DEA had control of the accounts, Ellis’s money had dried up. The bounty was off Zane’s chest. She had wanted to go with him, but Zane needed her more. Still, there was a knot in her stomach. They hadn’t been apart in months, and there was still the smallest anxiety in the back of her mind that he would realize he’d made a mistake.
Zane smiled down at her. “You worry too much. He’s coming home.”
“She thinks he’s staying in El Paso?” Stef suddenly looked concerned.
“I think they’re going to offer him a job, probably with a promotion,” she admitted. It was her fear. Nate would finally get the offer he wanted, the chance to move up, to be what he’d always wanted.
“I already have a job.” Nate’s voice rang out over the loud crowd.
She turned and ran into his arms. He looked super sexy in jeans and a T-shirt. His arms closed around her.
“Miss me?” The smirk on his face told her he knew the answer to that question.
“You know I did.”
“Well, I missed you. I’ve been doing all the heavy lifting around here.” Zane slapped Nate on the back. He looked down at Callie. “I told you he would come back. He’s here now, babe, and let me tell you, once Nathan Wright decides he’s committed, it’s for life.”
“Damn straight.” Nate’s eyes gleamed in the light of the bar they had all worked to build together. “I took the job in the DEA to get somewhere in life, but I also wanted to protect the things I loved. Everything I love is right here in Bliss. I’m never leaving, Callie. This is my home. You and Zane are my family.”
“Yo! Can I get a beer here?” Max Harper yelled over the jukebox.
“Yeah, man, we might have way more family than we can handle.” Zane groaned as he jogged back behind the bar.
“Get to work, gorgeous.” Nate patted her behind. “I need a beer, and I want the hottest waitress in the state to get it for me.” He looked toward the bar and frowned. “Damn it, Zane. Get rid of that duck.”
She laughed. Nate had seen the rubber duck Zane had fixed to the bar.
He’d managed to fit a tiny cowboy hat on the yellow duck and had glued on a gold badge. There was a donation box for the duck’s eventual run for sheriff.
“I am not running against that duck.”
Callie watched the two men she loved more than life argue about a rubber duck.
“Callie, baby, you got to get him to get rid of the duck.”
“I am not getting in the middle of that.” She shook her head, but Nate was already hauling her to his side.
“You say that now, but later…”
She gave him a wink that promised all the things she’d do later.
“Babe, order up.” Zane passed her a tray filled with two beers for Max and Rye and a glass of tea for Rachel.
Callie picked up the tray and started her new life.
* * * *
Join me this summer for Stefan and Jennifer’s story, One to Keep, the next book in the Bliss, CO series.
Author’s Note
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