by Elle James
Ignoring her taunt, he aimed and fired again, hitting the second can, sending it flying into the air.
“Not bad for a rusty SEAL,” she said.
He squeezed off three more rounds, hitting all three cans.
On the final shot, he aimed carefully.
“Can you do it, while distracted?” she asked.
He ignored her question, the cold air raising gooseflesh on his arms, and concentrated on hitting the can. Slowly, he squeezed his finger on the trigger.
At the same time, Jolie leaned closer and blew a stream of warm air at his neck.
Mad Dog’s hand jerked and the shot went wide of the can.
Jolie’s laughter echoed off the nearby hillsides. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” She chuckled. “You should see your face.”
“That was a dangerous thing to do,” he said, frowning.
She nodded. “You’re right. You might’ve shot me. My apologies.” Jolie held out her hand. “My weapon?”
He dropped the magazine out of the pistol, pulled back the bolt and set the safety before handing it back to her.
She arched an eyebrow. “Afraid I’ll shoot you?”
“You keep promising you’ll shoot me. Why shouldn’t I believe you?”
“I said I’d shoot you, if you tried anything funny.” She reloaded the magazine, checked that the safety was set and slipped the weapon into the shoulder holster beneath her jacket. When she glanced up, the early morning sun glinted off her bright green eyes. The woman didn’t look anything like what Mad Dog would have thought a CIA agent should.
“I thought we’d head on into town, have breakfast at the diner and then hit the hardware store,” Jolie said.
Mad Dog nodded, tempted to reach out and touch her face to see if her skin was as soft as it appeared. His hand was halfway up when he realized what he was doing. He dropped it to his side. “I’m ready when you are. Let me grab my jacket. If we’re getting supplies, we can take my truck.”
She smiled. “Good, because I want to pick up some T-posts and barbed wire, and I’m not sure the posts will fit in the back of my SUV.”
Mad Dog gave an exaggerated sigh. “Finally, I’m good for something.” He started toward the house. “Are you coming?”
“Right behind you.”
He snorted. “I’d prefer you walked ahead of me and save your target practice for when I’m awake.”
“Again, I’m used to working alone. It didn’t occur to me to ask your permission to step outside.”
He shook his head. “Humor me, will ya?”
She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowed. Then she nodded. “Fair enough. I understand you can’t perform your assignment if I don’t cooperate. As long as your work doesn’t interfere with mine, I’ll try to remember to include you.”
His lips twitched. “That’s all I ask.”
She stepped in front of him and entered the house first.
Moments later, Mad Dog shrugged into his jacket and led the way out the front door, checking all directions for movement.
When he was certain no threat existed, he held the door for Jolie.
“Remind me not to get used to someone opening doors for me,” she said as she exited.
Though his father had never opened a door for any woman, Mad Dog had learned the value of the kindness from visiting Mrs. Beggs, the old lady who’d lived in the same trailer park where he’d grown up. Though she had little money, she had taken great pride in her appearance and encouraged Mad Dog to take pride in his. She’d taught him the manners his father was sorely lacking.
When he’d been younger, he’d hide out at her trailer while his father cursed and threw things in a drunken fit. Eventually, her sons had moved her into a nursing home, and she hadn’t been there when he needed a place to go.
Mrs. Beggs would have been proud of him opening doors for women. Even if the woman was a CIA agent, fully capable of opening her own door. The old lady had said it wasn’t that women weren’t able to, but that by opening the door, men proved their respect.
Mad Dog hurried around Jolie to open the truck door for her.
She gave him a narrow-eyed glance but didn’t say a word as she climbed into the cab.
He spent the drive into town studying the road, the turn-offs and the other vehicles coming and going.
Once in the little town of Eagle Rock he made a mental list of the businesses, glad to see there was a tavern. When they caught their man, he’d celebrate with a beer. In the meantime, he refused to consume alcohol, knowing it would dull his wits. In order to keep Jolie safe, he’d need a clear head at all times.
The diner was on one end of Main Street.
“I would have made breakfast this morning,” Jolie said. “But the cook at the diner does a better job and has bacon. I picked up eggs, but no bacon.”
“I don’t expect you to cook for me. I can manage on my own.” Mad Dog stated. “and you’re right. Breakfast isn’t complete without bacon.”
“My thoughts exactly.” She grinned. “The diner and the tavern are also great places to get all the gossip. If anyone new shows up in town, you’ll hear it first at one of those two places.”
Mad Dog pulled into the diner parking lot and backed into a parking space. If they needed to leave quickly, they wouldn’t have to take the time to back out.
Jolie led the way inside. A bell over the door jingled as they entered.
A waitress called out, “Seat yourself anywhere you like. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Jolie smiled at the woman, chose a seat in a booth and sat with her back to the wall.
“Mind if I sit beside you?” Mad Dog asked.
She gave him a twisted grin. “Let me guess. You like to sit with your back to the wall as well?”
He nodded. “It comes with the job.”
“Right.” She scooted over and let him slide in next to her.
When his thigh touched hers, a blast of electricity bolted through his veins. He pulled back a little, leaving a gap between them. Unfortunately, every time one of them moved, they bumped again.
Perhaps he’d be better off sitting across the table from her. However, he remained where he was, knowing it was the right thing to do. With his back to the door and windows, he wouldn’t see who entered or stood outside the diner, aiming a weapon at Jolie.
The bell jingled, announcing another guest entering the building.
The man wore a dark brown uniform with a shiny badge. He was tall, with sandy-blond hair and a ready smile. When he turned toward Mad Dog and Jolie, his smile grew wider, and he headed straight for them.
“Jolie? Jolie Richards? Is that really you?” The man stopped at their table.
“Chase?” Jolie laughed. “What the hell? Since when did you start wearing a deputy sheriff’s uniform?”
Mad Dog slid out of the booth, allowing Jolie to rise and throw her arms around the deputy’s neck and hug him.
Mad Dog stood back, his fists clenching. Why it bothered him that she showed affection for another man, he didn’t know. But it did. He wanted to yank her back and stand between the two.
He had to talk himself down, rationalizing that she wasn’t his girlfriend, wife or fiancée. He had no right to be jealous when he’d only met the woman the day before.
Jolie stepped back and waved a hand toward Mad Dog. “Chase Wells, this is…”
Mad Dog stuck out his hand. “Caleb Maddox, Jolie’s fiancé.”
Chase’s eyebrows rose up into the hair falling down over his forehead. “Fiancé?” He grabbed Mad Dog’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “You’re one lucky man. Jolie was my best friend in high school. She wasn’t like all the other girls. She liked to hunt, fish, hike and ride horses. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t do as well as any man or better.”
Jolie’s lips twisted into a smiling frown. “You make me sound like one of the guys.”
Chase laughed. “No way. You were way prettier to look at than the guys.”
But she didn’t. Instead, she motioned toward the empty seat across the table. “Would you like to join us?”
“I don’t want to horn in on you two lovebirds.”
“You’re not horning in.” Jolie leaned into Mad Dog and squeezed his arm. “I’d love to catch up on what’s going on around here.”
“If you’re sure...?” Chase glanced from Jolie to Mad Dog.
Mad Dog nodded. “Please. Join us.”
“Okay, then. I haven’t had breakfast, and they make the best waffles in the county.” Chase waited for Jolie to sit before he slid into the seat across from her.
The pretty blond waitress stopped at the table and smiled at the deputy first. “Hi, Deputy Wells.” Then she turned her bright smile on Jolie and Mad Dog. “I’m Daisy. I’ll be your server. What can I get you?”
“Coffee,” all three people at the table said at once.
Daisy laughed. “I’ll be right back with the coffee and to take your order.” She flounced away.
Deputy Wells leaned his elbows on the table and stared across at Jolie. “I can’t believe you’re back after all these years.”
“The last I heard, you were on the rodeo circuit, riding bulls.” Jolie nodded at his uniform. “When did this happen?”
The deputy shrugged. “A couple years ago I had a pretty bad fall. The bull gored me in the ribs and punctured a lung. I was laid up with a few broken bones and difficulty breathing. I couldn’t see myself doing that again. So, here I am, one of Eagle Rock’s finest.” He winked.
Mad Dog took it all in, wondering what it felt like to come back to a place where you liked the people you grew up with. He couldn’t imagine going back to the trailer park in Houston. For one, the turnover would have been complete. He wouldn’t know anyone there now. Hell, the park might have been bulldozed to make room for a parking lot or something.
The kids he knew in school had likely gone to jail or were killed in drive-by shootings. They hadn’t gone on to become sheriff’s deputies or pillars of the community.
“Are you happy?” Jolie asked.
Deputy Wells nodded. “Sometimes, I miss the excitement of the rodeo circuit. But I don’t miss the abuse on my body. And we get our own excitement around here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? I don’t remember it being very exciting in Eagle Rock.”
“Well, we’ve had some of our local celebrities attacked by stalkers or rapists.”
“That’s not reassuring for the residents,” Mad Dog murmured.
The deputy nodded. “Thankfully, the people responsible have been captured or killed.”
Jolie shook her head. “It’s not the same as when we grew up.”
“It hasn’t been the same since your father was killed. I’ve opened the case file and looked over the evidence,” Deputy Wells said. “I even went so far as to question some of the people in town, asking if anyone had a problem with your father.” The man shook his head, a slight smile curling his lips. “No one had a bad thing to say about your dad. He was awesome.”
Jolie’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I can understand someone having a hunting accident. But why wouldn’t that person come forward and admit it? Or, at the very least, help the man he shot?”
Deputy Wells reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. “I don’t know why people do the things they do. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, something else happens.”
“Well, I hope things have settled down in Eagle Rock,” Mad Dog said.
“I wish they had.” The deputy glanced at him and back to Jolie. “But they haven’t.”
Jolie pulled her hand out from under the deputy’s and leaned back. “What’s happening now?”
“I don’t know if you realize, but the town is changing. Folks from California are buying up the land and ranches, driving prices up. Our local young people are finding it hard to get jobs that will pay them enough so they can afford to buy their own homes. Some can’t find jobs, period.”
“I thought most young people moved to bigger cities to work.” Jolie said.
“Most. But some of those who remain are angry and resentful of the rich people coming in and buying up all the old ranches.”
“How do you know they’re angry?” Mad Dog asked. “Are they telling you this?”
The deputy’s jaw tightened. “They’re acting out. We don’t have proof, but we think they’ve formed some kind of gang. We also think part of the initiation into the gang is to perform some sort of rite of passage.”
“For example?” Jolie prompted.
“The old, abandoned railroad depot burned to the ground last weekend.”
Jolie frowned. “You think young people did it?”
Deputy Wells nodded. “The fire chief said it was arson, started with an accelerant like gasoline. Again, we don’t have evidence, so we can’t arrest anyone. But we’re still investigating.”
Mad Dog crossed his arms over his chest. “No one saw anything?”
“The railroad depot was on the outside edge of town. The closest person to the depot was old Mrs. Rheinhardt. She’s deaf in both ears and goes to bed around eight o’clock every night. Dispatch got the call around two in the morning when someone leaving the Blue Moose Tavern spotted the flames.”
“What makes you think this gang is responsible?” Mad Dog asked.
“The spray paint on the brick. It’s the same graffiti we found during another incident involving the destruction of a deputy sheriff’s patrol vehicle.”
Jolie gasped. “They were that brazen they’d attack a patrol car?”
“Yeah. Here, look.” He pulled out his cell phone and touched the screen until a photo appeared of a sheriff’s vehicle painted with a bright red swastika.
“The vehicle was parked in front of one of the deputy’s houses. Again, on the edge of town. He made a habit of stopping for dinner with his wife. While he was eating, someone tagged his vehicle with spray paint.”
“In Eagle Rock?” Jolie shook her head. “This town is small enough everyone knows everyone else’s business. How are they getting away with it?”
“We suspect they have a secret meeting location in the hills.” The deputy’s eyes narrowed. “For that matter, keep your eyes open. Your place has been more or less abandoned for eight years. They could be in one of the caves we used to play in when we were kids.”
“Wow. This isn’t the same place I remember,” Jolie said.
“It’s still a good town with good people. It’s just that some are having a harder time keeping up with the changes than others.”
Daisy returned with the coffee and set three steaming mugs in front of them. “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation,” she said. “I’m betting I grew up with some of those young people who are causing all the trouble.”
Deputy Wells turned to her, his brows descending. “Can you name the members of the gang?”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “No, but I can name the people my age who stuck around Eagle Rock.”
“Like?”
“Steve Neilson, Dalton Talbert, Alec Jenner, Brandon Lewis, Colleen Porter, Kylie Laster, and Marcus Sweeney, to name a few.” She held up her hands. “But I’m not saying any of them are members of a gang.” She glanced over her shoulder, her smile fading. “I have too much on my own plate to hang out with gangs, so I stay out of it.”
“You’re smart to stay out of it,” the deputy said. “It could only cause you trouble.”
“I’ve got enough of that taking care of my father and helping out with the little bit of farming he does.” She smiled. “It’s a shame so many of the kids my age left town. And the ones who stayed have changed from when they were back in school.”
“Who has changed?” Jolie asked.
Daisy rolled her eye
s toward the ceiling. “Well, Colleen got married straight out of school and divorced a year later. She’s a little down on men and life in general. I can’t blame her. She works at the tavern when she’s not scrubbing floors for the real estate agent.” Daisy tapped her chin. “Brandon Lewis and I used to be sweet on each other back when we were in middle school. Then one day he just quit coming over and talking to me. He still shies away from me when we see each other in passing. And Marcus Sweeney is a jerk. But then he’s always been a jerk.” Daisy pulled out her pad and pencil from her pocket. “But I’ve talked long enough. Are you ready to order?”
Jolie ordered eggs, bacon and toast. Mad Dog ordered the same, adding an order of hash brown potatoes. The deputy ordered waffles and bacon.
Once Daisy left the table, Mad Dog sipped on his coffee, digesting everything Deputy Wells and Daisy had said. “Have you had any new people come to town who could have stirred up the gang?” Mad Dog asked.
The deputy’s eyes narrowed. “We’ve had some pipeline workers staying above the tavern, but they’re on the road early in the morning and don’t get back until late in the evening. They spend most of their time in the tavern after work, eating dinner and drinking beer.” Wells shook his head. “No, they seem relatively harmless, hardworking and oblivious to town politics.”
“Anyone else?”
He shook his head. “We have had a few former military folks new to these parts. They’re working for Hank Patterson’s security group, the Brotherhood Protectors. But they’re a great bunch of vets. Hank’s done good things with them.”
Mad Dog nodded. Hank saved his ass when he might have thrown himself over a cliff. The man had a heart and an idea of what his fellow warriors needed to survive.
Purpose.
“If you notice anyone new in town, will you let me know?” Jolie asked.
Deputy Wells nodded. “Sure. But why?”
She looked toward Mad Dog. “I might have a stalker.”
Deputy Wells ran a hand through his hair. “He wouldn’t be the first here in Eagle Rock. Hank’s wife, Sadie, had one.”
“Why would Hank’s wife have a stalker?” Jolie asked.
The deputy’s eyes widened. “You didn’t know?”