by Maia Dylan
“Oh man, I’m sorry, was that your face?” the brown-haired man asked even as he placed his shoulder under the drunk’s arm , pushing it up into a textbook arm lock, effectively holding him immobile. Fiona knew from her own martial arts training that all he had to do was lean forward slightly to cause a serious amount of pain to rocket through the dude’s shoulder.
“Ow! Shit, man, get the fuck off me! What the hell is your problem?” Drunken Asshole’s voice was slightly muffled due to the fact his face was being pressed into the surface of the counter.
“Well, now, that is a good question, and the answer is you. I find myself in a position of being utterly offended by your actions, and”—he pressed up when the drunk tried to protest, causing his drunken words to drop off in a pained whimper—“to be honest, being this close to you, your utter lack of personal hygiene. I would even go so far as to say you have offended every single person in this diner today and quite possibly everyone you have ever met in your life.”
Fiona turned when the door signaled that someone had entered, and she grinned at Ryan when he walked in, definitely wearing the Hawaii Five-O look Micah hassled him about.
“Now, you have been extremely rude to this young woman, so you will apologize right now, or you might find that I slip and fall forward. Which might not seem like much of a concern to you, but in the position I find myself in now that I am having to, shall we say, hold you up so you won’t fall, I would probably break your shoulder and your wrist.”
“You bastard!” The drunk yelled and started to struggle, but the hero of the moment didn’t even flinch. “You fucking think you can threaten me? Everyone in this shithole restaurant just heard you threaten me, you bastard!”
“Well now.” Ryan spoke as he moved up beside the two and leaned his elbows on the counter so he could be seen by both men. “As the Sherriff of this beautiful town, it is my responsibility and civic duty to investigate your claims.” The man stopped struggling, obviously expecting Ryan to step in and help him.
“Hey, y’all,” Ryan called as he turned to address the entire restaurant. “Did you hear this man here threatening anyone in here today?”
The diner filled with a resounding chorus of no’s and the guy kissing the counter began to curse loudly until the now-grinning good Samaritan leaned forward slightly, making him whimper yet again.
“Doesn’t look to me like you can make that claim stick there, friend, so why don’t you finish up your business with…” Ryan paused and looked pointedly at the good Samaritan.
“Liam. Liam Barrett.”
Ryan nodded with a friendly smile. “Liam here, and then be on your way.”
“So, as I was saying,” Liam continued, “you need to apologize to the young lady nicely, and then I’ll help you off the counter and you can be on your way.” There was a slight pause, then a pain-filled, gasped apology could be heard, and Liam winked at the now-grinning Miranda. “Good boy! Now, be on your way, and I would suggest you take your leave of this town, but if you decide you want to stick around”—Liam leant forward, making the other man moan—“reconsider and don’t.” His voice had deepened and held a very real threat to it.
Liam let the man loose and stepped back, far enough that the drunken idiot could stand up, but not so far that he wasn’t close enough to grab him if he needed to. Fiona noted his loose-armed stance and the way his right foot was slightly forward of his left and he stood on the balls of his feet. This was the stance of a fighter, and he was ready for anything.
Groaning, the guy heaved himself off the counter and whirled around to face the room, and as Fiona got a good look at him, her eyes widened. This wasn’t just any old drunk. This was her drunken cowboy from a few weeks ago! He rotated his shoulder as if that would ease the pain, but Fiona grinned, knowing that he would be feeling it for days.
She gave a small laugh at his wince because…well, because he was a douche and deserved everything he got. The noise got his attention and his bloodshot eyes traveled to her. He recognized her immediately and she shot him a happy grin and a small wave. His eyes filled with hate and rage. “What the hell are you fucking laughing at, whore?”
A rumbling growl sounded through the restaurant and she felt her mates step up to stand directly behind her, so close she could feel the heat of their bodies. Fiona grinned even wider and cocked an eyebrow.
“Really, cowboy? Haven’t we had this conversation before? We could do it all over again, but I believe the outcome would be the same. You’d still lose, you’ll still be thrown out of the place and you’ll definitely still have a small dick.”
There was a moment of silence, and Fiona figured the guy wouldn’t be so dumb as to come at her, but she underestimated just how dumb he actually was. He got one step toward her and said, “You fuc—” before he was unable to move or say anything further. The large, pissed-off wolf shifter who stood in front of him with his hand wrapped around his throat proved to be a pretty good deterrent.
“Boy, you best shut your mouth,” Travis spat out, contempt in every word. He gave no indication that he felt the hands clawing at his, trying to dislodge the grip he had on Cowboy’s throat. “My brother and I have wanted to have a word with you for a while now. We understand that today is not the first time you dared call our woman a whore.”
Fiona saw Cowboy’s eyes widen and fill with terror. She figured Travis’s wolf might be very much near the surface, and his eyes would be glowing. Cole stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, appearing calm, but she could feel the tension in his body. He was just as pissed off as Travis.
“In fact, I do believe you threatened to hurt her as well.” Cole’s voice was hard as steel, and Fiona shivered. Not in fear, but seeing and hearing her men get all protective and growly over her had her arousal shooting sky high in seconds.
“So take Liam’s advice, get the hell out of town.” Travis shook his hand, and Fiona saw his fingers tighten a little. “If you are anywhere near here when we leave, Cole and I are gonna go huntin’. We won’t stop till we have you someplace we can have a nice little chat and then dispose of the body parts, you got me, asshole? There will be very little left of you to identify, and if you think I’m anything but serious”—Travis stepped closer to him and growled—“think again.”
Hot.
Hot and hers.
Hot and hers and making her all tingly.
Travis held the man’s throat and gaze for few seconds more, then let go. He didn’t step back. He simply stared at the cowboy who was now gasping and probably a lot more sober than he had been moments before. Cowboy then had to shuffle sideways to get around Travis, then he scuttled over to the door.
“Hey!” Ryan called and Cowboy stopped and looked back at him over his shoulder, his entire posture screaming that he wanted out of there right now. Ryan lifted his arm and pointed a finger at him. “You had better be running outta town, because if I catch you behind the wheel of a vehicle with the amount of alcohol I can smell on you, then you and I will have an entirely different conversation. You clear?”
Cowboy nodded and basically sprinted out of the diner and down the street. Fiona started to giggle and collapsed back against Cole. Damn, that had been awesome. Everyone in the diner burst into applause for the Samaritan, who bowed good-naturedly. Within seconds, people were back talking amongst themselves.
After Frieda had checked on Miranda, she took her fry pan back into the kitchen, mumbling about drunken schmucks thinking they could schlep into her diner and cause a ruckus.
“What the hell, Travis!” Ryan grumped as he spun toward Travis, who was now leaning back against the counter, grinning. “What have I told you about threatening people in front of me?”
“Not to do it when you’re in uniform and ensure to tell you if I’m actually gonna follow through with anything so you can assist with an alibi.” The response came back quick.
“Right! So why is that so difficult for you assholes to remember? Jesus Christ,
I had to remind Micah of the same damn thing. I swear to God, I truly am the only one in this family with any brains!” Ryan was still mumbling even as conversations started back up and Frieda was handing out free macaroons for everyone.
Fiona turned to look for Miranda and saw that she was mooning over her savior, who was looking a little uncomfortable with the hero worship. He had returned to his booth to finish his lunch, and Miranda had followed, thanking him and rehashing the whole scene, telling him the parts she liked the best and when he looked the hottest.
Fiona moved over to save him, dragging Cole with her. She gently nudged a gushing Miranda out of the way as a subtle reminder that she was supposed to manning the till. Miranda left with a sigh and Fiona pushed Cole into the booth, and then threw herself down beside him, shuffling across to make room for Travis.
“Hi! I’m Fiona, this is Cole, Travis and Ryan Winters. Welcome to Freedom Springs, Liam Barnett! I have a feeling you are gonna fit in just fine around here.”
* * * *
Ryan nudged the newcomer in the shoulder to move him across the seat and settled into the booth beside him, signaling Frieda for a coffee. Jesus Christ, he had only come in for a cup of coffee and maybe something sweet to go with it, and he’d walked straight into a manners lesson that involved a textbook standard police arm hold.
“So Liam, what brings you to Freedom Springs, and what police department are you with?” Ryan turned in his seat to look at the newcomer and was impressed that the guy didn’t even flinch at being called out.
“None at the moment, but until recently, I was with the Dallas PD,” Liam said.
“Dallas?” Fiona asked with a frown. “Well, you’re a long way from home. What brings you to Freedom Springs?”
“I’m just looking for a new place to call home.” Liam suddenly got this look on his face that Ryan had seen in other officers over the years. It was one that held a world of personal pain and no small amount of guilt. “I couldn’t work on the force in Dallas anymore, so I loaded up my truck, and started driving. That was three months ago.”
Miranda came rushing back to the table with cups of coffee for everyone, and Ryan grinned at Liam’s discomfort over her obvious hero worship. He looked across the table and his grin spread when he saw his brothers and their mate grinning just as broadly.
“I think she might be crushing on you just a little there, Liam,” Travis said as he took a slug of his coffee, and Ryan had to fight not to laugh when Liam’s eyes widened with horror and he paled visibly.
“Well, can you blame her?” Ryan had to get his two cents in. “He basically stepped in front of a bullet for her.”
“She’ll probably name her first child after him,” Cole added and Liam’s eyes narrowed.
“I think she’s hoping that he’ll have a hand in making that baby, too,” Fiona deadpanned with a gleam in her eye, and Ryan marveled at just how perfect she was for his brothers.
“She’s got to be only eighteen years old, so you guys can all just shut the hell up.” Liam grinned wryly back. “You are all talking so much shit I don’t know if I should hand y’all a breath mint or some damn toilet paper.” There was a brief moment of silence, before they all laughed.
“Damn boy!” Ryan chuckled. “You help damsels in distress, know how to handle yourself and are funny as hell. You want to stick around in Freedom Springs, you let me know. There’s a job for you at the Sherriff’s office if you want it.”
Ryan watched as Liam tilted his head and regarded him curiously. “Really? You’d take me on after only just meeting me?”
“Sure!” Ryan slugged back the rest of his coffee. “Hell, I’ll have to make some calls and make sure you’re not an axe murderer or anything, but if it all checks out, then sure. Besides, if it doesn’t work out for either of us then you can keep on going till you find whatever it is that you’re looking for.”
Ryan hoped he’d say yes and decide to stick it out in Freedom Springs. He had seen some pretty weird shit in his life, but all that stuff up at Devil’s table or the Pagan Stone or whatever the fuck the name of the place was now, had been waaayyy off his shit-o-meter charts.
And knowing that the fucking prophecy still had three more seasons to work through, Ryan knew they were going to need all the help they could get.
Chapter 6
Fire comes next, as Summer descends
With a heat and a rage that may never end
Fire takes two to calm the beast
And extinguish the fire that burn’s in the east.
Fiona stared at the words on her tablet, desperately trying to get them to make sense. It didn’t matter how many times she read it, or if she read it forward or backward. Hell, she had even written it with a Sharpie on a thin piece of paper, held it up to the light and tried to see if it said something different if she read the damn thing round the wrong way, but nothing.
Sighing, she pushed the button on the side to turn it off. It was getting late. Travis was already snoring softly beside her, on his stomach with his hand slipped beneath her hip as if unprepared not to be touching her even in sleep. Cole was working a night shift at the station and wouldn’t be home until morning. Even though they had only been together for a few weeks, she was so used to having them both sleeping pressed against her, it was difficult for her to sleep deeply when one or the other was working.
She placed her tablet on the bedside table and snuggled further into Travis for comfort and warmth, and was almost asleep when Travis tensed beside her.
At first, she wasn’t sure what was happening. He still hadn’t moved or said a word, but every muscle in his body was tense. She rolled into him and was about to ask him what the matter was when he started to talk in his sleep. More muttering than talking, but she caught a lot of what he was saying.
“No…doesn’t feel right…there’s something…shit, I don’t know, Mac…can’t you feel that…” Travis suddenly jerked strongly on the mattress, almost giving her a heart attack at the speed and violence of it. “IED! Shit! We hit an IED! Mac, move your ass! Mac! Mac!” He was roaring this name over and over. Fiona’s heart was pounding and she felt tears streaming down her face at the emotions rolling off her mate in waves.
He was distressed and in such deep emotional pain that she could feel a physical echo of it down their mating bond, despite the fact that it wasn’t fully formed, and it made her feel ill. “Travis! Baby, please!” Fiona wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight, yelling to wake him up. “It’s just a dream, Travis! Please, oh God, Travis, please wake up!”
Fiona flew across the mattress as Travis suddenly launched himself from the bed. He threw himself to stand with his back to the wall, chest heaving as he drew in great gasps of air. Fiona sat where she had landed, basically kneeling on the opposite side of the bed. Her heart was pounding and she felt like she was breathing just as heavily as he was.
The two stared at each other as their breathing slowed. Fiona knew there was concern in her gaze, but what she saw in Travis’s made her want to cry. Shame and guilt warred for supremacy in his eyes. He looked at the bed, then back at her and his gaze became horrified. “Oh Jesus, Fiona, are you okay? Did I hurt you?” His voice was harsh in the silence.
Fiona immediately shook her head. “No, Travis, you didn’t hurt me. You scared me, though.” Just as she was about to add to that sentence the fact that he had seemed so distressed and traumatized was what scared her, he turned to walk out of the room. “Travis!” She yelled his name and scrambled to stand in front of him. “Where are you going?”
Travis stood with his back to her. When it looked like he was about to continue out the door, Fiona’s anger jumped to the fore, again. “Travis Winters, if you step one foot outside this bedroom, I swear to you, not even God will hold what I will do to you against me!” She stomped around him, gripped him by the shoulder and turned him to face her.
She noticed that his expression was blank, but his jaw was so tense it was like it was carved i
n granite. “Why the hell are you walking out of this room? And I swear to everything that is holy in this world that if you tell me it’s because you have this ridiculous notion in your head that it was you that physically scared me, then I am going to pop you upside the head for being an idiot!”
A smile spread across his handsome face as he took a steadying breath. “Can I plead the fifth on that?” he asked, his voice a lot less harsh, and he wiped the hair from her forehead with his hand, his eyes filled with a tenderness that curled her toes.
“Yeah,” she grumbled as she took his hand and led him back to sit on the side of the bed. “But only if you tell me about the dream you just had. From the looks of things, it was a doozy.”
Travis squeezed her hand and took a moment to gather his thoughts. “You’ve seen the news and read the stories about what happens during war. The problem is the reality is a whole lot worse. As a medic, it was my job to try and help save as many people as possible, and I worked damn hard to do that. But sometimes, God, or the Fates or, hell, I don’t know, whoever or whatever you might believe in, whatever powers that be are out there, decide that your best is just not good enough, and when that happens, you’re left with a shit load of regret, what-ifs and if-onlys.”
Fiona could understand that. She had a feeling he hadn’t finished, so she just sat there stroking the back of his hand with her fingers. “The mission that made it impossible for me to re-up for another tour was four months before I was discharged. We were in convoy, heading from town to town, not looking for a fight, really.” Travis barked a humorless laugh. “This is a ridiculous thing to say when you think about how many times I was neck-deep in blood, trying to hold my friends together. Literally.”
“But we were on a peaceful mission, just helping to transport some supplies for some local doctors. Then the Hummer we were in hit the edge of an IED. Not completely head-on hit it, or it could have had a very different ending for all of us, but enough that it took out the left side of the truck, and that was where a guy called Donnie MacNamara was sitting.”