by Taylor Lee
Turning to the gang of his silent cohorts, he saw that everyone except Manny Davis was looking at him in askance. He was glad that at least Pete, Mac, and Greg looked embarrassed. Fucking Christ, they should be. He was glad when Pete spoke. He didn’t know if he could trust his own voice.
“Fuck it, Flint. We . . . we wasn’t really going to hurt her. We . . . was just tryin’ to . . . ”
Ryker wasn’t surprised when Pete’s explanation dissolved into an incoherent groan topped by a bright red flush on his already ruddy cheeks. If he looked anywhere as angry as he felt, Ryker decided to play the best hand he had. That of a supposedly hardcore felon and proven martial artist fanatic. He was glad that his voice was strong and almost calm, not betraying his tumultuous emotions.
“Trying to do what, Pete? Scare her? Make her wish that she weren’t a fucking deputy sheriff who could rain hell down on all of us if she so much as says a word? That she wouldn’t call on her father who happens to be the sheriff of the whole damn county and, from what I can tell, one of the most respected lawmen in the fucking state?” Tossing back the rest of his booze and pouring himself another shot, Ryker glared at the now pale-faced, would-be rapists and grunted derisively. “Holy Christ. What could you assholes have been thinking? Am I the only one who needs to stay on the down low? Who doesn’t want to get in the cross hairs of that lethal father-daughter duo?” Shaking his head, he said disparagingly, “We can only hope that Deputy Trouble won’t want to admit that a bunch of crazy assholes almost took her down. Given how fucking cocky she is, let’s hope that she’ll choose to keep her ‘almost attack’ under wraps. At least you jokers better pray that she does.”
“What about the fact that she was trespassing on our property? Hell, Burke, when I got here, she was pawing through my fuckin’ underwear! Doesn’t that constitute some kind of a crime? Don’t even deputy sheriffs need a warrant before they can come in someone’s house and start snoopin’ around? I can tell you sure as shootin’, ole Sledge will put up a screamin’ fit when he finds out. He’ll make that pussy DA, Zane Turner, file charges against the bitch.”
Glad that he could now look at Manny without planning how he was going to beat him to death in the most painful way possible, Ryker snorted. “Christ, man. Did you hear a word I said? There’s no way that we can come up against the sheriff and his daughter without getting caught in a buzz saw.” He pinned Manny with a hard gaze and didn’t bother to disguise his insinuation. “Look, buddy, if she was here looking for something, you can be damn sure it has to do with that murdered girl they found on the ridge. I don’t know about any of you guys, but while I’m squeaky clean on that issue, I’ve got more than enough shit in my past to intrigue the snoopy deputy. And on that point, if she’s looking for dirt, you guys better be sure you’ve put a Roto-Rooter to any evidence she might find.”
Manny paled, and for a moment Ryker thought he might have scared the guy. Hell, he even looked as though he might be sobering up. Manny started to say something, then apparently changing his mind, his expression hardened and he glared at Ryker. “What makes you the fuckin’ authority, Burke? You think just because you’ve served time you can tell us what we can and can’t do? Like you’re the big expert? Besides, I’m thinking all your outrage might be covering up something.” He reached for the bottle of Wild Turkey and, not bothering with a glass, tipped it up and drank a healthy slug. Smacking the bottle on the counter, he spit out, “Yeah, man, I’m thinkin’ you jest might have a hard-on for that sexy little cunt deputy. If I’m countin’ right, this here’s the third time you’ve come to her rescue.”
Ryker narrowed his gaze and assumed a nonchalance he was far from feeling. “Hmm, did you ever stop to think, asshole, it wasn’t the little deputy I was after, that it was you?” Gratified when Manny stepped back, his surprise apparent, Ryker allowed his voice to drop lower, not hiding the danger strafing his threat. “No, man, I’ve spent a lifetime taking down crazy motherfuckers like you.” Ignoring Manny’s angry growl, he added, “Hell yeah, it’s the crazy ones like you who put the rest of us in danger. Bring the law down on the whole damn bunch of us even if we’re pure as the driven snow. Which we ain’t!”
He turned and strode toward the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he took in the wary group who were all staring at him open-mouthed. Even Manny looked somewhat chastened.
He shrugged. “All this excitement makes me think I need a sedative of sorts. And booze ain’t gonna cut it. The only thing that can talk down my righteous prick is pussy, plain and simple. If you don’t mind, I’m heading for Sadie’s, where I’m confident I can find an antidote or two to address my particular affliction.”
Knowing that the silent men couldn’t begin to see the rage that was stoking him, he glared at Manny. Keeping his voice silky soft, he didn’t try to hide his threat. “A word of warning, tough guy. You do one more thing to psyche up that Trouble gal and her father, and you’ll know pain you didn’t know it was possible to feel. Just know that I’m not going down because you can’t keep your pecker and your rage in check.”
Climbing into his Ram, Ryker allowed his pent-up fury to flare. No longer facing the would-be rapists, Ryker allowed himself to go to the heart of his fury. He didn’t know when, if ever, he would forget the terror in Tanya’s eyes or the relief that flooded her face when he arrived. In seconds, he had seen her fear change to embarrassment and he ached at what he was sure she thought was her shame. If only he could tell her what the sight of her nearly naked breasts did to him, in addition to infuriating him that the remarkable sight was available to a bunch of slobbering lowlifes.
Punching his truck into overdrive, he sped toward Sadie’s, then at the crossroad, turned in the opposite direction. He hoped that he could get his raging emotions under control before he got to his destination. Knowing that was as unlikely as stopping a Russian Novocherkassk locomotive with his bare hands, he gave in to the fury that had his body and spirit at a fever pitch. Acknowledging what he was about to do, he hoped that at some point, the sheriff would understand. That he’d know that spanking the hell out of his outrageous daughter was the least that Ryker planned to do to her. Hell yes. She deserved it and so much more.
****
Tanya sank down onto the chaise lounge on her deck. Cautiously raising her glass to her lips, she took a few sips of the potent whiskey. She wasn’t surprised that she’d spilled half of it in previous attempts to grab a few restorative gulps. God, it was a wonder she hadn’t knocked over the bottle when she tried for the second time to fill her glass. Her hands were shaking so hard it was almost impossible to get the top of the bottle close to the top of her glass. When she managed to drink enough of the powerful alcohol to settle her raging emotions somewhat, she allowed herself to acknowledge the hideous images storming her brain.
Even now she was amazed at her bravado. She’d actually thought that she could sneak into the bunkhouse and rummage around in Manny’s shit. She’d been blind to the danger she faced by her sheer certainty that Manny had killed Violeta. She just needed to find proof so that she could arrest him. Even when Manny had caught her, stoned out of his mind, she still thought she could take him down. Yeah, he’d stripped her of her weapons, at least her two pistols, but he didn’t know about her balisong. That blade was by far her most potent weapon in an up close and desperate situation. What she hadn’t counted on was Manny’s rage. He was frenzied, clearly stoked by the drug and alcohol cocktail he’d imbibed.
And yes, she’d thought the arrival of the rest of the gang signaled her salvation. Again, she hadn’t allowed herself to acknowledge that lust was a powerful impediment to good sense. Added to the fact that Pete, Mac, and Greg likely having as much shit in their systems as Manny did had changed the odds dramatically. She soon saw that what she’d thought were one-to-one odds she could ultimately beat was actually a four-to-one probability. The worst possible combination in that she was the only one of the five who wasn’t drunk or stoned out of their mind.
That was the only way that she could begin to excuse the guys she’d once thought had a sliver of humanity in their DNA. That they weren’t like Manny, who was evil to the core. But whether it was booze, lust, or pure male ego, she’d found herself in the center of an ugly drama where she’d inadvertently been assigned the starring role. It was when Pete ripped off her shirt and bared her to their invasive taunts that she knew that her chances of surviving this ordeal were miniscule—at best. She’d given in to her fate, determined not to cry or scream at the coming attack, when she heard his voice. Her profound relief at his presence quickly morphed to shame. Shame that not only had she been unable to fight off her attackers but also that, along with the hideous men, he was seeing her helpless and practically naked.
Through the fog in her brain, she realized that her phone was vibrating fiercely. Glancing at the screen, she saw her father’s number. Knowing that she would have to speak to him eventually, she managed to whisper into the mouthpiece, “Hi, Dad.”
His reply was as sharp as hers was muted. “Dammit, Tanya. Thank God you are answering your phone. I’ve been trying to reach you for at least four hours. Where have you been and, more important, why didn’t you answer my calls or my texts?”
Forcing herself to reply, she said, “I . . . I was talking with some of the girls—”
Her father interrupted her. His response was ominous. “Don’t, Tanya. Don’t lie to me. I spoke with Marcie Jones and she said you left her nearly three hours ago. Please answer me, Tanya. Where were you?”
When she didn’t answer his challenging question because she couldn’t get the words past the enormous lump in her throat, her father was quiet for a long moment, then said, “Honey, are you all right? I need you to tell me that you are.”
Tanya swallowed hard and managed to say, “Now I am.”
His voice was soft, strained. “Is Ryker there with you?”
Hearing the sound of the truck peeling into her driveway, she emitted an audible sigh. “Not yet, but he will be . . . soon.”
Chapter 26
Hearing the screen door slam and Ryker’s heavy footsteps coming down the hallway to her deck, Tanya closed her eyes. Not able to keep from glancing at him, she saw his expression and quickly looked down. As an afterthought, she remembered that she’d been talking to her father and handed him her phone.
“Here, my father wanted to know if you were here.”
Not looking at him, Tanya wondered if she had the strength to stand up and go inside. Maybe she could even get to her bedroom, where she could lock the door. Knowing how ridiculous it was to think that she could keep the powerful man at bay, she settled against the soft cushions and closed her eyes. At least she couldn’t see him, but his curt tones and simmering presence confirmed that her reckoning was scant minutes away.
“Yes, Sheriff Trouble. I’m here.”
While she couldn’t hear her father’s side of the conversation, Ryker’s brusque replies captured the totality of their conversation.
“In answer to your question, I arrived in time. Barely.”
He listened quietly to her father, then said, “If you don’t mind, sir, and even if you do, I’m going to take it from here. I assure you, when Tanya and I are finished discussing what happened tonight—and what could have happened—she will be fully aware of the consequences should she ever choose to do it again.”
Again he was silent, but his nod confirmed that at base he agreed with her father, although his stormy expression indicated he would be a hard sell.
“I hear you, Sheriff, but it is you who needs to understand. You and I have different expectations of your deputy. And distinctly different degrees of tolerance for her unacceptable behavior. I will only say, sir, if you’d walked into the scene that I did tonight, you might be even more enraged than I am. After all, I’ve had time to come to grips with what happened. Let’s hope that it will allow me to deal with the deputy in a somewhat professional manner.”
Tanya closed her eyes, not wanting to think about the implied consequences of the bone Ryker had tossed the sheriff.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your support. Good night.”
His crisp signoff confirmed that her father had ceded control to the grim man standing inches away from her. At which point Tanya accepted the challenging fact that, for once, she had truly met her match.
Continuing to gaze at her hands that she was clasping and unclasping in her lap, Tanya heard him walk to her makeshift bar. Seeing his feet from her downcast eyes, she knew that he was next to her. The slosh and pungent odor of the alcohol hitting the bottom of a glass and then another allowed her to take a few deep breaths, the first she taken since she had heard his truck in the driveway. Or to be more accurate, the first she’d breathed in so long that she couldn’t remember when breathing was an autonomic task, not one that she had to monitor. Hearing him settle into the armchair across from her, she prepared herself for his tirade. She didn’t have long to wait. The only problem was that his soft tones were so low she had to struggle to hear him.
She wished she hadn’t and that she’d developed a case of premature deafness when he said quietly, “Look at me.”
Tanya swallowed hard and shook her head. How could she tell him that she couldn’t bear to see his knowing eyes, hating that he’d seen her powerless and nearly naked?
“I said, look at me. Now, Tanya.”
Slamming her eyes closed, she sucked in an audible breath, then forced herself to meet his gaze. She shuddered when she did. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see, but the palpable fury that had turned his rigid jaw rock hard and his summer-sky eyes a dark midnight blue took her breath. For the first time in the hideous evening, she realized that Ryker might be angrier with her than with the men who’d attacked her. Obviously he blamed her—not them—for their hideous actions. The knowledge shocked her and unexpectedly energized her.
Raising her chin, she started to tell him what she thought of him blaming her for what had happened when he caught her hand and yanked her toward him.
“Oh no you don’t, sweetheart. Yeah, I’m gonna spank the hell out of you before this conversation is over, but I recommend that you don’t raise that haughty chin of yours so much as a centimeter. Unless you’d like to start this discussion over my knee with your bare ass high in the air.”
Tanya trembled, not willing to acknowledge that his arrogant assertion had shot a frenzy of sensations to her groin. She quickly reminded herself that no matter what was happening in her wayward body, he needed to understand that she was as angry as he was.
“I hate you, Ryker. And I don’t give a flying fuck that you blame me for what happened tonight. Of course you would. You’re a man; why would you blame the disgusting creeps who planned to rape me?” Now that she was on a roll, her voice rose. “Oh no, how could you possibly blame them, led on as they were by the brazen little coochie who had the audacity to taunt them—treat them like the animals that they are.”
“Be quiet.”
When she startled, clearly surprised, he added in a dangerously low tone, “Damn you, Tanya, don’t say another word. Do you hear me? Not another word.”
He waited until she met his compelling gaze, then said, “You think I blame you for what happened tonight? Hmm. Why might I do that, Deputy Trouble? Why might I be angry with you? Do you have any idea how close you came to a hideous assault? Do you understand what would have happened if your father didn’t catch me on my way to Meier’s to tell me he was concerned that he couldn’t reach you? So help me God, Tanya. I’m going to beat your ass if for no other reason than how you dismiss your extraordinary father. How dare you not answer his texts . . . block his calls? Treat him like an inquisitive snoop you can ignore?” He held up his hands in disgust. “It’s just as well that you were the brat that you always are. Your arrogantly blowing off his attempts to reach you prompted your father’s call to me. Damn, Tanya, at that moment, I literally did a one hundred eighty-degree turn on I-
90 and headed to the ranch, where I walked in on a gang rape in the making—yours.”
When she trembled, not able to hide her horror at the memory of the hideous experience she had endured, he grabbed her hand. His voice shook with emotion. “Oh good, you remember. How did you feel, Tanya, when those disgusting assholes who were drunk out of their minds surrounded you? Made it clear that they were going to strip you naked and take turns raping you? Were you frightened? Or did you say to yourself, heck, I can handle this. After all, I’m Deputy Tanya Trouble, and no mere man will ever do anything to me that I don’t permit him to do.” His eyes flashed with fury. “How about four men, Tanya?”
His voice was racked with anger and his stormy eyes, she realized, were filled with pain. “But let’s not forget who one of the men was. Let’s talk about Manny Davis, shall we, Deputy? The man who’s not just a drunk and a hardcore drug addict, but also a man given to maniacal rages? But you know that, don’t you? You know very well that the man you taunted, shoved your saucy chin in his face, is also the man who likely murdered Violeta Acedo. But even knowing that, you went to his fucking house tonight—alone. Without Gunnar, without your father. Heck no, you went all by your little old lonesome because . . . ” He stopped, his glare intensifying. “Ah yes, that’s the question I need you to answer. Why, Tanya? Why did you go to that fucking ranch tonight by yourself?”
When she just shook her head and looked down, refusing to look at him, he grabbed her chin. Holding it firmly, he forced her to look at him. His voice was silky soft but felt like sandpaper chafing against her raw nerve endings.