by Iris Abbott
Marla immediately stiffened her spine and shot Copper a worried frown. “Um, I don’t trust the law, especially in this county.”
“Usually I’m opposed to anyone knowing Metal Cowboys’ business, but since he’s a friend I wanted to give Sheriff Davis the courtesy of a heads up, just in case we need his help later on down the line.”
Marla tapped the fingers of her left hand on the oak table. She didn’t like this latest development at all. She was halfway hoping to keep the law out of things this time. “You know, I’m pretty sure the last sheriff warned my ex’s family that I wanted to press charges against Rob. The coward left town, and no one bothered to look for him after he disappeared. The sheriff wouldn’t even serve a warrant for Rob’s arrest.”
“That’s right,” Natalie agreed. “No one believed our complaint, and they refused to listen to us when we tried to press charges. We were told there was nothing they could do, since Rob left town like a cowardly thief in the night.”
Her sister’s description was apt, Marla thought. Rob was a thief. He stole her joy for life and a much more precious treasure that could never be replaced. She cleared her throat and started talking. “If you want to report the attempt on my life, because you think it will make me feel better, it won’t. I have no confidence in the sheriff’s department in this county.”
“Now that wouldn’t surprise me one bit, young lady,” a deep voice said from the doorway. “My predecessor’s cronyism and incompetent job performance was the worst kept secret in the county. It’s why the new man in town,” he pointed a finger at his chest, “didn’t have any problems winning the last election and cleaning house.”
She turned bright red. She didn’t mean for the latest sheriff to hear her complaint. The last thing she wanted was to get off on the wrong foot with the lawman. “I wasn’t implying you’re like him,” she mumbled. “I just wanted Copper and the others to know why I am reluctant to involve you in my situation.”
The sheriff’s bright blue eyes snapped from Marla to Copper. “What situation might that be?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. He shook hands with Copper before helping himself to a seat at the table.
“Let me handle this,” Copper said before either Marla or Natalie could speak. “Metal Cowboys, go on over to the garage and open up. It’s almost ten o’clock, and Tina should be arriving anytime.”
The four men gathered by the door. Chrome was the last one out. He turned and looked back at Natalie. “Your sister needs you more than we do today. I’m giving you a personal day with pay. Use it to take care of Marla.”
Natalie bestowed him with a beautiful smile. “I’ll do that, thank you, Chrome.”
The man nodded and left, shutting the door behind him.
Marla breathed a silent sigh of relief. She wasn’t ready to be by herself, but she wasn’t ready to be smothered by Copper or the other men either. Speaking of Copper, his deep voice filled the kitchen as he gave Davis the abbreviated version of what happened the night before. Marla focused on the cadence of his voice. It was a lot more soothing than she remembered, and the sound actually helped calm her nerves.
A harsh explicative fouled the air, and her nerves tensed up again.
Her eyes snapped to Copper and then slid to Sheriff Davis. “Cowardly SOB,” the sheriff emphatically stated. “I’m surprised no one reported gunshots being fired, especially since it was near an elementary school.”
Marla shrugged. “I didn’t call, because I was busy running for my life. I passed out as soon as I reached safety.”
“And you didn’t see fit to throw me a bone, huh, Copper?”
“Nope. Marla came to me for protection. We plan to handle this in house.” There was a menacing tone to his voice that caused the sheriff to raise an eyebrow.
“Well,” the older man said after a few tense seconds. “Since no one called in the gunfire, and I doubt Ms. Taylor is willing to press charges, my hands are tied. As far as I’m concerned nothing happened.”
He paused before getting right in Copper’s face. “I trust you to do what needs to be done without making a mess for me to clean up.”
“It’s as good as done.” Copper held out his hand. The two men shook on it.
Marla released the pent up breath she’d been holding when the sheriff got in Copper’s face. “Thank you,” she managed to squeak out.
Sheriff Davis nodded and touched the brim of his hat. “Take care of yourself, Ma’am.” He nodded at Natalie. “Nice seeing you again, take care.”
He stood and glanced at Copper. “Walk me out, Ellison.”
****
Copper pushed away from the table and stood as well. He and Davis were friendly enough, but he still didn’t want the man towering over him. He addressed Natalie and Marla before leaving. “I’m headed over to the garage to get some work done. The security cameras are turned on, and Iron will be monitoring them throughout the day. Make yourselves at home, but remember what I said, don’t leave the immediate area without one of the Metal Cowboys.”
“Davis,” he waved a hand and motioned for the man to precede him out the door. He followed the sheriff, but he couldn’t resist another look at Marla. She and her sister had their heads pressed together, talking quietly. Even from a distance, she could tie his gut in to knots. She definitely did it for him. He had it bad for the sexy blonde.
He waited until they were out of the house before giving the sheriff the down low. “You need to understand that I will do whatever it takes to protect and defend Marla. I won’t stop until this is over.”
“Got any idea who’d target your woman?”
Copper didn’t bother correcting the sheriff. Just because it wasn’t true now didn’t mean it wouldn’t be soon. “No definite suspect yet, but we’re checking into her ex, Rob Storey.”
The sheriff raised a brow. “That name rings a bell. Martha’s been with the sheriff’s department forever. She reminds me of the sins of my predecessor at least once a week. Storey was mentioned more than once. If I remember correctly, he attacked his girlfriend then skipped town.” Realization dawned on the older man’s face. “Marla was the girlfriend,” he guessed.
“That about covers it,” Copper wasn’t elaborating any further.
“Rob Storey still has a lot of family and friends in the area. Don’t do anything sloppy or stupid,” Davis warned.
“You know it,” Copper said with a nod. “The Metal Cowboys are playing defense for the time being. We won’t go after Storey, but we sure as hell will keep tabs on him, in case he goes after Marla again. Make no mistake, if he attacks her, I will be waiting, and I will retaliate with everything at my disposal.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else. Watch your back and take care of the lady.”
Copper walked to the department issued SUV with the sheriff. They shook hands and said goodbye. As soon as Davis was out of sight, Copper headed to the garage. He was working on the specs for a new custom bike order. It was just the thing he needed to get his mind off of all the deliciously wicked ways he wanted to seduce Marla.
****
The house was quiet, almost too quiet for Marla’s peace of mind. The men were still working in the garage. They’d been there since they left right after breakfast. Marla spent the afternoon hoping Copper would come back to the house for lunch, but he didn’t. After four uneventful hours, Natalie was bored to tears as well.
“I can see how antsy you are cooped up in the house. I’m fine. I trust Iron’s security expertise. This place is like a fortress. Rob can’t get to me while I’m inside the house. Besides, I want to go through my things from school anyway.”
Natalie sucked in her bottom lip and looked closely at Marla for several seconds. “Well, I do have some emails left over from yesterday afternoon. I’d love to go through them just to make sure there’s nothing time sensitive waiting on the computer.”
“You should go do it. I don’t want you to get behind because of me and this recent mess my life has become.”<
br />
“None of this is your fault,” Natalie said in an outraged voice. She quickly calmed down. “Hey, why don’t you walk over to the garage with me? I promise it won’t take me long to finish up. I’m sure Copper wouldn’t mind if I gave you a tour,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
Marla thought about entering Copper’s work domain, and her body temperature rose several degrees. She put her hand in her pocket to keep from fanning herself in front of her sister. She knew that Copper was in charge of the design work, but Natalie mentioned more than once that he loved to get his hands dirty in the garage whenever he could. The last thing she needed to see was a hot and sweaty Copper working with his hands.
An image of a shirtless Copper, body glistening from sweat while he worked on a bike, settled in her brain. She wasn’t going to be forgetting it anytime soon, not that she wanted to. “No, that’s okay. I’ll stay here and sort through the things in my box. I’m glad it was still there when Chrome went back for it. The gifts from my students have a lot of sentimental value. They are irreplaceable,” she confessed.
“Okay then, I’ll be back before you know it,” Natalie said before hugging Marla and leaving the house.
Glancing around the living room, Marla realized she wanted more room than the square coffee table provided. She took the box to the kitchen. She cautiously emptied the contents of the box onto the clean table and carefully sorted through everything. When she was done, a stack of cards, hand-drawn pictures, photos, and small gifts were spread out in front of her.
All but a handful of the twenty third graders she taught gave her some kind of end of year present on the last day of school. She hadn’t had a chance to read and relish the mementos before now, and she was glad. The heartfelt handwritten sentiments and hand drawn photos would surely cheer her up. If anyone needed her day brightened, it was Marla.
Most of the envelopes were either white, red, yellow, or blue. She noticed during the four years she’d been teaching that most of her students were drawn to the primary colors. That’s why one envelope in particular stood out to Marla. It was decorated with alternating stripes of peach, mint green, and pale yellow.
What was even weirder was that she could associate most of the other gifts with the student who handed it to her on the last day of school. Marla didn’t remember the pastel envelope. She thought that was more than a little strange. Surely something so different would stand out in her memory.
With shaking hands, she reached for the envelope, and used a fingernail to split it open. Curiosity wouldn’t let her do anything else. The sound of thick paper tearing was loud in the otherwise too quiet room. As soon as the gap was large enough, she judiciously removed the card. The whole time, Marla kept telling herself everything was going to be fine. She tried to convince herself that it was her imagination playing tricks on her, making her extra sensitive to everything around her.
One look and she knew she should have trusted her instincts. Congratulations on your new arrival was emblazoned across the top of the offending card. This wasn’t a thank you or goodbye card from one of her students. This was a taunt meant to torture her, and it could have only come from one person. The fact that it was mixed in with the things left behind in the school parking lot spoke volumes to Marla.
This was all the proof she needed that Rob was the one responsible for the attack against her last night. He was the only person she knew who was capable of doing something so vile. A random stranger wouldn’t have left the card for her. What would be the point?
To most people the card she held in her hand was harmless enough. To Marla, it was a poignant reminder of what she’d lost on the most terrible night of her life. It was a reminder of just how much loving the wrong person cost her. And she was sure her ex-boyfriend was the one doing the reminding.
The thick paper fell from her lifeless fingers. She stared at the blurring stack for several seconds. It took that long for her to realize she was crying. Marla hastily wiped away the tears. She refused to have another breakdown like the one she suffered last night. She wouldn’t give her tormentor the satisfaction.
Picking up the offending item, Marla clenched the card tight enough to make it crinkle. She didn’t care if the once pretty card was ruined. It wasn’t like it was going to be a keepsake or anything. Its only useful purpose was as evidence for the Metal Cowboys.
She ran to the back door and exited it in such a hurry she didn’t take the time to close it. Adrenaline coursed through her body, and she pushed open the front door of the garage so hard it bounced off the wall. Tina, the secretary, glanced up and let out a startled scream when she saw Marla charging toward her.
“I need to see Copper right now.” She started around the counter toward the garage area where the men worked on the bikes.
Tina wasn’t in the loop. She didn’t know Marla was residing with the Metal Cowboys. “Wait! Copper’s busy. I didn’t think your tastes ran to men like the Metal Cowboys,” she snidely remarked. “Either way, he isn’t going to appreciate the interruption.” She pushed back her rolling chair and moved to stand in front of the door that led to the garage, effectively blocking Marla’s path.
Marla froze in her tracks and gave the other woman a disbelieving stare. “My tastes are none of your business, Tina. I’m not some crazed biker groupie wanting to score an afternoon quickie. Now get out of my way!”
She tried to shove by the secretary standing between her and the only man who made her feel safe. Marla couldn’t nudge the other woman. Tina outweighed her by a good twenty-five pounds, and the stubborn woman stood her ground.
“This is ridiculous. Pick up the phone, call Copper, and let him know I’m out here. He’s going to want to see me.”
“Copper really doesn’t like to be bothered when he’s working,” the woman warned. “You’re only going to piss him off, but hey, it’s all on you,” Tina informed her.
She moved from the door and picked up the phone. “Natalie, your sister is out here.” There was a brief pause. “No. She looks fine to me, but she’s demanding to see Copper. Natalie? Hello, Natalie? Are you there?”
The door from the garage flew open, narrowly missing Marla. Startled she jumped back and lost her balance. Before she could fall, strong arms wrapped around her body, anchoring her upright. She recognized Copper’s touch immediately.
Natalie was right behind him. She rushed to Marla’s side. She tried to elbow Copper out of the way, but he refused to budge. “You were fine when I left the house.” She glanced at her watch. “That was only about fifteen minutes ago,” she said with a worried frown. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone!”
Taking a deep breath, Marla tried to reassure her sister and Copper that another attack hadn’t occurred while their backs were turned. “He definitely did something, except it wasn’t here nor was it today,” she finally managed to explain.
She glanced over her shoulder at Tina, who wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was listening to their conversation. Marla didn’t want the whole town knowing her business, and she was fairly certain that Copper and the rest of the Metal Cowboys felt the same way. If Rob was planning something else, she didn’t want to make it too easy for him. There was no need to confirm the fact that she was staying with the Metal Cowboys to anyone who didn’t need to know. And as far as Marla was concerned, Tina definitely didn’t need to know.
“We should talk about this in private,” she whispered to her sister and Copper.
Copper gave her a terse nod. “Tina,” he barked out, “we’re going to my office. I do not want to be disturbed.”
She gave an insolent shrug. “That’s what I tried to tell Ms. Taylor, but she insisted on bothering you, regardless of what I said about your busy work schedule. I tried to circumvent her by going to Natalie, but you showed up anyway,” the secretary said with a pout.
Copper gave Tina a look that could cut through metal it was so sharp. “Don’t ever try to keep Marla away from me again, or it wil
l cost you your job,” he snapped at the woman. “From this moment on, she’s at the top of my priority list,” he informed the bemused secretary. “Don’t forget it.”
He pushed open the door leading inside the garage. “Let’s go,” he ordered Marla and Natalie. “Both of you have some explaining to do,” he warned. “Natalie, take your sister to my office, and the two of you wait there. I’ll round up Iron and Mercury. They can fill in the others later.”
Marla felt Natalie wrap an arm around her shoulder. She followed her sister’s lead through the garage and into Copper’s office. “I didn’t mean to get you into trouble with your boss,” Marla whispered. Copper was helping her with a personal matter, but this was their workplace, maybe she shouldn’t have intruded. “Perhaps I should have waited until he finished for the day.”
Natalie waved a hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. Whatever sent you running over here must be important or you wouldn’t have bothered. You’re not prone to drama or hysterics, so don’t dare second-guess yourself now that you’re here.”
“I know, but I don’t want my problems affecting your job. You love it, and it’s important to you.”
“Don’t worry about me or my job. When it comes to you, Copper and I are on equal footing. He’s not my boss. He’s just a man with more than a passing interest in my sister.”
Marla laughed. “I don’t think anyone would classify Copper as just a man,” she admitted to her sister.
“You’re probably right about that,” Natalie agreed. “We might as well make ourselves comfortable. I don’t know how long it’ll take Copper to round up Mercury and Iron. They’re spread out all over the garage working on different projects.”
The fingers holding the card ached from Marla’s tight hold. She loosened her grip and laid the card on top of her lap. “I don’t think it will take too long. Copper seemed intent on getting down to business. I can’t imagine anyone, not even Mercury or Iron, making him wait.”
“That very well may be,” Natalie agreed. She took a deep breath. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you at the house by yourself.”