by Taylor Lee
Amy gave a relieved sigh.
Nate hugged her.
“Thanks, honey, for telling me this. I’ll keep you posted.”
Amy’s face lit up in a smile.
“Thanks, Nate. I sure am glad you’re my cousin.”
He chucked her under the chin. “Me too, short stuff.”
~~~
As the group was preparing to leave for their Friday night get-together at Kieran’s Pub, Nate looked for Erin. As much as Amy’s caution about Melanie concerned him, he had another woman to think about at the moment.
Erin was standing back from the others a distant look in her eyes. Nate had seen that look before and knew what it meant. He grabbed for her hand and tugged her down the hallway into Marcus’s office.
Nate closed the door behind them ignoring Erin’s surprised frown and attempt to pull back.
“Uh uh, Erin. You think I’m going to take you to Kieran’s Pub with the rest of this rowdy group when you’ve got that look on your face?”
“What… what look?”
He shook his head and lightly touched her cheek.
“The look that must have been there for a lot of years before I met you. The one that reminds me that you had a hell of a childhood and it didn’t stop there.”
When the tears welling up in her eyes threatened to spill over, he pulled her into his embrace.
“C’mere honey. Let me hold you.”
Erin shook her head and tried to push him away. “Don’t, Nate. I’m… okay.”
Nate ignored her feeble gesture and pulled her closer. When he raised an eyebrow and didn’t respond, her words tumbled out.
“It’s just, Nate, when I hear about all the wonderful things you did when you were a kid, what a star you were, I can’t help but compare it to what I was doing at the same time. Sometimes I just feel so… inadequate.”
Nate forced his voice to be calm, not show the pain he felt at her words.
“Erin, listen to me. You learned the wrong lesson today. You heard us talking about Jeb and me. We both came from crap and Jeb went downhill from there. I didn’t because I was lucky. First Mama and Marcus took me in and then the Chief practically adopted me. And I still could’ve gone bad.”
“But you didn’t, Nate. And… and I did.”
Nate was incredulous. “You did? That’s not how I see it, Erin. You were raised by a whore who sold you to her boyfriends as soon as you hit puberty. Somehow you got away from that pitiful excuse for a mother and supported yourself when you were a kid not even sixteen years old.
Erin sniffed. “Yes—by stripping.”
“Yes, Erin. You did. You did what you had to do to survive. Then against all odds because of your courage, you got away from your abusive psychopathic husband. Christ, honey, you were on the run for three years with his thugs after you! Jesus, Erin. I had Mama, Marcus, the Chief and hundreds of other people pulling for me. And who did you have? You had yourself.”
He put his thumb under her chin forcing her to look at him.
“Erin, you are the bravest, smartest and most honorable person I know. I am in awe of you. I pray on a daily basis that you won’t wake up some day and know that I’m not worthy to kiss the soles of your feet.”
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth fighting with the tears in her eyes.
“Nate—”
He scrubbed at the tears that leaked down her cheeks and grinned.
“Okay fine. I’ll admit it. I love kissing the soles of your feet, and sucking on your toes, and licking every other part of your delicious body. But Erin, don’t think for a minute that I don’t know how lucky I am. Actually, how lucky we both are. I love you, Erin.”
Erin swallowed visibly and brushed at the tears on her face with the back of her hand. They both started at the sound of a knock at the door.
Connor opened the door and poked his head inside.
“Are you guys coming? Mama D said she’d watch the baby so Kait and I can go…”
He frowned. “Hey, everything okay?”
Nate pulled Erin up against his chest and nodded to Connor over her head.
“Yeah, we’re good, Cuz. Just reminding each other how lucky we are to have each other.”
Connor nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, we all are. C’mon Erin, if you think I’m gonna let my bad boy cousin monopolize you, you’re crazy. Remember, your boss gets at least one dance with you tonight.”
Erin pushed away from Nate and gave Connor a teary smile.
“Okay, but just one. You know how jealous Nate gets.”
Nate allowed Connor to pull Erin away from him and give her a hug. He was grateful. Like everyone who knew Erin, Connor loved her. His cousin was in awe of what the beautiful woman had survived. Thinking about the danger they were facing, Nate fought a combination of fear and fury. It wasn’t fair. After everything Erin had been through, she didn’t deserve this, to be in the middle of a hideous situation caused by evil men who were out to get him. Nate swallowed past the lump in his throat and sent a little prayer to a god he didn’t call on much. He wasn’t sure it was the kind of prayer God appreciated but at least it was heartfelt.
Please God let me kill any bastard who so much as threatens her. And please, help me make his death as painful as possible.
Chapter 7
“Glad to see you got most of your crew here tonight, Nate.”
The big Irishman’s grin was as broad as usual, as he pulled on the tap filling the frosty mugs in front of him. But the tension in his voice mirrored the rigid set of his shoulders.
Nate leaned back casually against the bar and swept his gaze around the crowded pub. He made sure his question reached Kieran’s ears only.
“Expecting trouble, Kieran?”
Without looking Nate’s way, Kieran shrugged.
“Have to be crazy not to—see’n who’s here.” He added with a grimace. “Trouble’s as sure as stink on shit when those two show up at the same time.”
Nate kept his gaze as casual as his smile. It wasn’t hard to see what had the burly bartender’s panties in a bunch. Nate’d spotted Jeb’s Jag in the parking lot and thought he recognized Cougar’s truck. Even before they entered, he’d rounded up his men and laid out a preliminary plan in the event there was trouble. Not exactly an unexpected outcome.
“You got your trusty enforcer polished up and ready to go, Kieran?”
Kieran managed a passably genuine smile. He reached down behind the bar and pulled out a gleaming Louisville Slugger.
“Hell, Nate, Killebrew here is as ready as he was when your cousin Luke threw me one of his spit-laced fastballs. And just like then, I’m ready as ever to catch a piece of any ball or guy who thinks he can take on Kieran Mallory.”
Nate guffawed.
“I respect that bat of yours as much as Luke did, buddy. Just know that we got your six, me and all of my men.”
Glancing at the group in the corner, Nate huffed.
“Hell, looks like Jeb and his band of Neanderthal idiots brought their wives tonight. Maybe they’re looking for no more than a chance to get drunk and show off their fancy two steps.
Kieran chortled. “Well, they got the drunk part covered, that’s for sure. Swear to God, Nate, Jeb’s turning into a bigger drunk than his daddy ever was. And he’s meaner than old man Jones was. At least the old guy just ranted crazy shit until he passed out. Jeb’s quieter. But a hell of a lot meaner. More dangerous, if you know what I mean.
“Yeah, Kieran. I know just what you mean.”
Nate carried a tray of glasses over to their table and set it down. He passed a beer to Erin, Annika and Kaitlin and one to Dan’s wife who had joined them. He shoved the others over to Sam, Dan and to Connor.
Keeping his voice low, he murmured, “This could be an exciting night, fellows. Seems as though we’re not the only ones celebrating.”
Dan’s expression was tense.
“Yeah, I saw them too. I’m surprised. This is the fir
st time I’ve seen Cougar here since he and Jeb went their separate ways. Whadda you think, Nate? Think they really are on the outs or is it just a subterfuge to confuse us? You know, make us think they’re enemies to keep us heading in two different directions. Like fuckin’ cats chasing our tales?”
“Only one way to find out, Dan.”
Nate smiled at the beefy Lieutenant.
“I’m gonna ask Cougar. He oughta know.”
~~~
Nate made his way across the crowded bar toward Cougar’s table stopping along the way to respond to the various boisterous groups who hollered out to him. Nate had to admit, he enjoyed his star status. More than that he appreciated that his town knew who he was. And what he was. He was their champion. At least that’s how the good people viewed him. The people who didn’t cause trouble for others and took care of the people they loved knew they had nothing to fear from Detective Nate Stryker. But the troublemakers? That was another story. And more than a few heads turned the other way when Nate sauntered by.
Passing by a table of young people, most of them college age, Nate gave them the benefit of the doubt. Hell, it seemed hypocritical to enforce the drinking age when the guys having a beer could easily have been out in the woods with the tweakers. At least these kids had a chance of becoming productive citizens.
He nodded at Tucker Barnes, Cougar’s son, sitting at the end of the table. Tucker had been a Division A high school basketball player. Nate had coached him in a couple of afterschool club teams when Tucker was a kid. Nate had been one of his biggest supporters when Tucker made the high school team. He was surprised when Tucker chose not to accept a scholarship from a college team. When Nate had asked him why not, Tucker had merely shrugged and said, ‘I got more important things on my mind, Coach, then playing games.’ Nate hadn’t pushed him, just hoped it meant the kid was serious about school, not that he’d decided to hook up with his father.
Remembering Jeb’s supposed rationale for kicking out Cougar, Nate paid more attention to Tucker’s looks than he might have. More than anything Tucker was handsome as hell. He had dark, almost black hair that hung carelessly at his collar. His features were fine, chiseled, and his dark eyes flashed with intensity. Guess if you wanted to, you could say his skin was darker than most, that he maybe had a mix of blood—could have been Hispanic, perhaps Indian, somewhere in his genealogy. Nate scoffed. Hell, this was Minnesota at the end of May. Any Minnesotan worth his salt had hit the lakes soaking up the sun boating, fishing or water skiing. Everyone’s skin was three shades darker than what they were born with.
Nate stopped at the college table and talked sports trash for a couple of minutes. After they’d agreed that the Twins were shit as usual, he made his way over to Cougar. The big man was sitting with his men on the other side of the pub. Of their youthful foursome, Cougar had always been the biggest. Now he was a bear of a man. When he saw Nate approaching, Cougar rose to his full six feet five inches, beating Nate by an inch. Unlike Jeb, Cougar hadn’t let himself go soft. He outweighed Nate by at least forty pounds—and most of it looked to be solid muscle, likely tested by hard physical labor, not hours in the gym.
His gang stood when Cougar did. There weren’t any women at this table, just angry-looking men, the chips on their shoulders as obvious as the guns in their boots. Nate ignored the towering band of ne’er-do-wells and nodded to Cougar. Grabbing a chair from a nearby table, Nate flipped it around and straddled the seat. He grinned at the sullen gang and leaned forward, his arms hanging over the back of the chair.
“Don’t mind if I do. Thanks for inviting me. To join you, that is.”
Cougar wasn’t as handsome as his son, but was good-looking in a rugged lumberjack sort of way. His full beard and bushy black eyebrows woven together in a deep scowl added to his Paul Bunyan looks. He glared at his men and swept one big arm in a dismissive gesture.
“Git. Me and Big Dog’s got some catchin’ up to do.”
When his men looked from Nate to their boss and didn’t move, Cougar repeated, “You heard me. Git!”
He yanked out a chair across from Nate and sunk down. His eyes were shale hard, the crease between his prominent brows deep, rigid.
“What do you want, Nate?”
Nate quirked a brow. “Hell, Cougar, like you told that band of junkyard dogs, I came to catch up with my old buddy. To see how you’re doing. I haven’t talked to you for nearly a year. Christ, Cougar, I haven’t even arrested you!”
The big man pressed his lips together in a firm line.
“And you’re not gonna, Nate.”
“Hmm. Well, we’ll see about that, Cougar.”
Nate leaned forward and assumed a casual pose.
“I hear you and Jeb split.”
“Good ole Nate. You never did pussyfoot around. You get right to the point. Where did you hear that?”
Nate shrugged. “Got my sources.”
“One of them happen to live on a couple million dollar spread over on Widow Lake?”
“Apparently you got your sources too, huh, Cougar?”
Cougar glared at him through narrowed eyes.
“Yeah, I heard you and the nigger went out and met with Jeb. I’m surprised that black dude came back with both of his nuts. That why you’re not introducing me to your colorful sidekick? Fraid, when it comes down to it, I’m more dangerous than Jeb? More given to action, not just bullshit?”
Nate managed to swallow the bile that rose in his throat at the ugly threat. He forced himself to speak quietly, nonchalantly.
“Tell you what. To correct the record, Commander Carter and I met with Jeb. Don’t worry, I’ll be introducing you to Sam soon enough. A little heads up, Cougar. Sam was SWAT in the LAPD for five years and is a nationally ranked MMA fighter. Might want to think about that when you are considering your various actions and the names you ascribe to the men I work with—who also happen to be my friends.”
Cougar shrugged, but Nate didn’t miss his surprised frown or the color that rose up on his bearded cheeks. Good to know that at least the asshole would think twice before he insulted Sam again.
Meantime, Cougar apparently decided offense was better than defense.
“Hadn’t noticed that you’re particularly loyal to your friends, Nate. In fact you’ve gotten downright uppity in your old age. Seem to think that you and the nigg… your Commander friend are a better class of people than those you used to know.”
“Not so, Cougar. I’m loyal to the people who are loyal to me. And to the values I hold. I’m not loyal to men who prey on others, make their living on the backs of weaker people and judge a person’s worth by the color of his skin.”
When Cougar didn’t respond, just glowered at him, Nate upped the ante.
“So Jeb threw you out, huh, Cougar? Couldn’t keep up with the Big Man?”
“You trying to get a rise out of me, Nate?”
Nate shrugged. “I’m just reporting what I was told—and what I see. The spread that Jeb’s got? A couple million dollars doesn’t begin to describe those palatial digs. Think about it, Cougar. That prick’s probably bought five million dollars of toys within the last year alone. Where the hell is he getting that kind of money? How come he’s not giving any of it to you? Did you fall out of favor? Not kiss his ass as often as you should’ve?”
Cougar’s voice tightened. “You can stop now, Nate. You don’t need to stir up any more trouble between Jeb and me. We know where we hang.”
“You still hangin’ together? Or are you his faithful his lap dog, yippin’ at his heels, like you always did? Snatching up the shit he leaves in his wake. Got to tell you, buddy. That’s a familiar image. Jeb calling the shots, lying and cheating his way to the bigger prize, while Cougar, the faithful hound dog, runs behind him—trying to keep up.”
Cougar visibly clenched his teeth. His expression hardened. His eyes were narrow slits.
“Can’t believe I used to rise to your bait. Well, I ain’t gonna do it, Nate. You of all peo
ple ought to know better. You ought to know that you don’t call the game at halftime. Unless you’re a fair weather fan you sure as hell don’t clear the stands just cuz the score’s a little lopsided. You’re acting like the game is over. Hell, Nate, we’re just starting the third quarter. Best you wait to see what happens in the fourth. Things can turn around damn quick in the game we’re in. Depends on who you’re bringing in as ringers for your side.”
“At least you got that part right, Cougar. More right than I think you know.”
He jerked his chair closer and pinned Cougar with a hard stare.
“Let’s talk about this game we’re all involved in. You’re acting like you and Jeb are on opposing teams. That my friend is where you are seriously fucked up–both you and Jeb. For what it’s worth, you two assholes are definitely on the same side. I don’t know which one of you is going to end up with the most points, or who will be the low scorer. I could care less.
“If you take a clear-eyed look across the court, man, it ain’t Jeb you’re gonna see on the other side. Take a good hard look at who’s leading the opposing team. Cuz you’re looking at him now.”
Nate rose to his feet.
“Cougar, when the game’s over, when that final whistle blows? We both know who the winner is going to be and who the losers are. You know that, dude. You’ve known that all your sorry life, haven’t you?”
Cougar looked shaken, edgy. A band of sweat marred his furrowed brow. He sat back in his chair as though assuming a relaxed pose. But he gripped the arms of his chair hard, his knuckles white with the strain.
“You’re wrong, Nate. After I take Jeb down I’m going after you, bro. I’m gonna take you down, man, piece by piece. I’m gonna fillet you like a fish.”
“We’ll see. See you at the sidelines, bro. When I’m accepting the trophy for the good guys and my men are hauling your punk ass off to jail.”