by Taylor Lee
Tanya looked down at her hands, aware that she was twisting them in her lap. Seeing her father follow her glance and narrow his gaze further, she knew it was useless to try to evade his knowing query. Spreading her fingers apart in a helpless gesture, she shook her head and blew out a hard sigh. “Honestly, Dad, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I really don’t. Most of the time I’m angry and I don’t know why. And . . . and then, I just feel like crying. Which doesn’t make sense. I never cry. You know that, Dad.”
When she threw him an appealing gaze, he nodded in agreement. “Yes, Tanya, I do know that. Even when you were a little girl and fell off your tricycle or got hit with an errant baseball, you never cried.”
“I know. Geez, Dad, even when I rolled down that thirty-foot ravine and had twenty-five stiches in my head, I didn’t cry.”
Visibly shuddering at the memory, her father said with a hard sigh, “No, Tanya, you didn’t.” He was quiet for a moment, puffing on his pipe, then pinned her with a firm gaze. “Do you want to hazard a guess as to what’s going on that is affecting you the way that it is?” When she shook her head no, he pressed his lips together in a firm line and asked, “Would you like to hear my take on the issue that has caught you off guard?”
Tanya huffed a sound between a sigh and a groan and then murmured, “I’m not sure that I do.”
Titus smiled softly, then said, “Whether you want to hear it or not, my dear daughter, I will tell you what you already know. You have met an unusual man. A powerful man. He is challenging you in ways that you’ve never been challenged. Indeed, he is going to the heart of who you are.”
Tanya gazed at her father in surprise, then shook her head and looked down, not able to hold her father’s serious gaze. When she didn’t respond, Titus was silent for a moment, then continued. “I’m not surprised that you are unsettled, Tanya. Our fierce agent is forcing you to confront issues that you’ve been avoiding. For example, your engagement.”
At Tanya’s shocked start, Titus added. “If it makes you feel any better, honey, you’re challenging that arrogant man in ways he’s never been challenged. Methinks he is as undone by his unexpected behavior as you are by yours.”
Chapter 20
Ryker climbed into his truck and headed for the ranch. When he reached the front gate to the Perkins spread, he startled, realizing that he’d driven the five-mile trek from the CCSO office unaware of his surroundings, much less what might or might not have been on the road. Hoping he hadn’t run a family of four into a ditch or hit a tree, he pulled into the driveway and parked alongside the bunkhouse. He’d spent the drive reliving how he’d taken on the deputy sheriff in the most personal way possible before angrily storming out of the sheriff’s office.
Remembering Tanya’s shocked expression when he’d told her that she needed to return her engagement ring or else, he shook his head. Holy Christ, as if his order wasn’t presumptuous enough, he’d raised the stakes. When she’d flippantly stated that at least Bram just thought she was fat, not a fraud, Ryker had lost it.
He comforted himself. It could have been worse. At least he hadn’t yanked down her pants, turned her over his knee, and spanked the hell out of her. Which he would have done if they hadn’t been standing two feet away from the incredulous sheriff. Thinking about the sheriff, Ryker couldn’t imagine what the serious man had thought upon seeing him confront Tanya. Particularly when Ryker threatened his daughter, not only telling her that she needed to break her engagement but also that if she gave in to that insipid prick’s view of her and tried to lose an ounce of her luscious curves, he’d force-feed her. At the memory, Ryker closed his eyes and groaned aloud. Christ, talk about overkill.
Walking into the bunkhouse, Ryker heard voices. Hoping that he could get to his room unnoticed, he gave in to the inevitable when Pete Weber called out to him.
“Hey, Burke, get your ass in here. You have some serious ’splainin’ to do, dude. According to Mac here, you sashayed over to the Trouble table tonight and plunked yourself down. What the hell, man? You tryin’ to get up close and personal with those righteous Trouble gals? Especially our little Tanya the Terrible?”
Ryker shrugged as he ambled into the great room. “Howdy, Pete.” He nodded to the other four men who were lounging at the table in the center of the room. The bottles of booze, illegal drugs, and drug paraphernalia confirmed that his bunkmates had spent a hard night imbibing. Taking his time, Ryker picked through the bottles of whiskey on the counter and chose the least offensive one. He thought with a grin that yes, as Barrett Meier had noted, he was a libation snob. Pouring himself a shot of Wild Turkey, Ryker sat down at the table with Pete and Manny Davis, whose glassy eyes and distant gaze confirmed that he’d likely been chasing his smack with booze.
“Yeah, buddy. I wanted to get a closer look at those other sisters. You’re right, Tanya the Terrible is a piece of work. I wanted to check out her older sibs. See if they are as sassy as the deputy.”
Pete guffawed. “Nah, man. No one can be as sassy as the deputy, but those other two are real lookers, ain’t they?”
Ryker shrugged. “Yeah, they’re beautiful but a little too uppity for me.”
Mac agreed with a snort. “Uppity don’t begin to describe them. Tara, the oldest one, is a beauty but a fuckin’ trouble maker. Tara runs the Gazette, that left-wing rag that would flood this whole damn country with brown skins if they could. As if we’re not overrun with ’em now.”
Greg spoke up. “Tatiana is the middle one, the shy one. She’s the only one who was married and has kids. Not a big surprise that she divorced ole Arnie Loomis. Guess she got tired of him stickin’ his pecker in anything and everything with tits and an ass. Don’t know much about her except she’s as snotty as the other two.” He added with a salacious grin, “Those gals are hot as well as beautiful. But I’ll tell you boys, when it comes to down and dirty, raunchy sex, if I had my druthers, there ain’t a doubt in the world who’d get the pleasure of my pecker. That is little Miss Tanya the Terrible.”
When all of the men except Ryker raised their glasses and shouted in agreement, detailing the crude things they would do to the deputy’s various orifices if they captured her, Pete assumed a derisive scowl. “I gotta give it to the sheriff. He created a trio of beautiful women, but every one of them is an uppity bitch. I can tell you fuckers when it comes down to it, there ain’t a chance in hell that any of those snotty-assed bitches, especially the deputy, would look twice at the likes of us.”
Ryker shrugged. “Yeah, that was the impression I got. The older two were polite enough, not like the deputy, who all but told me to get my ass out of there. Which I did after I got a good look at the guy who’s snagged her. Christ, talk about a stuck-up prick! That doc barely spoke to me. Actually shoved his chair over a foot or two. Guess he was afraid that he might get his manicured hands dirty or I might mess up his preppy clothes if he got too close. I gotta tell you, other than money, I don’t get what the deputy sees in him.”
“Other than money? Try a fuckin’ fortune, Burke!” Mac shook his head. “You ain’t been around long enough to know the pecking order in this shithole town. Hell, the preppy doc’s daddy is Preston Sawyer Courtland, the primary heir to much of the copper fortune that ruled this state for a century. The only assholes even in the same galaxy as P. S. Courtland is Sledge Perkins, our boss, and Barrett Meier, the fuckin’ ICE guy who married that rich bitch who died.”
Ryker conceded. “Mm, guess I can see why that feisty little deputy might be interested in that kind of a fortune. Even if she has to marry a prick like the doc to get it.”
A querulous voice broke in. “Jest so you know, that little piece of ass ain’t gonna marry that cocksuckin’ doc or any other cocksucker, for that matter.”
Ryker looked over to see that Manny Davis had come to attention. Until his slurred observation, Manny had been too far-gone in his drugged-out stupor to participate in the conversation. The gleam in his glassy eyes was striking. As was
the purplish hue on his sweaty face confirming that he’d downed a righteous mix of intoxicants. At the moment, he was glaring at Mac, who merely shrugged off the stoned man’s claim.
“Oh, she ain’t, huh? And just who’s gonna stop her, Manny? You planning on crashing the wedding? Think you can wave that big yogurt slinger of yours in her face and Tanya the Terrible will kiss all that moola good-bye and crawl up to suck your dick?”
Manny drew himself up. “That’s exactly what I’m sayin’, asshole. The only man-muscle that’s gonna invade that cum dumpster of hers is yours truly!”
Mac snorted derisively. “Dream on, man. You got as much chance of makin’ it into that sweet glory hole as a squirt gun has to stop a five hundred-acre forest fire.”
The sound of a splintering chair filled the air as Manny roared to his feet and upended the table Ryker and the others were sitting at. In the midst of the sounds of crashing glass and outraged shouts from the men who’d jumped up to avoid the flying glass, Mac cowered on the floor, his arms over his head to protect himself from the enraged man diving for him. As he had before, Ryker responded instantly, stopping the charging man in mid-air. Using Manny’s forward motion, Ryker caught his arm and twisted it against his back, eliciting a loud shriek from the enraged man. A quick one-two blade strikes to Manny’s jaw and a knee to his nuts brought the screaming man to the floor, rolling from side to side, clutching his groin in agony.
Ignoring the stunned reactions of the circle of men surrounding them, Ryker reached down and helped a trembling Mac to his feet. “You okay, man?” When Mac nodded shakily, Ryker looked over at Pete and pointed at the writhing man sobbing on the floor. “In the future, Pete, you might want to cut your buddy off before he gets to the maniacal stage. Somebody might get hurt.”
As he turned to leave the room, Greg called after him incredulously, “Christ, man, are you an MMA master or somethin’?”
Ryker snorted. “Hell no. Those guys are pussies compared to the guys who schooled me.” Grabbing a bottle of Old Turkey and a glass from the counter, Ryker strode to the door. He turned back to the group of men sharing disbelieving glances and said in a dangerously low tone, “Listen up, assholes. You spend a term or two at Leavenworth and you’ll be almost as expert a fighter as I am. Almost. You might wanna tell your drugged-out buddy here the only reason he can walk tomorrow is because I took him down easy. Ask any of the assholes in gen pop at Leavenworth about me. The ones who survived, that is.”
****
The only reason Tanya agreed to join her sisters for lunch at the Bitter n’ Twisted was that she knew they wouldn’t stop hounding her if she didn’t. Besides, after the scene the night before, she needed to convince them that she was fine. Which, given what had happened after she left them, was going to require her best dramatic acting skills. At least she was sure that Bram wouldn’t show up. She knew her fiancé was sure that his angry warning upset her. That she’d be particularly concerned he insisted she apologize to him for her bad behavior before he’d be willing to talk to her. Tanya sniffed, thinking how unlikely it was that would happen. In truth, what Bram considered a threat she considered a reprieve. It gave her a few days to decide what she was going to say to him—when and if she decided she would talk to him.
“Hello, little sis. I’m glad that you agreed to come today. Both Tatiana and I thought you would try to blow us off.”
Tanya smiled at Tara and said with an ironic grin, “Yeah, Tara, like either one of you would let me do that. Besides, knowing that I won’t be hounded by my fiancé, I can order my favorite double-decker burger with all the trimmings and enjoy every bite.”
Both of her sisters laughed, then Tara said slyly, “You mean you haven’t gotten down on your hands and knees and begged Bramford Courtland to forgive you for your outrageous behavior last night?”
Tanya snorted. “Yeah, sis, like that’s going to happen.”
Ever the peacemaker, Tatiana reached for her hand. “Honestly, Tanya, both Tara and I are really glad you came today. We were worried about you last night and wanted to be sure that you were okay.”
When Tanya frowned, Tatiana held her hand more tightly. “I need to tell you, honey, that we aren’t the only ones who are worried about the situation between you and Bram. Dad called both of us today and suggested that his uptight deputy could use some sister bonding time. Neither Tara nor I had to guess what he might be referring to.”
Horrified that her father may have told her sisters what was happening to her, she was saved when Gunnar stormed to the table, his face flushed with excitement.
“There you are, Tanya. I’ve been hunting all over for you. Sally told me you were having lunch with your sisters.” He pulled out a chair and plopped down. “Hope you don’t mind me crashing your girly time, but I have some slammin’ news.” His voice rising excitedly, he said, “You’re not gonna believe this, but Burke did it again!”
“Did what?” Tanya managed to conjure up enough spit in her desert-dry mouth to get the words out. She was glad when Gunnar rushed forward, obviating the need for her to do more than hang on to the edge of the table, not knowing what was coming next.
“He did it again. Took down Manny Davis. Christ, that’s all those guys are talking about.” Gunnar waved to the table at the front of the tavern. Tanya had determined when she arrived at the Bitter n’ Twisted that Ryker wasn’t at the table with Sledge’s guys. She now realized that she hadn’t seen Manny there either.
“What happened?” Tara eagerly prodded Gunnar.
“According to Pete Weber,” Gunnar said, “Burke did what he did when he protected you, Tanya. Only this time he went for Manny’s stones. Had ’im on the ground in three moves, then finished the job with a knee to his nuts. According to Pete and the guys, Manny will be walkin’ funny for some time to come.” Grabbing a breath of air, Gunnar added, “Manny didn’t like something Mac Lewis said and he came after Mac like a madman. Mac swore Manny would have killed him if Burke hadn’t stepped in.” Gunnar paused for a moment, then shook his head and looked at Tanya. “You’re not gonna believe this, Tanya, but Burke ain’t who it seems he is. Somehow, Tony Oliver didn’t get the goods on him.”
Tanya managed to keep her pounding heart from beating out of her chest, certain that Gunnar was about to break the news that Ryker was an undercover FBI agent. Clinging to the edge of the table, she swallowed hard. Glaring at her excited partner, she asked in a voice eons calmer than she felt, “What the hell are you talking about, Gunnar?”
“Are you ready for this, Tanya?” When she nodded, trying to hear over the din raging in her ears, Gunnar said, “He . . . Burke is a fucking felon. Seems he spent time at Leavenworth. He all but warned the guys that if they didn’t get Manny under control, he would. When Greg asked him if he was an MMA master, he just laughed and said hell no, those guys are pussies compared to the guys who schooled him—the ones who ruled the yard at Leavenworth.”
When her sisters responded, aghast at the news that the Captain America look-alike was actually a felon, Tanya breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that because of her unwitting foresight, the truth about Burke’s true identity was known only to Tony Oliver, Sheriff Trouble, and herself. That he’d been quick enough to explain his fighting skills with a lie that would capture Sledge’s wastrels and cement him as a hero in their eyes confirmed that he was as accomplished a chameleon as he’d proven himself to be. She was almost ready to concede the inning to him when Gunnar dropped a bombshell.
“Uh . . . you probably don’t wanna hear this, Tanya, given how you feel about Burke. But according to Pete and the guys, what really set Burke off was when Manny Davis made an ugly crack about you. Apparently, that crazy idiot said—forgive my crudity, Deputy—that the ‘only man-muscle that’s gonna invade that cum dumpster’ of yours was him.” Gunnar put up his hands and shrugged helplessly. “Apparently, Burke didn’t agree.”
Chapter 21
Hearing the squad car pull into Barrett Meier’s length
y driveway, Ryker turned to his host. “I trust you didn’t mind my asking Sheriff Trouble to join us. In my view, he brings an important perspective.”
Meier waved an expansive hand. “Of course not. As I’ve told you several times, Titus Trouble is an honorable man. One of a precious few in this godforsaken county of ours.”
As Barrett went to the door, Ryker puzzled over the agent’s remark. Given his standing in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Meier could obviously go anywhere in the country he wanted to. Instead, he chose to take a position in a place that he continually disparaged. Ryker decided that Meier must have chosen Sierra Vista because even though the accomplished agent apparently hated the town, it would be hard as hell to turn his back on the remarkable spread he lived in.
Hearing voices in the hallway, Ryker turned his attention to the fact that in minutes, he would be face-to-face with the impressive sheriff. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t spent a good part of the night preparing for the meeting. He was confident that Sheriff Trouble had heard about the altercation at Perkins’s ranch last evening. He knew from his gang of reprobates that his takedown of Manny Davis was the hottest news in the gossipy, usually sleepy town. It was a given that Titus had heard about it. He could only hope that the word hadn’t spread that the sheriff’s daughter had been at the center, indeed was the impetus, of the clash last night. Ryker blew out an audible sigh. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have enough to explain to the stern sheriff.
“Glad that you could join us, Titus.” Barrett’s geniality was apparent as he led the sheriff into the library where Ryker was waiting. Barrett added ironically, “Although I’ve noticed that we both comply when our arrogant young agent commands our presence.”
Ryker rose to his feet and met Meier’s wry grin with one of his own. “Would that I’m impertinent enough to command either one of you to do anything, but do know that I appreciate your willingness to meet. We have a number of issues to discuss.”