“What? No! What the hell is going on?”
Bobby came out from behind the bar and grabbed my arm. “Come with me.”
“How the fuck did he get bail?” I heard Edge ask as Bobby pulled me in the direction of the storeroom.
I didn’t care what either of them said, as soon as Edge let go, I looked over my shoulder. Possum. He hadn’t seen me yet, but I knew I was the person he was looking for. I watched as he was intercepted—Edge on one side, Steel, the Branch’s bouncer, on the other. Possum was a big man, but he was no match for the two of them.
“This is my fucking fight,” I seethed as Bobby pushed me into the storeroom.
“Not tonight, it isn’t.” Bobby slammed the door behind him. There was a padlock on the outside, and I heard it click. The fucker had locked me in.
I raced over, peered out the window, and saw Steel and Edge each take one of Possum’s arms and lead him into the parking lot.
I couldn’t see what happened next, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
Edge
Late November
“Sod off,” I said for at least the tenth time today. Without exaggerating, I’d likely muttered it over a thousand times in the last few months. My brother, Lennox, was the recipient more often than anyone else.
I flexed the fingers of my right hand. I’d only recently regained full mobility in my arm after a bullet tore its way through it. I’d been lucky, though, as Lennox reminded me on a regular basis. I was still alive.
For a while, I hadn’t wanted to be. I couldn’t do my job without the use of my arm, and who the hell was I if not a private intelligence operative? In my mind, nobody.
I’d suffered through three painful surgeries and three rounds of physical therapy. Starting back from the beginning each time was the most mentally debilitating. I’d done my best to keep the rest of my body as strong as it had always been, but the equipment at the rehab center was sorely lacking compared to what I had in my home gym.
That’s where I was headed now—home—at least where I considered it to be: in Texas. I didn’t own the house I lived in. It was on the King-Alexander Ranch, in the hills north of Austin, and up until several months ago, one of my business partners had lived in it.
When Decker Ashford got married, he moved to a nearby ranch, which belonged to the woman who was now his wife. Before I could ask, like I’d planned to, he offered to let me move in. I paid a modest amount of rent and, when I was in town, helped with chores around the ranch.
I had enough money to buy my own place. A house, at least, but living on a ranch was something I’d dreamed of since I was a wee lad. Being able to walk into a barn, saddle up a horse, and ride out on the open range was the best kind of life I could imagine.
I flexed my hand again, like I always did when I thought about things I might not be able to do as well as I once had. I didn’t anticipate having trouble riding, but I wouldn’t know for certain until I tried.
“I’m leaving for Boston in two days’ time,” said Lennox, looking over at me from the driver’s seat of the vehicle he’d rented.
“Couldn’t get a flight sooner?”
He didn’t answer. I hadn’t expected him to. While he was my brother, too often we fell into the role of parent and child. I was thirteen when our parents were killed in an automobile accident—one that almost took my life too. Lennox was eighteen at the time and became my guardian. I treated him far worse than I ever would’ve our father. Most of the time, he took it in stride, but given I was now in my mid-twenties, he shouldn’t have to.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Stop for a pint?”
“Sure.”
He knew the way to the closest place to the ranch, so I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, remembering the last time I was at the Long Branch.
I’d met Rebel there shortly before I left Texas and spent much of my recovery fantasizing about her and how her body had responded to me. I could see her pebbled nipples through her shirt and smell her arousal when I told her how I’d kiss her if only I hadn’t been leaving the next morning.
Instead, the bastard who’d tried to rape her showed up that night, and I’d been forced to teach him a painful lesson. I already hated him but more intensely now, considering he prevented me from what might very well have been the last fuck I ever had.
The parking lot was full when Lennox pulled in; we walked inside and found the bar was three-deep and it didn’t look like there were any open tables. I pushed my way through, daring anyone in my path to give me reason to vent my ever-present rage.
When I got up to the bar, I didn’t see Rebel, but Bobby reached over to shake my hand. I said a silent prayer it wouldn’t spasm, like it did sometimes.
“Good to see you back here, Edge.”
“Thanks, mate.” I picked up the pint he set in front of me and took a long swig. “Keep those coming.” I gestured to my brother. “Pull one for him too, would you? Two shots of Irish while you’re at it.”