.
“ You better spill your guts fast on this one , buddy. We left three not too impressed women in the middle of the night—two of whom are pregnant and more than a little emotional right now! ” Chase , the units medic grunted, as he readjusted his pack and waited for an explanation.
The fact they ’ d simply came without one wasn ’ t lost on him—he would have done the same for them—and had done so on more than one occasion, but this was a test of true friendship and he hoped to God he hadn ’ t brought them here only to send them back home , injured.
“ What the hell are you doing back in this place? ” Tate Ox Maddox, asked.
“ Long story Ox —not going into the details right now. Suffice it to say, I have no option but to go along with this stupid scheme and all I had to work with was a couple of gung- ho farmers and one crazy - assed woman. ”
“ There ’ s always a woman, ” Tate sighed, shaking his head.
“ Where ’ d you find this one then? ” Del asked.
“ I ’ d rather not say …s he ’ s kinda prickly. If we could just focus on the immediate problem before us, gentleman, ” he snapped.
“ She didn ’ t look too prickly a few minutes ago when we sprung ya ’ back on the mountain, ” Maloney grinned.
“ Yeah, well…wait till ya ’ get to know her a bit better. ”
“ Looks like you ’ ve been gettin ’ to know her pretty well, ” Del pointed out.
“ Do you want to help or not? ” Tupper snapped, finding this a lot more irritating when he was on the butt end of their teasing.
“ We want to know how the hell we ended up in the middle of Tre ’ ago ’ s territory again, and it would be kind of nice to figure out how you managed to get mixed up in all this, ” Tate said. “ Do we know anything about the woman? ”
“ Not a lot, ” Tupper was forced to admit grudgingly.
“ Well, I managed to get a shot of her—I ’ ve sent the photo back to Willow. She should be able to get us a heads up, hopefully. ”
“ Look, the how ’ s and why ’ s aren ’ t important right now. Fact is—I don ’ t know a hell of a lot more than you do right now. She ’ s told me the basics and I don ’ t have a whole lot to work with. We need to retrieve something that she ’ s willing to risk her neck for and somehow Tre ’ ago ’ s behind it. That ’ s enough for me. If I ’ ve got a chance to pin that bastard again , I will. ”
“ I just don ’ t get it, ” Maloney scowled. “ —how the hell does he continue to get away with this shit ? ”
Tupper gave a short frustrated sigh. “ No idea—but if he is still calling the shots from prison—then chances are he hasn ’ t forgotten our part in his capture. We can ’ t take any risks w ith him. He could easily try something on us again. I ’ m not gonna ’ stand by and allow it to happen. ”
He knew the others felt exactly the same way. They had wives and kids now to think about as well. Their safety would come above everything else. Tre ’ ago had come close to killing them more than once…he was like one of those horror movie villains that , j ust. Would. Not. Die!
“ Let ’ s get this thing done and get the hell outta ’ here. This place gives me the creeps, ” Del muttered.
Tupper spent the next few minutes running over the plan and together they made the adjustments needed to smooth it over. For the first time since Destiny walked in that bar he felt like maybe he had a measure of control back in his life…not much—but some … and right now he ’ d take that and be happy!
****
She didn ’ t turn around at the sound of someone approaching—she knew who it would be and a long sigh was dragged from her chest. She was s o t ired.
He crossed to stand before her and her gaze reluctantly lifted to meet his. He was watching her with a gentleness she hadn ’ t seen on his face before . Damn it! She didn ’ t want him to see her like this—weak…tired…vulnerable. “ You had no
“ You better spill your guts fast on this one , buddy. We left three not too impressed women in the middle of the night—two of whom are pregnant and more than a little emotional right now! ” Chase , the units medic grunted, as he readjusted his pack and waited for an explanation.
The fact they ’ d simply came without one wasn ’ t lost on him—he would have done the same for them—and had done so on more than one occasion, but this was a test of true friendship and he hoped to God he hadn ’ t brought them here only to send them back home , injured.
“ What the hell are you doing back in this place? ” Tate Ox Maddox, asked.
“ Long story Ox —not going into the details right now. Suffice it to say, I have no option but to go along with this stupid scheme and all I had to work with was a couple of gung- ho farmers and one crazy - assed woman. ”
“ There ’ s always a woman, ” Tate sighed, shaking his head.
“ Where ’ d you find this one then? ” Del asked.
“ I ’ d rather not say …s he ’ s kinda prickly. If we could just focus on the immediate problem before us, gentleman, ” he snapped.
“ She didn ’ t look too prickly a few minutes ago when we sprung ya ’ back on the mountain, ” Maloney grinned.
“ Yeah, well…wait till ya ’ get to know her a bit better. ”
“ Looks like you ’ ve been gettin ’ to know her pretty well, ” Del pointed out.
“ Do you want to help or not? ” Tupper snapped, finding this a lot more irritating when he was on the butt end of their teasing.
“ We want to know how the hell we ended up in the middle of Tre ’ ago ’ s territory again, and it would be kind of nice to figure out how you managed to get mixed up in all this, ” Tate said. “ Do we know anything about the woman? ”
“ Not a lot, ” Tupper was forced to admit grudgingly.
“ Well, I managed to get a shot of her—I ’ ve sent the photo back to Willow. She should be able to get us a heads up, hopefully. ”
“ Look, the how ’ s and why ’ s aren ’ t important right now. Fact is—I don ’ t know a hell of a lot more than you do right now. She ’ s told me the basics and I don ’ t have a whole lot to work with. We need to retrieve something that she ’ s willing to risk her neck for and somehow Tre ’ ago ’ s behind it. That ’ s enough for me. If I ’ ve got a chance to pin that bastard again , I will. ”
“ I just don ’ t get it, ” Maloney scowled. “ —how the hell does he continue to get away with this shit ? ”
Tupper gave a short frustrated sigh. “ No idea—but if he is still calling the shots from prison—then chances are he hasn ’ t forgotten our part in his capture. We can ’ t take any risks w ith him. He could easily try something on us again. I ’ m not gonna ’ stand by and allow it to happen. ”
He knew the others felt exactly the same way. They had wives and kids now to think about as well. Their safety would come above everything else. Tre ’ ago had come close to killing them more than once…he was like one of those horror movie villains that , j ust. Would. Not. Die!
“ Let ’ s get this thing done and get the hell outta ’ here. This place gives me the creeps, ” Del muttered.
Tupper spent the next few minutes running over the plan and together they made the adjustments needed to smooth it over. For the first time since Destiny walked in that bar he felt like maybe he had a measure of control back in his life…not much—but some … and right now he ’ d take that and be happy!
****
She didn ’ t turn around at the sound of someone approaching—she knew who it would be and a long sigh was dragged from her chest. She was s o t ired.
He crossed to stand before her and her gaze reluctantly lifted to meet his. He was watching her with a gentleness she hadn ’ t seen on his face before . Damn it! She didn ’ t want him to see her like this—weak…tired…vulnerable. “ You had no
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