Page 83 of Jagger

I’d barely walked past the bar when the bartender shoved a glass of my brand of bourbon across the bar top. “I take it my brothers have arrived?”

“Back table. I guess they don’t want to be seen.” Mark grinned and was shouted at from the other end of the bar.

As I pushed my way through the crowd, I had one too many congratulations. Praise was getting old, especially when in my mind I didn’t deserve it. Poppy had even dropped off muffins, for God’s sake.

“You did good out there, cowboy,” Tyler Florence said as I tried to pass him. “Saving that little girl. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Tyler was a deputy, a nice enough guy, but he was a sheep following his boss, Sheriff Adam Young’s dislike of the Fox family. Since we’d never had a run-in with the sheriff’s department, the only two reasons for the hatred would be our reputation and the fact Adam’s family had tried to purchase the resort. His father had a land development company and from what I heard, had plans on turning the resort’s side into condominiums.

But his personal conviction to run me out of town or put a bullet in my gut was something else altogether.

“Just doing what any good person would do in helping out a fellow man.” It was best not to provide but so much information to Tyler. He’d take whatever I said directly back to the sheriff. I wasn’t in the mood for some pissing contest over God knows what.

“Yeah, so I heard. I also heard the girl’s mother is staying at your place. I guess you think you’re the only hero around here. Shacking up with the sordid woman.”

It wasn’t a good idea for any man to goad me, period. But in speaking about my woman that way, he’d crossed a final line.

Now the dude had me pissed. I was in his face in a second. “You don’t talk about a lady that way. What’s it to you if she is staying with me anyway?”

“I was just jiving you, man,” he said, real fear in his eyes.

“I suggest you remember this is a public place, gentlemen.” The newer gruff voice was just as irritating.

I slowly turned my head in the sheriff’s direction. I should have known where there was one, the other would follow. “I think that’s something you should mention to your man here, Sheriff.”

“I don’t like you, Jagger. As you know, I don’t like the three of you boys. I think you bring shit onto this town and if I had my choice, I’d kick you out.”

“Not your call. But I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe I’ll see if the other boys would like to purchase a few more pieces of property around here. I think you have your heart set on a few. I wouldn’tget your hopes up.” Maybe I was just fueling his guns, but I couldn’t help myself.

There’d been tremendous speculation about the jobs my brothers and I in our former lives had performed, stories including we were part of some big mafia family. At least most of the townies had stopped googling our names in hopes of finding some dirt.

I had a bad feeling the sheriff was keeping a file on the family.

Of course he had a reason to hate me. I’d only found that out after moving here. Because of his hatred for me, I continuously egged him on. But that didn’t make it right that he was gunning for my entire family.

“You shouldn’t have come here, Jagger,” the sheriff said quietly, as if for my ears only. “One mistake and I’ll lock your ass up.”

I stopped only briefly, resisting all the nasty words that came into my mind. “Maybe you’re right, but I’m here now. I’m staying. Just try and force me to leave and you’ll regret it.”

“Don’t threaten me, boy. I have friends in all the right places.” He laughed one of those maniacal sounds that likely put the fear of God into all the locals. Not me. He could threaten all he wanted, but he had no idea what I was capable of.

No man was going to push me away from anything or anyone ever again.

No matter how much he hated me.

He was huffing behind me as I turned and headed toward the back of the bar. I couldn’t care less, but we owed it to the staff to keep the man and his family away from the resort. There were always bad business deals and while our father had taken greatstrides to keep the integrity of the resort, I’d had a feeling all along the Young family was planning something under the table.

“What the hell was that all about?” Hunter asked as soon as I sat down.

“My typical run-in with the sheriff and one of his goons.”

“Boy, that man hates you. What did you fucking ever do to him?”

I shook my head toward my brother. “I don’t know. I think it’s all about my sterling personality.”

“He’s an asshole. We should ensure he’s not voted in at the next election.” Hunter had no idea how dangerous Sheriff Young could be. However, he was small potatoes in comparison to the Brockfords.

“Both of you, just lay low. Okay? We don’t need to come up against the man. He has some powerful friends and you know how ruthless his father can be. Plus, with our father’s past history, we don’t need any unwanted attention drawn to the resort.”

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