“He said he wanted to see me. That he made a mistake when we broke up.”
“Then?”
“Then he told me we’d get back together if I just played along. And that’s when Travis and Caitlin showed up.”
“Wait,” Travis said as alarm raised the hair on his arms. “Are you saying the whole fight was staged?”
Fuck, did someone find out where they were? Is Pavlo Milekhin pulling the strings?
“Shit!” one of the bikers muttered. “We better grab the guns and get to town quick before shit goes down.”
Ashe was staring at Travis. “Something you neglected to tell us, Bennett?”
Travis shook his head and got back in the Suburban. “I’m heading back to town.”
Caitlin and Ms. Bettystood in front of the Bluebell B&B,watching the tense exchange right outside the inn. She had only been five minutes into her massage when the innkeeper hurried in and told them about the gang members from another town loitering along the stretch of businesses in Iron Ridge, intimidating everyone.
The Sheriff and Crane were in deep conversation with Marko, who Caitlin didn’t expect to see again so soon. Two of his cohorts were by his side.
“As I said, Sheriff, I have every right to be here. It’s an open town. Why can’t I enjoy the sights of Iron Ridge?”
“We had a deal, Marko. You stay in Greenville; we keep to Iron Ridge. We do not move into each other’s territory,” Crane answered.
“Oh, come on, Crane. What happened between me and Bella is water under the bridge.”
“You took advantage of my daughter.”
“She was nineteen, more than the age of consent. She wanted a good fuck—”
It wasn’t Marko’s lucky day, because Crane slammed him against the side of a parked vehicle.
The sheriff, a portly man of around fifty, huffed heavily and tried to pull Crane off Marko. Caitlin saw the flash of a gun from one of Marko’s goons.
She emerged from the safety of the B&B shouting, “Gun!”
Crane and two MC dudes turned solid. Everyone drew their weapons.
The tension shifted into full-throttle. A thunder of Harley pipes drew closer.
Marko picked himself off the car and started clapping his hands, walking toward Caitlin. She started backing away.
“Bravo, Ms. Kincaid. You’re just like your husband—wanting to save everybody.”
Caitlin paled. “How . . . How do you know my name?”
A car screeched to a halt. A door slammed and Travis’s furious voice shouted, “You stay the fuck away from her.”
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Marko lunged for her, spinning her around, and suddenly, a cold muzzle of a gun pressed against the side of her head. Her gaze lifted to lock on Travis. His face was set in angry lines, but his eyes were filled with terror.
“It seems I won’t be slitting her throat after all, Travis Blake.”
There was a blister of curses and gasps with the revelation.
“You harm a single hair on her head—you’re dead!”
Marko laughed like a maniac. “You’re not the one with the power right now, Blake.” He cocked his revolver. “You know I need her alive. But don’t think I won’t shoot her right now just to piss you off.” The muzzle of his gun slithered close to her mouth.
“Please,” Travis whispered. “Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it.”