Page 45 of Grey
She and Tatum rose to their feet. Avi put the basket down and spun as a truck roared down the road and crashed through the front gate. It barreled toward them and Tatum just knew in her heart that it was Colton behind the wheel. Tatum grabbedZara’s hand as Avi pushed the two of them out of the way of the truck that smashed through the garden and spun, knocking into the greenhouse that was being built, sending a spray of dirt and gravel into the air.
“Run!” Avi yelled, giving them a shove as the truck’s engine revved loud enough to sound like the roar of some kind of beast.
Colton jumped out of the truck, his face twisted in a mask of rage. “Come out, Crew! Watch while I take someone from your herd, so you pay the price for what you did to Silas!”
Tatum and Zara backed away as Avi stepped in front of them.
The front door of the farmhouse opened with a crack and Ford and Crew strode down the steps. “You have a lot of nerve coming here, Colton. This farm is for my herd and you’re not strong enough to take my people out on your own. You lost your number two, that’s on you. You shouldn’t have taken Grey’s mate,” Crew said.
Two men got out of the truck and Tatum recognized the shorter one who’d been part of her abduction.
Grey appeared suddenly and stepped in front of Tatum, shielding her from Colton. She immediately felt better with him so close, and especially when she spied the shotgun held loosely at his side.
“You need to get the hell out of here,” Grey said, his voice steady. “You lost one herd member, don’t make the mistake of losing another.”
Colton’s gaze lowered and he smirked. Tatum figured he’d seen the shotgun.
Tatum had the strangest feeling settle over her and she peeked over her shoulder. She didn’t see anything, but as she turned her head back to watch what Colton was going to do, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and let out a short gasp.
A man snuck around the corner of the barn, a knife glinting in the sunlight.
“Grey!” she shouted as she tugged on his shirt.
The truck had been a distraction.
The man had run from the truck to the barn and no one had noticed. But he was coming for them and no one was between her and Zara and the man brandishing the weapon.
Grey spun, tucking Tatum behind him.
He lifted the shotgun and the man froze, then backpedaled. Grey fired and the shot grazed the man in the arm. He shouted in pain and dropped the knife to grab his bleeding arm, nearly falling in his haste to get away.
Crew called loudly, “Get the hell off my farm, Colton. You’ll get no more warnings from me.”
“I could have killed him,” Grey said, looking over his shoulder. “I won’t go easy with my aim next time.”
Tension was heavy in the air and Tatum held her breath, wondering if Colton would take his people and leave or fight.
“Zara betrayed me and the herd. She needs to suffer.”
“Hey!” Zara said. “You treated me like a maid, you tried to abduct me, and then you abducted my friend. Go fuck all the way off.”
Tatum, standing behind Grey as he kept his eyes and shotgun on the man who’d tried to come at them with a knife, watched as Colton and his people stared down theirs.
Colton blinked first.
She was kind of surprised. But he’d clearly planned to take out Zara with his knife-wielding friend and that hadn’t worked out. They’d literally brought a knife to a gunfight and Tatum’s soulmate was badass.
“This isn’t over,” Colton said, getting into his truck.
“The hell it’s not,” Crew retorted. “Get the fuck out of here and find your own territory to settle in. Stop being an asshole.”
The truck sprayed gravel and dirt as its tires spun before it lurched forward and crashed through another section of fencing at the front of the property. He stopped to pick up his injured guy and then he raced off.
“Fucker just had to mess up the damn fence,” Ford said.
“But we’re all safe,” Avi said. “Good thinking with the shotgun.”
“I’m just glad it was in the barn so I could grab it,” Grey said. He put his arm around Tatum and pulled her close. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
