Chapter 17
Adam’s truck fishtailed as he turned into Billy Rockefeller’s gravel drive. His headlights bounced across the front of the house just as the front door flew open.
Bianca burst outside with Clancy and Ewan right behind her.
Adam put his truck into park and jumped out before the engine finished rumbling. “Bianca!”
She spotted him at the same moment.
Then she ran straight toward him. Panic showed in every stride, her hair whipping behind her in the night wind.
Adam ran straight toward her.
Behind her, the front door crashed open again. Billy Rockefeller stepped onto the porch with a shotgun in his hands. “And if you come back,” Billy shouted, “I’ll shoot you!”
Bianca reached Adam at a dead sprint. Clancy and Ewan were at the SUV, which was way too close to the porch.
Adam caught Bianca and shoved her behind his back, placing his body between her and the porch. Everything in his vision turned red.
Billy stood on the porch steps, shotgun raised halfway toward them.
Adam launched forward before Billy had time to react, slamming into him full force. He drove his shoulder into Billy’s chest and knocked him backward against the porch railing. The shotgun slid sideways in Billy’s grip.
Adam grabbed the barrel and twisted. The weapon jerked upward toward the sky. He forced it away from Billy’s hands and slammed the stock toward the ground. Then his knee drove into Billy’s ribs.
Billy folded over with a choked grunt, his blond hair falling across his face as the air left his lungs.
Adam snapped the shotgun open. Two shells sat in the chamber. He yanked them out and flung them into the dirt beside the porch. The metal clicked shut again in his hands.
“You’re trespassing,” Billy gasped out.
Adam hauled Billy upright by the front of his shirt. “Did you actually just point a gun at her?”
Billy sucked in a ragged breath. “She came into my house.”
“You invited us,” Bianca shouted from behind Adam.
Adam grabbed Billy by the throat with his free hand and drove him backward into the doorframe. The wood cracked under the impact. Billy’s eyes bulged.
“Did you invite her inside,” Adam said, his voice low and deadly, “and then point a gun at her?”
Billy clawed at Adam’s wrist. “You’re trespassing,” he croaked. His face turned red as he struggled for air.
Ewan jogged up beside Adam, hands raised. “Uh… he can’t breathe, dude.”
Adam barely heard him. His entire focus locked onto Billy. “Answer me,” Adam growled.
“Yes,” Billy gasped. The word scraped out of his throat.
Adam was careful not to cause permanent damage. Not yet, anyway. “Why the hell would you invite them inside and then pull a gun?”
Billy coughed and wheezed. “I told her to leave.”
Adam glanced over Ewan’s shoulder and saw Clancy standing near the SUV, watching the entire scene with wide eyes. “Bianca,” Adam said without turning around. “Get in the truck.” His voice stayed calm and steady.
For once, she didn’t argue. Behind him he heard his truck door open.
Adam turned back to Billy. “You ever point a gun at her again,” he said quietly, “and we’re going to have a much bigger problem.”
Billy glared at him through watering eyes. “You people are bringing trouble to this town.”
Ewan cleared his throat. “You have to let him breathe. I mean, if you want him to live.”
Adam lowered his face closer to Billy’s. The man’s skin had turned a dark red that bordered on purple. Yeah… he probably ought to give the guy a little air. He loosened his grip on Billy’s throat just enough for him to drag in a shaky breath.
“Now tell me,” Adam said, his voice still low. “Did they threaten you?”
“No,” Billy croaked.
“Then why’d you pull a gun?”
Billy coughed and struggled like a landed trout, but Adam didn’t let go. “To make a point.”
Adam glanced around the yard. The porch light cast long shadows across the driveway and the tall weeds near the fence line. Beyond the property, dark trees crowded together under the Montana night sky. “Is your wife inside the house?”
Billy blinked at him. “No. She’s up at the church,” he gasped.
Adam nodded slowly. “Good.”
Billy swallowed. “Why?”
“Well then,” Adam said calmly, “where do you want me to bury your body?”
Behind him, Clancy cleared his throat. “Um… I’m thinking murder might not be a good idea.”
“I’m okay with it,” Ewan said from Adam’s side.
Adam glanced down. Ewan stood beside him with his hands tucked casually into his jacket pockets. He winked.
Adam shook his head. “Why don’t you all take off? I’ll handle Billy here.”
“No,” Bianca gasped.
Adam looked over his shoulder at the truck.
Bianca sat in the passenger seat with the door open. One boot rested on the ground while she gripped the edge of the door frame. “Really,” she said. “Let’s just get out of here, Adam. I’d rather none of us get arrested tonight.”
Beside Adam, Ewan cleared his throat again. “I’m okay with getting arrested.”
Adam turned toward him, not caring that Billy kept struggling against his hold. “What is up with you tonight?”
“Hey,” Billy croaked, both hands clawing weakly at Adam’s grip.
Ewan tilted his head and studied Adam for a moment. “I thought you were cute before.” He gave Adam a slow once-over. “But you’re seriously hot right now.”
Adam blinked. “I’m dating Bianca.”
“What do you think about taking two of us on?” Ewan asked.
“I’m not interested.”
“Ewan,” Bianca yelled from the truck. “You and Liam have been dating for six months. You absolutely can’t break up with him until this movie is finished. He’s the best director around.”
Ewan glanced back at her. “Have you looked at this guy?”
Adam exhaled. He really didn’t have time for this conversation. “Ewan, you’re a good-looking guy, and Liam is a lucky man.”
Ewan grinned.
“However,” Adam continued, “I’m fully involved with Bianca. And even if I weren’t, I prefer women.”
Ewan sighed dramatically. “That’s a pity,” he said. “Just a real pity.”
Billy made a strangled sound. “What are you people even talking about?”
Still holding Billy by the throat, Adam yanked him forward and stepped out of the way of the doorway, pointing the asshole’s face toward the truck. “Apologize to her.”
Billy coughed. “Sorry,” he rasped. The word barely made a sound.
Adam tightened his grip even more. “Again.”
Billy swallowed. Tears filled his eyes. “I’m really sorry.”
“I’d like an apology, too,” Ewan added cheerfully.
Adam turned Billy toward him.
“Sorry,” Billy wheezed out.
Adam pivoted him again toward Clancy, who stood near the vehicles watching the scene like someone witnessing a bizarre stage play.
“I’m sorry,” Billy muttered.
“There,” Bianca said from the truck. She leaned halfway out of the passenger seat. “Everyone said they’re sorry.”
Adam looked around the yard. They were definitely trespassing now.
“Yeah,” Bianca added as if reaching the same conclusion. “We should probably go.”
“All right.” Adam shoved Billy backward through the front door. Billy lost his footing and fell flat on his back inside the house, sliding across the wooden floor. Adam stepped onto the porch and tossed the empty shotgun onto the roof.
The metal clattered loudly against the shingles.
Billy groaned, still prone beside a sofa table.
Adam pointed a finger toward him. “If I ever hear about you pointing a weapon at any of my friends again, Billy,” he said, his voice deadly calm, “I’ll bury your fucking body where nobody will ever find it.” He turned and walked down the porch steps.
Small rocks crumbled under his boots as he headed toward his truck.
Behind him, Ewan hurried across the yard toward his SUV. “Yeah,” he said cheerfully, “it seems like a good time to leave.”
Adam slammed Bianca’s door and circled to the driver’s side. “I’ll follow you guys out,” he said.
“Sure thing.” Ewan jumped into the SUV, and Clancy drove off, tires spinning and spraying mud.
Adam pulled out behind them at a calmer pace. “Put your seatbelt on.”
Bianca fumbled with the strap and clicked it into place. “Yours isn’t on,” she pointed out.
He ignored her and kept driving.
They rode in silence until they reached Mineral Lake. Clancy turned toward the inn down by the lake while Adam continued straight, winding past the last buildings and heading toward his place outside town.
“I’m mad at you,” Bianca said, crossing her arms.
He gave her a quick glance. “I’m more mad at you.”
“Huh.” Color flushed across her face.
The woman was gorgeous when she was angry, but that didn’t appease him. Not this time. They reached his place, and he cut the engine outside the garage.
Bianca opened the door and jumped out before he could stop her, heading toward the sprawling house.
Adam shot out of the truck, caught her around the waist, and lifted her straight off the ground before setting her firmly back in the passenger seat.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Stay.” He shut the door, counted to five, then opened it again and held out his hand. “You wait until I help you out.”
She blinked at him. “I’m not a dog.”
“No, you’re not,” he snarled. “Someone has been leaving you creepy notes. Another person shot at your car, and you just walked out of a house where a man pointed a shotgun at your head.” His voice dropped another notch.
“You stay in the fucking truck until I make sure it’s safe and let you out. Got it?”
She stared at him for a second. It wasn’t agreement, but she took his hand and stepped down from the truck, making it halfway to the house before spinning around to face him. “How dare you?” she demanded.
Adam planted his feet and put his hands on his hips. “How dare I what?”
“Seriously?” Bianca stared at him like he’d just grown another head.
God help him, she was gorgeous. The scarlet sweater clung to every curve she owned, blazing against the dark yard like a warning sign he had no intention of obeying.
Her jeans molded to her hips and long legs before disappearing into black boots smudged with mud from Billy’s driveway.
Her eyes flashed with fury, bright and dangerous, and that wild mass of hair spilled over her shoulders in thick waves that caught the porch light and turned the strands into flickers of fire.
Even furious, even ready to take his head off, she looked like the kind of woman a man could get lost in—and right now, he was on board with that plan.
“Go on,” he snapped.
“Act like some caveman,” she snapped. “I’m mad at you, remember?”
His temper fought with the arousal slashing through him. “I am equally angry with you,” he said through gritted teeth. “You know that group is unhinged,” he continued. “I told you that, and yet you went out there anyway.”
“You didn’t give me a choice.” Bianca threw her hands into the air and paced beside his driveway, her boots scraping the dirt. The night air smelled of pine and cold earth while the wind tugged at her hair, sending dark strands across her shoulders as she glared at him. She looked stunning.
Adam dragged a hand down his face. “You had a choice,” he said. “You could have waited.”
“For what?” she shot back. “For the movie crew to arrive and find out we don’t have a location?”
“Yes,” he said flatly. “Or for me to go with you.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re the reason I had to go in the first place.”
He took a step closer, apparently not making himself clear. “You drove to the house of a man who already threatened you.”
“He didn’t threaten me until after we got there,” she snapped.
“That doesn’t make it better.”
They stood there for a long moment, both breathing hard. Somewhere down the road a truck passed in the distance, its headlights sliding briefly across the trees before disappearing again.
“Go inside. We can finish fighting there,” he said, not liking the darkening trees around them. He’d probably sense if a predator were near, human or animal, but right now, he was seeing red.
“Fine.” She stomped toward the house, yanking open the door.
Adam followed her inside, his temper wide awake and ready to rumble.