32. Beast
BEAST
Life was good.
Suspiciously good.
The kind of good that usually meant trouble was coming.
Sadie sat beside me at the diner.
Close enough that her shoulder brushed mine.
The Magnolia Ladies occupied the next booth.
Pretending not to watch us.
Terrible actors.
Every one of them.
Across the room, Wolf and Trigger were taking turns making fun of me.
Because apparently getting kissed meant I'd never hear the end of it.
I was considering homicide.
Then Sheriff Cooper walked through the door.
One look at his face.
And every good feeling vanished.
The sheriff looked angry.
Not annoyed.
Not frustrated.
Angry.
The diner gradually quieted.
People noticed.
Eagle River noticed everything.
Mason stopped beside our table.
Removed his hat.
Looked directly at me.
And immediately wished he hadn't.
Because he already knew how this conversation was going to end.
"What happened?"
The question came out flat.
Dangerously flat.
The sheriff exhaled.
"The judge granted bond."
Silence.
The entire diner went silent.
Every conversation.
Every fork.
Every coffee cup.
Stopped.
My pulse slowed.
The familiar Ranger calm settled over me.
The dangerous calm.
The one that happened before bad things.
"Who?"
I already knew.
I wanted to hear him say it.
"Gerald."
The coffee mug in my hand cracked.
Actually cracked.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Beside me, Sadie went completely still.
The sheriff continued.
"Him and Darren both."
The crack widened.
Wolf muttered a curse.
Trigger looked murderous.
The Magnolia Ladies looked ready to organize a revolution.
I understood the feeling.
Very well.
"Explain."
Mason rubbed the back of his neck.
"The judge called them first-time offenders."
The diner erupted.
Everyone talking at once.
Shouting.
Arguing.
One rancher actually stood up.
"What about the kidnapping?"
Another pointed toward Sadie.
"What about the stalking?"
A third looked ready to drive to the courthouse personally.
I couldn't blame him.
Because all I could think about was one thing.
Gerald had stood outside Sadie's window with zip ties.
And somebody had decided that wasn't enough.
My chair scraped backward.
The sound echoed through the diner.
Immediately.
Every Ranger in the room looked at me.
Wolf.
Trigger.
The sheriff.
Everyone.
Because they knew me.
And they knew exactly how close I was to doing something very stupid.
Very permanent.
"Beast."
Sadie's hand touched my arm.
The contact stopped me.
Barely.
I looked down at her.
The woman I loved. Now that I’ve finally admitted my feelings no one was getting near her.
The woman who should never have had to deal with any of this.
The woman who trusted me to protect her.
The anger burned hotter.
Not cooler.
Hotter.
Because now it was personal.
The sheriff cleared his throat.
"They have restraining orders."
I stared at him.
Nobody else spoke.
Finally, Wolf did.
"What happens if they ignore them?"
The sheriff's silence answered everything.
My jaw tightened.
Across the diner, Mrs. Jenkins stood.
Eighty-two years old.
Five feet tall.
And absolutely furious.
"If that fool comes near our girl again..."
The entire diner nodded.
Every single person.
Because Sadie wasn't facing Gerald alone anymore.
Not even close.
She had Eagle River.
She had the Rangers.
And most importantly...
She had me.
I looked toward the window.
Toward the mountains.
Toward wherever Gerald was sitting.
Thinking he'd won.
Thinking he'd gotten away with something.
Thinking the game was still going.
The idiot had no idea.
Because this wasn't about rules anymore.
This wasn't about pride.
This wasn't about jealousy.
This was about protecting the woman I loved.
And God help anybody who threatened her again.