18. Weston
Weston
The temptation to down a bottle of whiskey has been stronger the last week than it has been in a long, long time. So naturally, I’m walking into Maverick’s place for a club soda, just to prove to those demons that I’m stronger.
That me abstaining from it has nothing to do with proximity to alcohol, but my choice not to take that first drink.
They can’t have me.
Not now, not ever.
Ryker steps into the bar alongside me, completely silent. We’re both still wearing our gym clothes, and I’m certainly grateful for the exhaustion sparring with one of my closest friends for three hours brought me. I’m just glad he gave me another chance, and this time, I didn’t let the hits land.
Another way to prove the darkness cannot have me.
My thoughts have been a mess, lingering on the past while also trying to figure out how to move forward. If that’s even possible at this point.
After that night at the church, though, I’ve had something new on my mind: faith. How can I have it when everything feels so hopeless? How can I believe there is a greater plan for everything when my entire life has been a warzone?
How ridiculous is it that I thought I’d finally made peace with everything, yet it only took Reese showing up in town to blow a massive hole in my life.
Reese.
I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid her completely, while also seeking every opportunity to see her from a distance. I just can’t help it. She’s the one thing I can’t walk away from—no matter how detrimental it is to my health.
Take lunch. For a brief moment, I thought her inviting me in for a sandwich might be an opportunity for us to really talk, yet she made dinner plans with another man, all while I sat there feeling like a complete idiot.
And now her friend from Charleston is in town.
Thankfully, Kyle had been at the ranch, so I’d sent him to help them saddle the horses so Reese could take her out on a ride.
What did I do? I hid like a coward. The only thing I dare to hope for now is that she will go back to her life and I can move on with what’s left of mine.
Clenching my hands into fists at my sides, I continue through the crowd, trying to bury at least a portion of the anger welling inside of me. It’ll do me no good, I know that. Still, it festers in my chest like an abscess.
Despite it being a Wednesday evening, the bar is noisy tonight. The stench of liquor in the air makes my stomach churn, but it offers at least a minimal distraction. I can focus on fighting that urge, rather than letting my mind have way too much time to think about Reese.
Right now, I’ll take anything I can get.
Ryker and I move toward the bar, but we haven’t made it ten steps before I see her. A bright splash of color in an otherwise black and white world.
Wearing a pair of boots and a white sundress with a blue jean jacket over her shoulders, Reese is standing near the bar talking to her Charleston friend, Anastasia, and Tessa.
She throws her head back and laughs at something her friend said, and the sight of her unguarded smile kicks my pulse into overdrive, making my heart hammer against my ribs.
“You want to go?” Ryker asks because, of course, he noticed. Any member of my team would have, because not noticing things was so often the difference between life and death.
“No. Let’s find a seat on the other side of the bar.” There, I can see her, but I should be far enough that she won’t notice me. She’ll linger in that spot…just out of reach. Where she’s been since our annulment was final.
But as we start walking again, I notice a group of guys turn their attention to the girls. They start toward them, so I shift direction and push through the crowd toward them, all while my gaze is trained straight ahead.
I see both Anastasia and Tessa flash their rings, which only has the men turning their full attention to Resse and her friend from Charleston.
She smiles politely but shakes her head.
The man closest reaches out anyway and touches her hair. He trails his fingers through the silky red strands even as she tries to pull away. I note the way she grips the side of the bar top, her face paling.
Yet he leans in even closer.
My vision turns red, my mood darkening like a coming storm.
I’ll tear that hand off if he doesn’t keep it to himself.
Reese tries to pull away again, but he moves in, caging her against the bar. Both Tessa and Anastasia step in, trying to get him to back off, but he doesn’t shift his attention. All while his other buddies keep her Charleston friend distracted.
Even Maverick takes notice from behind the bar and starts forward, but I beat him there in four long strides.
“Get lost,” I growl.
The man moving in on Reese turns toward me, then looks me up and down.
“She doesn’t want me to.” He starts to lean in closer, so I grip his throat and throw him backward into the crowd.
He slams into his two buddies who were chatting up Reese’s Charleston friend, and they manage to catch him before he can hit the ground.
Ryker and I both place ourselves between them and the women, and I clench both hands into fists, more than happy to unleash two decades of rage on this guy if he decides to take another step toward me.
“What’s your problem!” he yells at me, the stench of liquor clinging to the air between us.
“You’re drunk and about to make a mistake that’s going to cost you a lot more than your pride,” Ryker warns. “Walk away.”
The guy glares at Ryker, then me. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Go right on ahead and try,” I snarl. Everyone in the vicinity is watching us, some clearly ready for a fight, others wary that one will start.
Maverick comes up between us and turns toward the guy who is currently deciding whether or not he wants to live to see another sunrise. “Get out.”
“Are you serious? He started it!” The man’s cheeks are flushed, his words slurred.
“You couldn’t keep your hands to yourself. As far as I’m concerned, he’s shown restraint. Now get out of my bar, or I’ll remove you myself.”
The guy looks back at his buddies, then locks his gaze on me.
“Go ahead,” I goad. “I dare you.”
“Not worth it.” He snaps, then turns and leaves the bar, both of his buddies pushing through after him.
Maverick turns toward me. “Thanks for not killing him.”
“Yeah.”
“Reese!”
At Anastasia’s worried tone, I turn just in time to catch Reese as she sways to the side. Her pupils are dilated, her gaze glassy and unfocused.
“How much did she drink?” I ask the others.
“Nothing,” Tessa says. “She doesn’t drink.”
“Which means he drugged her,” I snarl and turn toward the crowd, keeping one hand on her.
“I’ll make the call and find him,” Ryker says. “You get her out of here.”
I don’t wait for him to say it again. “Call Sawyer and Zane. Do not go outside without them. You can come with me,” I tell the friend.
“Okay. Is she going to be okay?”
“She’d better be,” I snarl as I push toward the closest exit out the back of the building.
“I didn’t drink anything,” Reese slurs. “I feel sick.”
“You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”
“I’ve got the door.” The friend rushes around and pushes it open so I can head out into the parking lot. It’s dark, with only the soft glow of the parking lot lights to illuminate our way toward my truck.
“Weston,” Reese groans. “What’s that?”
I glance down to see what she’s talking about and spot the red dot on my chest. Right over my heart. Adrenaline surges through my system. I start to move back, to shift away, but then another appears on Reese’s forehead.
“Get back—” I turn to rush back to the bar, but Reese’s Charleston friend is standing there, a pistol in hand—aimed directly at Reese.
“Move, and she dies,” she says.
“Weston Hayes. You’re going to want to listen,” a woman calls out. The voice is familiar. Too familiar.
The clicking of heels against asphalt is another reminder of a time when our futures didn’t belong to us.
And then I see her.
Brenda steps out from behind the cars. She looks nearly exactly the same as she did the last time I saw her, though this time she’s not sitting in an interrogation room about to be sent away to a windowless prison for the rest of her life.
For six years, she called the shots.
Handing out orders for my team because she’d owned us.
And then it came out that she was the very reason for the mistake that cost us our careers in the Navy.
“You hurt her, and I will tear you all apart,” I snarl.
“Weston?” Reese asks, her eyes wide and terrified.
“It’ll be okay,” I assure her. Though I’m not entirely sure how. Unless Ryker comes out after us, I can’t fight. Because any type of combat will put Reese in danger.
“There are snipers on the roof. You make a move, and they’ll put a bullet in her first. Then you.” Brenda comes to a stop right in front of me. “How nice to see you again, Cowboy. It’s been a while, huh? What, two years?”
“Not nearly long enough. I figured you’d be buried in some black site somewhere.”
She laughs. “Yeah, well, seems my luck is much better than my associate’s. See, it’s his brother who currently has a .50 caliber sniper rifle trained on your girlfriend’s forehead.”
Reese falls limp in my arms. The battle she was waging for consciousness clearly lost. And that makes this whole situation even more dangerous.
“Leave her here. Your fight is with me.” I scan for cover, for any place I can get her to safety.
But Brenda knew exactly what she was doing when she set this up.
The entrance to the bar is too far away, and the nearest car is even farther.
With Reese drugged, she can’t even run for cover while I offer a distraction.
The chances of us making it out of this, both unscathed, are practically zero.
“Honey, she’s been at the core of this since before she even came home.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“See, I knew I wouldn’t get to you unless you were perfectly distracted. Which is exactly why she’s here. Now, I know that Tank went in with you, so how about we move this conversation to somewhere more private? Unless, of course, you want the pavement painted with his blood, too.”
The idea of watching Tank lose his life makes me sick. Because I don’t doubt for even an instant that Brenda won’t do exactly what she’s promising. “I will do whatever you want me to do, but leave Reese here.”
“No.”
“I’m not bringing her. I go only if she stays.”
“Oh, honey, you are not calling the shots.” She pulls out a silenced handgun, points it at me, and fires. The bullet tears into my lower abdomen—right below where I’m holding Reese.
The pain drops me to my knees, breath punching out of my lungs, but somehow, I maintain my hold on Reese, holding her against my chest so she doesn’t hit the ground.
“Sorry about that, Cowboy, but we both know you’re not going to go quietly. Have to level the playing field. Take them both,” she orders.
Half a dozen masked men come out of the shadows, all rushing toward us.
I push to my feet, grinding my teeth against the pain as I hold Reese in my arms. “Touch her, and I’ll rip your arms off,” I snarl. Every movement costs me greatly, and every step is a fight to remain upright.
Brenda laughs. “Hey, if he wants to suffer, let him. Go on, Cowboy, walk your bride to the van. But just know that if you try anything, the next bullet goes into her.”
I remain rooted in my spot, trying to come up with a plan that doesn’t end with us in that van. Running isn’t an option, and with Reese unconscious, she can’t fight back.
Brenda clicks her tongue. “Come on, Cowboy. We’re out of time, and you either play along, or I’ll kill you both and go for someone else. Garrison would suit my needs quite well. I’m sure he’d be a whole lot easier to control given he went and got himself a family.”
Katelyn. Thomas. The baby.
No matter what, I can’t put them at risk. So, I start toward the van, warm blood trickling down my left side. Pain eats away at me with every small movement, but I’ve operated with worse, so I continue forward, knowing that failing this mission means losing Reese.
And that just isn’t an option.
“There it is,” Brenda coos. “I knew you’d make the right choice if properly motivated.”
I continue to the van, monitoring the cars nearby and the men flanking us. If I can get Reese on the ground, then maybe I can fight long enough for Tank to come out of the bar and see what’s going on.
One guy to the left. Two to the right. Three right behind me.
I calculate exactly what I need to fight our way out of this, but a blade digs into my lower back.
Brenda laughs. “Stay focused, Cowboy. I see those wheels turning, and unless you cooperate, this only ends with you both dead.”
My stomach churns, anger and fear burning a hole straight through me. Getting in that van likely means we don’t come back. If Reese weren’t with me, they’d have to put a bullet in me right here in this parking lot.
Something Brenda counted on. Which is why Reese is here at all. Why she was drugged. Because Brenda knows I won’t risk Reese.
I hiss through clenched teeth as I climb into the van, then set Reese right beside me. Three armed men jump in the back along with the woman who was with Reese, while Brenda gets into the passenger seat.
The doors are slammed shut, and the driver accelerates quickly. As I try to breathe through the pain, the world tilts for just a moment, blood loss and pain trying to pull me under.
“Hands together, Cowboy. I’m Ash, by the way. We really didn’t get a chance to meet. Huge fan.” She grins at me, a savage smile so like Brenda’s that I can’t believe I didn’t see the resemblance before.
“So you’re just as deranged as your sister. Must run in the family.”
She grins. “Brenda said you were smart. Not smart enough to recognize me right off the bat. I was honestly a little worried at first.” She zip ties my wrists, then my ankles.
I should have seen it. Now my mistake might cost Reese her life.
The man to my left presses a cloth to the injury on my side, and pain shoots through my body as he applies pressure, but I grit my teeth, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing just how badly it hurts.
Bury the pain and use it later.
Because I’m going to need everything I have left to keep Reese alive.