by Cara Carnes
Dallas waited until Nolan had gotten both boys halfway down the hall that lead toward the restrooms before he leaned into Kamren and whispered, “You okay?”
“Yeah. Fine.” The words were clipped and forced as her gaze pulverized the room once more.
Jesse glowered behind him. “I’m thinking your woman’s not liking the conversations around us much.”
Fuck. Of course. He’d been so wrapped up in the boys and enjoying the softer side of Kamren, he’d forgotten she read lips. She’d likely become privy to every thought about every facet of his life the past few years, if not longer. Resino residents had long memories and plenty of opinions to share with whoever would listen.
“I don’t give a shit what they think about anything, Kamren. You shouldn’t either.”
She nodded and wiped her mouth. A tremble radiated in her hand. “I was fine with them yapping about the boys or speculating about me.”
Dallas flashed Jesse a look and glared at the tables around them. They were likely chatting about Hailey at this point, possibly Jesse. Plenty of speculation about both subjects had been bandied about.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jesse said. “My family’s given enough to this community, our country. It’s about damn time people stop prying.”
His voice boomed within the area, but Kamren’s body tightened. Determined to drag her away from whatever mental war she waged with everyone around them, he cupped her face and claimed her mouth. The kiss started off as a gentle swipe of tongue across the seam of her lips, but her immediate surrender emitted a moan from him as she deepened the contact.
Whistles and cheers erupted around them, but he didn’t give a bloody damn. Kamren and his family—most especially his two sons—were all that mattered. He severed the fusion of tongues and mouths even though all he wanted was to cart her home and keep going. “That protective streak is one of the ten thousand things I love about you.”
“W-what?”
“Think you heard me,” he whispered. “We’ll chat tonight. I think it’s past time I make sure you know where we stand. To be clear, it’s the kind of conversation highlighting how you are a big part of my life, Kamren.”
“Dallas, I don’t think…” Her voice lowered as her gaze swept the room. “Why are we having this conversation in a barbecue place with everyone watching?”
“Because the sooner they see this is serious, the quicker they’ll shut up and leave us be.” He thundered the statement into the room. To hell with being polite. He’d catch hell from his mom, but he’d take the heat if it put his woman and his kids at ease. “Thinking I should’ve given you the same assurance I did TJ.”
“About what?”
“Relax, sweetheart. I’ve got this. Enjoy your meal. When you’re done, we’re going over to get more of your things and check on the farmhouse. The boys wanted to see the goats.”
“They do?”
“Yeah. In case you missed it, they see a lot of themselves in you, sweetheart. Doctor Sinclair’s even noticed how drawn TJ is to you, says you’re one of the reasons they’ve acclimated so quickly at the house. He watches you and follows your lead. You got in deep with him back in the woods.” He kissed her mouth. “Another one of the ten thousand things I love about you. You went all in without reservation, giving him a piece of you he isn’t ever letting go.”
“We cool?” TJ asked as he, DJ, and Nolan returned to the table from the restroom.
“Yeah,” Jesse said. “I think it’s time we talk Bubba into giving us some peach cobbler.”
“Don’t tell Mom this.” Nolan leaned into the boys as he sat with them at the table. “But Bubba’s cobbler’s better than hers.”
Dallas smirked, knowing full well their mom was already aware of the secret. The entire town was because she bragged about the man’s cobbler to anyone who’d listen. Riley suspected she was sweet on Bubba. Dallas had half a mind to believe it was true. He looked over at Kamren and couldn’t help but grin.
He hadn’t understood the depths of Dylan’s emotions for Mary, not at first. Love was something they’d been raised seeing between their parents, but it’d been a long time since he’d felt it for someone outside his family.
Fuck.
Had he ever loved someone? Really and truly loved them to the point that he’d die for them?
His family? Fuck yes.
Anyone else?
He glanced at Kamren and knew the answer. For her and his kids, he’d do anything. He took a sip of his tea to wash down the emotion clogging his throat. Son of a bitch he was in a sappy mood today. It’d been a long time since he felt this level of happiness.
The Collective and the things he’d done for them weren’t weighing him down any longer. His brothers knew, and they’d helped him find his kid. Everything Marla had put him through, the bullshit Hailey put him through when he’d gotten home was over and he was happy. His kids were safe.
The smile on TJ’s face and the grin—so much like Dallas’s—on DJ’s face made it all worth it. The woman tearing up beside him as she watched the boys sealed the fact he’d go through it all again if it brought him back to this point.
This was love.
Son of a bitch. He looked over at his two big brothers, who both wore amused expressions. Fuckers knew he was a goner where Kamren was concerned. They’d called it back in the woods, way before he’d realized it himself.
She was a hell of a woman, and tonight he’d make sure she knew where they stood.
She was his.
By the time they’d stuffed themselves on barbecue, all the fixings, and dessert, the boys had acclimated to the noises of the “city.” Calling Resino a city was amusing in many ways, but true for the boys. Kamren remembered how hard it was to return to society when she’d been young. Adapting to the extra noises of so many people within one space. The smells.
“You all ready to go visit my goats?” she asked as they headed toward the truck.
“Yeah!” both boys shouted as Jesse and Nolan helped them into the back seat.
Dallas pressed her against the open passenger’s seat door. Heat spread through her like a brushfire. “When we get there, Jesse and Nolan will handle the feeding and showing off the goats.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m in the mood to have an extra dessert,” he whispered against her neck.
Laughter tumbled from her. The man was beyond incorrigible, tactile to a fault. She loved that he enjoyed sex. More importantly, he enjoyed it with her. Anticipation beaded along her skin as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and grinned up at him. His kiss was playful and full of tawdry promises. She couldn’t wait.
The boys shared their thoughts on farms as the truck growled down the highway toward Marville. Nolan and Jesse answered the questions, which were plentiful and way more insightful than she expected boys their age to be, not that she knew much about boys their age. She looked over at Dallas. “I should call Dani, let her know I’ll be in town. I haven’t gotten a chance to touch base with her since…”
Since hell had broken loose.
Kamren still couldn’t believe Javier and his crew were gone.
“Then we’ll call, sweetheart.” He reached over and pushed a button on the console, then another when a list appeared.
“Yeah.” Dani’s voice over the truck’s loud speakers startled her a moment.
“Dani.” Kamren bit back the rush of words on her tongue, the inquiries. “You’re on speaker. Dallas’s sons are with us, and we’re on our way to the farmhouse. I wanted to see you while I was there and make sure you’re okay.”
She forced a breath after the spew of words vacated her. Silence descended on the other end of the line. “Dani?”
Dallas tightened his grip on the wheel beside her.
“I’m good, but not good. Thinking you need to turn around and leave those boys with their aunt. She was just here checking on me. Give her a buzz, have her take them to the compound, then we can chat,” Dani said,
her voice low and in a tone Kamren recognized. Guarded. “Thinking you should get some of those fancy-ass teams your man leads to come with you.”
Oh no. No. No. No.
“Dani.”
“I’m okay. Love you to the bottom of my heart and back. Wherever you are, stop and do what I say. You do, then give me a call when things are in place. Wanna make sure my girl’s covered.”
No. No. No. No.
Kamren’s eyes burned as she blinked back the denial thundering through her mind. Something was terribly wrong. Dani wanted to make sure she was covered, thought she needed fancy-ass teams. The woman hated everything Mason and wouldn’t normally consider them a solution to anything, which meant the trouble was big.
“Dani.”
“I’m okay. Know you’ve got the boys there, so I’ll be short on the details. Riley has Burton Construction all over fixing the fallout from what went down at my house,” Dani said. “I wasn’t down with that, but she has a way of talking people around. I’m thinking it’s time I set aside my hate of all things Mason. They’ve had your back in a way I couldn’t.”
“Dani.”
“You had theirs, found the boys,” Dani whispered. “Which makes what I’ve gotta share now cut deep because I can’t patch this; it’s too big for me to handle. Get those crews en route. Riley left; I just got a call. No one’s verified, but Sylvia sees buzzards flying and diving over your place.”
Sylvia sees flying and diving over your place. Kamren squeezed her eyes shut again and willed the denial away, even as her mind formed an explanation. Vultures. While they didn’t circle dead animals like people believed, they did ride the warm pockets of air and watch situations. Carrion. They preferred their meals fresh. “How many?”
“More than we’ve seen in a long time,” Dani whispered. “Get your man’s crew assembled. I’ll meet you out there. Call when you’re on the way.”
The line went dead. Nausea rose in Kamren’s stomach as the vehicle pulled to the side of the road. She wanted to climb out and purge the contents from her stomach, but that wasn’t an option. Two small boys had hung on every word in the backseat. They’d been through enough hell. She wasn’t about to shove them neck deep into whatever was going down in Marville.
Dallas tapped a few buttons and the line rang again. Riley’s voice filled the cab. “Hey, I was about to call you. You all still heading over to Marville?”
“Thinking we need a change in plans. Jud with you?” Dallas asked.
“Yeah, why?” Riley’s voice shifted, turning alert. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re three miles out of Marville. Come pick up the kids. Have a team meet us out at the farmhouse,” Dallas said.
“Okay. I’m guessing there’s more to the story.”
“There’s more to the story,” Dallas confirmed. “Jud’s with us when you arrive. We aren’t waiting for the team. We’re at the curve, just past the Brannigan farm.”
“Something’s wrong,” TJ said. His voice rose when the line clicked off. “You said we were part of the team.”
“Yeah, you are,” Jesse said. “But we need you and DJ at the compound.”
“Why?” DJ asked.
“Cord needs help flying the whirlies,” Kamren lied. The boys loved the drones and had been demanding to fly them.
Dallas’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t refute her claim.
“We can fly them?” DJ asked.
“Sure,” Nolan replied. “Riley will take you there.”
Most of their troubles had settled, but Kamren suspected they’d yet to face today’s real monster. Something was wrong at the farmhouse.
24
It took less time than she’d expected for The Arsenal to arrive where Dallas had wheeled to a stop less than a mile from her familial homestead. Though he’d said they weren’t gonna wait, what they’d seen so far had charged the truck’s cab with unease and tension so palpable, it was a sixth companion within the cab. She’d moved to the back to sit between Jesse and Nolan, despite everyone’s argument otherwise. Jud had grudgingly taken her place up front.
Though her visibility was somewhat limited from the center of the back seat, she’d seen enough and recognized the telltale signs to know what that many vultures in an area meant.
Four black, double-cab trucks arrived and paused their progression long enough for Dallas to move into lead position. The fact that it’d taken so little time to assemble four trucks of bad asses assured Kamren they’d deal with whatever was at her home.
No.
The place hadn’t ever been a home, not in the real sense that made something more than a shelter from the rain and the cold. It hadn’t had the warmth Dallas’s home had. The love.
She had a new home.
A new family.
The truck bobbed and lurched as Dallas navigated the potholes of the driveway leading to her house.
“Was here yesterday evening with a couple guys. Nothing out of the ordinary,” Jud commented. “Cliff said he’d handle the morning feeding. Anyone heard from him?”
Fear crawled through her. Cliff.
They all exited the vehicle as Gage, Addy, Fallon, and teams of operatives she’d never formally met exited the trucks behind them. The three team leads motioned, and everyone fanned out, weapons in hand. Dylan, Cord, Mary, Vi, and Zoey exited the last vehicle. Drones rose into the air around them.
“Gear,” Dylan said as he passed out cases she knew held the headgear HERA used. Nolan, Jesse, Dallas, and Jud geared up, but Kamren stared numbly overhead.
“I promised I wouldn’t stand between you and your fight, but today, out there, I need you to step back for me so I can step up and handle the next few hours. Hold onto me and let me take the lead for a little while, okay?” Dallas’s whispered plea was soft against her neck.
Unsure what to say, she remained silent.
He continued on.
“I’d prefer you stay here, but that’s your call, sweetheart. All I’m asking is that you let me take the lead on this for a while.”
She nodded.
He took her hand. “Let’s go. If it gets to be too much, you let me know. There’s no shame in tagging out.”
You don’t ever let someone else fight your battles, girl.
Kamren ignored the voice in her head. For the first time in a long while, she took a chance and let someone else take the lead.
The headgear displayed what Dallas expected. Death. As far as the drones could sweep. Someone had laid waste to everything Kamren held dear. Rage rose within him. She hadn’t been here because she’d been with him and the boys. What if she’d been here? Alone? Unprotected?
“This is a significant escalation,” Vi said. “Henry Mills is in custody, and nothing we know about him indicates he’d be capable of this. He’s a white-collar thug wanna-be. It doesn’t make sense.”
Psychopathic carnage rarely did. Despite protests, Vi had insisted on coming along. Dylan had managed to keep Mary at the compound, but she was watching via drones already circling overhead.
“Maybe you should hang back with me, Kamren,” Zoey suggested.
“No. I need to see.” Her words were icy steel caged in a quiet rage he felt in her stance and noted in the firm set of her jaw and determined gaze. “Let’s go.”
Dallas headed around the side of the house. The teams had fanned out, but Addy, Gage, and Fallon remained with Dallas, Nolan and Jesse as Kamren navigated them toward the first evidence of trouble. Kamren halted and knelt. “A vehicle was driven back here, an ATV perhaps. Thick, fat tires.”
A drone appeared and snapped photos. They continued on. The coppery stench of death assailed Dallas’s senses. A lone hen squawked and fluttered about in the bloodied carnage in front of the house. Feathers covered the exterior and floated in the breeze nearby.
Pale and trembling slightly, Kamren stepped forward, coiling a hand through the chicken coop’s wire frame. Her gaze scanned the sprawled bodies of her chickens, then tracked outward to the whit
e, red and brown feathers scattered about.
“Knives—some to the neck, others to the heart. They didn’t know how to kill a chicken. They bled, but died slow,” she whispered. She looked over at Mary and Vi. “Feathers. Get them all. Fingerprints.”
She wandered away, deeper into the carnage. Dallas glanced at his brothers. Their glowers matched his. She had no business going into that barn, but they respected her too much to hold her back. Women like her didn’t want to be protected and treated like a dainty princess.
“I wouldn’t have thought about the feathers,” Nolan admitted.
“I’ll hang back and image them. We’ll have to leave them for the crime scene unit, if they even bother showing up when we call,” Dylan commented. “Sheriff Haskell is a lazy shit.”
Kamren walked toward the barn and paused at the door where a warning had been written in what appeared to be blood.
Stop or die.
She reached out, put a finger to the sticky red and licked it.
“Okay, that was gross,” Vi admitted.
Dallas chuckled.
Kamren looked back at him. Face expressionless, eyes flat, voice monotone. “Paint.”
She stooped down, picked up a small branch, and pulled the door open. He grabbed her arm. She looked down at where his hand touched her.
“I need to check the area first, sweetheart.”
“Right.” She nodded and took a step back.
He entered hell. Goats were hung by ropes along the insides of the barn. Blood dripped. Drones whizzed by.
“Dallas, the far right corner. Hurry.” The urgency in Mary’s voice through the com pushed him forward. That’s when he saw it. A horse pulled itself upright. Blood leaked from its side.
“Brant, yeah, it’s Jesse. We’ve got a situation out at the Garrett farm. I need your uncle out here immediately, but keep it under the radar for now.” His brother’s voice halted. “The vet, not the doc. Whatever your issue is with Kamren, set it aside.”
Dallas calmed the agitated beast before him. Obviously in pain, the horse whinnied and stamped a foot in warning. Kamren shoved past him. He watched as she calmed the beast and stroked it. Tears ran down her face as she whispered to the animal.
