by Jenny Penn
Travis straightened up slowly, more than insulted by Richard’s low opinion of not only them but also Tara. Tara was just the opposite of everything Richard claimed. It went to show that the man was both blind and stupid. Travis was neither of those things and could easily imagine the kind of treatment Tara had been subjected to through her marriage…and her family.
Travis hated them all.
The surge of raw, primitive violence that rushed through him nearly toppled his control. He stood there, tense and clenched, waiting for the moment to pass, but it didn’t fade. Just the opposite. The searing heat of his anger only flared higher as Richard pressed his luck.
“I could buy you out or, if you want, set up an allowance.” Richard eyed him speculatively, seeming completely unaware the danger he was taunting with his insulting attitude.
“I mean I’m the jealous-husband type. I’m the type who could be really grateful for a man keeping my wife out my hair, but just let me warn you that if you do pick up any side action, cover your tracks. Tara isn’t into sharing, if you know what I mean.”
Travis stood there, feeling the fire in his ears and the burn in his muscles. He was so pissed he couldn’t speak. Bryant could, though he sounded just as mad as Travis felt.
“Let us make ourselves clear here,” Bryant cut in from the other side of the SUV. “You come near Tara ever again, and we’ll break you in two. She is ours. Understood?”
Richard’s gaze narrowed on Bryant, and it was clear this wouldn’t be the end of it, despite his slow agreement.
“Understood. Am I free to go now?”
Bryant held up his hand and backed away from the SUV, giving Richard just enough room to grind down his gear and shoot back out into the road in a hail of dust and dirt. Travis and Bryant didn’t step back from the cloud that he kicked up but stood there watching him roar off. Neither man spoke for a long moment before finally Bryant sighed and shook his head.
“He’ll be back.”
* * * *
The bright sparkles of fireworks filled the evening sky, making Tara’s breath catch as she smiled. This had been a perfect day. It was almost like a dream come true. The whole day she’d been surrounded by the commotion and joy of family. Even though they weren’t her family, Tara felt as welcome as if she were a blood relation.
The food had been delicious to boot. Now she sat there in a lawn chair alongside of so many of Travis’s and Bryant’s relations stuffed full, totally content, and watching the show as the children giggled and shrieked all around the yard. The only thing that could have made the moment better was for Travis and Bryant to be there sharing it with her.
Then they were.
As if lured to her by the longing ache in her heart, they appeared out of the shadow of the house. Still dressed in their uniforms, they both looked so tall and powerful. So very, very dangerous to her heart, which blossomed with a strange joy as they made a straight beeline to her chair.
“Hey, sunshine. Miss us?” Travis asked as he dropped down beside her onto the grass and leaned in to drop a quick kiss on her lips.
“All day,” Tara responded honestly, turning without any shame to accept a kiss from Bryant as he settled in on the other side of her low-slung chair.
“Same here,” Bryant swore sweetly with a smile that had her reaching out for his hand.
His big, thick fingers twined through hers, even as Travis reached for her other hand. They sat like that watching the fireworks and laughing as the noise and joy surrounding them infused them with a happiness that had them rushing home afterward to fuck straight through to the morning. Then they slept that away until their peaceful dreams were shattered by the shrill ring of a phone.
It wasn’t hers. That was all Tara knew or cared about as Bryant shifted beside her, grumbling as he shoved the covers back and rolled out of bed. He left a warm indention Tara curled into as Travis’s arms tightened behind her. He snuggled into her, allowing Tara to feel the hard length of his erection pressing with renewed interest against her ass. Before Travis could put his dick to any good use, Bryant was cussing and turning back toward the bed as he threw his cell phone onto the nightstand.
“Up and at them, Deputy,” he snapped at Travis, sounding both irritated and exasperated. “We don’t have time for that because, apparently, we’re wanted in the sheriff’s office.”
“But it is our day off,” Travis complained as he lifted himself up onto his elbow.
“Alex doesn’t care. We’ve got fifteen minutes because he said he knows we’re over here and not at home.” Bryant’s sigh matched Travis’s as he leaned down to drop a kiss on Tara’s ear.
“Sorry, sunshine, gotta go.”
Tara mumbled a replay and rolled over, content to have the bed to herself for a while. A while turned into a couple of hours before she finally roused enough to get out of bed and shower. By the time she was done, it was well past noon and she was starving, so Tara headed down toward the Bread Box for an appropriately sweet feast.
It wasn’t meant to be, though, and almost the moment she walked into the bakery, Tara knew something was up. The murmur of conversation quieted down as she wove her way through the sea of tables. She could feel the eyes tracking her all the way to the counter, where Heather waited, looking concerned.
“Morning, Heather.” Tara greeted her with her usual cheeriness, though right then it required some effort.
“Morning? Morning?” Heather’s eyes about bugged out of her head as she acted like Tara had cursed her. Then she stilled and stared as if she’d just realized something horrible. “You don’t know.”
“Know?” That didn’t sound good. “Know what?”
“Bryant and Travis were arrested this morning.” Heather leaned forward as she whispered out that grim news, her eyes now flashing with worry and concern. “They’ve been accused of assault.”
“Assault?” Tara repeated that word, having a hard time grappling with the very idea. She couldn’t help but shake her head, rejecting Heather without question. “No. That’s not right.”
“Oh, honey.” Heather frowned at her. “It’s all over town.”
“What?” The shock started to wear off as anger set in. Something was really wrong here. “What is all over town? Tell me everything.”
* * * *
Bryant prowled restlessly in his cell, anxious and full of outraged energy. This was bullshit, but that wasn’t what bothered him. It was the fact that Richard had gotten one over on them. Just the idea of that little twerp had Bryant ready to rip through the cinder block walls and hunt the bastard down. Then he’d given him the beating he really deserved.
It would be a whole hell of a lot worse than the beating Richard had obviously paid somebody to give him just so he could accuse him and Bryant of assault. Bryant wasn’t worried about the charges sticking. He had an alibi, but he’d be damned if he wanted to throw Tara into the middle of this mess. Travis, apparently, was thinking the same thing.
Sitting in the cell beside Bryant, he had his head in his hands as he stared down at the floor. His words came out muffled when he finally broke the heated silence that had hung in the air ever since Duncan had shown them to their cages.
“What are we going to do?” Travis finally asked before pointing out the most obvious problem. “What are we going to do about Tara?”
“Protect her,” Bryant answered instantly, coming to a stop by the edge of his cell to talk directly to Travis. “You know why Richard did this.”
“To fuck with us?” Travis glanced up, his chin slowly following suit.
“Yes, and with Tara. Think about it, man, if she alibis us, she’s on record as having sex with two men, and what do you think that means for her family’s lawsuit?” Bryant already knew the answer, and so did Travis from the size of his frown.
“There is not going to be any stopping her once she hears about this,” Travis stated simply, and they both knew that was true as well.
“We need to get bailed out.” An
d quickly, as in before Tara found out. They needed to talk to her before she did anything rash. “And we need to find whoever really roughed up Richard last night.”
“And here I was thinking we should just make good on the charges and beat the crap out of Richard,” Travis muttered, making Bryant snort.
“Trust me, I’ve been thinking that as well, but the jackass isn’t worth losing our jobs over.” That was what they were really being threatened with.
Alex had already taken their badges and guns, suspending them with pay until this matter was settled. That was galling, but it wasn’t what had Bryant worried right then. Richard might not be worth losing his career over, but Tara was. Unfortunately, he feared she might think they were worth it, too.
He knew he was right the moment Duncan returned. The big, dumb deputy was grinning and looking ready to laugh. Right then and there, Bryant’s heart sank.
“Guess who is here,” Duncan taunted them as he came to stand between the two cells, still grinning like a jackass.
“Go to hell, Duncan.” That was Travis’s only response, but Bryant was more curious than anything.
“What did she say?” he demanded to know, not even bothering to pretend like he needed to guess who Duncan was talking about.
“Don’t know.” Duncan shrugged and smirked. “But now I do know there is something to be said…and we all know what that is, don’t we?”
“Go to hell, Duncan,” Bryant shot back, echoing Travis’s earlier sentiment.
“Maybe one day, but right now, you two idiots are wanted in the sheriff’s office.” Duncan pulled out the key to Bryant’s cell but hesitated to shoot him an amused look first. “I’m not going to have to restrain you, am I?”
“Just open the damn cage, Duncan,” Bryant snapped, not in the mood to joke around.
“Testy, testy.” Duncan tsked him as he finally slid the key into the lock. Bryant waited for it to open before responding.
“And didn’t I hear that Cybil had started dating Mathew Young?”
That wiped the smile off of Duncan’s face as his eyes flashed with a sudden shot of anger. “No. You didn’t. Now get moving. You too, Travis. Get your ass up.”
Travis flipped Duncan the bird but obeyed, rising up and starting forward. By the time he reached the door to the cell, Duncan had it open. He stepped back, allowing Travis to follow Bryant down the small corridor that split its way through the holding cells and out into the back hall of the station house.
Bryant didn’t look back or wait for directions but cut a straight path to Alex’s office. The door was open, allowing Bryant to walk right into the middle of Cal’s conversation with Alex. Tara was there, too, looking torn between panic and outrage.
“⎯drop all charges and⎯“
“Drop all charges?” Bryant repeated as he walked in, catching all he needed to hear from Cal to know what Tara had done. He’d be damned if he’d let her sacrifice herself for him. “Why? We’re guilty.”
That had everybody looking with startled shock in his direction. Alex recovered first. Sighing deeply, he shook his head at Bryant as he began in that annoying, lecturing tone of his.
“Deputy Black⎯“
“Whatever she said”—Bryant cut the sheriff off as he wagged a finger in Tara’s direction—”she’s lying.”
That had Tara gasping as she hopped out of her seat. “I am not…and you don’t even know what I said.”
“Unless, of course, she wasn’t lying,” Cal tacked on logically, but Bryant refused to be swayed by either the glare in Tara’s eye or the reason in Cal’s tone.
“I want to make a confession.” Bryant crossed his arms over his chest and took his stand as Travis stepped up beside him.
“We,” Travis corrected Bryant. “We want to make a confession.”
“Oh for God’s sake,” Cal breathed out as Tara gaped at them.
“Are you two nuts?” she demanded to know.
“That’s one word for it,” Alex muttered as he rose out of his own seat, his voice gaining strength as he pinned Tara with a hard look. “If you don’t mind, Miss Winters, I’d like a minute alone with my deputies.”
Tara did mind. That was clear from the stubborn set of her chin, but she gave way to Alex’s pointed look. Pursing her lips, she nodded stiffly at the sheriff before storming for the door. Bryant reached out and latched onto her arm as she passed by, keeping his voice low, though he knew everybody could still hear him.
“I’m not letting you do this for me.”
Tara’s gaze narrowed on him as she pulled her arm free. “And I’m not letting you do this to yourself.”
With that, she marched out of the office, slamming the door behind her and unleashing a long, tense silence that Alex finally broke with his disgusted summation of Travis and Bryant.
“You two are the biggest idiots I have on staff, do you know that?”
Chapter 19
Tara didn’t know what was going on in the sheriff’s office or what Bryant thought he was doing. That was other than being an idiot. If he thought Tara was going to sit there and let Richard accuse him and Travis of beating the crap out of them while she knew they’d been doing something much more entertaining, then Bryant was delusional.
If she had to, Tara would call his mother and have her set the man straight. As if the situation wasn’t already that desperate, none other than Patton walked into the station house. Actually she flew in, and when she spotted Tara, she came rushing right to her side.
“Oh, honey, I heard about everything.” Patton fell to the seat beside Tara and put an arm instantly around her as she gazed over at Tara with a look of concern. “How you doing?”
“Honestly?” Tara turned to let Patton see the anger in her eyes. “I’m pissed.”
Patton frowned, her expression instantly tightening into a scowl as she nodded. “I get that, but anger isn’t going to solve this problem.”
“No, I can solve it,” Tara countered. “Bryant and Travis weren’t beating on Richard last night. They were in my bed, but the two idiots are lying about that as we speak.”
“What?” Patton pulled back, straightening up with a mild reflection of the indignation Tara was feeling right then. “Why?”
“Because they’re stupid,” Tara spat, wishing she could say that to Travis and Bryant and not feeling any bit of guilt in coming to such a harsh summation, even as she knew why they were being so stupid. “They’re trying to protect me.”
That much was clear. What wasn’t clear was the answer to the question that fell off of Patton’s lips.
“From what?”
“Hell, if I know.”
Tara wished she did know what Bryant was thinking. Of course, she already knew what Travis was thinking⎯whatever Bryant had convinced him of. Bryant was the leader of this madness. Of that, Tara was certain.
“Well then, we better find out.” Patton shot her a pointed look before shoving off the bench she’d been sharing with Tara and heading straight for the lobby’s front desk and the deputy sitting behind it. “Hey, Killian, you got a moment?”
The man greeted her with a suspicious look as he lowered down his fishing magazine and straightened up. “Depends. You up to trouble?”
“I’m up to finding out what kind of trouble Bryant and Travis are really in.”
Killian seemed to consider that for a moment before shrugging. “They’re accused of beating up a guy, but we all know what they were really doing last night.”
Killian ended that with a pointed look in Tara’s direction as she slowly followed Patton over to the counter. Tara couldn’t help but blush at that, but she didn’t shy away from the big deputy’s gaze. Instead, she lifted her chin against the accusation in his eyes and defended herself.
“And that’s what I told the sheriff,” Tara informed him. “But Bryant and Travis are in there denying it.”
“That’s because they’re in love with you,” Duncan chipped in from where he sat at his desk. He was all
but glowering, and Tara had a sense he was talking about himself as he muttered over his paperwork. “Love makes idiots of men.”
“Amen to that, brother.” Killian nodded and smirked. “But there are benefits, aren’t there, Miss Winters?”
Killian shot Tara a knowing look, but she was still too stuck on Duncan’s revelation to be concerned with his comments. Bryant and Travis loved her? The idea had her heart racing, nearly felling her with the realization that she was in love with them. She hadn’t wanted to fall that hard, not for any man, but they’d snuck up on her. They’d tricked her. Now it was too late.
“You didn’t know.” Killian snorted and shook his head at Tara. “Why are women so dense?”
“We are not dense,” Patton snapped, stepping up to defend Tara. “And being in love is no excuse for being stupid. So you want to tell me what is really going on?”
“I really haven’t got any clue.” Killian shrugged again just as Tara’s phone went off.
It was Richard, and she didn’t hesitate to answer, ready to spew a few choice words the second she hit Talk on her phone.
“What the hell do you want, you son of a bitch?” Tara snapped instantly.
“You know what I want,” Richard responded with a matching abruptness. “And now you only have two choices. Tell the truth and go on record for sleeping with two men and prove your uncle’s point, or lie, give me control of the trust, and I drop all charges.”
So that was Richard’s angle. Tara had bad news for him. She wasn’t playing his game.
“No. There is a third option.” Tara didn’t expand on that statement. She just snapped her phone closed and turned to Patton.
“I need to go talk to Rachel.”
Patton stilled at that and then smiled. “You want me to wait here and let them know where you went?”
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all.”
