Cowboy Truth: Cowboy Justice Association #3

by Olivia Jaymes

  The words tumbled out of Lyle’s mouth in a rush. His face had gone completely white and Wade had to put a hand on his brother’s shoulder to hold him steady.

  A black cloud of rage clouded Wade’s vision. It was one thing for Logan to come after him, but his baby brother? Lyle was completely innocent, as was Aaron. Wade knew what he needed to do.

  Turning to Ava he asked, “I assume you knew what Logan was doing today?”

  Color flooded her features but she lifted her chin in defiance. “Logan doesn’t tell me everything.”

  “I doubt that.” He needed to make sure Ava stayed right where she was. He didn’t need her gumming up his plan. “Mary, it would appear your sister knew your home was going to be searched today. So much for family loyalty.”

  Wade had seen Mary’s venom on one other occasion and this time was more of the same. Her face was purple with anger, her features twisted into something ugly. Her finger was wagging in front of Ava’s face almost jabbing her in the chest. Ava would be busy with Mary for quite awhile.

  With everyone’s attention on the two women, Wade ducked into the hallway. The persecution of his family stopped today. He wouldn’t be swayed from his path of justice. It was Logan’s turn to die.

  * * * *

  Logan climbed out of his truck and headed up the porch steps. It felt like the weight of the world was on his fucking shoulders. It would be a damn miracle, but he could only hope he had ballistics by tomorrow morning. If it was a match, Logan wouldn’t hesitate to arrest Lyle and bring all this shit to an end. If it didn’t…then they were back to the goddamn drawing board. They hadn’t found anything that would help them in Wade’s or Aaron’s homes.

  Logan flipped open the mailbox and sifted through the envelopes as he unlocked his front door. Typical crap. Advertisements. A power bill. Logan grinned as he read a postcard telling him he’d already won a cruise for two. Sure. And he was George Clooney.

  Tossing his keys onto the counter, he called for Ava. “Hey good girl! Are you home yet? Guess what we won?”

  Without warning, what felt like a cannon ball hit the back of his skull, jarring his teeth and blurring his vision. Logan grunted as pain radiated through his head and down his spine. He reached instinctively for his gun but his arms felt heavy and uncoordinated. The room swimming before his eyes, his knees gave out, jarring every bone in his body as he slammed into the ground.

  Black spots appeared before his eyes, and his last thought was that he prayed Ava wasn’t in the house.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Logan tried to lift his eyelids, a huge hammer pounding inside his head. He blinked several times, his vision slowly clearing. Awareness returned and the memory of being ambushed in his own house became sharp. He was sitting in a kitchen chair with his wrists cuffed behind his back. Wade was standing in front of the white board studying its contents.

  Son of a fucking bitch.

  Logan looked around but Ava was nowhere in sight. Thank God.

  “Looking for your girlfriend, brother?” Wade turned around, a mocking smile on his face. “She’s very busy calming down her harridan sister who is more than a little upset that you had her home searched.”

  Wade’s expression hardened. “Stay away from Lyle and Aaron. They have nothing to do with this. This is my calling. My legacy.”

  Logan inwardly shook his head at the clusterfuck this entire situation had become. What a fucking waste of a life. Wade had a family, for God’s sake. Had he never given them even a thought? He’d watch his kids grow up on the other side of a glass partition, and that was a best case scenario. As a multiple murderer, Wade could be eligible for the death penalty.

  Logan pulled at the handcuffs that encircled his wrists, his brain trying to make sense of everything. Wade had been a good friend. They’d grown apart in the last several years but people did that. With a wife and three kids, Wade hadn’t had much free time to hang out, drink, and watch sports.

  I never really knew him.

  Wade had managed to perpetrate these crimes, and Logan hadn’t, until recently, suspected his friend of being capable of such heinous actions. Did that make him stupid or simply loyal?

  That was what was truly bothering him. It wasn’t that someone he knew was a killer. He’d put people he knew behind bars before. It was that he hadn’t known it was Wade. He’d been fooled. Blinded by a friendship that had been steadily fading over the years.

  If Logan were honest, he and Wade had grown apart a long time ago. Hadn’t it been a surprise to be invited to be in Lyle’s wedding? All this was about Logan’s pride.

  Behind his back, Logan began twisting the chain that attached the two bracelets. If Wade had restrained Logan with his own handcuffs, and he hoped that was the case, getting out of them shouldn’t be too difficult. They’d taught him how in the military years ago after all. Brand new cuffs were more difficult, but Logan’s had been used over and over. An expensive pair, the metal was harder and more brittle than the cheaper models and would, if locked together just right, break into two pieces.

  Logan didn’t care if the chain snapped or the weld at the bracelet gave way, he just wanted free. The only thing he needed was enough time to lock up the links before Wade noticed what he was trying to do.

  * * * *

  Logan knew the truth now.

  But he didn’t know why. Not truly. Wade wanted to make Logan understand before he killed him. Everything Wade had done had been for good. For justice. Wade had been fighting the age old battle of good versus evil. And he was winning.

  Logan swallowed hard, obviously aware he’d been beaten by a better man.

  “I didn’t want it to be you.”

  Wade hated to see the disillusionment in his friend’s eyes but it couldn’t be helped. There would always be innocent casualties in a war.

  “You know now.”

  “Did you do this alone?”

  “Lyle and Aaron are innocent. You searched their homes like they were common criminals. That was wrong.”

  “They didn’t know what you were doing?”

  Wade laughed and sat down in a chair opposite Logan. “Hardly. They would never approve. But they didn’t see the things I saw. That’s why I have to do this. You’ll try and stop me. This has to be done, Logan. I’m doing what the justice system can’t. I’m making things right.”

  A muscle ticked in Logan’s jaw and Wade instantly went on alert. His friend was in cop mode. The blood they shared was inconsequential. “Let’s talk about it then. I want to hear your side of the story.”

  Wade loved Logan like a brother but he was a damn liar. He didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to stop Wade’s righteous crusade. He felt a trickle of perspiration run down his back but inside he felt no fear.

  “You don’t want to hear shit,” Wade growled. “You don’t understand. Dad and George deserved to die. So did all those other people. I did it to help you. I did it for you, Logan.”

  Logan’s eyes had gone dead and cold. Whatever they’d shared years ago was dead and buried. It would make this easier. Much easier.

  “No, Wade. You did it for yourself.”

  * * * *

  “I did it for you,” Wade insisted. “I got criminals the justice system couldn’t hold onto. I made things right.”

  Logan’s gut churned with disgust as he listened to Wade’s excuses.

  “Is that why you killed your father?” Logan asked. Wade’s face turned a reddish-purple at the question.

  “Our father. Bill Bryson was evil personified. He beat and killed my mother and the justice system did nothing. He lied, cheated, and stole from his competitors. Still nothing was done. The night of the wedding I heard him talking to George about you. He wanted to tell you he was your father. I hadn’t known that. He’d wanted to for a long time but felt guilty because he’d killed your mother by accident.” Logan’s heart plummeted to his stomach. Bill Bryson had indeed murdered Jackie Wright. “He got away with everything his entire lif
e. I couldn’t let it go on. So I got justice, Logan. For you. For me. For all of us. He needed to answer for his crimes.”

  “In a court of law,” Logan replied, his voice cold. “Everyone, even Bill, deserves their day in court.”

  “Courts were useless for him. He would have bought off the judge or the jury. He never would have seen the inside of a jail cell. There are two systems of justice, Logan. One for the poor and one for the rich. Denying it makes you look foolish.”

  “Is that what you plan to do?” asked Logan, twisting the chain on the handcuffs as quietly as he could. He wouldn’t be able to keep Wade talking forever. “Lawyer up and pay off the right people? You’ve killed dozens, Wade. I don’t think it will work.”

  “Dozens of scum,” scoffed Wade. “There isn’t a jury in the world that will convict me. They’ll see what I did. It was justifiable homicide. I managed to do what the system couldn’t. I’ll never go to jail. They can arrest me but I’ll be out before nightfall.”

  “Are you sure? If you had stopped killing after the child molester a few months ago? Maybe you would have. Or even after Bill, perhaps. But you killed George, Wade. You got a taste for it, didn’t you? You liked it. Enjoyed it. No jury will believe George was a righteous kill.”

  Wade’s cool facade slipped for a moment, and his face twisted into an ugly mask before regaining his composure. Logan was getting to him. “George had to die just as the others did.”

  “Why? What had he ever done? You shot him because you like killing people. It makes you feel powerful. That’s why you did it. Not to help me or anyone else. You did it for you. Are you going to kill me next? I’ve never committed any crimes.”

  Beads of perspiration popped out on Wade’s forehead. “You’re not listening to me.”

  “I’ve heard it all before,” Logan jeered, playing for every moment he could get. “Every criminal says he’s innocent. You’re no different than anyone else. You shot George in cold blood.”

  “I am,” Wade insisted. “I am different. I’m a hero. Just like you.”

  His voice had gone thin and desperate but Logan didn’t budge. “You’re a scared little man who feels bigger with a gun and a cause.”

  Wade stood up, a half smile on his lips, his eyes lifeless in his pale face.

  “Actually I am different. Everyone in this town thinks you’re invincible. I used to think that too. But you’re human. You bleed red just like everyone else.”

  Wade went over to the island and pulled out a large knife from the butcher block.

  “I’m a student of crime, Logan. I read all about those drug murders not long ago. That’s what this will look like when I’m done with you.”

  Logan’s heart accelerated and sweat pooled at the back of his neck. If he couldn’t get out of these cuffs in time he was going to be cut open and gutted like a fish. Not a pretty way to go. He’d never feared death but he sure as hell had a lot to live for now with Ava.

  “Don’t you want the world to know you did it, Wade? This just makes you look guiltier. You know this isn’t justified. You’re killing me because you want to. Plain and simple. It makes you feel powerful.”

  “I am powerful,” Wade hissed. “I fight evil and make things right. I won’t let you stop me.”

  Wade stood right in front of Logan’s chair, his face contorted with anger and something evil that Logan had only seen a few times in his life. Wade lifted up the knife and brought it down in a wide arc, the blade slicing through Logan’s shirt and the flesh of his upper arm.

  Logan hissed and gritted his teeth, not wanting to let Wade know how the pain bloomed and burned. A red stain had formed and was growing larger on the fabric of Logan’s uniform shirt.

  “Only about fifty or so more of these to go, Logan. A tough son of a bitch like you is going to take a long time to die.”

  Logan could feel the blood dripping down his arm, the cool liquid a contrast to his sweat-covered skin. He rotated his right wrist one last time and felt the chain lock tightly. Knowing this was the moment, Logan pressed the metal bracelets together tightly, feeling the links in the chain give way with a snap. The rings were still wrapped around him but his hands were no longer tethered together.

  He would have to thank Frank Jesse for sending him into the military. Otherwise he never would have known how to do that. He took a deep breath and waited for the right moment.

  * * * *

  Ava fumed as she pulled into Logan’s long driveway. Her sister was a complete and total bitch and Ava didn’t care if she ever spoke to her again. Mary clearly blamed Ava for anything and everything, and she was tired of being Mary’s whipping bitch. She’d finally cut her sister off and stomped out of the Bryson estate. She wanted to talk to Logan and hear what he’d found. Happily his truck was in front of the house.

  Bounding up the steps, she pushed open the front door and headed straight for the kitchen. Logan was probably sitting at the island working on whatever he’d found today.

  She went through the foyer and stopped dead in her tracks. Fear kept her from moving, her limbs frozen and her breath shallow. Logan was sitting in a chair with a couple of large bloodstains on his shirt. Wade was brandishing a horrific knife, his own clothes splattered with a few blood drops.

  She must have gasped or maybe even screamed because Wade whirled around, the knife still in his hand. He roared and started heading straight for her, his teeth bared in some kind of animal rage. Finally able to move, she turned to run but before she could make it to the front door she heard a crash. Logan had tackled Wade to the floor.

  Wade growled in frustration as the two men rolled around, each trying to subdue the other. Logan threw a punch to Wade’s jaw, just as he brought his knee up into Logan’s gut. The two men grappled until Wade was sitting on top of Logan. Wade tried to bring the knife down into Logan’s chest but it was a battle of strength at this point. Normally Logan would win easily but injured was another story.

  Giving an eardrum rattling battle cry, Logan managed to dislodge Wade, sending him sprawling onto the area rug. Ava watched as Wade’s features twisted, his chest heaving with his exertion. He awkwardly tried to stand but his legs didn’t appear to have the strength to hold him.

  Logan levered up onto his knees and grabbed Wade’s wrist, knocking the knife to the floor. It skittered across the hardwood and came to rest several feet away. Still holding Wade’s arm, Logan pulled back his right hand and punched his foe in the nose, blood spurting everywhere, the crunching of bones making Ava shudder.

  Whatever fight Wade had in him was now gone. All the rage that had been driving him seemed to leak out at that point. His body went limp and he whimpered in pain, curling up in a ball.

  Ava hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath but she finally sucked in a lungful of air, her head spinning from lack of oxygen. Relief and disbelief warred inside of her.

  Wade was the killer.

  Logan sat back on his heels, his breathing ragged, and finally turned to her.

  “Call 911. Then go into the bedroom and get my spare cuffs from the bedside table.”

  That snapped her to attention. She quickly dialed 911, giving them the particulars then ran to get the handcuffs. He also had a handgun, a set of brass knuckles, and a Taser nestled right next to his supply of condoms. They really needed to have a talk.

  Logan slapped them on Wade who was still lying on the floor with tears streaming down his cheeks. Ava found some dishtowels and wrapped them around Logan’s arms where he’d been cut hoping to stem the flow. They didn’t look deep but he would probably need some stitches.

  She and Logan sat back against the wall in exhaustion as they listened to the sirens growing louder. Tires squealed on the concrete driveway and Deputy Drake came in the door taking in the scene.

  “Put him in the car,” Logan directed. “Read him his rights.”

  “Looks like we need to get you handled first, Logan.”

  Logan shook his head. “Deal with him. I�
�ll be fine.”

  EMTs suddenly filled the doorway. “Wherever you go, I go,” Ava said, determined she would stay with Logan even if they took him to the hospital.

  “Honey, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Statements were made. Wade was carted off to jail, and Logan was stitched up by the paramedics. It seemed like hours before the last person pulled out of the driveway and Logan and Ava were alone once again.

  Ava carefully wrapped her arms around Logan. She didn’t want to hurt him but she needed to be close to him right now. She was trembling as the adrenaline drained from her body.

  “You scared the hell out of me.” She was smiling and crying at the same time. She’d been terrified walking in on that scene. She should have known better. Wade was no match for Sheriff Logan Wright.

  She ran her hands up and down his chest, loving this man more than anything in the world. “When I walked in here I swear my heart stopped beating for a few seconds.”

  He leaned down to kiss her gently and the events of the day fell away. “So did mine, good girl. I still had some hope, even as I came home today, that he wouldn’t be guilty.” Logan shook his head sadly. “He is. And delusional by the sound of it. He thought he was doing the world a service.”

  “He wanted to be just like you.” Ava laid her hand on Logan’s jaw feeling the roughness of his beard. She’d heard Logan’s statement about why Wade became a vigilante. “I can’t say as I blame him. You’re my hero, that’s for sure.”

  A dull red stained his cheeks. “I’m just a cop.” He looked up and seemed to notice the house was empty. “I need to call my sheriff friends. They’ll be wanting to hear all about this.”

  “Ten minutes. Then I’m putting you to bed with a pain pill.”

  Logan chuckled but didn’t object. Whether he admitted it or not, he needed more than scrambled eggs and a shoulder rub. He needed her to care for him. He’d fight her all the way but this was one argument she was determined to win.