Mustang by Piper Stone

Chapter 10

Mustang

Danger.

I’d known about danger my entire life. Hell, I’d been the one to create it of my own free will while living in Montana growing up. The fact I’d been able to enlist in the Marines had been a feat in itself. I’d spent more nights in lockup than my parents would admit to anyone.

For some crazy reason, the thought was almost comforting.

I’d learned to harness all my pent-up anger, turning that rage into improving my skills. Although I’d been considered happy-go-lucky by a lot of the other guys, I’d always harbored a significant amount of frustration.

I’d gone back to work, doing everything I could to pass the time. And all the while, my thoughts drifted to the assholes who’d attacked her, anger remaining just below the surface. What kind of deal had been made around the ranchers? Was there some asshole trying to abscond with money or was one of the bigger ranchers attempting to hone in on business, absorbing the smaller ones? So many ranchers had seen brutal times, forced to sell off their cattle for a reduced price.

I hadn’t talked to my father in over a month, but I’d made a promise to Danni. Maybe I didn’t want to face the fact his health was failing. Maybe talking to him was too much a reminder of the past. While he continued to work at the shop a couple of days a week, he’d allowed the majority of the business end to be handled by someone else.

And he still groused over the fact I hadn’t returned to take over as he’d always wanted.

However, I’d called him for a favor, asking if he’d send one of his mechanics out to Danni’s place to replace her tires. I’d been surprised at his reluctance at first. His reaction had further fueled the anger that had been increasing since I’d returned.

There’d been no way of predicting how I’d feel accompanying Snake’s body back to the US. The truth was, I’d felt drained, the requirement to wear my uniform more difficult than I would have imagined. Snake’s death had affected all of us in different ways, the remaining five in the posse retreating into heightened levels of sorrow. Why I’d been tasked with the honor was beyond me, but I’d accepted the task without question.

My angst was being forced to return to Montana at all. I’d shut the door on that part of my life, promising never to return. It was funny how fate intervened.

I yanked one bale of hay out of the back of my truck after another, tossing them into place. When I walked out of the barn, I glanced back toward the sky, the lightly falling snow and brisk chill a reminder that I was definitely back in Montana. As the ice pellets fell against my face, I closed my eyes.

“Looks like you haven’t seen snow before,” Tanner said from behind me.

“Been a long time. Kinda missed it.”

“Well, this storm is going to be a doozy from what the weather forecast says.”

“Fabulous.”

“Guess we need to get the horses locked down,” he encouraged.

I nodded, realizing the snow was indeed picking up fast. “I’ll shift to the other barn.”

“Perfect.”

“Tanner, wait a minute. You mentioned some guy when we were at the auction. While I know you said the story wasn’t worth talking about, there was something about him I didn’t like.” Almost immediately he tensed, barely able to look me in the eyes.

“Just something that happened a long time ago when Drake was running the ranch. The guy is a real snake. That’s it. Your instinct was spot on.”

Uh-huh. Was everyone keeping secrets? “Okay. I just wanted to make certain there wasn’t something I needed to hear, especially since accusations were thrown around.”

“I doubt that has anything to do with him, Mustang. He’s not that intelligent. For me, I just don’t like lying assholes.”

I chuckled as I wiped my gloves on my jeans. “You and me both.” The asshole had something to do with Hawk’s brother, huh? Maybe that’s why Hawk had remained tight-lipped.

Grinning, Tanner waved me off, heading deeper into the barn. I didn’t like his reaction at all, the look in his eyes telling me the story had been troubling for the entire ranch. Finding the guy’s identity might be difficult, but he’d certainly been the one following Danni around. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen the man’s face, only the back of his head. Was I making something out of it, trying to put pieces together?

The nagging remained. I’d learned a long time ago that I needed to trust my instincts. They’d never let me down.

What I did know is that Tanner had been around since Hawk and Drake’s father had been alive, working his way up from tending to the horses to foreman. If anyone would know about rumblings with the locals, Tanner certainly would.

I tossed the last bale of hay, longing to talk with Danni. I couldn’t help but grin as I too left the barn.

As I moved toward the truck, I heard my phone. Seeing Hawk’s number pop up, a bad feeling crept into my mind. “You found something.”

“Maybe, but we definitely need to talk. Where are you?”

“Heading to the south barn now.”

“Then stay there. I’ll meet you there in about thirty minutes.”

I narrowed my eyes, my instinct working overtime. Things were about to get difficult.

Or worse.

Violent.

As I drove toward the other barn, I was surprised just how fast the snow was coming down. There would be a thick blanket of white in the morning. I parked the truck near the fence, jumping out to help the other ranch hands corral the horses. While it took some time, we finally got them all in and secured.

“When you guys finish, get the hell out of here before the storm gets any worse,” I said in passing as I glanced at my watch, expecting to see Hawk at any time. The snow was really coming down, darkness settling in and for several reasons I remained uneasy.

“You got it, boss. Could be a doozy,” one of them said.

“That’s what I’ve heard.” The thought of getting snowed in with one feisty lady wasn’t too bad. As long as there was wood for the fire and the rest of the bottle of bourbon, I might enjoy getting to know her better.

Every inch of her voluptuous body.

Kissing.

Touching.

Licking.

Feasting.

I heard the sound of another truck and walked toward the entrance, waiting as Hawk jumped out. After hesitating for a solid ten seconds, he stepped just inside, waving toward the others.

“Gonna be raw tonight,” he said casually. “This won’t take long.”

“Any reason you came down to the barn?”

“Well, truth is I didn’t want Bryce to overhear the conversation. She loves a good story and I don’t want the ranch to possibly become front page news.” Although Hawk grinned, he meant the words. Bryce Myers was one tenacious reporter, the kind who refused to give up on a story.

Given his concern, my guess was that there was a real story, one I doubted I would like. “There’s some truth to what I told you.”

“I don’t know for certain how connected the situation with Ms. Brexton is, but after making a few inquiries, I had an interesting phone call from one of the auction houses. It would appear that they were awaiting payment for a lot of prized Angus they’d been holding onto.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“None at all since I just authorized purchase of a different lot the other day. At this point I wouldn’t have the cash available and I’m not putting the ranch up as collateral. When I laughed at the man, a guy who my brother evidently used to do some business with, thinking it was a joke, he sent me the paperwork. Lo and behold, a near duplication of my signature was on the damn forms.”

I waited as three of the ranch hands walked by. “Someone forged your signature.”

“It would appear that way. The gentleman went on to say that you made a phone call to him personally, ensuring him the money would be in his account the next morning. That was two days ago.”

“Like hell I did. What in the fuck is going on?”

“That’s what I want to know. You need to have a heart to heart with the lovely doctor. She’s stumbled into the middle of something. We just might need her help. At minimum we need to hear exactly what she knows.”

“What the hell are you going to do about the steer?” I asked, my hackles raised. Why was it starting to feel like the ranch was being attacked?

“Not entirely certain at this point.”

“There’s an auction almost every week.”

Hawk exhaled. “Not like the one where I supposedly purchased the Angus. A tristate event where some of the highest prices were paid. And trust me, I supposedly paid a pretty penny, half again more than normal and certainly more than what we paid recently. I’m going to see what I can do, but I don’t like being used. If someone is out there impersonating either one of us, I would bet the event is just the beginning.”

“Someone is intent on implicating Big Meadow with fraud.”

“That’s what it would appear.”

I yanked the phone from my back pocket but before I had a chance to make a call, it rang. “Hey, Pops. Can I call you back?”

“Sure, son, but I just wanted to tell you that I sent one of the guys to that address you gave me. He even had the right tires, but that doctor you talked about wasn’t there.”

“Wait, she was in her clinic.”

“He tried that too. It was locked, no lights on.”

What the hell?

“Fuck. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll get back to you and schedule another time.”

“Not a problem,” my father answered, ending the call before I did.

“Is something wrong?” Hawk asked.

“Maybe nothing.” Maybe Danni being Danni. Disobedient. But when her phone rang four times, going to voicemail, my gut told me that there was something wrong. I moved toward the truck, throwing open the door and reaching behind the seat.

“Okay, what is going on?” Hawk watched as I yanked my weapon into the light of the cab, checking the ammunition.

“Danni isn’t answering her phone and she’s not at the house or clinic.” Jesus Christ. What in the hell had happened to her? I would kill anyone who laid their hands on her.

He gave me a harsh look. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

“Nope, but I’m also not going to allow her to be placed in the middle of this shit either.”

“Maybe you need to figure out whether or not that girl is a part of this.”

Huffing, I climbed into the truck, curtailing another round of anger. “You don’t know her, Hawk.”

“And neither do you. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I’m not certain I know you.”

Stunned, Hawk took a step backwards before inhaling. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I can tell you know more than you’re telling me. Is this about Drake somehow?”

“Drake?” He seemed genuinely surprised. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Maybe you should ask Tanner about some incident and the reason he warned me about some jerk at the auction.”

Hawk exhaled, inching closer. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh. I thought we were partners.”

“Yeah? Well, I thought so too. You pissed at me for something? Do you need to get some shit off your chest, Mustang, cause you’re been acting real funny for the past couple weeks,” Hawk asked, his tone demanding.

I hesitated, hating my impetuousness, the gnawing remaining in my gut. “I gotta go.”

“Wait a minute. I’ll go with you. You need backup.”

“I can handle this by myself, Hawk.” I slammed the door, starting the engine and flooring it in reverse.

Hawk glared after me, shaking his head and holding out his arms. While he didn’t deserve my wrath, he was right that I needed to say a few things when the time was right. What in the hell was going on?

I felt sick as I roared out of the ranch, ice crunching beneath the tires. Maybe her phone died. Maybe she took a walk.

What the hell was I thinking. Something had happened to her.

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel, the force enough I skidded slightly. “Goddamn it, Danni. What aren’t you telling me?”

As I headed toward the clinic through the now blinding snow, I tried her a second time, leaving a message. “Danni. You need to give me a call. Now.” I tossed the phone, the adrenaline rush almost instantly giving me a headache. If anything happened to her, I wasn’t certain exactly what I would do. I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone.

The darkness was oppressive, the drive longer than I’d remembered. As I rounded the corner, it was even difficult to find the gravel driveway, yet as soon as I did and even through the overhanging forest of trees, I was able to see the house was lit up like a Christmas tree.

Only the lights weren’t coming from inside.

I floored it, screeching to a halt and immediately grabbing my gun. There were a solid six trucks parked in front of Danni’s house, every one of the license plates blocked off by some kind of substance. All six had their headlights pointed in the direction of her house.

“What the fuck is going on?” I snarled as I approached, hissing as I noticed they were all wearing masks. The fucking cowards. I stormed closer, checking for weapons. They all had souped-up trucks and even in the limited lighting, I could see evidence that at least a couple of them had worked on a ranch given the equipment. However, on this night, they were nothing more than hired guns, although at this point, I didn’t see any evidence of a gun.

Danni stood on the front porch, one hand trying to control Zorro as he snapped and growled, doing his best to jerk out of her hold. The other was wrapped around a gun. What the hell did she think she was doing?

“I can handle this,” she barked, not a quaver in her voice.

“Like the lady said, you need to get the hell out of here,” one of the assholes shouted.

I walked closer, the weapon firmly planted in both hands. “My suggestion is that you get in your trucks and get out of here before things get ugly. If you leave right now, I won’t call the sheriff.”

All six of the jerks laughed, two moving outside their tightly knit circle, as if they were going to attack me. They had another think coming.

“Get back inside the house, Danni. Do it now,” I commanded, taking several careful steps to the side. While I wasn’t able to see any weapons, that didn’t mean they weren’t hidden in their jackets. Whatever their intent, someone was going to get hurt. “I’ll have a nice friendly chat with our visitors here.”

She retreated, her gaze shifting in my direction, the headlights allowing me to see a single glimpse of fear. “All right. Come on, Zorro. Let’s get back inside.”

“We just came to have a friendly chat ourselves with the doctor,” the first guy said. “We need to help her to understand that she needs to mind her own business. Nothing more than that, at least unless you get in the way, cowboy.”

From what I could tell, it was apparent he was the leader of the motley group, standing a solid foot in front of the others. The tension was intense. One false move and Danni could be killed, although I doubted that’s what they had in mind. They simply wanted to reinforce their earlier warning. What the hell had she done this time to get them this riled?

When one of them barked like a dog, Zorro lunged forward, toward the leader.

“Zorro!” she screamed, unable to hold onto his collar. “No. No!”

I rushed forward, trying to stop him from attacking when one of the assholes punched Zorro in the side of the head, a second following with a hard kick to his gut. As he yelped in pain, the pup’s body was pummeled back several feet.

“That’s it!” I snapped. “Get out of here now.”

“You motherfucker.” Raising her gun, she walked to the edge of the porch as the others began to laugh.

Everything became a blur when one of them aimed a pistol at Zorro, I lost it, letting off an intense roar and racing forward.

Then all hell seemed to break loose.

An intense rumble could be heard from behind me, enough so the earth began to shake. I threw a punch, hitting the man square in the jaw, the force enough he dropped his weapon as he tumbled to the ground. Twisting in a full circle, I kicked out, catching the second off guard, my foot firmly planting in his gut. Then I went after the third just as headlights lit up the rear of the property. Doors were opened then slammed shut, several people approaching.

When the leader wrapped his arm around Danni’s neck, jerking her off the porch and close to his body, the weapon flew out of her hand. Within a split second, Zorro lunged again, another one of the jerks kicking him a second time.

“Zorro. Come!” I yelled, still storming forward. “If anyone of you touch that dog again, you are going to die.”

“Leave him alone!” Danni bellowed, struggling to get out of the man’s hold. “You fucking asshole!”

There was the sound of several doors being slammed, people racing toward us. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed at least two of the intruders had backed away, obviously unprepared for this level of retaliation.

“What the hell do we have here?” Hawk bellowed. “Surround them, boys.”

I’d never been happier to hear Hawk’s voice as he flanked my side, leering down at the asshole who was trying to scramble to his feet.

“A few assholes who find this a good day to die,” I said as I crouched down, rubbing Zorro’s neck. The pup wasn’t moving, but he was breathing, studying me intently.

“Zorro,” she wailed, the sound of her voice strangled.

I shot her a look, trying to curtail my rage as the asshole holding her backed further into the shadows.

“Nowhere for you to go, buddy,” Hawk called to the jerk.

“My friend is right. You’re not getting off this property unless you back down right now,” I hissed as several of our ranch hands surrounded the group, every one of them armed. I didn’t have to ask, Tanner and another ranch hand racing to my side, prepared to protect the dog.

“I got him,” Tanner stated. “Christ. It’s okay, boy.”

The other five intruders backed away, two of them holding up their arms.

“We didn’t want any trouble,” one of them managed.

“Yeah, well, you found it, you fuck,” I snapped.

“They were just leaving. Weren’t you, boys?” Hawk growled.

“They damn well better,” Tanner added as he raised his rifle.

The leader laughed from behind the mask, dragging Danni even further away from the group of vehicles, the falling snow impeding his progress.

I took long strides toward the leader, daring any of the others to fuck with me. When I was only two feet away, I pointed my weapon directly between the asshole’s eyes.

“Hell, maybe I was wrong about that. I think they’re looking for trouble. Well, it’s their lucky day,” Hawk continued.

“You need to send your friends away, Mustang,” the leader snarled, yanking a weapon from his pocket. “I don’t think you want your pretty little girlfriend hurt.” He tightened his hold as he placed the barrel of the gun against her temple.

Well, well, the jerkoff knew my name. That meant this was indeed personal.

I cocked my head, giving him a wide smile. “I don’t think you want to do that, buddy. Let me tell you why. I was a sharpshooter for the Marines, my accuracy close to ninety-eight percent. I could shoot a piss cup off an insurgent’s head at a range of three hundred yards. Now, if you don’t think I can pull this trigger, hitting you smack between the eyes before you have the chance to cock your trigger, try me. You’re dead ass wrong.”

“You need to listen to the man,” Hawk said in a calm voice. “He was the best shooter in our entire division. He never missed. Funny though, my favorite thing in the world was to hit them in the kneecaps. A lot of pain in that kind of shot.” He pushed his way closer, pointing his gun at the leader’s knees.

“Let her go, man. This isn’t why we came here,” another asshole said, his bravado all but gone.

“Shut the fuck up. You don’t call the shots,” the leader hissed.

Danni dug her fingers into his arms, and I could tell she was prepared to try to get away any way she could, her breathing ragged.

I held my stance, never blinking as the snow continued to fall. Suddenly, there was no sound. Nothing but the quiet of the night. And a part of me wanted to pull the trigger.

Tick. Tock.

Huffing, the asshole let her go, pushing her in my direction. His action allowed the others to move, scampering toward their trucks.

I caught her, dragging her further away. “You okay?”

“I think so, but I need to see Zorro.” She took several gasping breaths before pulling out of my arms.

While I let her go, I made certain I blocked her from any one of the jerks.

“What do you want to do?” Hawk asked.

I glanced up at the sky before moving toward the group of men, yanking at their masks. “You fucked with the wrong people. I don’t give a shit who you are, I’m going to make certain you never do this kind of shit again. Do you hear me?”

The second I ripped his mask off, the man issued a huge grin. “You’re the one who fucked with the wrong people.”

While I didn’t recognize any of them, I knew whatever choice I made would likely bring this ruse to a head. “Who are you working for?”

He laughed. “Someone who is going to bring down your ranch.”

I pushed the barrel of my gun under his chin. “Well, you tell your boss that if he has a beef, he’s going to come through me. You got it? Now, get the fuck out of here before I change my mind.”

The asshole seemed surprised I was letting them go, his smile diminishing. He backed away, motioning for the others.

Hawk crowded closer. “You sure you want to do this?”

“We need to know who’s behind this.”

“I know, but we should have them arrested.”

“Yeah, we could, but I think this is a more direct route to finding out some of the answers.” I turned my head, watching as Danni helped Zorro to his feet, the dog limping slightly as she encouraged him to move onto the porch. “Besides, I want a chance to find out what Danni knows. This thing could be bigger than we realize.”

Sighing, Hawk motioned for Tanner. “Let the assholes get by.”

Tanner shifted his gaze to the other men who remained unmasked. “I don’t recognize any of them and I know the majority of workers at the closest ranches.”

“Well, maybe they’re new to our beautiful city,” I said half under my breath. When Tanner walked away, I shifted my attention back to Hawk. “This is getting out of hand, but my belief is that it’s personal.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I know Drake did everything he could to push the ranch into a profitable mode, especially at the beginning. I’m going to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is going on.”

“This kind of shit can’t happen again.”

Hawk shifted his gaze as the men from the ranch retreated to their trucks, pulling them out of the way. “Don’t worry. It won’t. I’ll see what I can find after I have a conversation with Tanner. There are a couple boxes of the business transactions I haven’t gone through yet. Maybe the contents will provide some answers.”

I sighed as I continued to hear the rumble of the unwelcome visitors’ trucks mixing with the howl of the wind.

“You gonna be all right?” he asked quietly.

“They won’t try anything again tonight. Not after this and the snow.”

Nodding, Hawk started to walk away. “Just be careful, buddy. Whoever is behind this means business.”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

Like hell I did.

Whatever happened, the girl was going to talk.

She was also going to get a piece of my mind as well as a hefty round of discipline.

After I made certain she hadn’t been hurt.

I fisted my hand, glaring after the intruders’ trucks as they left, praying to God I’d made the right decision in letting them go.

If not and they attempted this shit again, they would face my brand of justice.