Cade POV
The pounding shook the door in its frame. Bang. Bang. BANG.
"Last chance, Tessa! You open this door, or we come in and get you!"
We. He wasn't alone.
All my training snapped into place. The rage was still there, a red-hot coal in my chest, but it was now encased in ice-cold focus. I held up two fingers to Riley, then pointed to the side window. Two men. She gave a sharp nod, understanding. She moved silently to Tessa, putting an arm around her and guiding her quickly toward the laundry room, back to her hiding spot.
Harlan's voice was a roar. "You think hiding helps? We own this town! We own you!"
I didn't have my gun. It was still in the truck. Stupid. But I had my hands. And right now, I wanted to use them.
The plan was ashes. Waiting was over. This ended now.
I strode to the door, my boots silent on the floorboards. I didn't look through the curtain. I didn't ask what they wanted. I turned the lock and yanked the door open.
Harlan stood there, his fist raised to pound again. He was bigger up close, with a thick neck and mean little eyes. He blinked, surprised the door had opened. Behind him, on the porch steps, was another one of the brothers—Dale, the money man, skinnier, with a nervous look.
Harlan's surprise turned into a sneer. "Well, well. Who are you? The help?"
"I'm the brother," I said, my voice quiet and flat.
His sneer faltered for half a second. He looked me up and down, taking in my short hair, my posture, the way I filled the doorway. He saw a soldier, not a farmer. But his bully's confidence rushed back. "The big brother, home from his little trip? Perfect. You can talk some sense into your sister. She's got papers to sign."
He tried to step forward, to push past me into the house.
I didn't move. My arm shot out, my hand planting firmly in the center of his chest. He ran into it like a wall. He grunted, more surprised than hurt.
"You don't take another step onto this property," I said.
Harlan's face darkened with anger. He looked down at my hand on his chest like it was a bug he needed to squash. "Get your hand off me, boy. You don't know who you're messing with."
"I know exactly who you are," I said, my eyes locked on his. "You're Harlan Colter. You like hurting pregnant women."
That hit him. His eyes went wide, then narrowed into dangerous slits. The sneer vanished, replaced by something uglier. Behind him, Dale shifted nervously.
"Tessa's been telling stories," Harlan growled. "Foolish girl. She shouldn't have done that."
"She didn't have to tell me a thing," I said. I slowly took my hand from his chest. "I saw the movie."
Confusion, then dawning understanding, then pure fury washed over his face. He knew about Riley's camera. He knew the evidence was out.
His hand twitched toward the back of his waistband, where I saw the handle of a pistol tucked into his jeans.
My body was already moving. This wasn't a bar fight. This was a threat elimination. As his fingers brushed the gun handle, I stepped in close, inside his reach. My left hand clamped over his wrist, pinning his hand to the small of his back. At the same time, my right forearm slammed up under his chin, crunching into his throat.
He choked, his eyes bulging. I drove forward, using his own momentum. He stumbled backward off the porch. I stayed with him, a relentless shadow. He hit the gravel driveway hard, me on top of him. The air whooshed out of his lungs.
Dale yelled, "Hey!" and fumbled for something in his jacket pocket.
I didn't let go of Harlan's gun hand. I wrenched his wrist, bending it at a cruel angle. He screamed, a high, pained sound. His fingers went limp. I ripped the pistol free and tossed it clattering under my truck.
Harlan was gasping, clawing at my arm with his free hand. I shifted my weight, driving my knee into his ribcage. A sickening crack echoed in the quiet yard. He howled.
I leaned down, my mouth close to his ear. My voice was a whisper only he could hear, cold as a blade. "The next time you come near my sister, I won't stop at your ribs. I will break every bone in your body. Slowly. Do you understand?"
He was gagging, tears of pain in his eyes. He managed a jerky nod.
I looked up at Dale, who had frozen, a can of pepper spray held uselessly in his shaking hand. "Take your brother," I said, my voice loud and clear now. "Get off our land. Tell Marcus Colter that Tessa Merrick is under my protection now. If any of you so much as look at this farmhouse again, I won't be sending a warning. I will be coming for you. And I don't need a gun to do it."
I stood up, releasing Harlan. He curled into a ball on the gravel, coughing and moaning. Dale scrambled forward, his face pale. He hauled Harlan up, dragging him toward their truck. He couldn't get the door open fast enough. He shoved his brother inside and ran around to the driver's side, his hands shaking so badly he dropped the keys.
The engine roared to life. Gravel sprayed as they peeled out of the driveway, the truck swerving onto the main road and disappearing.
I stood there in the sudden silence, breathing hard. My knuckles were scraped. My heart was pounding, but not from exertion. From the look in Harlan's eyes when I mentioned the video. From the pleasure I felt when his rib broke. It scared me.
The front door opened. Riley stepped out, her face unreadable. She walked over and picked up Harlan's pistol from under my truck, ejecting the magazine and clearing the chamber with practiced ease.
"That," she said, "was incredibly stupid. And probably necessary."
"He was going for his gun," I said, my voice still tight.
"I saw. You were faster. But now they know you're here. And they know you're dangerous. The element of surprise for the Fourth is gone."
I turned to her, the adrenaline making my words sharp. "You heard him! He was going to kick the door in! He was going to drag Tessa out! What was your smart plan for that? Take notes?"
"My plan was to not answer the door!" Riley shot back, her own temper flaring. "To let them think the house was empty! To make them leave and buy us time! You just declared war three days early, Rambo!"
We stood glaring at each other in the driveway. From inside the house, I could hear Tessa crying.
The fight went out of me. The cold focus melted, leaving me feeling sick and tired. I had protected my sister in that moment. But I might have doomed her in the long run.
Riley saw it on my face. She let out a long breath, her shoulders slumping. "It's done. We adapt. The mission parameters just changed." She looked down the empty road. "They'll go straight to Marcus. And Marcus isn't a bully like Harlan. He's a commander. He'll regroup. He'll fortify."
"What do we do?" I asked, the question sounding hollow.
"We move Tessa. Right now. Somewhere they won't think to look." She was already thinking, planning, her mind racing ahead of mine. "Then, we scout the compound tonight. We need to see their response firsthand. We need to know if they're digging in for a siege or planning to attack first."
"Tonight? It's not safe."
"Nowhere is safe, Cade!" she said, her voice rising. "You made sure of that when you broke his ribs on the driveway! Our only chance is to know what they're doing before they do it. We go tonight. We watch. We learn."
I knew she was right. It was basic recon. Know your enemy. But leaving Tessa…
As if reading my mind, Riley said, "We take her to my safe place. A cabin I use, about thirty minutes from here. It's off-grid. No one knows about it. She'll be safe there for 72 hours. You and I will go watch the wolves' den."
I looked back at the house, at the curtain twitching in the window where Tessa was watching. I had promised to protect her. And my protection had just made everything more dangerous.
I nodded slowly. "Okay. We move her. Then we go."
Riley headed inside to pack a bag for Tessa and explain the new plan. I stayed in the driveway, staring at the spot where Harlan had lain. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in bloody reds and oranges.
I had wanted a confrontation. I had gotten one. But as I stood there, a new, chilling thought crept in.
Harlan and Dale had come in broad daylight, bold as brass. They weren't scared of witnesses. They owned the law. They'd just learned I was home, that I was a threat, and I'd humiliated one of them.
They wouldn't wait three days for revenge.
The real question wasn't what they would do on the Fourth of July.
The real question was what they would do tonight.