It merely huffed, an arrogant sound, as it shook its horns out and started to walk away.
“That’s just Maurice. He’s a jokester, that one. I swear, he’s scared the crap out of more than one kid who leaned up against him thinking he was a tree. Logan, here, peed his pants once,” Mel said.
“Did you see the size of that thing? I was seven. We’re lucky all I did was pee,” Logan admitted. “Rye’s on his way. He just radioed Mel. Rye will take him into custody.”
Maybe the kid could do a deputy’s job.
With deep regret, Bishop relaxed his hold on Lyle. It looked like he would be going to jail instead of a fast grave. Bishop couldn’t bring himself to shatter Nell’s illusions. He was weak around her.
Of course, it would be easy to make sure the fucker never left his jail cell again. There were lots of ways to ensure that. All a man really needed were connections and cash and he could easily have a threat removed forever, and Nell would never have to know just how bloody his hands were.
She could still have her perfect vision of her college professor lover.
Well, maybe not so perfect since he fully intended to make sure her ass was red once he figured out if she had frostbite.
“Take this asshole for me, Mel.” He needed to get his hands on her. He wouldn’t quite believe it was real until he held her in his arms, warmed her up with the heat of his own body.
“Is it over?” a voice asked from behind him, surprising them all.
Lyle kicked back and Bishop, who had been pushing him toward Mel, slipped, catching his foot on a fallen branch. Lyle moved fast, capturing Seth and wrapping an arm around his throat. Lyle had a hundred pounds on the kid. Seth dropped his rifle. It lay on the snow right at Lyle’s feet.
Three guns came up, pointed right at Lyle, but now he had a human shield. Seth fought, but he was ineffectual against Lyle’s muscle. He held Seth with one arm. His other hand reached into the pocket of his coat and came out with a large, wicked-looking knife.
“I was going to gut that bitch with this, but I think maybe it’s my ticket to freedom.” Lyle’s lips curled back. He held the knife right at Seth’s throat. Bishop could see the way it pressed in, already starting a delicate red line.
“Let him go. It’s me you want.” Nell started toward the raving lunatic with the ridiculously large knife. “Let him go, and I’ll go with you.”
No way. No how. It made him a ruthless bastard, but he wouldn’t sacrifice Nell to save Seth. In fact, he would do the exact opposite. It wasn’t fair, but if he had a choice, he would always choose Nell. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.
Lyle wasn’t backing down. “Give me the bitch or I’ll slit this kid’s throat. You have no idea how much I’ll sacrifice to see her pay.”
Bishop had a good idea. Lyle had lost his damn mind, and he would do anything to get his revenge, but Bishop wasn’t going to let Nell play the martyr this time.
“You have to let me go. I can’t, Henry. I can’t live with this.” Nell tried to struggle, but Bishop just lifted her up.
He looked back at Mel. “Do you have a shot?”
Mel shook his head. “No.”
A brilliant blue flash came through the forest, followed by a flash of red. Rye Harper was here, but he might be too late. Nell kept up her struggle, pleading with him. Mel held his ground. Bishop wondered if he was going to watch Seth’s blood spill on the ground. He was rather shocked to find out the idea made his gut turn. He gave a shit about that kid.
A shot rang out, and Bishop watched as a neat hole split Lyle’s head, an unbelievable show of marksmanship. One inch to the left or right and Seth Stark would have died, but that shot had been sheer perfection. Seth stood still as Lyle dropped back, his body falling to the snow.
“Is he dead?” Seth asked, his eyes wide and his whole body shaking.
Rye Harper charged into the scene, his pistol up. “What the hell is going on? Who took that shot?”
Logan Green walked up to his friend, his rifle at his side. He put a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “We can’t ever tell my moms I just did that.”
Harper looked down at the body and whistled. “Damn, Logan, I was trying to come up with some way to keep you from applying for my job when I take over as sheriff. The job’s yours, son. This is good work. And we won’t mention this to Teeny or Marie. You boys get out of here. Go home. If I’m going to be the sheriff of Bliss, I might as well start learning how to cover shit up. It’s kind of a way of life out here.”
“You can let me down now.” Nell’s voice sounded hollow. She lay limp in his arms.
“No.” Bishop clutched her close. He would have to let her go, but not tonight. Tonight, he would make sure she was safe. It was the only thing he could do for her.
He started to walk toward the car, ignoring everything else.
Nell was all that mattered.
Chapter Eleven
Two days later, Nell wondered if Henry was ever going to touch her again.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Callie asked. She held up the handcuffs. “This stuff looks pretty serious. Where did you get this from? Never mind. I know the answer. Stef.”
“He brought over a whole bag of toys. That’s what he called them, but some of those things don’t look like a ton of fun.” She pulled out what looked like a riding crop. Stef seemed to have thought of just about everything.
Now if she could just tempt Henry into using them.
For two nights he’d held her, stroking her hair until she fell asleep, but beyond kissing her silly, he hadn’t made a move.
It was starting to worry her. She was starting to think that he would leave without ever making love to her again.
Callie helped turn the sheets down. “Has he said anything?”
Nell shook her head. This little seduction was her last play. “No. He took me to the hospital, and even though they said I just needed some rest, he hasn’t seemed interested. Do you think he figured out just how much trouble I am? Is that why he doesn’t want me anymore?”
Callie pushed her glasses up. “You aren’t trouble, Nell. I think he still wants you. I’ve seen how he looks at you, and it’s not like he’s left you alone. I had to pry him away from you this afternoon. I think he’s…thinking.”
She was pretty sure she wouldn’t like what Henry was thinking about. She was pretty sure he was thinking about leaving. “I want one more night.”
A long sigh came out of Callie’s chest. “Nell, I hate to tell you this, but one more night won’t fix anything if he’s intent on leaving. Believe me. I know. One more night is just going to be something else to remember. Another memory that nothing else and no one else can ever compete with. It might be better to just let him go.”
“Would you do it? If you could go back, would you take away the time you spent with those guys?”
Callie stopped, pain etched on her face. She sat down on the bed, her hands in her lap. “Their names were Nate and Zane.”
Nate and Zane were idiots because Callie was one of the sweetest women Nell had ever met. What had called them away? “Do you wish you hadn’t met them?”
Callie reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. “No. I would do it again. I fell in love with them. It wasn’t their fault that they couldn’t love me back. Nell, I dream about them every night. I just wish…I wish it would end differently for you and Henry, but I think he’s going to leave.”
Nell was pretty sure that would happen and never once had he mentioned her coming to visit. “I know.”
“We’re so dumb.” Callie wiped away her tears. “But I’ll be here for you. I want you to know that. We can cry together.”