“No, I’m not. Please excuse me.” She wasn’t with him, and now she wondered what the hell she was doing. Was she trying to punish Nate? Jen had been right. This was stupid. She pulled out her cell and dialed Stef’s number. He picked up immediately.
“Callie?” He sounded harried, and she could hear movement, like he was in a car.
“Is that her?”
Was Nate with him? “Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry to bother you, Stef, but Jen and I need a ride. We’ve had a bit to drink, and I don’t feel safe with either of us getting behind the wheel.” She was feeling a little woozy.
“Give me that phone.” She heard a little tussle, and then Nate’s voice was the dominant one. “You stay right where you are, Callie Sheppard. Do you understand me? What the hell were you thinking?”
Callie moved the phone away from her ear. He was yelling really loud. “Sheriff, stop yelling. The signal is fine. I can hear you. I just need Stef to come get me.”
“I’m coming to get you. How dare you walk into that bar? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea the kind of men who run around that bar?”
“Zane, apparently.”
“Yeah, who do you think called me, baby? Now you go to the bar and sit your pretty ass down, and don’t you move. Don’t you leave Zane’s side. I will be there in ten minutes, and then we’re going to have a talk. I have an awful lot to say to you.”
That didn’t sound promising. “Maybe I don’t have anything to say to you, Sheriff.”
“Good, then you can listen. Do not disobey me, Callie. I have a headache and a half because you left me with Mel. I took that damn tonic of his because I’m the idiot who’s trying to fit into this weird town to please you.”
When had that started? She sighed sympathetically. “Yeah, you really shouldn’t drink anything Mel gives you. He tends to put rotgut whiskey in all his tonics.”
“And that’s illegal.” Righteous Nate was back with a vengeance.
It was time for a little more advice. “Nate, how do expect to be sheriff in this town if all you care about is what is or isn’t illegal?”
He sputtered. “Just stay where you are. What got in your head to go to someplace called Hell on Wheels, I have no idea…”
In the background she heard a third voice. It seemed like Nate thought he needed to bring the cavalry. “Uh, Sheriff, I don’t think I’m allowed to go to that bar.”
She heard Nate huff at Logan Green. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you a deputy, son, or not?”
“Oh, no.” He was bringing along Logan? That was a bad idea. Marie was going to have his hide. “You can’t bring Logan here.”
“My moms will get really upset,” Logan explained.
Then there was a whole lot of cursing, but the phone fell out of her hand when she was twirled around bodily. She gasped as the biker from before was squeezing her wrist. He was short but stout as a bull, and from the way his fingers tightened around her wrist, he was as strong as one, too.
“If he don’t claim you, then we will, right, Bone?”
The gentleman named Bone nodded his assent. He was slightly taller than his compatriot but didn’t have his thick build. “Damn straight, Len. This one is real pretty. Nice tits.”
Maybe Jen had been right. She should have just gone down to the gas station and tried hitting on tourists. Callie attempted to pull her wrist out of Len’s grasp. “I really need to go.”
She would just go wait outside for Stef. If the sheriff walked in here, all hell would break loose and someone would get hurt, possibly him.
“You heard the lady.”
Callie looked up, and Zane was a hulking presence behind the two men. Bone and Len were big, nasty-looking men, but Zane made them look like little boys in comparison. He had gotten rid of his jacket, and his big biceps were on full display. Callie could plainly see he’d added some ink to his body. His jaw was set, and his eyes were cold. She had a sudden desire to put her arms around him and soothe that look off his face. After he’d taken care of the men who were attempting to assault her, of course.
“Take your hands off her right this second, or I’ll break them.”
Jen was suddenly behind her. She slipped her arms around Callie’s waist, anchoring her.
“I won’t let them take you,” Jen promised.
Len simply dragged Jen along, too. “Get your own fuck for the night, asshole. This one is ours.”
Jen held on, and Callie was being tugged in two directions, then she was on her ass on top of Jen looking up from the floor. Zane had Len dangling in the air, his big hands wrapped around his throat.
“I warned you.”
Bone took the opportunity to attack, but Zane simply used his free hand to punch him squarely in the face. There was a satisfying crunch, and Bone slumped to the floor.
“I’ll deal with your friend later. Now, I think you owe my lady an apology.” The words came from between Zane’s gritted teeth, each one an order. Callie wished she could be enough of a pacifist to be alarmed by Zane’s propensity for violence. Her panties differed with her political beliefs. They were completely wet looking at that giant of a man defending her honor. And his possessive use of the word “my” was another thing she would argue with if she could stop drooling over the way his jeans molded to every muscle in his legs.
“I’m very sorry, lady.”
He didn’t sound sorry. He sounded pissed. The room was filled with smoke and loud music, and potential violence throbbed through the air. Callie looked around. No one was dancing or drinking anymore. Every eye in the place was on Zane and the man he dangled in the air. Callie felt her mouth go dry. No one in the place looked like they were about to step up and help Zane out. They were looking at him like a group of hungry lions. Even Zane seemed to feel the tension filling the room. He set Len down and reached for something at his waist. When his hand only met his belt, Callie could see his eyes tighten. According to Nate, Zane had been a cop, an agent with the DEA. He was looking for his gun out of habit, but it wasn’t there anymore.
His eyes never stopped moving as he spoke. He looked around the room. “Babe, I recognize some of these people. When Nate gets here, I want you to run to him. He’ll protect you. For now, damn it, babe, just run.”
Jen was on her feet helping Callie up when Callie screamed. Another big biker came from behind Zane, brandishing a pool cue. There was a loud crack as it came down across Zane’s back with brutal force.
“The Barbarians say hello, pig!”
Zane hit his knees.
“Callie, no!” Jen screamed as Callie pulled away, one thought and one thought only in her head. Don’t let them hit him again.
Callie threw herself across Zane’s back. She heard the man shout and the pool cue hit, but on the floor next to her.
“Get out of the way, you stupid bitch!” Len screamed.
She slumped across Zane, feeling his muscles moving as he threw her off with a roar that filled the room.
Zane was yelling, but she wasn’t sure at whom. Callie forced herself to sit up before she got crushed under boots and heels. She was surrounded, and Zane’s hands finally pulled her up and into the cradle of his chest. His palm covered her head, forcing her down against him. She struggled to see.
“She doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Zane said.
Len was grinning now, showing off a plethora of teeth in severe need of dental attention. Callie’s arms wound around Zane’s waist. He was the only thing that seemed real now.
“I think the girl has a lot to do with this, pig. You see, there’s a bounty out on your head, Hollister.” Len pulled out a wicked-looking knife and held it up for inspection. When Callie tried to move her head to see, Zane pulled her back. He encircled her as Len continued to talk. “Ellis might be in jail, but he’s still got power. He wants you bad. He’s willing to pay.”