Page 100 of Five Mountain Daddies

“What happened?” I askhim.

“Three guys kicked down my door this morning wearing masks. Said I’d better get back to work, or they’d kill me next. Beat me fuckingsenseless.”

“Fuck,” I whisper. “Ingram.”

“You need to go to the hospital,” Roysays.

“Fuck hospitals. You think I can afford that shit?” Boone sips his whiskey. “Vernon, where’s that wife ofyours?”

“I’ll call her,” Vernon says, walkingoff.

I stare at Boone and slowly back away. I should have seen this coming. Boone’s part of the team that worked late last night. He was probably at home, ready to get to bed, when those fuckers came and hurthim.

“Arnold, Mike, Seamus,” I call out. The three guys look over at me. “Go check on the other late-shift guys. Take more men and split up.Hurry.”

They get serious and start grabbing shirts, pulling guys along with them. Half the room clears out as they go to check on the other late-shifters, make sure they’reokay.

Boone seems okay, or at least not on the verge of dying. I walk away from him, over to the bar. I slam back my coffee,thinking.

“This isn’t your fault,” Roy says. “We knew this mighthappen.”

“I shouldn’t have let them be alone,” I sayangrily.

“Not your fault. Besides, we haven’t been making people stay in groups, just travel inthem.”

I clench my jaw. “I gotta go. Take over fromhere.”

“Wait, holdon.”

I don’t listen to what he has to say. I leave the bar, hurry out into the parking lot. I get into my truck and pull out of there, driving fast through traffic, heading toward the Evans Energyoffices.

I get there in record time, throwing my truck into a spot. I get out, slamming the door, angry as fucking hell. I need to see Amelia, tell her what happened, make her do something to stopIngram.

But I don’t make it inside, because three guys in suits come walking out of the front doors and bar myway.

“Who the fuck are you?” I ask them, but I recognize one of the lawyers from the meeting before. “Better get the fuck out of my way,suits.”

The lawyer grins at me and flashes a shoulder holster. There’s a gun in there. “Fuck off,” hesays.

I growl at him. “Last chance,asshole.”

The three guys step closer to me. I’m hurt, my rib’s not fully healed yet, but I’m twice the size of the biggest of them and I’m fucking pissed. This time, they’re not jumping me. This time, they gotta beafraid.

19

Amelia

We can’t have this,” Neal Watt says. He’s an older man, gray hair, heavyset with light blue eyes and a nicesuit.

“I know that,” I say. “I’m working onit.”

He sighs, shaking his head. “You know, I was close with your father. He was a good man. We took his dying wish into consideration and gave you this job, but Amelia, I’m not so sure that was a goodidea.”

I lean back in my chair and glare at him. “What do you want me to do? The board is on Ingram’s side. I presented a good contract to you all, but you turned itdown.”

He frowns. “We never saw anycontracts.”

I stop, surprised. “He didn’t bring it toyou?”

---