Page 103 of Barbed Wire Hearts

“What’s that?” I ask, panicked as someone shouts. “Dakota?”

“Did you think I was so stupid?” the boss asks. “That I would let your people get away?”

The back doors burst open, and more goons appear, each of them pushing our family inside. One of them holds Naomi by the back of her neck, forcing her in. She snarls, her eyes on fire, as he moves her roughly.

Dakota swears as they point their guns at us and stands. He holds his hands up and carefully sets his gun down. The others follow suit, but I keep my revolver clutched in my hand.

Fuck, this isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.

ChapterSixty-Two

Kate

Some of the goons gesture for us to walk out the front door and out onto the porch and I grimace, glancing at Dakota. This seems bad, but maybe it’s all part of the plan. Dakota’s face is as calm as always. He’s a steel trap for his emotions, giving nothing away, which means it’s always difficult to read him.

“What do we do?” I whisper.

He glances at me. “We stall for time,” he whispers back, before turning toward the door, moving in the direction the goons gesture for us to move. Together, the six of us all walk out the front door and stand on the porch, watching as the boss comes out and adjusts himself. He holds out his toe, pointing to the small missing piece where I’d shot him, but I clearly missed his foot in his shoe.

“These were my favorite shoes, Kate,” he says, but he doesn’t sound angry. If anything, he sounds amused.

“Oh no,” I tell him, sarcasm dripping from my lips. “Should I apologize?”

“No,” he chuckles. “It’s better if you didn’t. I enjoy your attitude.”

I blink at him, confused. This man could probably have any woman he wants. He didn’t have to chase me across the country.

One of the goons hits Dakota with the butt of his gun. “On your knees.”

Dakota snarls but my snarl is louder. “Don’t fucking touch him!” I spit, taking a step toward them.

Dakota glances at me in surprise. He holds his hands up and slowly sinks to his knees, just as Jimmy and the others do, leaving me the only one standing. When I try to move closer to Dakota, another goon points the barrel of his gun at me and I freeze, not wanting to cause too much trouble.

Wherethe fuckare Wiley and Levi?

“This is fucking nonsense,” I say, glaring at the man. “I don’t even know your name and you chase me?—”

“Lennox,” he interrupts. “You can call me Lennox.” He glances at the goons. “Not you fuckers though. It’s Boss to you.”

I snap my mouth shut for a second. “Okay. . . Lennox. What’s so goddamn special about me? Look at you! You could have anyone you want. There was no need to chase me across the country.”

“On the contrary,” he purrs. “I think you might be the first person to evade me for so long. You have no idea how difficult it was to find you. People out here are pretty tight-lipped when people come looking.”

“That doesn’t make me special,” I point out. “It just means I got lucky.”

Lennox levels his eyes on me. “I beg to differ, but we’re not here to debate on why I want you. What I want, I get it. There’s no other option.” His eyes trail over to Dakota where he watches the exchange calmly, letting me take the lead in dragging things out. “You’ve done well for yourself, Dakota Steele, despite your. . . past.” When neither one of us respond, Lennox glances back at me. “Did he tell you? This man shot his dear old daddy. Well, he might as well have. The court ruled that he was innocent, but these days, coercion to suicide is a crime.”

“I know who he is,” I say, tilting up my chin, standing strong with him. He’d explained the story, and yes, it’s not a nice one, but sometimes, life gives us a shitty hand. Sometimes, we have no choice but to act.

Dakota’s face darkens with Lennox’s words. “You remind me of him,” he says, his voice full of gravel.

“Who?” Lennox asks, tilting his head in curiosity.

“My father,” Dakota says, his eyes flashing. “Weak. Desperate to be loved while doing everything in his power to sabotage any chance of actually being loved. I see it in your eyes.”

Lennox’s eyes crinkle in amusement as he strolls forward, his cigar still in his hand. He steps up on the porch and stops before Dakota. I take a step forward, but a gun raises on me again and I stop.

Lennox leans down so his face is in Dakota’s. “I hope you wear that same expression, Dakota Steele,” he says. “The same look when I fuck your woman right in front of you. I hope you bare your teeth as she moans my name.”

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