Page 70 of Savage Secrets

Colton’s teeth flashed in a grin. He was enjoying this, and knowing that made the knot of anxiety in Zach’s stomach uncoil enough to give him breathing room.

“Let’s round ’em up,” he said.

“I got your six.”

Those words burrowed deep into Zach, deeper than he ever would have expected four little words could.

Three little words had done something similar to him when Opal spoke them in the heat of passion.

He didn’t need to fight for himself anymore. He had to end this—for them. For Opal and Rainie. For the men from Forest Gracey’s SEAL team who had come to Montana for the love of the brotherhood, and he’d do it for all the women who loved them. Not to mention the other ranchers and ranch hands who’d taken a hit.

Swiftly, they ran for the trees. Swallowed by darkness, Zach focused harder on his surroundings. He picked out trees, branches. The land dipped downward to a stream, silver in the night.

These men could be hiding anywhere. There was plenty of cover to conceal them.

Now that his eyes had adjusted, he tuned in to what he could hear, picking up the rustle of dry leaves in the breeze and the light gurgle of water over rocks in the bed of the stream.

With a quick glance over his shoulder, he stepped deeper into the woods. Colton moved like a human shadow a few yards away from him. Zach stepped over a fallen branch. Just across the stream, the land sloped upward.

The shadows seemed to move.

He cut his hand through the air in a sharp gesture to Colton. He got a glint of Colton’s eyes through the darkness as he acknowledged what he’d seen.

Zach moved in fast. Rocks tumbled underfoot. The icy water of the stream swirled in the moonlight. If luck was on their side, the rush of water would cover any sound they made.

The night seemed to hold its breath. He shot a look at Colton. Resolve blazed between them…and they stormed into the water, weapons raised.

“Hold it right there!” he bellowed at the shadows that shifted, then parted as men fled in opposite directions. They scrambled up the bank, twigs crackling under their feet.

One made a sharp move, lunging at Zach. Out of pure instinct, he ducked behind a tree as a barrage of gunfire rang out.

He poked his head out, took a bead on the shooter and fired at him. When he hunted wild game, he never missed. He didn’t now. The bullet struck true, hitting where he aimed, right in the lower leg.

Everything went down fast. More men poured out of hiding. Colton ran one down and had him tied to a slender tree so fast that Zach barely saw what was happening.

A bullet zinged by his head, damn near clipping his ear. Rage took over, and he stepped out in plain sight.

“Show yourself, motherfucker! I will end you.”

Another shot sheared off the bark of the tree next to him. It was enough for Zach to make out his target. It was kill or be killed.

He squeezed off the shot. Leaves floated in the air like ghosts.

Colton’s voice came out of the night. “All the men are accounted for. It’s over, brother.”

Zach peeled his grip off the cold steel of his rifle and clasped Colton’s shoulder. “About fucking time.”

Chapter Nineteen

Rainie’s sweet childish voice warmed Opal’s heart as her daughter played with toy animals on the living room floor, moving them toward a toy truck to “take a ride to the store.”

Opal’s gaze rested on her child’s head, her hair still damp from her bath. She wasn’t about to let the girl out of her sight, at least not anytime soon.

Rainie’s laughter bubbled up in amusement at the imaginary play. Then she twisted her head toward the front of the house. “Zach!”

Opal gaped at her daughter. How did she know Zach was coming?

A moment later, she heard what Rainie did—the familiar thud of her lover’s boots on the saggy porch floor.

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