Page 2 of Outlaw

Branwen

Present Day

I could do this. I had no choice but to do this. Taking a deep breath, I slowly took in the tall iron gate in front of me.

It had taken me three weeks of staying in Madison, Mississippi, five years ago to find the location of Linc Shephard’s home, only to be refused entry through the gate. I’d been told by some man over the intercom that Linc was currently involved in a threesome and he’d give me a call when he was ready for a new cunt. That was all I needed to hear to send me running back to Tennessee. I’d sworn that I would never seek him out again.

Going to find him was something I’d battled with for a month before finally convincing myself that it was the right thing to do. Finding out that he was the kind of man he had always warned me about as a child was a cold, hard slap in the face. That day five years ago, at thirty-three years old, I had finally acceptedthat the man I had built up in my head and kept on a pedestal all these years was a child’s innocent memory. Not reality.

Having to come back here and demand to see him this time was the very last thing I wanted to do. But I had no choice. I had to see him. Fate had decided to once again toss me a twist, and to say it was cruel would be an understatement. I’d pissed off the gods that be at some point in my life because they kept circling me back to this man.

There was a small chance he might not live inside this fortress that I hadn’t been admitted to five years ago when I came to find him. If he had left here, then I knew where in Ocala to go looking for him. Getting onto the Hugheses’ property would be easier than this. Unless it had changed since my childhood and Garrett added an iron gate around it. I really hoped I didn’t have to find out. As a child, that might have been a magical place, but as an adult, I now understood who and what they were. And Ocala was the location of the leader. The man they called boss. I shivered, thinking about how important it was to keep my secrets.

The rumble of an engine snapped me out of my thoughts, and I lifted my eyes to the rearview mirror to see a large, expensive-looking black truck pull up behind me. My heart began to race at the sight of it. I glanced down at the backseat and the sleeping form of my daughter before quickly reaching for the door handle and exiting the vehicle. Mentally preparing myself to see Linc again, I held my shoulders back and steeled myself as the driver’s door to the truck opened.

Memories began creeping back in, even though they were unwanted. Not just from the last time I’d seen him that night in Vegas five years ago, but from my childhood as well. Nope. Not going to allow that. Memory lane was off-limits.

The blond man who stepped out of the truck, stopped all other thoughts. I relaxed some at the realization that it wasn’t Linc, followed by the small dose of panic that maybe he had movedand I’d be forced to go to Ocala. The man closed his truck door and took another step in my direction. He tilted his head slightly as he studied me. His dark blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and his short beard did little to hide his attractive face. The darkness in his gaze had me on high alert. It was dangerous, almost that of a predator.

“Can I help you?” he asked me as his eyes made their way back to mine after doing a quick take of my body.

I cleared my throat. This was one of them. I knew it without being told. He had that presence about him. The power, threat, and intimidation were all there, surrounding him like an invisible force that set you on edge. It stirred the urge to flee when met with it.

“I, uh, I’m looking for Linc Shephard,” I said, thankful my voice didn’t waver.

The corner of his mouth quirked slightly, but he didn’t smile. “Is that so?” he drawled. “And what is it you need with Linc, sugar?”

The way he saidsugarsounded like a caress that I was sure made most females throw themselves at him. He wouldn’t be getting that reaction from me. I knew what he was.

“I have some business to settle with him. An issue that I really need to see him about.”

The man rubbed his bearded chin with his thumb and forefinger. His arm was covered in tattoos, and it reminded me of Linc. He’d had so many tattoos five years ago. I’d inspected each one up close.

“As stunning as that face is of yours, I’m still gonna need a little more information.”

Right. Fine. I was here to get this handled, and what did I care if some man I didn’t know wanted the reason why? It wasn’t going to affect me or the outcome. It would get Linc’s attention at least.

I lifted my chin and looked him directly in the eyes. Probably a bad idea because the threat in this man’s gaze was unsettling.

“If you must know, I need him to sign divorce papers.”

That still sounded bizarre, and I’d had this revelation dropped on me over a week ago now. But I hadn’t said it to anyone. I couldn’t. No one in my life could know about this. I had to get it fixed and pretend it’d never happened.

The man stared at me as if I had lost my mind.

Apparently, five years ago, I had indeed lost my mind. I had the proof of it in the passenger seat of my car. A state of Nevada marriage certificate, saying I was married to Lincoln Shephard II. I just hadn’t realized how drunk I had been until the marriage certificate was presented to me by the county clerk’s office. A marriage I hadn’t known existed and was standing in the way of my future happiness.

He let out a low chuckle. “I think you might have the wrong man. Linc ain’t married. He’s been divorced from his ex-wife for fifteen-plus years now.”

Yes, I knew all about Maggie. She’d been the cause of my first heartbreak at the age of seven. Linc had married the mother of his child, and I had been devastated since I had planned on marrying him one day.

“I’m aware of all that. But it seems, five years ago, a marriage happened in Vegas after we both had too much to drink, but we assumed it wasn’t real.”

The man stood there, silent, his eyes narrowed.

I waited, wishing he’d say something. I hated being his sole focus.

“You’re fucking serious?”

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