Page 127 of Live for Me

I released Harm and then, I was nose to nose with the sheriff. “If he touches so much as a hair on my woman’s head, Bowen, I will skin you alive.”

“Beau,” Lawson warned from behind me.

Chase’s eyes held mine.

“If she gets hurt because you failed to keep Hallow Ranch in the loop, not even God will stop me,” I growled, ignoring everyone else in the room.

“Beau, I had direct—”

“There’s going to be a day when a woman walks into this town and knocks you on your ass,” I hissed, grabbing the front of his shirt. “And when that day comes, I hope you never have to feel the fear that’s tearing me apart from the inside out right now.”

With that, I shoved him back and looked over to Valerie. “Phone.”

She nodded, murmuring a goodbye to Den and handing it to me.

“We’re on our way back to the ranch,” I clipped, grabbing Valerie’s wrist and tugging her along gently. Lawson and Harm were behind us.

As I pushed the doors open, Chase called my name.

I ignored him. All I could feel was rage.

If I didn’t kill Johnson, I would be killing the motherfucking Sheriff. Prison be damned.

“There’s a unit being sent to his home in Colorado Springs right now, Beau,” he said to me once I had the truck loaded up. Valerie and Harm were in the cab and Lawson was in the back, pulling out his gun and checking his rounds.

Chase’s eyes went to the young cowboy and then flicked back to me. “I had direct orders from the capitol to keep the investigation on Johnson under wraps.”

After leaving Sheri’s shit trailer, we hauled ass to the police station to get Harm and Val. Johnson had showed up at the diner, spotted Abbie, ordered a soda and paid with the wrong card. This all happened before he pulled his gun out and kidnapped Abbie. Mason had called us in the panic, Harmony having called him.

I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “Those two women are married to your oldest fucking friends, Chase. Hell, I thought I was your friend—”

“—this has nothing to do with friendship,” he said, cutting me off.

Lawson clicked his tongue. “Langston mountain has nothing to do with friendship either, but you sure like to utilize it whenever you can.”

We spread ashes on the mountain. We reaped souls on the mountain. Justice was served the right way on the fucking mountain.

Lawson sighed, and looked up to the sky. “This goes south, Sheriff, you might want to skip town,” he suggested.

Chase’s throat bobbed and he looked at me again. “Beau—”

“Fuck you,” I spat, yanking open my door and climbing in the truck.

I floored it all the way to Hallow Ranch and when we pulled up to the barn, Denver, Lance, Mason, and my father were all on horseback, their guns pointed at the wildlife team Johnson had sent in. All four of the young men were on their knees in the gravel, their hands tied behind their backs. I looked to my father, finding his eyes on me, his pistol pointed to the skinny man tied up in front of Spirit.

Pop wasn’t on his horse because he knew that I might need Spirit.

Fuck, I loved him for that.

I parked the truck and Lawson hopped over the tailgate, opening the passenger door for Harmony and Valerie. Slamming the truck door, I came for the first wildlife officer who had the balls to look over at me, shoving the barrel of my gun into his temple as I yanked his head back.

“Where. Is. Your. Fucking. Boss?” I growled.

“They aren’t willing to talk,” Lance drawled.

Denver loaded his shotgun, his eyes on his wife. “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice strained. Ranger shifted underneath him, and Denver pointed his gun to the officer on the far end.

“Denver,” she tried.

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