Page 6 of Live for Me

I looked back at him. “Then I guess we’re both shit out of a luck.”

The sound that came from him next sounded awfully close to a chuckle. “Guess so.”

I got into my truck, fired up the engine, and drove through the ranch, heading for the bunkhouse. I parked around back and got out, my boots crunching the gravel underneath them as I rounded the building. I stopped on the side, leaning back against it. My eyes focused on the gravel, a partially lit from the flood lights of the barn.

In my distant memories, I could hear the gunshots.Bang. Bang. Bang.

Always three.

Two was never enough, and four was too much.

Minutes passed as I stared at the spot--the execution spot of Hallow Ranch. Aside from the profit we brought in from the cattle, we also offered protection, the kind law enforcement couldn’t provide. Whenever there was a problem in town—a threat to the people—the sheriff would call Denver. It was a longstanding deal—-under the table, of course, but no one batted an eye.

The last life we’d taken had been a business man from the city. He’d sexually assaulted some teenage girls in an alley on Main one weekend, and the next, he brought his buddies into town. We took care of the first one, and then a few weeks later, Valerie was attacked. Denver flew into town in a rage and killed the man in cold blood.

Three shots.

Three bullets.

Another soul reaped by a dark cowboy.

I’d gotten there just in time to see the fucker drop. I also had the pleasure of burning the body and spreading his ashes on the mountain. We hadn’t killed since, but Hayden had been a peaceful town after we’d taken care of the pipeline tycoon hellbent on destroying Hallow Ranch.

Still, Denver’s words from earlier echoed in the back of my mind.

Something is coming.

Chapter Two

Abbie

Present Day. Denver, CO.

“You need to get laid, Abbie.”

I looked up from my laptop to find my best friend of five years standing on the other side of my kitchen island, his arms folded over his chest. Irritation crawled up my spine—-after the day I’d had, talking about my sex life was the last thing on my mind. I was even more irritatedthatwas the first thing he decided to say to me after I told him about my said horrible day. My knee began to bounce underneath the table, my skirt shifting back and forth with the movement.

I didn’t care he had to stay here for a few days because of his reno of his apartment. I also didn’t care he took up a lot of space and brought his dog, Minnie, over—she was at the doggy spa currently because she was nothing short of a princess. I didn’t care that he snored louder than a bear and I could hear it from my bedroom down the hall.

I didn’t care about all that because Dave was my best friend.

However, Ididcare about the judgment sparkling in his eyes. I didn’t have time for it.

I sat back in my chair at the breakfast table, glaring at him. “First of all, I’m not going there with you. My sex life is none of your business. Second of all—”

“Wrong, sweet lips. I’m your best friend. Of course your sex life is my business,” he said, cutting me off.

Here we go.

He wasn’t the only one of my friends concerned about my personal life. I hadn’t been on a date in two years and I hadn’t had sex in just over six. For the better part of those six years, I was wallowing in a deep depression. I’d let the only man I’d ever love go. Did it still hurt? Yes. Every time I thought about him, my chest ached—which was why I didn’t think about him, dating, relationships, or even sex. I pushed all that crap to the back of my mind so I could focus on the person I needed to be.

“What, you don’t have a snarky comeback for that?” Dave asked, raising a brow. His lips twitched like he was trying to hold back a victorious smile.

I gave him a fake smile in return. “What was the reason you couldn’t stay at your boyfriend’s house during this renovation again?” I asked sweetly.

Dave pushed his Clark Kent glasses up his nose before giving me his back as he opened my fridge. “We aren’t at the stage yet, Abbie,” he returned.

I sat back, my hands slipping into my lap as confusion slammed into me.

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