Page 77 of Peaches

But Maverick ignores him. “You’re playing a few different games tonight, aren’t you, boy?”

Ellis simply shrugs.

The second cowboy jumps to his feet beside me, and I’m surprised to see him point a gun at Maverick. “Put the gun down!”

The first cowboy also rises, still clutching his palm against his head. I don’t see any blood coming out from beneath it, but I imagine the table must have hit him hard enough to knock him a little loose. He holds his free hand out, and beneath the bald light that hangs above us all, a golden badge shines.

“Oh fuck,” Colt mutters on my other side. “Cops.”

Faster than lightning, Maverick turns his attention to the men from Cheyenne and fires his pistol. The cop holding the gun drops to the ground, clutching the side of his neck. Wylie screams again.

The sounds must alert others who wait outside, because the shadows of two more men come creeping into the barn with guns drawn, and I know in my heart this is all over. Those of us who sat at the table tonight will either die in this barn or walk out of it in handcuffs. For a heartbeat, Olivia’s face flashes in my mind. I’m not going to make it to her tonight like I promised.

It’s a sickening feeling, one that almost has me puking right here where I’m crouched—not because I’m going to be arrested or that I’m disappointing my family in one of the worst possible ways when they need me most, but because I’m not going to make it home toher.

I look up to watch the inevitable, taking in the new men coming in, no doubt more cops—but my heart lurches when I see their faces.

Another gunshot slices through the air and I startle, turning to find the downed cop has raised an arm to take a shot at Maverick. He misses, hitting one of his cronies instead. The man drops like a bag of feed and doesn’t move.

Maverick hollers out a loud curse before firing again, hitting the cop on the floor with another shot before aiming for the other one who still stands.

“Put the gun down!” the cop tries to yell, eyes wide with fear in the face of the barrel Maverick points at him. His own gun, I realize, is still holstered at his hip.

Maverick doesn’t so much as flinch before he shoots him. And before the man is even done falling, Maverick turns to point the gun back at Ellis. “Was all this worth it?” he asks in a quiet, menacing tone. “Dead cops and all this money gone when I walk out of here with it—was it worth it, Ellis Rustler?”

Ellis seethes, opening his mouth to say something. But then a loud boom rattles through the barn, heavier than any of the shots fired so far, and Maverick is hurled backward. His back slams into the ground with a thud.

I turn to look at the two men who just joined us in the barn, at the one who holds a smoking shotgun pointed where Maverick had just been standing. His hands are shaking with the force of what he’s just done.

Kasey.

And beside him, stands Wells.

They came for me.

Ellis turns to look at his sister with a panicked look. “Run!” he shouts at her before turning to his own brother. “Get out of here!”

Colt turns to look at me, and I nod. He rockets to his feet, turning to grab his sister by the hand before pulling her through the barn’s open doorway and out into the night.

Kasey cocks his head toward Ellis. “You motherfucker,” he smolders, taking a step toward him, his gun now pointed at the ground between them. “You reckless, dumbass fucking cowboy.”

Ellis throws his hands up. “It wasn’t supposed to go like this, Kasey.”

“Ofcourseit wasn’t!” Kasey roars. “It’s never supposed to end like this, is it? But you’re too fucking stupid to see all the ways it can.Those are fucking cops on the ground!”

Ellis trembles, his shoulders bunched in fear. And I can’t blame him—I’veneverseen Kasey like this. Even with all the shit I’ve put him through over the years, he’s never looked as scared or angry as he is right now.

“Kasey,” Wells says low beside him. And I can’t comprehend how it’s possible, how my brothers knew I’d need them tonight, how they’d known where to find me.

A shuffle sounds from the ground where the other side of the table had been, and we all realize at once that Maverick’s second man, who’d seemingly been pretending to be down amidst all the chaos, is very muchnot. He shoots to his feet with a low grunt and races out of the barn.

Kasey glares at Ellis. “This is onyou, you hear me?”

Ellis nods. “I’ll take the fall if it comes to it. For Colt and Wylie. For Rhett. I’ll do it.”

Kasey stares at him for a long moment before lowering his gun to his side and turning to me. “Get in the fucking truck.”

Without another word, he turns and walks out of the barn. My gaze shifts to Wells, to his wide eyes and tight jaw, and realize he’s also holding a gun. My baby brother, with a gun in his hand. Rising to my feet, shame curls tight against me as I look at him. “I’m sorry, Wells.”

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