Page 74 of Cowgirl Omega

Shannon cracked a smile, but it quickly faded. Flarity and his men were already coming in through the two entrances in the rim of the crater. That was quicker than she’d expected.

Tanner flattened himself against the side of the dome and pushed Shannon behind him. There was a pause, and Shannon guessed Flarity was probably awestruck by the sight of all the firestone and the big metal structure behind which she and the others were hiding. At last, his voice boomed through the crater.

“Miss Duffy! I know you’re in here with those two alphas and that wolf of yours. There’s no point hiding. We’re not here to hurt you. Just come on out and negotiate!”

Shannon didn’t say anything. She could feel Tanner thinking beside her. At last, the alpha called out to Flarity.

“We can negotiate just fine without seeing each other. What is it you want?”

“Ah! I presume this is one of the alphas to whom I’m now speaking? The white one, based on your voice. That’s good. I’ve never liked negotiating with Indians. They’re an incorrigible people who understand nothing but violence. A white man such as yourself, however, can at least be reasoned with. Now why don’t you come on out and talk to me face to face.”

“And get my ass shot? No thanks, Ned. Now why don’t you go on and tell me what it is you want?”

“What do you think I want, sir? I want all this firestone, and I’m going to have it. All I need from you is the assurance that you won’t try to stop me.”

Shannon couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Assurance?” she shouted. “You mean you want us dead.”

Tanner cut her a sharp look, but said nothing. From the rim of the crater, Flarity laughed.

“Come now, Miss Duffy! I may have a reputation for ruthlessness, but I assure you I’m no killer. I merely want to make sure you won’t try to race back to Lamentation and stake a claim to this piece of land before I have a chance to do so.”

“I don’t give a shit about this piece of land,” Shannon replied. “All I ever wanted was enough firestone to pay off my debt to you so I could keep my ranch and my hucows.”

There were a few moments of silence, then Flarity’s voice called to them again.

“Here’s my offer. You and your men turn yourselves over to my custody. My men will keep an eye on you here until I’ve had time to return to Lamentation and establish my claim over this land. After that, I shall let you go unharmed.And… I will forget all about your debt. You have my word on that.”

Tanner shook his head.

“That man’s word is worth about as much as a horse’s turd,” he growled under his breath. For some reason, he started unbuttoning his shirt, then he stopped and looked at Shannon. “Your shirt. Take it off and hand it here.”

“What?” Shannon hissed. “Tanner, this is hardly the time for—”

“Just do it,” the alpha demanded.

As usual, the rumble in his voice compelled her to obey. First, she tucked her gun back into its holster. Then she untied the knot holding the front of her shirt together and took it off. She saw Tanner’s eyes flick briefly downward to her exposed breasts before returning to her face.

“Hand it over.”

Shannon did as he said, but she was still confused.

“Tanner, what are you—”

“Your hat too, if you please.”

Shannon took off her hat and handed it to the alpha. After a few seconds, she realized what he was up to. He draped her shirt over the muzzle of his carbine, then he set her hat atop it, creating a kind of scarecrow. Up close it would never fool anyone, but Flarity’s men were pretty far away still, and Shannon bet they were pretty edgy.

Holding the stock of the carbine, Tanner thrust the barrel and the scarecrow out past the side of the dome where Flarity’s men could see it. Almost immediately, there was the crack of a rifle, and a hole appeared in the center of the shirt.

A split second later, Logan’s rifle boomed from the other side of the dome, and one of Flarity’s men let out a strangled cry. This was followed by a frantic volley of shooting. Shannon could hear the bullets pinging off the other side of the dome, then she heard Flarity shouting at his men over the din of gunfire.

“Stop, damn it! Hold your fire!”

He was worried about a ricochet blowing up the firestone, Shannon thought. After a few seconds, the shooting died down, and she could hear the faint sound of footsteps as the men on both sides of the crater slowly advanced on the dome.

“They’re coming,” Tanner said. “We’d better think of something quick.”

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