Page 63 of Winter's Thaw

“I’m going to wait outside while everyone leaves. I want you with Winter and Sons.”

“Sure thing.” She didn’t mind doing her job.

With the nasty looks shot at Gerald and his partner, they might need the protection.

Gerald stood with his partner and nodded at her. “Hi, Laura. I see you’re our escort out of here?”

“Just to be on the safe side. Sheriff wants you two in one piece.”

“Of course he does,” Gerald’s partner said, looking her over with a lazy smile. “And aren’t we lucky to have such fine protection?”

Gerald sighed. “Keep it in your pants, Harry. Laura, meet my cousin, Harry. Harry, this is Deputy Novak. My fiancée.”

Laura could have sworn he sounded possessive. Wait. Fiancée? Of course, marriage typically went with mating, but it felt odd to hear him call her that out loud. 0And in front of his cousin? Had he told anyone the truth? Julia knew, but she acted like Gerald and Laura were a real couple because she was dopey like that.

None of this made a lick of sense.

Harry smirked. “Fiancée, huh? When’s the big day? I don’t see a ring, cousin.”

“Gentlemen, if we could please take this outside?”

Where a half dozen raptors weren’t staring with evil intent.

Gerald and Harry went with her out the side door toward their vehicles out back. And of course, met up with several other raptors out for trouble.

She put on her do not mess with me face. “Look, guys. We don’t want any trouble. If you’ve got a problem with Winter and Sons, take it up with your attorneys.”

One of the larger raptors, a gruff hawk who let others do his thinking for him, snarled. “Attorneys don’t know shit. And nothing they do will help because he’s fucking around with the judge.”

Gerald stared. “Who, me?”

“Not me,” Harry stated. “She’s a good twenty years older than me! I’m not into cougars. I mean, the cats, sure, but older women? Not my thing.” Harry paused. “Although, come to think of it, Judge Daniels is quite fetching in that judge’s gown.”

Gerald sighed. “Don’t rile them up, you idiot.”

Too late, because the big guy and two of his friends came at the foxes.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Laura stepped between them and waited.

Seeing her, two of them stopped. But the big guy had the nerve to take a swing.

She felt Gerald moving but had to focus on the large fist aimed at Gerald’s head. She stopped it with one hand, using the bear within for strength.

“I’m not going to say this again,” she growled, wishing Gerald hadn’t seen that her fist gripping her assailant’s had turned furry with claws now digging into frail flesh. “Get your asses home before I take you in for disrupting the peace. I’ll chalk up this incident to sheer stupidity, yeah?”

The big guy had tears coming down his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Laura.”

“That’s Deputy Novak,” Gerald snapped, standing beside her and not behind her, where he should have been. He asked her, “You want me to call Ty?”

“Nah. We’ve got this handled. Don’t we?” She eyed the group’s leader standing several feet away. The woman nodded, her eyes hard, and yelled for everyone to leave.

The expression she wore as she left told Laura Gerald wasn’t out of the woods yet.

The raptors took off, and she turned to see Harry staring from Gerald to Laura.

Harry laughed. “Oh, so that’s the way of it. Now I see.”

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