Breaking the Bad Boy (41 page)

“I’m marrying a social butterfly.”

“I’m just really digging your family,” she said as she took him up to the porch where Winston waited for them patiently.

Chapter Fifteen

 
“Are you as good at archery as you are everything else?” Joss asked Buck as they went to help move the targets. He looked at her.

“Yes, but Eddie is a far more patient and competent teacher,” Buck said.

“Thanks, Duke,” Eddie said coming around behind Joss. Buck touched him in the chest with two fingers and Eddie stopped and looked into Buck’s face.

“Please keep in mind that I don’t respond well to other men touching my woman,” Buck said with quiet menace.

“Cut it out, Thag, or I will send you back to your cave. Eddie’s going to have to touch me to show me how to do this, but he will promise not to enjoy it, won’t you?” She looked at Eddie who smiled at her.

“Man, she’s lippy, are you going to let her get away with calling you a caveman?” Eddie said stepping behind Joss so that Buck couldn’t reach him. Buck laughed, he couldn’t help liking Eddie Natani.

“It’s not the first time that’s come up. As long as it’s my cave you come home to, I don’t care what you call me,” he kissed her deep and full and Eddie blushed and had to turn away. John rolled his eyes.

“They do that a lot,” he said to his uncle.

“I bet they do,” Eddie said. “Hey, Joss, do you know how to divorce once you marry Duke?”

“Call a lawyer? It doesn’t matter, I don’t think I need to know,” she said smiling at Buck.

“Traditionally it’s the woman’s decision. When you’re sick of his nonsense you leave his saddle outside the front door, and he has to take it and leave. Keep it in mind,” he grinned at her and danced away from Buck who was half heartedly reaching for him.

“Don’t tell her that, now I have to go hide my saddle,” Buck said and the kids laughed.

Once the targets were set up they donned leather straps around the kid’s wrists and Eddie gave his to Joss. “This is called a
ketoh
, or a bracer. Sometimes the bowstring can slap you and it really hurts. I like ‘em because they look cool,” he grinned at her. They were in the park down the street from the house, and aimed at a hillside where a stray arrow wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“I have to pee,” John said. Eddie looked around.

“Go ahead, man,” he said stringing his bow.

“Now I have to poop,” John said. Joss smiled.

“I’ll take him,” she said.

“I’ll take him, you’re here to learn how to shoot,” Buck said and took John’s little hand and went back behind the arrow shooters to the road and the house. Eddie and Joss were focusing on the target. Eddie was far more comfortable with Buck gone; so Joss was taking advantage of the time without Buck breathing down his neck. Emma and Graham were rolling down the small hill behind them, their laughter a soothing balm.

“Stand comfortably with your legs apart, left forward, right back,” he leaned forward to touch her leg and then pulled away like he was going to be burned and looked up the hill where Buck disappeared. Joss laughed.

“Is his reputation that bad?” She asked. Eddie nodded.

“Yup, he was serious about the touching of his woman, I’m pretty sure. Clint said he put six guys in the hospital one night after one of them made Miri cry. He hit the one who made Miri cry a couple of times a few days before, and then that guy got his friends together to teach Duke a lesson. They jumped him coming out of an auto parts store. Three minutes later the six of them were all broken and bleeding on the pavement and Duke had a sore hand, but no other injuries. The store had a security camera set up and it caught the whole thing. It’s on YouTube if you want to see it; Clint showed me the day you guys showed up, as a warning.

“I’ve seen cougars in the hills, they don’t waste any movement. They are still until they pounce, half the time you don’t even know they’re there. Then they go straight for a weak spot, they don’t mess around, they eviscerate efficiently. That’s what Duke did in the video, he didn’t waste a single movement; he evaluated the threat and disabled it in like a half a second.”

“I’ve seen him do that, it’s impressive. But he’s not a wild animal, Eddie, he won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt me, and I really can’t see that happening.”

“No, that’s not my style,” he grinned at her and she warmed to him.

“Good, let’s shoot some arrows,” they smiled at each other.

“Nock the arrow on to the string right here,” he pointed to a spot on the string that was marked for the arrow. “It’s called the nocking point. This wooden part is called the riser, you hold the riser with your left hand, as steady as possible, okay?” Joss nodded. “Proper form would have you nock the arrow while pointing to the ground in case it slips out of your fingers, that way your friends will be safe.”

“Good plan,” Joss said and pointed the arrow down as she set the arrow in place.

“There is an arrow rest, rest your arrow on it and take your aim. Don’t grip the riser with such a death grip.” Joss relaxed a little. “The pressure as you pull back is all you need. You’ll find that you’ll aim too high until you get the hang of it, or I always did,” Eddie said and motioned for her to lower the bow a quarter inch. He smiled. “Bring your hand to your jaw, sight the arrow and release. Breathe out slow and steady and take your shot when you’re ready.” Joss let the arrow fly and was astonished when it actually hit the target. It wasn’t close to the bulls-eye, but she wasn’t expecting that much. She gave Eddie a huge smile just as Emma let out a shriek. They both turned to see what possessed her. A man stood there with a knife to Graham’s throat.

“Fuck,” Joss said.

“Okay, Blondie, drop the bow,” he said and Joss dropped the bow right at Eddie’s feet, and stuck the arrow she was holding in the hard earth next to him. Eddie was supposed to be a really good shot; she hoped she set everything up properly for him.

“An admirer of yours?” Eddie asked.

“Elgin Chee,” she said and
Elgin
’s eyes went large.

“How the fuck did you know that?”

“Look Elgin Chee, take your hands off the boy now, and I won’t kill you where you stand,” Eddie sounded scary, she was impressed. “Emma, go stand by the target, now.” Emma ran a few yards away, but nowhere near as far as Joss would have liked.

“Why don’t you come with me, Blondie, and we can leave the kid behind,”
Elgin
said.

“No one’s going anywhere with you,
Elgin
, let the boy go,” Eddie said. Joss saw his grip tighten on Graham, the poor kids was scared to death.

“I’ll go, just let Graham go,” Joss said. “Buck will find me. He’s a dangerous man,
Elgin
, are you sure you want to do this?”

“I have a permanent limp because of that asshole, I’m getting even.”

“Think about why he broke your knee, you were attacking me, just like you are now, only now you’re alone. He made pretty short work of you when there were three of you, didn’t he?”

“Shut up and get your ass up that hill, and
then
I’ll let the kid go,”
Elgin
said looking behind him for the real threat, the one he wouldn’t see or hear coming.

“Absolutely not, leave him here with me and you can have the girl, she’s Duke’s woman, not mine,” Eddie said and Joss wasn’t offended at all.

“Put the knife to me, come on
Elgin
. I will go freely once you let the boy go,” she challenged. “Enough foreplay, let’s do this thing. The knee might not work; let’s see about the rest of you.” He licked his lips and stumbled closer to her, Joss could smell his sweat. Graham looked terrified.

Elgin
loosened his grip on Graham and the boy felt it and darted away from him and ran to Emma as
Elgin
lunged for Joss, just as she was turning to get her gun out of her new holster.
Elgin
’s knee gave out underneath him and he fell, pulling Joss down on top of him just as Eddie planted an arrow in
Elgin
’s throat. Buck, Miri and John crested the hill in time to see it all unfold and Buck was down the hill in seconds, Miri and John following close behind.

Eddie helped move Joss off of
Elgin
and he, Buck and Joss all saw the knife in her abdomen at the same time. Eddie whipped out his phone and dialed 911 before anything else while Buck and Joss stared at each other in shock. When Miri knelt next to her Joss was lying back in Buck’s arms.

“Don’t take it out,” Miri said forcefully as Joss’s hand hovered over the handle of the knife. “Eddie, take my children home to Clint, and show the ambulance where we are. Duke, take your shirt off. Joss, you hold on, this is just a scratch; don’t you give up on us and slip into shock or anything.” Buck took his shirt off and Miri wadded it up and pressed it into her wound. “Hold this here.” She barked at Buck.

“Who knew… you were so… pushy?” Joss whispered.

“Are you kidding, I’m the pushiest broad you know,” Miri smiled at her.

“Hang on, my Duchess, divine intervention is on its way,” Buck said. Joss was so cold. “Where the fuck is that ambulance?” He growled.

“Buck, I would have liked to… give you long legged sons,” his tears were hitting her very pale face and mingling with hers.

“You will, Duchess, remember we were just going to get started on that,” he said.

Miri was looking at her phone. The ambulance ETA was ten more minutes, Joss was not going to last that long.

“Helicopter,” Joss said very faintly.

Buck hadn’t heard it, but there it was, getting closer.

“Joss, pay attention, live dammit, you have to live,” he shouted at her. She said that to him, she thought vaguely. She tried to answer him, but the words weren’t coming. She saw his hair flying around his head and his stern beautiful face close to hers, his lips were on her mouth and then all was black. When she opened her eyes again to tremendous pain in her chest, there was madness in a very small, very loud space. Faces swam in front of her, Buck and Miri and Sir Gerard and someone else she didn’t know. She looked around for Brand, but he wasn’t in the madness. She closed her eyes.

Minutes, hours, days later, she didn’t know, but she opened her eyes to oppressive white. Her hand was breaking. She lowered her gaze to it and couldn’t see it for the back of a familiar and much loved head was in the way. She pulled weakly at the pained hand and Buck’s head came up immediately alert. “Joss,” he said and sobbed with relief. She once again slipped away.

The next time she woke it was dark and people were whispering next to her. She didn’t even try to make out the words, but she knew it was Brent and Buck, and she was happy.

There was a light being shone in her eyes, and it startled her.

“It’s okay, Duchess, it’s just Miri, she used to do the same thing to me when we were kids,” Buck said.

“Buck,” she breathed.

“I’m right here, Duchess, I’ve got you,” he said staring down at her. And once again she slipped under. The next time she woke Buck was still there, staring at her face, looking pretty haggard.