Down & Dirty (Bundle) (7 page)

Oliver kept rubbing neatsfoot oil into the
saddle in front of him, and Jack almost missed the quick flare of
the man’s nostrils. “Want me to ride shotgun or keep an eye on
Ginny?”

“
Ginny needs help rounding
up her stock. And Hazel’s over there with her now, which’ll
complicate issues if someone slips past me to cause
trouble.”

“
Cut the fence again, huh?”
Oliver shook his head and wiped his hands on a rag. “They ain’t got
nothing better to do, I guess.”

“
Well, they will when I’m
done with them.” Jack’s horse shifted nervously, and he realized
his tension was beginning to spill outward.
Might as well get this over with.
“I’ve got something else to ask you. It’s intrusive as hell,
but I can’t afford to be delicate about it.”

Oliver arched an eyebrow and waited.

Any attempt at phrasing it tactfully would
be wasted on Oliver, so Jack didn’t bother. “Hazel’s going through
her first mating soon, and the young men in town are getting ready
to tear each other up because she hasn’t picked one of them yet.
I’m told it’s because she’s harboring some pretty serious feelings
for you.”

“
That so?” Oliver glanced
around the yard and tugged off his hat. “And you want me to take
her on?”

Jack had to bite his tongue
to keep from agreeing outright. “While I appreciate the offer, I
can’t say as I think that would be good for her. She needs to find
someone who cares about her and will take care
with
her. Maybe if you could just let
her down easy, she’d give someone else a chance. We’ve got some
decent young men in the pack.”

The man’s dark eyes were inscrutable, but he
nodded and promised, “First chance I get.”

Which could mean that afternoon or when
Hazel turned thirty. Oliver had many talents, but verbose
communication was not one of them. Of course, like all dominant
wolves, the man had weaknesses, too -- weaknesses Jack knew how to
exploit, considering he shared them. “Sooner would be better. It’s
getting hard to keep her protected. I’ve already had to step on a
few of the boys pretty hard to convince them to keep their hands to
themselves.”

Oliver’s hands clenched into fists. “Don’t
think she’d want me bringing it up in front of Ginny, but I’ll talk
to her. First chance I get.”

Interesting.
“Good. I’m headed over to deal with Dawson now.
Would you mind escorting Ginny and Hazel back to town when you’re
done? I’d feel better if they were tucked up with Lottie instead of
out there on their own, until I know everything’s taken care
of.”

“
I’ll ride over as soon as
my chores are done.”

He’d already gotten more words out of the
man than he usually heard in a week. Jack nodded once and turned
his horse around. “Thanks, Oliver.”

“
You’re
welcome.”

Dawson met him with a rifle and three
strapping men who might have been a threat if they hadn’t all been
morons. He spit over the railing of his porch and into the dirt
near Jack’s horse. “Surprised to see you up and about so early,
Owens.”

“
Dawson.” Jack ignored the
sign of disrespect and slid off his horse. The mare was
well-trained, but even the calmest horse got edgy when werewolves
started playing dominance games.
And flat
on my back is not where I need to be.
“You’ve been busy.”

The man’s lecherous grin
was chilling. “Could say the same about you,
sir
.” His tone made the term an
insult.

Jack hadn’t even considered the fact that he
was covered in Ginny’s scent. “I told you not to bother her again.
I made it pretty clear there would be consequences.”

Dawson made a rude noise, and the men on the
porch fidgeted nervously. “I’d ask what claim she has on your
protection, but I guess you done answered that.”

“
I guess I did.” Jack
hooked his thumbs in his belt and let the power inside him off its
leash to fill the space around him. “But even if that weren’t the
case, every wolf in this territory is mine. That includes you and
your thick skull, Dawson, which means I don’t particularly want to
hurt you. Doesn’t mean I won’t, though.”

Dawson returned his look with a glare.
“Ginny Howard runs around, making a big fuss about how she isn’t
part of your pack. That she doesn’t belong to you. But here you
are. Makes a man wonder, Owens, why in hell he’d want to bother
toeing the line.”

“
Virginia Howard minds her
own business and doesn’t damage anyone else’s livelihood. That’s
the line you need to start toeing.”

The three men flanking him
lowered their eyes, but Dawson kept staring. “I don’t think I’m
much in the mood. So you do what you’ve got to do, but make sure it
doesn’t include telling
me
what
I’ve
got to.”

And there it was, the challenge he hadn’t
wanted.

So much for words.
He didn’t want to think too closely about the
thrill of satisfaction that claimed him as he gathered the magic
that made him the strongest -- that made him the
alpha
.

When he moved, it was too fast for Dawson to
stop him. He cleared the space to the porch in three strides and
had his fingers curled around Dawson’s rifle before the man had
done more than raise it up. One hard jerk, and Jack curled his
other hand in the man’s shirt and hauled him over the railing.

Dawson swung, a hard punch that clipped Jack
on the jaw. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other three
wolves back away, knowing instinctively they had no place in this
fight.

Not that it turned out to be much of one.
Dawson was plenty brave with a rifle and a gang, but one-on-one he
couldn’t keep up with Jack. He kicked the gun out of the way before
wrenching the man’s arm nearly out of his socket. One sharp kick to
the back of the leg and Dawson hit the ground with Jack on his
back, one knee positioned at the base of his spine.

Jack pulled Dawson’s arm behind him and
leaned down. “Give me a compelling reason why I shouldn’t snap your
spine right now and save myself a world of headaches later on.”

Dawson made a valiant effort to throw Jack
off of him, but he couldn’t muster the leverage. “You don’t deserve
to be alpha,” he muttered angrily. He snatched a knife from his
belt and slashed it across Jack’s forearm.

It hurt like hell, but Jack didn’t release
his grip. He grabbed Dawson’s wrist with his free hand and used the
strength he usually kept so carefully in check. Bones gave way
beneath his fingers with a grind and a sickening crunch. Dawson
screamed a curse and jerked his injured wrist away. Then, insanely,
the man began to laugh.

Jack’s blood chilled. “What?”

His laughter died with a wheeze. “You think
those three idiots up there helped me cut the fence? You’re
stupider than you look.” He snorted. “I sent the rest of them out
to her place already to take care of things.”

With the blood pounding in his ears, he
didn’t hear Dawson’s spine snap. A furious growl tore free from him
as he rose to his feet, leaving the limp body on the ground as he
shifted his gaze to the three men on the porch. “This is your only
warning.”

None of them lifted their eyes, and all of
them murmured their understanding.

Fury rode him hard, and it was impossible to
get within five feet of his horse. He tore his clothing free
instead and channeled that rage into the change. As soon as his
paws hit the ground he launched himself in the direction of Ginny’s
property and prayed.

Chapter Five

“
Hazel, where are the rest
of those .30-30s from the hall closet?” Ginny swore and worked the
lever on her rifle, sparing Oliver a quick glance. “You’re
bleeding.”

Oliver rose up on one knee as he stuck his
rifle through a shattered pane of her front window and fired.
“It’ll stop soon.”

“
Here.” Hazel appeared
around the corner with her arms full of boxes. “I think these are
all of them --”

Oliver made it halfway
across the floor and dragged Hazel down before Ginny could even
speak. “Stay
down
,”
he hissed. “Unless we’re covering you with fire, you keep your ass
below window level, got it?”

The tension in the room twisted into
something hot and feral as Hazel let out a low snarl. Her shallow,
quick breaths were audible even over the gunfire from the front
yard. For a moment, Ginny was afraid the girl was going to lose it
then and there, in the middle of a firefight.

Hazel rolled away in the next instant,
coming to her hands and knees a few feet from Oliver. “Ginny.” Her
voice sounded high and frightened -- a lot more frightened than it
had a few seconds ago. “Where can I go?”

“
Get to the washroom in the
back hall.” Ginny caught the boxes that Oliver kicked her way and
tore one open with one hand. “Stay there until I come get
you.”

The girl scurried away, and Ginny made a
face at Oliver as she reloaded her rifle. “Nice, Ollie.”

His own chest heaved, and he growled at her
as he made his way back to the window. “Cut me a little slack,
Ginny? I’ve been shot.”

“
Not a lot of time for
slack, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

She could have sworn he
smirked. “Again,
shot
.”

She blew her hair out of
her eyes and peered out the window. “Only four left. Not
bad.”
We won’t wonder how many Jack ran
into over at Dawson’s, will we, Ginny?
“Unless someone flanked the house and is about to bust through
the back door.”

“
Doubtful.” His dark eyes
studied the front yard. “I think they planned on numbers and
surprise.”

“
And catching me and Jack
with our pants down.”

He made a small, choked noise. “I wasn’t
going to say that.”

“
You were thinking it.” It
was Ginny’s turn to growl. “What the hell are they
waiting
for?”

“
Bet they’re almost dry.”
He slid the barrel of his rifle slowly through the window. “Doubt
they carry much extra ammunition when they’re going to fuck
somebody up. Your average posse depends on brute force and
numbers.”

Leave it to Oliver to get downright
loquacious when talking about the strategy involved with successful
vigilantism. “They can’t sit out there all day.”

“
They won’t.” He sounded
sure. “They’ll either come up with another plan, or they’ll bum
rush us.”

The third option announced itself with a
furious howl. A wolf barreled into one of the men, his powerful
jaws closing on the back of the man’s neck. A furious surge of
power roared through the house, leaving no doubt that the wolf who
had joined the fight was the alpha.

And he was pissed.

God damn it.
“Jack.” Ginny snatched up her revolvers and
scrambled to her feet.

Oliver caught her arm. “If I let you go out
there, Jack’ll skin me alive.”

Only the knowledge that he
was trying to do what Jack wanted kept her from tearing his arm out
of its socket to get away. “I like you Ollie. Now
turn me loose
.”

“
All right.” He did, only
to yank his own revolvers out of their twin holsters. “But I’m
going first.”

They made it out into the yard a moment
before one of the remaining men fired at Jack. The wolf rolled out
of the way just in time to avoid the bullet that dug into the
ground an inch from his body.

Rage gripped Ginny, and she emptied both of
her pistols into the man. Oliver yelled something, but she couldn’t
understand him through the blood rushing in her ears. More gunfire
exploded around her, and a hard hand wrapped around her arm like a
vise.

The last shooter, a rough man named Keller,
jerked her to him, her back to his chest, and the hot steel of a
blade bit into her throat. “Drop the guns and back away.”

Being used as a shield, as a means for
escape, only made her angrier. He thought she was weak, that he
could use her to leave Oliver and Jack helpless.

Ginny smashed the heel of her boot back into
Keller’s shin and twisted the arm around her chest, unmindful of
the knife scoring her flesh. She spun, grasped his face between her
hands, and whispered, “I’m not a weapon.” A quick wrench of her
hands snapped his neck.