Page 14 of Ferocious Protector

Damn those butterflies all to hell, they just will not quit dancing when he’s looking at me like that and saying things that just make me want him even more.

I turn away before my cheeks give me away. “Come on, I’ll race you back.”

A couple of Cole’s men are at the stable when we arrive. “We can take care of the horses. Sounds like Cole’s in a hurry to get everyone together up at the house,” one of them says as I slide down and hand him the reins. “Thanks,” Blake tells them, placing a hand on my lower back as we head back to the house.

“You think we should call the sheriff?” I ask just as we get to the door.

“My guess is we’ll handle it ourselves with some backup from Larussio’s men, but we’ll see if the plan has changed with the trouble headed our way.”

13

Blake

Cole and the guys have a property map spread out on the table while the ladies help some others place mountains of smoked beef brisket, barbeque glazed chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, cornbread, and a huge bowl of bright red watermelon chunks onto a large rectangular table set up against the dining room wall. I pass the ladies, giving them a grin as I head toward the table the guys have taken over. “Looks and smells delicious. That spread is making me hungry all over again.”

Patti Ann laughs as she joins the women. “I don’t know where he puts all the food.”

I give her a wink as I settle in by the guys, before giving them my full attention. “Get me acclimated. Where’s the point I’ll be at?” I ask, scanning the property map.

Beckett puts his finger on it, and Cole draws a bright red circle where the house is. “They’re going to be doing one of three things if not all. They’ll be causing trouble in town to get us divided, you know they’re going to hit the house since the wedding is here. And if I’d have to guess, they’re going to do both simultaneously tonight and tomorrow with crews running night and day.”

I draw a red circle around the area Wild Deuces is at. “How far out are Tommy and his crew?”

Cole looks at his phone. “Tommy just texted. They’ll be landing in about an hour. They’ve got all the firepower we need.”

I glance up. “Soldiers and enforcers flying under the radar?”

Garrett rubs his fingers together. “I’m sure they pay a lot of money to get passed through inspections and it doesn’t hurt they fly private strip to private strip. Don’t ever think the Larussios don’t have control of all that stuff.”

My eyes scan the document looking for all the potential spots. “Glad I’m working for them.”

Cole laughs. “Damn straight. They’ll get the men here and more if we need it. This town, it means something to them. It’s not just about the money. They’ve built a connection with the small business owners of this community. They brought them back from bankruptcy and our friends and neighbors have more money coming in than they ever have before and it’s because of the Larussios’ business savvy. Discounts on booze, food, you name it, being aligned with them gets the businesses a discount.”

PJ brings her cell phone over to Cole. “Mason’s on the phone.”

He takes it from her hand and his jaw tightens as he listens. “Thanks Mason. Keep us posted on the group chat. Don’t worry, we’ve got this covered.”

The minute he hangs up he immediately connects with Kenny. “This is Cole. Things may get rough tonight. I want you to head to that place we talked about. No, listen to me. If they can get to you, they put fear into the whole town. Get your wife and go, now. We’ll take care of everything else.”

He disconnects and looks up at us. “Mason’s been there keeping an eye out on Wild Deuces and he’s seeing a few more strangers straggle in than he likes. They haven’t made a move yet, but it’s making him uneasy. Our goal is to keep everyone safe. The Chicago boys want Kenny. Revenge, a way to flex their muscle to the other business owners, but we’re not letting him get hit again,” Cole says.

Beckett and I, we’ve seen this maneuver more than we’d like to have seen it. I put a finger on the red circle and draw it to the other. “Getting Kenny and his wife out of the picture is a good move. If they can’t get him, they’ll go after the patrons, use them as hostages to draw us out. We need to get in front of that, fast.”

Beckett and I know this drill like the back of our hands. “Mason will be our point man on the inside. Cole, Garrett, you’ll head to the bar to help Mason.” Not one of them looks okay with that plan but Beckett doesn’t back down. “Not one of those bastards will get up this road to this house with Blake and me on the gun.” He looks to Cole. “We don’t have near enough firepower for town.”

Cole looks at me and lowers his voice, but the ladies are busy talking animatedly about the wedding and are paying us no mind. “I want the ladies in the basement. I swear every year they just keep coming with new and more threats.”

Good thinking. “That meal they just set up. Let’s get it downstairs and protect those women, then we get to our stations.”

Damian gestures for me to look to my phone. I glance down at the text he sent. We have a crew of bikers heading into town to ride interference. They’ll be able to handle town if you want to keep Cole and Garrett with the women.

I look up at the group. “Looks like the Larussios are coming through again. They have a motorcycle crew heading into town to help. They’ll deal with the Wild Deuces if you both want to stay here and cover the house.”

Cole and Garrett both nod in agreement. “Mason is there, we trust him to run point with whoever the Larussios send and to report back.”

I start circling the areas and calling out the plays. The sons of bitches are going to regret sending enemies into town to take over Deadwood. Because that’s not how this is going to go down.

We take the large metal containers of food the caterers left and help get it set up downstairs. Cole gestures to the spread. “Grab a plate and follow me.” We pile our plates and follow him to an adjacent room in the basement to eat and assess the firepower he’s got stored while getting prepared for the enemy out of earshot of the ladies.