Hearts of Iron Read online

  The sheriff yanked on Katie’s hair, “Listen, Princess, you think I came here for a miserly sheriff’s wage? To this stinking hole in the middle of nowhere, for a girl like you to tell me what’s what? Huh! We already negotiated our terms with the outer state officials before we took this job. My mistake was involving you. How’s about you go on back to your big house and fancy car and leave us to worry about what’s right and wrong from here on in?”

  He released her hair and she rebuked, rubbing her scalp, “Are you kidding me?”

  Sheriff gripped her wrist so hard she thought it might snap and whispered menacingly, “I ain’t asking, Princess, and no, I ain’t kidding either.”

  People around the bar finally looked toward their booth. Even the thugs glanced over at Katie, scowling. The sheriff put his hand on his holster, making Katie think twice about getting other people involved in her own mess. What with the four guns holstered on the guys sat with her and god knows what on the thugs, Katie wanted to avoid a blood bath.

  She nodded in agreement. “I understand Sheriff. I had to be certain you weren’t setting me up for a fall.” She winked, praying to herself that he’d fall for her next trick. Looking at his hand on his gun, she added, “But if you’re going to use that thing against those thugs, please do so as a threat as long as you’re indoors. There are good people in this bar who I don’t want to see die on my table tonight. Plus, I’d hate to lose any of the superb original features in a shootout,” she giggled sadistically. Surely, that would convince them?

  The sheriff and his toy-dogs stared at her, then looked at each other, clearly struggling to believe Katie’s turnaround. Perhaps because she was trembling and sweat rolled down the side of her cheek.

  Dan sat up, slumped against the bar, pinching the bridge of his nose. The guy with a beer gut rubbed his fist, walked past Dan and strolling toward Katie and the lawmen. Looking at their holstered guns, Katie’s heart raced.

  Oh god, save us.

  Dan called him back to the bar with promise of a beer just before the thug saw her guests. They jeered; they’d got their own way through intimidation. Katie let go of held breath with a gasp.

  So far, no one had died. But something had to happen to change the dynamics of the bar soon, or that would change drastically.

  “There, panic over. They’re just simple guys who wanted a beer,” sneered the sheriff. “Now, I say us five move on to something a little darker. If you meant what you said…?” Without waiting for them to agree, Sheriff Clancy yelled out, “Five Jack and Cokes over here, bartender.” His demand, coming from the hidden booth, silenced everyone else in the bar including the thugs.

  Do they want blood? What are they doing?

  Katie whispered urgently, “Don’t you think Dan’s got enough to cope with over there, without dealing with our order?” They seemed to believe her trick, which might be her chance to help. At the very least, to get away from the so-called lawmen to fetch help. “Let me get our drinks. I’m not above pouring a drink for a colleague.” She flashed her best smile, but the sweat still pooled in her cleavage and her hands were trembling.

  While the sheriff considered his answer, Dan called, “Be right over once I’ve served these guys, Sheriff.”

  That’s it, the guns are coming out.

  But no, Dan frowned at the lack of negative reaction on the drunkards’ faces. Instead they high-fived each other, as if to some unspoken joke.

  Why aren’t they leaving? They’re almost celebrating?

  Katie thought frantically, hating to admit the only answer: the men came with the Sheriff.

  “You know them? They know you?” Her charade crumbled, her disgust impossible to conceal.

  “Aw, and I thought you were were gonna be fun to work with for a second,” said Martin.

  “You little actress, you,” laughed the Sheriff. “You’ll be safe from any unsavory nonsense when we work together. As will everyone else in Miller. We just want fair pay for our protection.”

  “We pay you to protect us from your thugs?” Katie could barely contain herself. Her life had turned into a horror story.

  “There, you get it at last.” Junior’s grimace was sickening, and nausea burned Katie’s throat.

  “Well, this little display is just sending that message to Miller folk,” the Sheriff said with a shrug. “You know, so we start off on the right foot.”

  “Extortion. A protection racket.” Her stomach rolled. She tried to swallow a little upchuck, but choked on it instead, tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Junior snarled, “You know how it is in the real world. You still get the lawmen you wanted. Quite whining.”

  She tried to compose herself, watching as one thug went behind the bar, pushing Dan back on the floor, helping himself to several liquor bottles.

  “You call yourself lawmen. Look at your friends over there. Money really means that much to you?” Katie scrambled ideas around her head, desperate for one to be her next move. For one to turn back the clock. To eradicate her ridiculous notion that Miller needed a sheriff.

  Deputy Martin sneered. “You little bitch, only people who have always had money are stupid enough to ask that.”

  How could she make right her terrible mistake? He told her that lawmen had a habit of turning corrupt, mostly because the government paid them peanuts and criminality paid better. But Katie had naively argued against him. Without law there is chaos—her father had taught her that. Was he so wrong?

  The tall, spotty stranger approached the booth with a tray of Coke cans and a bottle of Jack Daniels. “Hey, hot stuff, you hiding our sheriff ‘round there?”

  “Meet our cute little doctor,” said the sheriff, introducing her to his scum of a colleague. “She’s gonna be our supplier, aren’t you, Princess?”

  She couldn’t move, paralyzed by fear and by her own stupidity, but not as much as by the huge weight of responsibility. Her stupid plan hadn’t worked and she had no idea where this nightmare would end for her, or for anyone.

  The two single girls tried to make a run for the door while one scumbag was out of the way, but another one found their futile attempt hilarious, dragging them back by their hair to his buddies at the bar.

  “Sit on my lap, sugar. I love a feisty whore.”

  The women squirmed while the guys grabbed their breasts and lifted their skirts to flash their panties. “Stop, please!” one woman cried, sobbing, falling to the floor.

  Her friend picked her up, her chin out. “Come on now, boys. Quit your filth.”

  The thugs gaped at her gall.

  “That’s all they are, honey—boys.” Clearly, she was the stronger of the two. Or just stupid.

  Katie held her breath, fearful at the men’s reaction to the mouthy woman. And she cringed at herself for being so judgmental; she’d never taken the time to learn more about the bikers before deciding they were bad for Miller. Since they arrived, there had been less crime, certainly less drugs. Whether that was a coincidence or not, they hadn’t brought crime to Miller. Katie had hated their tactics in dealing with bad elements, but they had never acted like these jerks.

  The thug moved away from Katie and toward the outspoken woman. Without a word, he smacked her and knocked her out.

  Katie leaned over the table and vomited on the floor. “Oh god,” she coughed. “Please stop them.”

  the sheriff laughed, “He’s teaching her to keep her mouth shut.”

  Nothing she could say would influence the evil criminals at her table.

  Please, please don’t let Miller suffer for my own snobbish ignorance.

  Just then, when she thought all was lost, the tense atmosphere in the bar changed. A blanket of calm replaced fear, although there were still a few bolts of electricity lingering. Katie looked past the sheriff and his deputies, to see past the crowd gathering around whoever entered the bar. All she could make out was shaggy, blonde hair capping a very tall man. She felt the collective sigh of relief in the air. Desperate to confirm
who it was, she attempted to stand up. Once again, the Sheriff wouldn’t let her. “Let go of me!” Katie shrieked, trying to retrieve her hand.

  “Sit down!” Sheriff Clancy yanked on her arm so hard she thought it might come loose from her socket. “You don’t want my guys to turn nasty on your town, do you?”

  Katie coughed in his face. The sheriff leaned away, scared she’d vomit on him. At least it got his stench away from her, even if he wouldn’t loosen his grip. She looked again in the same direction, heard another smack. This time a thug flew across the hall, landing unconscious on the floor.

  Oh my god, we’re saved.

  “Seems someone else has already secured our protection contract, Sheriff.” Katie grinned, her heart leaping a little with hope.

  Everyone cheered at their savior, offering him beer. The other men stayed quiet at the bar, unwilling to move against the giant newcomer they were totally unprepared for. Or perhaps they awaited the sheriff’s direction?

  The crowds surrounding him finally dispersed, allowing him access to the bar. Dan and he shared some special handshake and Dan nodded over at the drunkards. That was when she saw Lance’s face at last. That beautiful face, sucking on the lip of a beer bottle. When he replaced it on the bar, he said to the cowering thugs, “So, I take it you’re here with the new lawmen? When are they gonna come riding to your rescue?”

  Katie cringed because Lance clearly knew what their set up was before knowing any of the facts. Was it so obvious to everyone but her?

  Lance strolled over to open the door so the young single women could leave. At the same time another biker came in, smiling and greeting Lance with another special handshake. Two younger men who’d apparently been playing pool before all hell broke loose also left. They thanked their hero on their way out, the sheriff’s men doing nothing to stop them. The only people left were Dan, the bad guys, Katie, and two bikers.

  She couldn’t believe the power Lance radiated.

  She wanted to call out to him, to tell him the lawmen were here and they had guns. But she couldn’t. What if he came over and got shot? She couldn’t bear it. “I need to use the bathroom, as you can see I’m unwell.” Katie snatched her hand free. “Besides, looks like you got competition.” She considered leaving through the back door, to find more of Lance’s friends at the burger bar. Get them to help him, just in case guns got involved.

  Sheriff gave her a warning look. “Don’t be long, Princess. We got some celebrating to do and business to discuss. Oh, and we’ll take care of your hero over there.” He patted his gun.

  She left swiftly, headed for the toilets in the opposite direction of Lance, fingers crossed and breath held. Please don’t shoot him, please don’t shoot him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Almost through the doors to the toilets, Katie heard his familiar deep voice at her back. “Hey, what you doing in here, Katie?” She desperately wanted to turn around and run to him, to ask for his help. But he already had to deal with so much because of her, and he’d hate her for it all. She decided to remove any distractions, and walked on.

  “Hey, Scum,” Lance called to the thugs. “Leave now or wait for my pals. It’s gonna get more messy if you stay, but we’re cool with that.” He glared at the lawmen and frowned at Katie.

  She walked through the swing doors, fingers still crossed.

  “Hey! What? I’m not good enough to talk to in front of your friends?”

  She grabbed him and pulled him into a toilet cubicle. “Shush. They’re the lawmen, and they’re with the thugs in the bar.”

  “You were drinking with them?”

  Lance stood silent. She cringed at what he must be thinking. Tears formed in her eyes when she looked at him. “I thought I was doing the right thing for the town, Lance. I didn’t know you then, I just thought…”

  “-You thought we were wrong and you were right. Without checking the facts.” He stepped back, a grimace contorting his soft features. “Is that what the fucking was about? A distraction while they moved in?” He appeared genuinely shocked, hurt, and livid all at the same time. He stormed from the cubicle to kick the garbage can across the floor; its contents flew over the bathroom floor.

  “Oh god, please.” Katie panicked. “I’m so sorry. But that’s not how it was…” Although it had been her plan to distract him, she had let it go so far because she needed him. Not for any other reason. She stepped closer; she had to deal with one thing at a time. “Look at me, Lance.” Reaching up and placing her palms on his cheeks, grateful for her four inch heels, she said, “I made a terrible mistake. Those guys are gonna ruin our town. They’re as corrupt as the office who sanctioned their jobs. I’m powerless and it’s all my fault.”

  “Oh, so you fucked me to distract me, but now that they’re exactly what I said they’d be, you want me to clean up after your mess?” He opened the door, one foot ou,t and turned back. “You’re good. You’re really good, I’ll give you that. A real pro. Your mess, you deal with it.”

  Her heart beat so fast she thought it might burst. “It’s not like that, please Lance. Don’t leave like this.”

  But he did.

  ***

  Katie left the bar by the back door and got home as soon as she could. She knew the men were at least temporarily taken care of. She thought of her actions and ignored the repeated calls from Sheriff Clancy. She’d been so wrong about everything but Lance, but…she’d hurt him.

  After she locked the door behind her, straight away she called the office that employed the sheriff to tell them what was going on. They stalled her complaint, asking for proof. As if she’d have anything other than her word over his at this stage. They told her they couldn’t make a move on someone based on her suspicions alone. Finally they told her—you ask for them, you deal with them.

  Frustrated, she hung up and sobbed. “What can I do? What have I done?”

  Only one person could help her town, whether he wanted to or not, and she’d persuade him somehow. She got back into her Mercedes and drove out of town to his trailer. At least she would be safe there, away from the sheriff who knew where she lived.

  Lanced returned home some hours later, a little worse for wear.

  “Hey,” said Katie, flashing her headlights and sticking her head out her car window.

  Lance approached her, wondering what the hell she was doing at his place. Hadn’t she caused him enough trouble, enough humiliation? She lied and got what she wanted.

  She sniffed while climbing out of her car and asked, “May I join you?”

  Lance grunted in reply, more than slightly drunk on booze.

  Katie swiped the whiskey bottle away from him before taking a great big swig and then throwing it through the air against the nearby trash can. Her aim was another thing she sucked at.

  “Hey. What the…?” exclaimed Lance.

  “I think coffee’s a better bet for you right now.”

  He shrugged. He’d had enough an hour ago but just kept on drinking to help him pretend he hadn’t been made a fool of by a woman, but mostly that she hadn’t given him hope of a future for five glorious minutes and then snatched it rudely away. “If you want good coffee, you came to wrong place.” He was pissed at her. He’d thought they had something. Something he’d never had before. Something real. When all he’d been was a necessary hookup to keep him busy while the law moved in.

  “I want to talk and for you to listen,” said Katie. “It’s you who needs the coffee, not me. I’m wired enough.”

  “Why should I listen to more of your lies?” He noticed red rings around her eyes. Had she been crying? “And why are you so wired? You got what you wanted, didn’t you? And don’t worry, I’m in no mood to mess with your precious law. I’ll get out and take our business elsewhere.” He said, but the thought of leaving his first real home ripped him to shreds. But even if he got rid of Clancy, he wouldn’t want to see Katie about town; she;d date, eventually settle down with some other guy, giving that guy a son. Instead of him.r />
  No!

  “Because they’re not lies,” implored Katie. “They’re pleas for understanding, for forgiveness.” She stepped closer and her coconut fragrance swooped in, reminding him of their incredible afternoon together. “And for your special brand of justice.”

  Lance was shocked. Did he hear her correctly? Had she just asked for him to…?

  “Thought my special brand of justice wasn’t good enough? It dealt with those jerks earlier. They won’t be back around Miller anytime soon.”

  Katie sighed, grateful for him and for his strength, but still felt as though the weight of the world were on her shoulders. “I honestly thought I was doing the right thing, Lance. I got it all so wrong.” Tears smudged her makeup, and the panda eyes she’d had after their incredible time on her sofa reappeared.