Chapter Sixteen

Joe didn’t want to drag his mate into an altercation. That was the last thing he wanted. But he was hard wired to respond if he heard sounds of violence, and those sounds were getting clearer with every step he took. Someone was getting beaten. It would have to be buffalos. There’s no way a man who’d take the time to draw a purple unicorn on his daughter’s cast, would take his sons out to a remote barn and lay into them.

And he was right. Al had Brian caught in a headlock while Wall was punching the crap out of Roe and Carmine. The deer shifters were putting up a good fight, but like all deer shifters, they were slight of build and Wall was aptly named. “Sheriff’s office,” Joe yelled as he charged towards his biggest cousin. “Stand down, or I’ll take you in.”

“Nothing going on here.” Wall and Al both stepped back and holding up their hands as Roe and Carmine ran to their father, who was rubbing his neck. “Just a friendly brawl between friends.”

“You’re not our friend, asshole.” Roe, the youngest of the three deer shifters yelled out. “You forced us to hide you. You threatened Mom and little Rosie.”

“Roe…Don’t….” Brian rasped. “Joe’s one of them.”

“Deputy Joe’s one of the finest men in this town,” Doc said angrily, striding over and knocking Brian’s hand away from his throat so he could examine him. “If you’re going to sit there, spouting shit about my mate, your throat is about to feel a lot worse.”

“Dad can’t help it,” Carmine whispered. “That human lawyer filled his head with lies and fake promises, spreading all this shit about how Deputy Joe killed Robert in cold blood and then saying it was Dad’s duty as a loyal Arrowtown citizen to help Robert’s sons get their revenge.”

“You two have no right to be here,” Joe said sternly, keeping his eye on his cousins. They weren’t the brightest bulbs in the box, but they had a mean streak a mile wide. “Your family was banished and the whole town agreed. I’m taking you in.”

“You and who’s army, ass-wipe?” Wall sneered as he slapped one fist into his open palm. “We used to trash your butt all the time when we was young. What makes you think you can make us do anything now?”

“Because my mate just called for backup and you might have beaten me when I was a teenager, but I’m not that scared kid anymore.”

“You’ve got a mate?” Al’s mouth dropped open in shock. “How come you got one before we did? We’re older than you. How come I haven’t got one?”

“Stop thinking with your dick, dickhead,” Wall scowled at his brother. “Dad’s dead, remember? And this asshole killed him. He’s the only thing stopping us from coming home.”

“Sheriff Rocky might have a thing to say about that, as might the people who bought your family houses fair and square when you were banished,” Joe snapped. “Just because you’re big, don’t think for one second any Quincy will be allowed back into Arrowtown – whether I’m dead or not.”

“But you’re a Quincy too.” Al scratched his head.

“Not anymore, I’m not. I’m a Farriday, as in Doctor Nathan Farriday’s mate. Now, shut up and put your hands behind your back for cuffing.” Joe knew it was a long shot, but then his cousins were distracted. Sure enough, Al, probably still fretting about his lack of mate, put his hands behind his back and Joe had the cuffs on him before he could blink. That evened the odds a bit.

Wall strode over and slapped his brother around the head. “What did you do that for?” Al tried to rub his head, but of course, he couldn’t.

“Now, I’ve got to fight him to get the damn keys, knucklehead. Didn’t Uncle Myron teach you nothing?”

“But Joe’s the Deputy. Dad always said follow a deputy’s orders and he’d make things right at the office.”

“Dad doesn’t run that office anymore, shit for brains,” Wall yelled. “He’s dead! Joe killed him.”

“Yeah, but Joe’s still a deputy, right?”

“As fun as this all is, watching you two re-enact something from dumb and dumber,” Joe said firmly. “Wall, I need you to put your arms behind your back for me.”

Wall spun around swinging. Joe expected that and ducked quickly. He’d grown up watching Wall tackle everything with his fists. His real name was Wallace, but no one had called him by his full name since he was five and bloodied the nose of two rabbit shifters on his first day of school. Joe drove his fist, using all his strength into Wall’s podgy middle and then as Wall bent over with an “oomph” Joe clasped both his hands together and smashed them into the back of Wall’s head.

“You bastard,” Wall screamed, dropping to his knees and rubbing his head. Unfortunately, he didn’t stay down, pushing himself off the ground and charging like the buffalo he was. Side stepping just in time, Joe kicked him as he went passed, but it barely had an impact as Wall crashed into the side of the old barn. Planks smashed under his weight, and Joe thought he’d gone down. But Wall grabbed hold of a broken support beam and came back swinging the four foot length like a baseball bat.

“You always thought you were too damn good for the rest of us,” Wall snarled. “Getting an education. Wearing a uniform. Butter wouldn’t melt on your super smooth tongue, would it?”

“I’ll try it and let you know.” Joe was watching Wall’s hand swinging the beam. “You aren’t going to win this fight, Wall.”

“I never lose.” Yelling like a demented Viking, Wall raised the beam above his head and charged again. Hunching his shoulders, Joe crouched down and as Wall came forward he turned, pushing the full weight of his shoulder into Wall’s belly. A resounding crack over his back made Joe grunt, but he wasn’t giving up. Digging in with his boots, Joe called on the spirit of his buffalo and put everything he could into his shoulder. The beam hit him across the back of his thighs this time and Joe stumbled, but as he braced himself for another blow he heard a low guttural growl. Everything went deathly still.

“What the fuck is that?” Wall backed away, his face white, the beam he’d been wielding falling from his hand. Snatching it up, in case Wall got it into his head to attack the menacing lizard moving in on them, Joe pulled a second set of cuffs from his pocket.

“That, cousin, is my mate, and in case you didn’t read the memo, his kind feast on ours. That makes you his prey. One bite and you’ll be in agony for days, your body slowly rotting thanks to his venom and the wicked bacteria he has in his jaws. There’ll be nothing you can do to stop it. When the venom has burrowed into your flesh, the poison will hit your bloodstream and in less than two minutes after that, you’ll be dead.”

Joe wasn’t sure of the last part, but Wall didn’t know that. “Put your arms behind your back, or I’ll just walk away and leave him to it.”

“But shifters don’t eat each other. I’m in my human form. He’s a doctor. He’s supposed to save lives,” Wall wailed, backing up as the Komodo advanced.

“Which is the only reason you’re not dead now.” Joe jingled the cuffs in his hand. “Arms behind your back, or I’ll walk away.”

“Don’t let him eat me.” Wall shrieked as Doc growled again. “I’ll do it. I’ll do it. Put me in protective custody. I’ll tell you everything I know about the raid, the bombing, everything, just don’t let him come near me.”

“What about our dear Uncle Myron?” Joe snapped the cuffs on hard, knowing they’d hurt, but damn, his back and thighs were still throbbing and would likely be bruised by dinner time.

“Anything. Just….”

“Fucking hell, would you look at that?” A new voice joined the scene. Joe looked up to see Rocky and Mal had joined them, Rocky sporting a big hunting rifle over his shoulder. “Doc, you’ve got hidden talents.”

Doc growled, only this time it was aimed at Rocky. Shit. Pushing Wall to the ground, Joe dived in front of his mate, holding out his arms. “Don’t say anything, don’t antagonize him. Yes, he’s cognizant, but Doc’s hidden his secret for centuries and he only shifted because Wall was attacking me. How many people would go to him for medical treatment if they knew he could kill them?”

“I would,” Brian piped up from where he was still sitting with his sons. Joe had forgotten the deer shifters were even there. “Anyone who can make a full grown buffalo shifter shit his pants, is worth having as a friend. Doc’s been treating my kids since Carmine here was born. That ain’t gonna change.”

“I appreciate that, Brian,” Joe said, nodding in their direction. “But surely you can see, if news got out, some people are going to be scared of him.”

“We’re not going to say anything,” Mal said, laughing as the Komodo’s head bunted Joe’s hand, looking for a scratch. “I’m sure Brian and his family can keep the secret too. Although, Mr. Dash, I have to say, things are not looking good for you right now. Harboring two known fugitives can carry a nasty penalty.”

“My cousins threatened their Mom and little Rosie, if they didn’t do as they were told,” Joe said quickly, flicking his hand at Wall and Al. “It was Rosie who warned me I should come out here. She told me there were bad men here, but she also reminded me her dad is one of the good guys.”

“I’ve been so anxious about all this,” Brian said, his eyes damp. “Yelling at the missus and the wee one too. I didn’t know what to do. It’s not as though we could stop them, and I didn’t dare leave the farm to warn anyone in case my ladies got hurt. These two, they’ve done nothing wrong.” Brian indicated his two sons who were watching Doc, absolutely fascinated. “All we did was let them stay at the barn and bring them food.”

“Then who the hell has been watching us in town and feeding these two information?” Rocky snapped. “Because, sure as hell, someone is.”

“That was me.” Carmine twisted his hands, his face a mask of misery. “I’m sorry, Dad, but Al said he’d do nasty sexual stuff to me if I didn’t. I didn’t know they were going to blow up the sheriff’s office or that Deputy Joe would get shot.”

“Hey,” Wall yelled out. “We were here when that office was bombed.”

“It’s okay, son,” Brian said awkwardly, tucking his son under his arm as he faced Rocky proudly. “We’ll take whatever punishments owing to us. I know we did wrong.”

“And sometimes good people do bad things because bad people make them do it, isn’t that right, Deputy Joe?” Rocky grinned. “Yep, we stopped by the house before we came over here. I talked to Rosie too. I’m half inclined to give her a badge. Mr. Dash, boys. I will need to talk to you all. Tomorrow will be fine. I just want your corroborating testimony for our records. I don’t see any reason for anyone in your family to be charged over this. However, I do have one suggestion.”

“What is it? Anything.” Brian looked as though he was ready to cry again.

“Get that young Rosie a cell phone and program the Sheriff’s number into it.” Rocky grinned, showing all his teeth. “That little one has got eyes like a hawk and ears like a wolf. She’ll make a good deputy one day.”

“Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you, thank you.”

Ignoring Brian and his cuffed cousins, Joe looked down at his mate. “Did you shred your clothes, babe, or are they still in one piece? I’m not sure you’re going to fit in the car like that.”

“You mean these?” Mal laughed as he held up the ripped remains of Doc’s clothes. “Here,” he said, throwing Joe a set of keys. “Take the SUV. If you put the back seats down, he should fit, or maybe not. But there’s a spare blanket in the back which should keep him covered until you get back to the surgery.”

“Let’s hope Rosie’s down for an afternoon nap,” Joe whispered as he and his scaled companion started back across the paddocks. “Otherwise we won’t be home until sundown. I think it’s about damn time you claimed my ass, don’t you?”

It was really amazing just how fast a Komodo dragon could run when he had the incentive. Joe laughed as he chased after him. This wasn’t quite the run he’d envisaged with his mate, but it was close.