I stood to the side, listening to the debate that was raging around me. We were outside, the sun beating down on us as we stood in the dirt and dust of the desert. Ruth was inside with Alli, the two women becoming the strangest of friends. Ruth brought out something in Alli that was mesmerizing, a side of the tough woman that was almost soft, maternal. It was an interesting thing to watch.

Much more interesting than this crazy debate.

“We can’t just march in there and assume they’ll bend down to our will. There’s four of us. There’s more than a hundred of them. Maybe more,” Sullivan was saying.

“But we’ll have the element of surprise.”

“That only works for the first few minutes. After that, it no longer has a bearing on things.”

Quentin glared at the ex-cop. “You think you know everything. But you can’t know that it wouldn’t work.”

“I know that marching into a compound we don’t know, against men who have lived and worked there for months, is a stupid idea!”

“Gentlemen,” I said, clapping my hands together. “We’re supposed to be working out ideas, not attacking each other.”

“We know where they are now,” Quentin announced. “I don’t see why we can’t just go in and take them out.”

“Because this isn’t the old west,” Sullivan said. “We have to be smart about it.”

“No cop in the county is going to back us up. What does it matter how we do it? We’ll be blamed for anything that happens, anyway. But at least we’ll take them out in the process.”

I lowered my head, trying to hide my amusement.

“I won’t go to jail for you,” Sullivan announced.

“I hate to agree with him, Quentin,” Patrick said, “but me neither.”

Quentin shook his head, bouncing away from our little group on his toes, looking for all the world like a boxer staying warm for the championship bout.

“He’s right,” I decided to tell them. “We have to be smart about this.”

Quentin shook his head. “If being smart means not taking these bastards out, then I don’t want any part of it!”

“I want them gone as much as you do. It’s my friend they killed.” Quentin glanced at me, some of the bounce going out of his movements. “We will take them out. We just have to be smart. That’s all.” Quentin shook his head again, but he stopped moving.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “When my brothers and I were going up against a motorcycle gang back in Memphis, we invaded their clubhouse with the help of the local police. Obviously,” I held up a hand to slow Quentin’s objections, “we can’t do it that way this time. But we can take a few pointers from that experience.”

I began to outline my ideas for the guys. Even Quentin moved in after a minute, listening closely to my thoughts. By the end, he was smiling.

 

 

Two nights later, I was sitting at the computer looking through all the information we’d gathered on the Guardians. It felt like a lot when I sat there looking at it this way, but some of it we couldn’t use. The police reports on Harry’s accident were off limits, but Matthew had provided a statement to a lawyer I trusted. That we could use. And there were photographs, images from the security cameras we’d gathered and some we’d had enhanced. There were statements from a few local people as well, including Alli and Ruth. It all seemed very compelling, but something inside of me worried that it still wasn’t enough.

If a district attorney couldn’t make the charges stick, all this would be for nothing. We’d just be stirring up a hornet’s nest.

This had to be airtight.

Ruth came out of the bedroom and crawled into my lap. I pulled her close, aware of the snores of the men asleep just feet from us. I’d been thinking that I should look into getting a house out here. Some privacy would sure be a blessing after all this time living like a group of wanderers.

“Are you worried?”

“I’d be stupid not to be.”

“Your plan is solid, Jack. It’ll work out.”

“Yes, well, there are a few more variables than I’m comfortable with.”

“You’ve planned it all down to the last detail. I don’t think you could do any better than that.”

I kissed the center of her forehead, grateful that she believed in me. I just wished I could believe in myself that much.

I lifted her up and carried her into the office, slamming the door with my foot. She giggled a little as we fell onto the sturdy cot together, my hand immediately slipping up the underside of her gown. Her giggles turned into something more like a moan as I teased her with my fingers slipping under the bottom leg of her shorts.

“You are much too distracting, my love.”

“Am I?”

“Every time you walk into a room, I can’t think of anything but lying here with you just like this.”

She touched my face, her eyes growing serious. “You do the same thing to me, you know.”

“Do I?”

“I can’t stop thinking about the things we do in this room.” She ran her thumb over my bottom lip. “I wish with everything inside of me that I could give you everything you need.”

“You give me enough.”

“I want to make you happy.”

I groaned. “You have no idea how happy you make me.” I kissed her roughly, stealing from her what she would have given willingly. My hands continued to explore, and she welcomed them, spreading her legs to wrap them around my waist, her own hands slipping up under my shirt. She gasped a little when her fingers brushed the cold steel of the gun stuck in my waistband, but I took care of that quickly, setting it on the floor beside the bed before taking her lips again.

We moved together, our clothing the only barrier between us. I’d learned days ago how to touch her without using my fingers, touch her so that her body responded to mine as if we didn’t have a barrier between us. She moaned against my lips, her pleasure always quick. I knew she’d be a hellcat in bed once I was finally able to teach her the intricacies of intimacy. But this…she was already as wild as any man could expect.

I pulled away from her once her moment had passed, not expecting satisfaction on my end. I think it was harder when she did offer me release than it was when I went to sleep as hard as when we began. There was something to this anticipation, as frustrating as it could be.

When she finally allowed me that final satisfaction, I knew it would be better than anything I’d ever experienced before. I was content to wait for that.

“Promise me,” she said into the darkness, her hand seeking mine. “Promise you will come back to me.”

“Always.”

She was quiet for a minute. “No, Jack,” she said softly. “Give me a real promise.”

I rolled toward her, my hand sliding over her jaw. “I promise I will do everything in my power to come back to you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I kissed her roughly, holding her until she fell asleep. I waited, loving the feel of her slumbering weight in my arms. And then I carefully extracted myself from her arms, leaving one last kiss on the center of her forehead before I headed out.

It was time to take the Guardians down.