I was wrong about that. I think they’re looking for trouble. Well, it’s their lucky day,” Hawk continued.
“You need to send your friends away, Mustang,” the leader snarled, yanking a weapon from his pocket. “I don’t think you want your pretty little girlfriend hurt.” He tightened his hold as he placed the barrel of the gun against her temple.
Well, well, the jerkoff knew my name. That meant this was indeed personal.
I cocked my head, giving him a wide smile. “I don’t think you want to do that, buddy. Let me tell you why. I was a sharpshooter for the Marines, my accuracy close to ninety-eight percent. I could shoot a piss cup off an insurgent’s head at a range of three hundred yards. Now, if you don’t think I can pull this trigger, hitting you smack between the eyes before you have the chance to cock your trigger, try me. You’re dead ass wrong.”
“You need to listen to the man,” Hawk said in a calm voice. “He was the best shooter in our entire division. He never missed. Funny though, my favorite thing in the world was to hit them in the kneecaps. A lot of pain in that kind of shot.” He pushed his way closer, pointing his gun at the leader’s knees.
“Let her go, man. This isn’t why we came here,” another asshole said, his bravado all but gone.
“Shut the fuck up. You don’t call the shots,” the leader hissed.
Danni dug her fingers into his arms, and I could tell she was prepared to try to get away any way she could, her breathing ragged.
I held my stance, never blinking as the snow continued to fall. Suddenly, there was no sound. Nothing but the quiet of the night. And a part of me wanted to pull the trigger.
Tick. Tock.
Huffing, the asshole let her go, pushing her in my direction. His action allowed the others to move, scampering toward their trucks.
I caught her, dragging her further away. “You okay?”
“I think so, but I need to see Zorro.” She took several gasping breaths before pulling out of my arms.
While I let her go, I made certain I blocked her from any one of the jerks.
“What do you want to do?” Hawk asked.
I glanced up at the sky before moving toward the group of men, yanking at their masks. “You fucked with the wrong people. I don’t give a shit who you are, I’m going to make certain you never do this kind of shit again. Do you hear me?”
The second I ripped his mask off, the man issued a huge grin. “You’re the one who fucked with the wrong people.”
While I didn’t recognize any of them, I knew whatever choice I made would likely bring this ruse to a head. “Who are you working for?”
He laughed. “Someone who is going to bring down your ranch.”
I pushed the barrel of my gun under his chin. “Well, you tell your boss that if he has a beef, he’s going to come through me. You got it? Now, get the fuck out of here before I change my mind.”
The asshole seemed surprised I was letting them go, his smile diminishing. He backed away, motioning for the others.
Hawk crowded closer. “You sure you want to do this?”
“We need to know who’s behind this.”
“I know, but we should have them arrested.”
“Yeah, we could, but I think this is a more direct route to finding out some of the answers.” I turned my head, watching as Danni helped Zorro to his feet, the dog limping slightly as she encouraged him to move onto the porch. “Besides, I want a chance to find out what Danni knows. This thing could be bigger than we realize.”
Sighing, Hawk motioned for Tanner. “Let the assholes get by.”
Tanner shifted his gaze to the other men who remained unmasked. “I don’t recognize any of them and I know the majority of workers at the closest ranches.”
“Well, maybe they’re new to our beautiful city,” I said half under my breath. When Tanner walked away, I shifted my attention back to Hawk. “This is getting out of hand, but my belief is that it’s personal.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right. I know Drake did everything he could to push the ranch into a profitable mode, especially at the beginning. I’m going to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is going on.”
“This kind of shit can’t happen again.”
Hawk shifted his gaze as the men from the ranch retreated to their trucks, pulling them out