Bad Company

Family Reunion - Part 2

As soon as Uncle Dusty saw me stepping out of the truck, he excused himself from the group he was talking to and approached me with an open beer in his hand and a grin on his face. "Hey, Jitterbug. How're you feeling this morning? Any headaches, blurry vision--"

"Let me stop you there," I laughed at the irritatingly familiar words I had been hearing repeatedly for almost twenty-four hours. "I'm fine, Uncle Dusty. Colt already gave me the ten point inspection this morning. I'm all good, I promise."

Uncle Dusty studied me for a good minute before pulling me into a bear hug and laughing, "I know you're tired of hearing the same old thing, but we're only annoying you about this because we care, Ellie. Besides, do you know how pissed your dad would be if you were hurt and I didn't do anything?"

I broke out into a round of laughter at that, but a deeper sadness pulled at my heart at the reminder of my dad. I easily covered the frown though with a deceptively cheery grin. "Well--"

"Colt," a voice interrupted. Standing a few feet away from us was a tall, thin man who I immediately recognized as Bean. His brown eyes were cautious as he continued his slow steps towards the president, mirroring a man on death row approaching his executioner. What could he possibly have had to say to make him that nervous to talk to Colt? "You have a, um, message in your office from the boys down the street."

There were many things that went unnoticed by me in life, but I most definitely didn't miss the way Colt's hand twitched toward his gun or the way Dusty's fingers curled tighter around the can in his grip, and I sure as hell didn't miss the way Bean stepped backwards.

"Why don't y'all go take care of whatever needs to be handled? I'll hang out here with the rest of the crew," I offered comfortingly while desperately trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere.

I was maybe expecting a reply of some sort or maybe even a quick warning to be careful, so when Colt's arm suddenly claimed my waist and drew me into his chest, I was more than surprised. My breath hitched in my throat as heated, soft lips dusted my ear, and his sensual growl had my stomach tightening in anticipation. "If anybody tries anything, find me immediately, and, for the love of God, be careful. I'll be back soon."

And with that wildly public, and unbelievably surprising, display of affection, Colt, Dusty, and Bean walked off towards the main building, leaving me standing next to Sam with a red hot blush coloring my cheeks.

Unfortunately, the boys leaving left a prime opportunity for the seriously pissed off lady against the wall to approach me freely. And approach she did.

The furious woman exuded disgust, and I could practically feel the rage pouring off of her as she stormed my way, her steely gaze locked on mine like a predator stalking its prey. Her dark brown locks were pulled into a sloppy bun on her head and a thick ring hung around her neck on a chain, giving me the impression that she was someone's old lady.

"You," she growled fiercely, stabbing a finger in the air at me as she hit the five meter mark in distance from my position. Confusion at her sudden and unprovoked hatred swelled in my chest, but I shoved it away, bracing my shoulders against the almost tangible wall of fury pushing against me. "You piece of shit! How dare you take my man away from me! Colt is mine!"

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I had been expecting from her, but that certainly was not it.

Shock rippled through my system, and my immediate reaction was to burst out laughing, but I didn't. Instead, I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head in disbelief because this was exactly like something out of an unrealistic romance novel where the ex-lover was willing to neutralize any new threat.