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“And I still remember how to lock both your asses up in the county jail. ” Sheriff Mayes, his voice hard, commanding, stood by the table now. “Come on, Agent Dane, before you cause these two to fight like the hellions they used to be rather than the grown men I thought they were. ”

Chaya stared at Natches, amazed, disbelieving as he straightened, his body tense, his expression furious.

“If you get in a fight, I’m not going to be happy with you,” she stated coolly.

“About as happy as I am with you right now?” he snapped.

“Try even less so. ” She lifted her chin a notch and reined in her anger as she turned to Dawg. “And if you don’t back down, I’ll have a talk with your wife. I have a feeling she’s more inclined to act decent than you are at the moment. I wonder how she would feel if she were to find out about this little fiasco this morning?”

“Don’t you threaten me with my wife. ” He glared back at her, but some of the heat seemed to leave his voice.

“Then don’t push me, either of you. Because I could get sick of dealing with thick-skulled rednecks really fast. Unlike you, Dawg, I don’t bite and snarl; I get to the heart of the problem and the solution. When you’re willing to tell me what your problem is, then we’ll talk. Until then, stop sniping at Natches, or I’ll talk to Crista at first opportunity. Good day, gentlemen. ”

She turned on her heel, ignoring their surprised looks before joining the sheriff at the door and leaving the diner. And here she had hoped the most she had to deal with was a pissed-off Natches. Now she had a pissed-off Natches, a mad Dawg, and a laughing Rowdy. Her day couldn’t get worse.

Dawg sat back down in his chair and scowled at the door while Natches slowly took those damned glasses off and glared at him.

“Son of a bitch, I’m going to kick your ass,” Natches cursed.

Dawg sneered back at him. “Yeah right. Go right ahead. You think I didn’t see your balls shrink when she gave you that cold little look? You ain’t kickin’ no one’s ass today. ”

He was pissed. Pure pissed. Son of a bitch, she threatened to tell Crista on him? Like he was a little boy acting bad, and she was threatening to tell Mommy? How the hell old did that mouthy little agent think he was anyway? And he really wanted to beat Natches’s ass, too. Snarky little upstart. He never could take advice worth a damn.

“What the hell is your problem?” Natches dug a few bills out of his pocket and slapped them on the table for the coffee. At least he was paying this morning instead of mooching off the rest of them. “Why can’t you get the hell off her case?”

“Because she’s lying to you,” he snarled back, keeping his voice low, anger egging him on. “I don’t know what the hell she did to you in Iraq, and I’m getting to where I don’t give a damn. But right now, she’s lying to you, and those lies could get you killed. And she’s fucking plain. ”

Natches snapped back, blinked, and stared at Dawg as though he didn’t know him. He glanced at Rowdy, but Rowdy seemed pretty interested in something he had found on the ceiling and refused to look over. Natches shook his head, as though befuddled.

Watching Natches, Dawg knew he was acting like a damned bastard, and he couldn’t help it. Hell, he knew a lie when he saw it, and this whole setup Dane was involved in was a lie.

“Look, Natche

s, man,” he breathed out roughly. “You’re getting in over your head. She’s up to something; I can fucking feel it. Like an itch at the back of my neck every time I see her. She’s trouble, and she’s going to get your ass killed. ”

That was the problem. That gunsight between the eyes thing. Sometimes, Dawg swore he could feel someone with a gunsight between Natches’s eyes, taking aim, getting ready to fire. And it was worrying the hell out of him.

“Rowdy, take him home to Crista,” Natches said, his voice hard, and that was a bad thing. Natches might shoot him himself now. “Tell her he needs help fast. Before I kill him and make her a widow. Understand me?”

“Sure, I’ll get right on that. ” Rowdy nodded slowly, pulling his gaze from the ceiling to stare at both of them. “While I’m doing that, why don’t one of you mosey over across the street and ask Aunt Nadine why the hell she’s been watching us all so close through the window from that shop?”

They turned. Across the street, in the wide shop window, stood Nadine, hatred flashing in her expression before she turned and stalked away.

“Shit,” Natches cursed. Just what he needed, the damned Mouth of the South running her vicious mouth now.

Dawg muttered something Natches was sure he didn’t want to understand, and Rowdy stood slowly to his feet.

“Dawg’s right about one thing,” he said. “There’s trouble here, and it’s starting to circle around your Agent Dane. But he’s wrong about something, too. ”

“Yeah? What?” Natches snapped.

“She’s not plain. She’s actually kinda pretty. Dawg just can’t see past Crista. Or his own daddy complex. ”

With that, he walked away from the table and out of the diner. Natches sat back down slowly. He still wanted to kick Dawg’s ass. He stared back at his cousin and scowled.

Dawg glanced out the window, to his coffee cup, then sighed. “Do you really think she’s gonna tell Crista about this?”

And he’d be damned, but Dawg was worried.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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