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“Fine! You’re a horse thief. I don’t know how many you’ve stolen over the years, but you took the horses that belonged to those—”
“Prove it!” John snapped, cutting him off. “Fact is, I just had three horses stolen frommyproperty. You wanna get into a court battle about who they belong to? Possession is nine-tenths of the law, asshole, and Rick there just told me a real interestin’ tale.”
“Go ahead, call the sheriff. Who will he believe? Those girls compete. They have a ton of photographs and videos with their horses, and they registered them as stolen the moment they found them gone. But, yeah, possession is nine-tenths of the law, and they’re the ones who have them. You wanna pay lawyers? I’m guessin’ you don’t have thousands of dollars lyin’ around. Not only will you lose, you’ll end up behind bars for takin’ them.”
“Why are you here?” John snarled. “Why am I sittin’ here listenin’ to this bullshit?”
“I know you were watching Bailey lunge her mare at the show grounds today.”
“Yeah? So? It’s a public place.”
“Stay away from Bailey and her mare,” Rick warned gruffly. “The security guards at the show have them under constant watch, and if I see you—”
“You’ll do what?”
“I’ll call the sheriff myself, and if you try to take off I’ll make sure you won’t get very far.”
“Hah, you and whose army?”
“Mine,” Rick shot back, “and believe me, I have one. My buddies will wrestle you to the ground in a heartbeat. You think they can’t? Compared to takin’ down bulls you’ll be a piece of cake.”
“And I’m tellin’ you, asshole,” John hissed, his face contorting as he spoke, “if you see me walkin’ down the street you’d better take off runnin’, and I mean real fast.”
“Big Bad John…that nickname is laughable,” Rick scoffed. “I know you’re a bully and you’re used to people shakin’ in front of you, but you’re nothin’ but a puffed up loser.” Then rising to his feet and leaning over the table, he added, “If you wanna stay outta trouble with the law and keep all your teeth, you’re the one who’d better be runnin’ off with his tail between his legs,” he said tersely. Not wanting to give Big John a chance to reply, he abruptly turned on his heel and started back to the table. But seeing Duke sitting next to Mandy and talking up a storm, he strode past and continued to the bar.
“Damn, Rick, that looked heavy,” Dan remarked, quickly pouring him another shot before being asked.
“I decided to take the bull by the horns.”
“Don’t you usually ride them? Sorry, couldn’t resist.”
“I saw him watchin’ Bailey today, and I wanted to make sure he didn’t get any ideas. I just hope it doesn’t have the opposite effect. Here’s my credit card for the meal.”
“Thanks.”
As Dan walked away to run the charge, Rick looked back at the tables. To his horror, he discovered Big John had joined Duke and was joking around with the girls.
“That’s not good,” Dan muttered, returning with the receipt. “Now what?”
“Dammit. Well, I guess if he wants to play it like that I have to get down and dirty. Do me a favor. Call Trevor for me? Do you have his number?”
“Sure do. What do you want me to tell him?”
“Rick needs backup and to hurry.”
“Please, Rick, no fists flying.”
“I’m a lover not a fighter, and that’s part of the reason I want Trevor here. He’ll be an ounce of prevention. I know what I’m doin’…at least, I think I do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Though Rick longed to march through the restaurant and punch Big John square in the nose before the thieving lowlife had a chance to blink, he ambled slowly back to the table. Besides wanting to show he wouldn’t be provoked, he needed to give Trevor time to arrive.
“How’s my girl?” he asked with a smile, sitting next to Bailey.
“Great. I guess you met John a few minutes ago,” she said, nodding towards him.
“I did, and I hate to break up the party but it’s time we made tracks. I need to get to the show grounds and have a word with the security team, and you don’t want to be rushed before your performance.”
