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He drops to his knees and gasps, sucking in oxygen. He claws at his neck, sputtering and coughing.
I barely resist rolling my eyes at his theatrics. This kid wouldn’t make it a day in the military. Hell, he wouldn’t make it in the boys’ home that I grew up in.
“Get going now before my restraint snaps,” I grind out the words.
The kid doesn’t need to be told twice. He quickly scurries away.
I turn my attention to Mackenzie. The sight of blood on her face has me wanting to run after the guy and make him nothing more than a stain on the road.
Mackenzie touches the spot and lets out a whimper. That one whimper is the only thing that saves that kid’s life today. Summoning what little humanity I have left, I soften my voice, “Let’s get you patched up.”
2
MACKENZIE
It’s almosttime for Cody to go on break. I pretend to busy myself by rearranging a display of tape measures. While I’m doing it, I discreetly watch him. The mirrors are meant to let me keep an eye on the store, but they’re more for show than anything. There’s not very much crime here in Courage County. Our town is safe. Sleepy. The way my father likes it.
“About to go on break,” Cody calls out.
“Sure, I’ll be right up there,” I tell him and act as if I’m changing the price. Then I move around and straighten things that don’t need to be. The entire time I’m holding my breath as a wave of nausea rolls through me.
Within a few seconds, I hear the soft click of the register. My heart sinks. This hardware shop is my dad’s pride and joy. He built it when he moved our family here fourteen years ago. I spent more time in this shop following my dad around than I did in school.
It would break his heart to know the guy that he’s been mentoring has been stealing from him for the past two weeks. When I first noticed the cash discrepancies, it was small amounts. Ten dollars here or there missing at the end of the day.
But the amounts are slowly getting higher as he gets bolder. A hundred dollars from yesterday’s till was gone. With that kind of money, my dad will catch on. At least he will if I don’t do something. That’s why I follow Cody outside for his break.
He comes out back to smoke a cigarette and stare off into the distance. I don’t know much about him or where he comes from. Usually, my dad has a good sixth sense for people, and I tend to like the ones that he brings around. But there’s something about Cody that I never quite liked.
I wait until his back is turned and work to keep my voice even, “If you put the money back, I won’t tell my dad.”
After all my dad has done for Cody, he doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. He let Cody crash at his place for a few days and gave him a job. A good paying job even though the guy has a work history that never includes staying longer than a month or two at one place. He gave my dad some sob story about coming out of the foster care system and how hard it is to get on your feet. I’m not so sure I believe him about the foster part.
Cody snorts and turns to face me. “Your old man won’t miss it.”
I want to tell him off. I want to yell at him that he’s a shit person. I choke back the words and instead focus on what I want—to keep him from hurting my dad. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know. “That’s not the point. He’s taken you under his wing. It would break his heart if he found out you did this.”
Too late, I realize my mistake. All I want is for my dad to be OK, but Cody has taken this as a sign of weakness. He crowds closer to me, so close that I automatically take a step back. I bump into the brick wall of the hardware shop. I hate that I let him back me into a corner.
Cody smirks. “Who’s going to tell him?”
“I won’t lie for you,” I answer. Maybe if he sees that there’s no way out, he’ll come clean to my dad. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’s forgiven someone.
I don’t imagine the look of evil that crosses over Cody’s face. “That’s because you’re a dumb bitch.”
Before I can even process it, his hand is up and delivering a stinging smack to the side of my face. I bite down on my lip hard enough to draw blood, refusing to give him the satisfaction of crying out.
A savage roar fills the air. The sound is so primal and so masculine that it sends an involuntary shudder down my spine.
I blink, and Cody is no longer in front of me.
But Ace is next to me. He’s holding Cody against the wall by his throat. I’ve never seen Ace wear that expression. He looks like a fierce warrior descended from the heavens to slay mortals. He’s strong and stunning and so damn sexy.
“You die today, motherfucker.” The corded muscles in Ace’s arms are holding Cody up, pinning him in place and rendering him helpless. I remember when he wrapped those strong arms around me at my mom’s funeral. I’d never felt so safe, never felt so precious as I did in that moment.
I could say I don’t know why I kissed him when he held me, but that would be a lie. I was standing there thinking that this man I’d crushed on for years was right here in front of me. I was thinking that life seemed short—too short, so I did the impulsive thing for once in my life. I leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his.
He teased my mouth open and stroked his tongue along mine, stoking a fire within me that had been quietly burning for years. It was only when I whimpered that he finally broke the kiss and pushed me away.
