Page 195 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

“Fuck,” he muttered, digging the thing out with desperate speed.

Ramming the mobile to his ear, he rounded the trunk of the tree, putting it between himself and the cottage. “Munroe.”

“Need you and Marc up at the homestead straightaway, Keith,” Hunter said, his tone allowing no argument.

The click in Keith’s ear told him the boss had disconnected without waiting for a response. Added to the fact the man had used his and Marc’s names, not Thomo and Blue, and Keith knew the shit had hit the fan.

Whichshit, he didn’t know.

“Who was that?”

He shoved the phone into his pocket and gave Marc a steady look. “Hunter. He wants us at the main house now. Where’s the ute?”

Marc threw a nod to the right. “At the gate at the start of the road. Didn’t want to wake Harper last night when I came back.”

Keith nodded. “All right, let’s get going.”

They began walking away, the rising sun casting the land around them in a golden glow. A heavy itch in the middle of Keith’s back made him want to turn around, to see if Harper was watching them go.

He didn’t. If he did, and she was there, on the porch or even looking at them through the parted curtains, he’d never make it. He’d run back to her.

When he pulled the ute to a halt outside the homestead, a jarring sense of déjà vu washed over him. “Feels like we were here only a few hours ago.”

Hunter striding toward the ute stopped Marc from responding.

The boss did not look happy.

“Ah fuck, here we go,” Marc muttered, opening his door.

“Care to tell me what’s going on, Keith?” Hunter stopped a few feet away, forcing Keith and Marc to close the distance between them. He stood motionless, his arms crossed, shoulders square, eyes flat. And angry.

“You mean Big Mac?”

Hunter dipped his head in a single nod. “I do. I got a call at five this morning from Sergeant Freeman, who found him passed out in Mulga Place park. I went to the cop shop and found him still damn near drunk, blood all over his face and shirt. Told me you tried to kill him.” He paused. “Among other things.”

Keith’s chest constricted. “What other things?”

“Something about you and Marc and Harper Shaw that’s none of my business. Sound right?”

Keith swallowed. “It does.” Beside him, he heard Marc suck in a swift breath.

Hunter’s expression didn’t change. “Anddidyou hit him? Because he found out?”

“I did.” Keith bunched his fists, refusing to blink. “And I will again if he goes near Harper. But not because he found out about us. Did he tell you he went around to the cottage yesterday?”

“He told me you barged in and started beating him.”

Keith ground his teeth. “Did he tell you he’d locked himself in there with her? That he had her trapped against the sofa, pinned with his body? I saw it through the window before kicking the door down. Where is he now?”

Nothing showed on Hunter’s face. “He’s currently making his way back from Cobar on foot with a broken nose, five stitches in his lip and what may possibly be a fractured jaw.”

Keith lifted his chin. “Good. Maybe I can finish the job when he gets here.”

Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “Is that really what you want to do?”

“Fucking oath is it. And if you’re going to sack me then sack me. But if he goes near Harper again Iwillbreak his jaw.”

With a ragged sigh, the tension left Hunter’s body. “I’m not going to sack you, Blue. Fuck, you’re the best stockman on Farpoint next to my brother, and who the hell knows when he’s getting back.”