Page 41 of Buck Wild Orc Cowboy (Brides of the Lonesome Creek Orcs #3)

Sel

H olly was still grinning when she looked at me, and I loved how pink her cheeks were. And that she’d been determined to win my basket.

Max whooped from where he sat next to Hail like he’d watched his favorite team win a championship. Gracie pumped Holly’s arm and bounced in place. The barn was alive with clapping, cheers. I couldn’t take my eyes off my mate.

She looked happy. She looked like she felt she belonged. And for one perfect moment, I believed it would stay that way.

Then the doors at the back of the barn slammed open, hitting the walls hard enough to make conversation come to a halt.

A gust of dust and dry air followed the two males in, but no one noticed that. Not with the first man stomping down the center aisle like he had the right to be here, the other—the man from the bakery—slinking behind him.

The first man’s voice cracked through the noise, harsh, hoarse, and full of hate. “Holly. Max. You’re coming with me.”

I’d bet anything this was her ex, Melvin. Time to kill him.

Holly lifted her chin. “We’re not going anywhere with you, Melvin.”

“If you don’t, someone’s going to get hurt.” He pulled a gun and leveled it at Max.

“Hold on,” the other male said. “We didn’t discuss you doing this. I’m afraid I can no longer take your custody case.” Pivoting, the man from the bakery scurried from the barn.

Custody?

Holly’s body went still like she’d been hit.

The crowd’s silence was followed by an eruption of hisses and cries about the gun.

Gracie tried to nudge Holly behind her. Max blinked in dismay.

I expected him to lean into Hail, maybe even drop to the floor and hide.

Instead, he stiffened and glared at his father.

I was already moving.

“You and Max are coming with me,” Melvin bellowed again, rushing toward Holly.

“Fuck you, Melvin,” she cried.

He raised the gun, swiveling it toward Max.

My vision tunneled. I shoved past the benches, not caring who I hit or what fell over. Someone’s soda spilled across my boots. I didn’t stop. All I could see was that black thing aimed at a twelve-year-old boy who’d just started to feel safe again.

Max didn’t run. He didn’t duck or scream or cry. He strode out into the middle aisle, approaching Melvin.

“She’s not going with you.” His voice wavered. “We live here now. You’re the one who needs to leave.”

I nearly shouted his name but didn’t want to distract Melvin. The rage in his face. The sweat on his brow. The tremble in his arm, like even he knew what he was doing was tipping this out of his control.

Pride swelled in my chest for Max, who stood with his hands loose at his sides, his body tight to respond.

Just like I’d trained him to do. Fear flashed across his face.

This youngling had more guts than most males I’d met.

And all I wanted was to get to him before the bastard could do something horrifying.

I was halfway there when a voice broke through the tourist’s cries of dismay.

“You’re under arrest.” My brother, Dungar, surged from the side of the barn, aiming for Melvin.

The hand holding the gun shook, and Melvin glanced toward my brother.

Max moved, rushing toward his father, head butting him, knocking him backward.

Straightening, Melvin flashed the gun around. “Stay back. Stay back. No one needs to get hurt.”

Lifting her hands, Holly roared and flung herself onto Melvin, toppling the man backward.

Melvin scrambled out from beneath her and backed away, the gun still in his hand.

With wide eyes, he grabbed the woman in the yellow dress who’d competed with Holly for my basket, yanking her against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her throat and pointed his gun at Max and Holly. “Stop. Don’t come any closer.”

Screams erupted. Benches tipped. A baby started wailing from somewhere to the left. A man yelled, “Get down.”

I reached Holly and Max and nudged them behind me, shielding them with my body.

The woman in yellow went rigid. She was shaking, and I didn’t blame her.

People started to bolt, but not from the barn . They surged toward Melvin.

Ruugar charged down the center aisle like he’d been waiting all day for something to punch. Tark was right behind him, swinging one of the folding chairs overhead. Hail moved slower, calmer, but that look in his eyes told me Melvin would soon be feeling a fist in the mouth.

Melvin waved the gun wildly. “I’m telling you all to get away!”

He fired. The shot went straight up, making splinters rain down from the rafters. People screamed, but no one stopped.

The woman in the yellow dress twisted hard, elbowed Melvin in the gut, and kicked backward, making it clear she knew what she was doing. Melvin stumbled, lost his grip on her. She reeled around, her leg swinging up and out, hitting him hard in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick.

He plunged to the floorboards, groaning, while the gun left his hand and skittered across the floor, disappearing under a bench.

My brothers surrounded Melvin, Hail flipping him onto his belly and pinning him to the ground with a knee.

The woman in yellow lifted her palm to her friends, and they slapped them together. “Knew all this karate would pay off.”

“If he twitches, let me know,” Tark snarled. “I don’t get nearly enough battle here on the surface.”

Dungar yanked Melvin’s arms behind his back and cuffed him while Melvin wheezed and spat curses into the floor.

“You’re going to sit in jail until the state police comes to haul you away,” Dungar growled. “If you even think of coming back to Lonesome Creek again, you’ll face orc justice.”

Melvin looked up at him and for the first time, he seemed to understand. His skin went pale. He flinched like he’d been struck. “Y-you can’t?—”

“I can,” Dungar said. “And I will.”

The treaty allowed for it. Orc matter? Orc justice. Especially when it involved our mates. That included Max and Holly.

Dungar hauled Melvin to his feet like he weighed nothing, and the crowd parted to let them through.

The moment the doors closed behind them, the room broke loose again with cheers and clapping.

I turned to Holly.

She had Max wrapped tight in her arms and her face buried in his hair. Gracie had remained close by and was fanning her face.

Holly looked up at me with reddened eyes, but she smiled.

Both of them shook, and Max pressed his face against her shoulder while she whispered something to him.

I stood at Holly’s side, not touching. Just being here. Watching her breathe. Watching her come back to herself.

Stepping away from Max, she walked to the woman in yellow and gave her a hug. “You’re amazing.”

“Hey, you are too. Enjoy that basket, will you?”

Holly’s laugh came out a little shrill. “I will.” She stepped over to Gracie, hugging her too, then Hail.

He remained in place, his expression unreadable like always. He stiffened for a moment before he let out a breath and patted her back. When she pulled away, her face was wet with tears, and she was smiling.

Tark didn’t even wait for her to come to him. He picked her up off the floor in a big, rib-crushing squeeze that made her laugh through her tears. “You’re one of us now. Like it or not.” He settled her back down and knuckled her shoulder. Solidarity. Loyalty. Family.

Ruugar was last. He took his hat off, held it to his chest like he was preparing for a wedding, and hugged her fast and fierce before stepping back and clearing his throat.

The laughter in the room swelled. People slapped each other’s backs. Someone shouted, “Yay for Lonesome Creek,” and got a cheer in response. The woman in the yellow gown raised both fists in the air, still giddy from her takedown.

Holly turned to me. She raced over and jumped. I caught her, lifting her against me, where she belonged.

We kissed while the room cheered.

Her mouth was warm, and she wove her fingers into my hair.

When she pulled back, she pressed her forehead against mine and whispered for me alone. “I’m safe. I’m loved. And I’m finally home.”