Blaze of Glory Read online

  “Be on the ready,” Molly said to Cole, her tone hushed.

  Cole nodded as a huge flicker of light appeared on the other side of the crowd, closest to Lynnette.

  Illegal transporters.

  Frontier Stalls were supposed to be the only way for individuals to transport from place to place quickly. The Stalls required proper identification and ample credits. Mostly only the wealthy could afford to use them for travel. Outlaws had obtained illegal, handheld ways to transport. The technology they used was nowhere near as stable as the Stall’s but it didn’t matter to them. A fast in-and-out was all they were concerned with.

  In the blink of an eye, the place was crawling with more outlaws than Molly cared to count. She drew in a sharp breath and whispered, “Son-of-a-bitch.”

  Gerald reached for Lynnette in a domineering yet protective manner, as if to claim her. Molly thought about shooting him point-blank between the eyes but held back when she watched Lynnette artfully dodge his grasp. Lynnette turned quickly and ran smack into some big, muscle-bound guy with a black duster and hat on. Something about the man seemed familiar to Molly but she was too far away to get a good enough look at him to see why. Besides, she had bigger concerns at the moment.

  Chapter Three

  Jonathan reached out and steadied the tall woman in the light blue dress. It was formfitting, leaving her creamy breasts thrust up like an offering on a platter. Had he not been a respectable man, he might have entertained the idea of sampling them. As it was, he’d come for one woman only.

  Parker growled and for a moment Jonathan thought the man might actually snatch the woman up and shout “mine.” Since that wasn’t something his older brother was prone to doing, Jonathan chanced a glance at him. Parker stared out from silver eyes at the woman.

  Yep, the word mine is definitely on the tip of my brother’s tongue.

  “Molly, come, it’s not safe,” Preacher Cogan said, reaching out to the woman who was still pressed to Jonathan.

  Jonathan stiffened. “Molly?”

  The woman looked up. Huge blue eyes stared back at him and he shook his head. “Molly? No. You’re not—”

  Something akin to fear flickered through her eyes. “Coming, Daddy.”

  She turned and was whisked away toward the shelter of the General Store. Parker moved up next to him and let out a low whistle. “Hot damn, little brother. If you don’t want to fuck her, I will.”

  “Fuck who?” he asked, staring at the woman claiming to be Molly. Granted, she looked damn close to what Jonathan could remember of the fiery vixen, tall, slim, brown hair with wisps of golden blonde running throughout it, but she wasn’t Molly. He knew Molly’s scent. Had memorized it—imprinted it on his mind, his body.

  The woman, while close, was not his Molly.

  My Molly?

  “Ain’t ya gonna yell at me for talking about Molly that way?” Parker asked, poking him slightly.

  “Show some respect for the lady, Parker,” he said. “I’ll kick your damn teeth down your throat if you ever talk about Molly that way. She’s mine. Understand that now. I won’t tell you again.”

  Mine? What?

  “Yours?” Eli asked, coming up on his other side. He took his hat off and held it in his hands as he watched the scene before them. “Looks to me like we’ve got ourselves some outsiders here. They don’t seem like a friendly bunch either. Reckon that means we don’t have to pretend to be the welcoming sorts.”

  “Aww, and I had my ‘Prospect Springs is the greatest place in the territory speech’ all ready to go. Big, fancy words and all,” Parker added, laughing softly. “Damn shame I’m not going to get to use it.”

  Jonathan glanced at the rather large group of unsavory characters across the way, noticing them for the first time since his arrival. Instantly, his predatory instincts kicked in, signaling danger. They also signaled something else. Molly was near. The real Molly Cogan. He could smell her sweet peaches-and-cream scent as it carried on the breeze. He could also smell his mark on her. The one he’d never told her she carried. The one that if he were ever to take her to his bed would mean she was his wife.

  His palms began to itch at the thought of bedding Molly, of being with his mate. It would likely be an experience he would never forget and never get enough of. Molly’s scent assailed him. His nostrils flared as his cock hardened. It was all he could do not to shift forms and hunt her. “She’s here.”

  “Who?” Eli asked, eyeing up the group of outsiders.

  “Molly.”

  Parker snorted. “Uh, no shit, really? My dick is still hard after seeing her in that blue dress. I wanted to lick the tops of her breasts before sinking deep into her. I always knew she was a looker, but she never had that sort of effect on me.”

  “That was not Molly,” Jonathan bit out. “If it had been, you’d be trying to find your head because I’d have knocked it clean off.”

  Judge William Wheeler walked straight for Jonathan. The man’s brown hair blew about in the breeze and he appeared to be a model citizen in his dark gray suit. Jonathan knew better. He knew the judge was anything but normal—he was also a great man.

  He didn’t really want to stop and deal with the judge but it wasn’t looking like he had much choice in the matter. “Evening, Judge. It’s quite a turnout your niece has got here. A lot of folks must be happy to see her come home after all these years.”

  Namely himself, but Jonathan left that part off.

  William nodded. “Evening.” He pushed in close to Jonathan and dropped his voice low. “My niece is in grave danger. I believe these men who appeared out of nowhere are seeking her. I’ve heard rumors about a price on her head. Looks as though they’ve come to try to cash in on it.”

  Parker growled. “No one is layin’ a hand on her.” He stared in the distance in the direction the woman in the blue dress had headed off in.

  William smiled. “I believe the men think as you do, Parker, that the woman in blue is my niece. She is not.”

  “Told ya,” Jonathan said, grinning. It was juvenile but he did it all the same. He focused on William. “What do you mean, they appeared out of nowhere?”

  “They transported here, Jon, without the use of a Frontier Stall.”

  Oh shit. This is bad.

  “Outlaws?” Eli asked, voicing Jonathan’s next question.

  William nodded. “I suspect so. They didn’t travel by means of regular transport so I assume they don’t have the right papers. There’s something else.” The older man leaned in close to Jonathan. “If my niece should reveal herself here, none of you boys are to let the people she’s with know what you are. Understand?”

  “Meaning?” Parker asked.

  William leveled a hard gaze on him. “Meaning, I have always known the MacSweeny family is different. You know that. Keep it to yourselves, boys. I’ve no idea what her companions’ views are on the supernatural. I would like to think she’d only surround herself with open-minded individuals but I never thought I’d receive news that my lil’ princess ran away from boarding school and disappeared without a trace.”

  Jonathan’s chest tightened to the point that drawing in air seemed an unlikely possibility. Ran away? Disappeared without a trace? He’d asked William about Molly often and was always told the same thing. She’s happy. She’s living the life she always wanted. She’ll come home at some point. Never once did missing come up. Jonathan would have dropped everything and searched for her. He’d have dragged her back to Prospect Springs and made her his wife.

  William must have sensed Jonathan’s confusion because he patted his shoulder and nodded. “Son, I have known you since you were just a baby. I knew you’d try to find her. I also knew my niece needed to find herself before she gave herself to a man for the rest of her life. She required time to heal. To grow. To become a woman, Jon.”

  What was William trying to tell him? Did he know Molly would never accept him? Did he think the fact he was a werewolf would make Molly run from him? Or w
as it something else? Could it be he thought his niece was ready for a family? Ready to acknowledge all Jonathan had to offer?

  William didn’t give Jonathan a chance to voice his concerns as he continued on. “Now, I have managed to find a few things out about her and her acquaintances. I know enough to warn you all not to reveal you’re anything but human. I’m not sure she can protect you all if put in the situation to have to. Lord knows the girl would die trying.”

  That made Jonathan laugh. “I’m sorry, Judge, but did you just comment on Molly protecting us? She’s just a woman, what—”

  A group of outlaws surged forward, each pulling out weapons. Some had double-action revolvers. Others had rifles, cocked and ready. One smiled wickedly as he fired several rounds into the air, catching everyone’s attention. “We’ll not hurt any of you nice folks if ya just point us in the direction of a Miss Molly Cogan or her fiancé, Cole Griffin.”

  Her fiancé? Cole Griffin? She’s engaged?

  Jonathan stiffened. He did not just hear that right. His hands burned with the need to shift shape, unsheathe his claws and kill something. No way in hell was his Molly marrying anyone but him.

  Me? I’ve plumb lost my mind. The woman doesn’t want me. If she did, she’d have come back long ago. And I’m not ready for that sort of a commitment just yet.

  Gerald Wilson spun on his heels and glared at the group of outsiders. “I am Molly’s fiancé.”

  “Like hell you are,” a male voice called out from the other side of the crowd, stealing the words from Jonathan’s mouth. All eyes went in that direction. A man, at least as tall as Jonathan, stood there glaring at the outsiders. He adjusted his wide brim brown leather hat and pushed back his long, matching jacket, showing off a Special Marshal-issued weapon and badge.

  “Who the hell are you?” Gerald asked, stealing Jonathan’s question again. As sheriff of Prospect Springs, he should have been faster with comments but the thought of Molly Cogan had him a mental mess. She’d always done that to him.

  The man smiled, and Jonathan knew instantly that the man was deadly just from the way he carried himself. When he winked and spoke, Jonathan added touched in the head to that as well. “I’m Cole Griffin. The man those dirt bags are looking for.”

  Cole Griffin? The fiancé?

  The dirt bags in question all drew upon him. Jonathan entertained doing it himself but held back. The man didn’t seem to notice or care that he was standing on the wrong end of countless guns. In a flash, the woman in the blue dress was rushing out and toward the man. “Cole, what’s going…?”

  She froze as the men leveled their weapons on her. “That’s her! That’s Molly!” one of them shouted. The woman licked her lower lip and Parker let out another throaty growl. Had the woman really been Molly, Jonathan would have decked his own kin over a grunt that full of lust.

  It didn’t really matter who the girl was. She was in danger and his sense of honor wouldn’t let harm come to her. Pulling his own black leather jacket back, Jonathan touched his side arm. Over thirteen inches of perfection. He never left home without it. The urge to shoot the man identifying himself as Cole Griffin was still there. Jonathan resisted. “All right, folks. It would appear we have a slight problem here. As Sheriff, I’d like to take a—”

  Half the outsiders turned and aimed at him, not looking as though they cared he was the law. In fact, they seemed awfully eager for the chance to take out a lawman.

  Eli laughed. “Way to go, jackass.”

  The girl in the blue dress stood tall. “You won’t take me alive.”

  “Lynn?” Cole asked, his brown eyes widening. “Don’t you dare draw their fire.”

  Lynn.

  Jonathan committed the name to memory. The outsiders didn’t seem to notice the man’s slip. They kept their weapons trained on the girl. She glared at them as if daring them to kill her. “Go ahead! Shoot! I’m sick of being hunted by you! Kill me and claim the fame. Do it!”

  Parker dodged forward, rushing past any and all that stood between him and the woman named Lynn. He shoved his body in front of hers in a protective manner and glared at the men. “You’ll not harm her. She’s under my protection now.”

  Eli let out a low whistle. “Never did I see that coming. Saw-bones is a born skirt-chaser. Think he might have The Fever or something? He’s always doctorin’ folks with weird ailments.”

  Well, if The Fever included an uncontrollable urge to protect a woman, then his brother most certainly had caught it. He could only hope Parker’s case was curable. Jonathan knew his own case wasn’t. Molly had infected him long ago and he knew he’d never get her out of his veins. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. His exploits of the female persuasion were legendary—so was the fact he refused to commit.

  “Are you stupid?” Lynn asked, giving Parker a good shove. At five-eight, she was tall by female standards but short compared the MacSweeny boys. Still, she managed to get Parker to budge ever so slightly, shocking Jonathan. “Move! They’ll gun you down to get to me.”

  “Then so be it.”

  Jonathan shook his head. Parker was bound to get himself killed without some serious intervention. “Parker, get her and your ass out of there. We’ll take care of our guests. We’ll even be sweet enough to give ‘em that welcome speech you had worked out.”

  “Parker?” the girl asked. She glanced at Jonathan and Eli and her eyes widened. “That means one of you is Jonathan.”

  The feel of a cold, hard barrel pressed against the back of Jonathan’s head. Cursing himself for letting his guard down, he put his hands up as his attacker shoved harder with the gun.

  “Lookie, boys, we got us a sheriff. He’s got to bring a good amount of coinage, don’t ya think?”

  There was a flash of black. A blur. Several shots. Screams. Jonathan caught movement out of the corner of his eye and realized someone had shot the man who had him at gunpoint.

  Chapter Four

  Molly fired off two more rounds, taking down two more outlaws before racing full-speed at the crowd. She launched herself high into the air, spun several times, firing as she went, and grinned when her feet hit the ground. Several more outlaws dropped along with her, only they didn’t land on their feet or have a pulse anymore.

  Dead tends to do that to a person.

  She smiled as she stood tall next to Lynnette. The man with her looked like a giant protective cowboy. In fact, that’s exactly what he was. As he glanced at her, she noticed his silver eyes. Those belonged to just one man. “Hi, Parker MacSweeny.”

  The six-foot-five ox of a man nodded. “Hi there.”

  Lynnette arched a brow, clearly amused by the man and if Molly didn’t know better, she’d have said her friend appeared interested in him.

  Parker did a double-take, his eyes wide as they raked over her. “Molly?” He glanced behind him at Lynnette before staring back at her. “Molly? You’re in…leather and…and you’re armed.”

  Grinning, Molly reached down and grabbed hold of the standard-issue Special Marshal firearm in her side holster. She handed it to Lynnette butt-first. “Next time you try to commit suicide to get them off my trail, make damn sure I’m not standing close enough to hear and stop it or I might kill you myself.”

  It made little sense but it was all Molly had at the moment.

  Lynnette glanced away. “I-I thought if I came in your place they’d kill me, think it was you and stop hunting you. I’m not like you. No one will miss me, Molly.”

  Parker rounded on her, his face lit with fury. “You will not talk like that again, woman. Understood?”

  Lynnette’s mouth opened, her brow furrowed and she shook her head. No sound came out.

  Molly smiled. Trust Parker to render her friend speechless. “I’d miss you, Lynn. Cole would miss you and I’m thinking—” She glanced at Parker. “—others would too, sweetie. I appreciate the gesture but getting yourself killed on account of me isn’t what I want. I want you safe and happy. Now, let’s kick some bad guy as
s.”

  Parker’s eyes widened. “Molly?”

  Removing her hat, Molly let her long braid fall free as she handed the hat to Parker. “Hold this and stand real still.”

  “Huh?”

  She shook her head as she glanced at Lynnette. “He’s a MacSweeny boy. He can’t help but get in the way. It’s something in their genetic makeup. They need to play the hero. There are a whole lot of them. I stopped trying to keep count. And before you ask, yes, they all look this good. I think it’s to tempt the women. Like walking sin.” She licked her lower lip. “Mmm, and they can tempt an angel. Just know if you run across one, they will undoubtedly be underfoot thinking they’re helping out.”

  Parker huffed. “I am not underfoot. I am—”

  “What do you propose we do?” Lynnette asked, smiling as she cut Parker off in mid-sentence.

  The outlaws picked then to resume their attack. Lynnette swept Parker’s feet out from under him and rode his body to the ground as she fired at the enemy. Molly joined in, firing with one hand and grabbing hold of her whip with the other. She lashed out with it, disarming two men in the process. Something yanked it free of her hand but she didn’t stop to see what. She kept going, doing everything in her power to keep Parker and Lynnette safe.

  One of the outlaws bent down. His eyes swirled to the color of brandy wine and incisors that rivaled a rabid wolf’s appeared in place of his normal teeth. She knew the breed. She’d been chasing this group of outlaws long enough to know a thing or two about them. The man didn’t carry a wolf in him. He had the DNA of a coyote. Molly tipped her head and laughed. “Interesting. You hoping to scare me or make me wish I’d brought a lead?”

  Growling, the were-coyote lunged at her.

  Oh, this is almost too easy.

  She spun in a circle, allowing momentum to build as she went. The half-man half-beast rushed at her. She swung out and caught him in the chin. He lurched back and snarled at her.

  “You will die a horrible death, bitch!”