Bounty (Colorado Mountain 7)

Chace glanced from Deke to Justice and back to Deke.

“I take it you two are close,” he remarked.

“Talk to me!” Deke boomed.

Jussy’s body jerked in his arms.

Deke instantly curled into her, saying into the top of her hair. “It’s good, baby. I’m good, Jussy. Just hang on.”

“You stay good, we’ll take this to a room,” Chace said.

Deke turned his attention to Chace and jerked up his chin.

“You good?” Chace asked.

“Good,” Deke grunted.

Chace took him and Jussy in another beat before he said, “Let’s go.”

And that was when Deke bent at the knees and gathered Jus in his arms like she was a wounded foal who was on her last two breaths.

She pressed into him when he had her up and she stayed pressed deep as he followed Chace into a hall and watched Chace throw open a door and stand outside it.

Deke prowled through, went right to a table in the middle of the room, turned his ass to it and hefted himself up on it.

He arranged Jussy in his lap so she was close and tight in his hold. She had her hands fisted in his tee, her good cheek to his chest and her eyes closed.

All he could see was the swollen, bruised, fucked-up side of her face.

He checked that too and looked to Keaton who’d entered the room behind them and closed the door.

“Now, talk to me,” he ordered, his voice low and shaking with the fury he was restraining.

Chace talked.

“Someone broke into her house. Justice said she heard glass shattering. He got to her, assaulted her, held a knife to her throat, strangled her and—”

Chace said no more when each word lashed through Deke with the understanding she’d endured them all and Deke bent his lips to the top of Jussy’s head and whispered, “Christ almighty. Christ almighty.” His arms got tight. “Christ almighty, baby.”

“Had emergency come ’round,” Chace stated, voice now lower, calming. “Checked her out. They reckon she’s good, physically. No lasting damage, Deke. She’s got a sprained wrist she needs to be careful of and keep wrapped for a week or so. But mostly she’ll just need rest and lots of aspirin and she’ll heal.”

Deke looked back to Keaton.

Keaton’s body went on visible alert and his mouth said, “Keep your shit, Deke.”

Deke kept his shit.

Barely.

“She give you a full statement?” he asked.

“We were finishing up. She needs to make some phone calls and I was about to call Krys or Lauren to come in and—”

“She’s gonna be with me.”

He felt Jussy’s head tip back and her eyes on the underside of his jaw but he didn’t take his from Keaton.

Chace gave him a long look and gave away nothing through it when he said, “Okay, then let’s finish this up ’cause we’ve had ice on her face and she needs rest but before that she needs to make some calls. This guy who did this to her was using her to send a message to someone else. Boys are gonna bring down her phone since it was her phone he used to send that message.” He paused and then went on warningly, “Now gonna say this and you need to keep keepin’ your shit, Deke.”

“I’m good, Keaton, just say it,” Deke bit out his lie, bracing for the worst.

Chace gave him another look before he nodded and said, “It was while he was strangling her that he made the call. Put the phone to her while he was choking her so they could hear. Threatened her and someone else. Boys got her phone. She gave us her password and we know he called a female friend of hers that’s had some trouble.”

He looked down at Jussy. “Bianca?”

Her lips trembled and she nodded.

“Fuck,” he grunted and turned his attention back to Keaton. “You know she’s famous.”

Jussy’s body got tight in his arms.

He held her closer.

Chace nodded. “It’s early but from what she’s shared, this isn’t about that. It’s about this Bianca. We got guys up at her house and the crime unit is headin’ up there now to see if he left us anything.” His voice changed, went cautious and he said, “He used gloves so we reckon no prints but she tore through during the struggle and got some of his skin. We got that.”

Tore through…got some of his skin.

Christ almighty.

Deke closed his eyes and hefted up Jussy so she was resting right against his heart, her head tucked under his chin.

He opened his eyes and ordered Chace, “Call Krys. She needs clothes and shit. Get your boys to let Krys do her thing at Jussy’s place. She’s comin’ with me to my trailer.”

Chace’s body shifted. “Deke, man, this guy gave her girl a week to pay whatever he’s owed and said he was comin’ back. Not thinkin’ the trailer is a good idea. It’s remote and easy to breach.”

“She won’t be alone.”

“She’ll be a lot less alone and a lot safer she stays with Tate and Lauren or Lexie and Ty. They both got security systems.”

Deke set his jaw and said, “She’s gonna be with me.”

“Deke—”

“Jonas ain’t a kid anymore but they’ve had enough shit, it came right to their front door, they don’t need more. So Tate and Laurie are out. You know the same with Ty and Lexie and they do got kids, little ones and a lot of those fuckers. So it’s gonna be the trailer.”

Jussy was still trembling and his words made her do it more so Deke started stroking her back.

“Deke, dammit—” Chace started.