My sweaty palms slip up and down Jed’s wrists as I continue to struggle and try to pull his hand off of my neck, but it’s no use. I do the only thing I can and nod my head jerkily.
Jed gives me a satisfied smile and finally loosens his hold on me. His arm drops down to his side and he slides both of his hands casually into the front pocket of his suit pants, like we’re standing here on the front porch discussing the weather and not like he didn’t just threaten me and try to kill me. My eyes water as I immediately bend at the waist and start gasping and coughing, drawing in as much air as I can while wrapping both of my hands gently around the aching skin of my neck.
Instead of doing what he ordered, instead of trying to find my voice so I can scream at the top of my lungs, I once again act with my heart instead of my head. While Jed is distracted watching me clutch at my neck, bent over and hacking up a lung, I make my move. Flying back upright, I grab onto his shoulders for leverage and bring my knee up as hard as I can between his legs.
“YOU BITCH!” Jed shouts, his voice thundering around the yard and the quiet street as his hands fly out of his pockets to cover his crotch and give his junk the same loving care I tried to give my tender neck.
This time, I’m ready for him and see him coming. I don’t have time or any room to move around him and get the hell away, but at least I have time to wrap my arms around my head and protect myself from his fist when he pulls it back.
“You lay your hands on her one more time, and I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your skull.”
When I hear a familiar, and for the first time since I got here, welcome voice, followed by the click and slide of a gun being cocked, I slowly lower my arms to see Jed still standing in front of me with his fist raised, but not moving a muscle, aside from the one ticking in his jaw as he clenches his teeth.
“Put your hands up and step away from Miss Lambert. NOW!” Leo orders, shouting the last word when Jed stupidly starts to lean in my direction instead of away, like he was told.
“He has a gun pointed at your head, you might want to listen to him,” I warn Jed with a scratchy voice.
Jed finally lowers his arm with a sigh, the rage on his face quickly replaced with a sickeningly sweet smile when he turns away from me and addresses Leo, who is still standing at the base of the porch steps with his weapon pointed right at Jed’s face.
“Good evening, Sheriff Hudson, it’s always a pleasure. We’re just having a little misunderstanding, but it’s all cleared up now. Isn’t that right, Payton?” Jed asks, turning his gross, fake smile at me when he glances back over his shoulder.
“The only thing cleared up is any tiny inkling I might have had that you AREN’T a complete piece of shit,” I rasp, each word making my throat scream in pain.
“Payton, go back inside the house,” Leo orders in a low voice, moving up to the bottom step while still aiming his gun at Jed.
“Screw that! Give me your gun so I can shoot him myself,” I fire back angrily with my hoarse voice, holding my hand out in Leo’s direction without taking my eyes off of Jed. “Better yet, you shoot him in the head, then let me shoot him in the dick. Everyone wins!”
My throat hurts, and my pride is a tad wounded that I thought I could put this idiot in his place all by myself, but at least now I’m much more inclined to listen to Bettie and I actually want to apologize to Leo. He deserves a whole shit ton of apologies for showing up here like my knight in shining armor, and I’m not ashamed to admit that the few glances I’ve shot in his direction have done amazing things for my ego. The way he keeps looking back and forth between what I’m sure is an angry red mark on my neck and Jed, it isn’t hard to see the barely concealed rage going on within him. The muscles in his arms bulge and ripple while he holds tightly to his gun, forcing himself to remain professional while at the same time, wanting to rip Jed’s limbs from his body and beat him with the bloody stumps.
Jed wisely lifts both his hands in the air and takes a few steps back and away from both of us when Leo makes it up the steps to stand next to me.
“Sheriff elections are coming up again soon, aren’t they, Leo? How about you and I head down to Pickerson’s bar and discuss your plans for reelection?” Jed asks Leo with a grin, actually having the nerve to try and blackmail him right in front of me and get him to forget about what happened here tonight.
As if my knight in shining armor would do something so stupid! Also, I just remembered another reason why Mrs. Pickerson wouldn’t have come to my aid tonight. I’m pretty sure those six wine coolers were stolen from Mr. Pickerson’s bar the night I peed on her lawn. It really is a good thing Leo showed up when he did.
“That sounds like a fine idea,” Leo replies, lowering his arm and sliding his gun back into his holster.
“You have GOT to be fucking kidding me!” I shout angrily.
Well, it’s more of a croak of anger, but still. My feelings are made known when I shoot an angry glare at Leo and let a whole slew of more curse words fly until he wraps his hand around my arm and pulls me across the porch until we’re out of hearing distance from Jed the Jackhole.
“Let me handle this, Payton. Go inside and check on Emma Jo,” Leo whispers, his warm, minty breath skating across my lips from his close proximity, but his eyes aimed over my shoulder, keeping an eye on Jed.
“Let you handle this by kissing that piece-of-shit’s ass? Like you’ve been doing for twelve years? Hell no! I don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of strings he pulls for you or what kind of money he slips the sheriff’s department under the table for you to turn a blind-eye on all of his horse shit. He just threatened me and tried to kill me. You’re seriously going to go down to Pickerson’s, toss back a few brewskies, measure your dicks, and call it even?” I fire back. “I can’t believe I was actually going to apologize for not recognizing you!”