Quietly, he went back through the opening in the briars, coming out the other end where he carefully removed any signs that he had passed through. Standing, he made his way back to the house.

“Find anything?” Greer asked when he was back on the porch.

“Nothing. You see or hear anything?”

“Nope. Think the bells just got you spooked?”

“No, someone’s out there.”

“Want me to take watch?” Greer’s own eyes searched the woods surrounding the house.

“No. Go inside. I’ll keep watch until morning. At daylight, I want Holly and Logan out of here. Take them to Mrs. Langley’s a few days early.”

“I’ll tell Dustin.” Greer turned to go inside. “He won’t be happy. He misses him when he’s gone.”

“I’m not taking chances. The Hayeses and Colemans are still pissed off no one’s buying the shit they’re growing, and they’re taking more chances selling it to out-of-town buyers.”

“I saw Asher and Holt in town the other day talking to Shade.”

Tate stiffened. “Do you think The Last Riders are buying from them?”

The bikers were his best buyers, but between them and selling to the people in the county and across the state line, they sometimes ran short.

“I’ll talk to him and find out.”

“If the Hayeses have been selling to Shade when we run short, they could be thinking about taking us out to get the whole fucking pie.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m not worried about the Colemans; they couldn’t stick a finger up their own ass, much less take us out.” Greer’s scorn for the Colemans was deep rooted. Tate often found himself breaking up the fights Greer had started with them.

“Asher and Holt, on the other hand, can do some damage. Asher is a mean asshole, and Holt’s a sneaky son of a bitch,” Tate reminded him.

“I’ll get in touch with Shade first thing in the morning.”

“Do that. I’m going to call Cash and tell him to watch Rachel.”

“You think someone would be stupid enough to make a move on Rachel to get at us?”

“I’m not taking any chances,” Tate said grimly.

Greer nodded. “Night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night.”

When Greer went inside, Tate sat down on the porch. He couldn’t relax while waiting to see if one of their enemies would strike. It was times like this he wished he had listened to his mother and Rachel. The other dealers in their area were envious of their crop and connections, and would do anything to bring them down, even if it meant taking out his entire family. He would probably have stopped dealing already, but Greer wasn’t ready to give it up. They had accumulated too many enemies over the years, and his brother believed if they stopped providing product, their customers would go with another dealer who would push them toward harder drugs to fatten the dealers’ wallets.

They had managed to keep blue heroin out of Treepoint, but it was becoming a deadly struggle that he wasn’t sure they were going to win. He heard a rumor the Colemens were dealing Spice, a synthetic marijuana that fucked up those who used it. The effects lasted longer and were much stronger than marijuana, which had the buyers wanting to buy more from their dealer. Many of those buyers were in high school and often ended up in the emergency room. He and his brother had two rules when selling: don’t sell to kids, and make damn sure they weren’t a Fed. The constant demand for their product put them in jeopardary from the other dealers in the county. As head of the family, it was his job to protect them. So far, he had succeeded, but constant worries were leaving him uneasy.

His premonitions were never wrong. Like a massive storm brewing, no one could know the devastating effect until it struck. Tate’s hand tightened on his shotgun. He had been born and bred on this mountain, and no one was taking what was his without a fight.

Chapter 1

“When do you leave?”

Sutton looked up from the document in her hand, placing it back down on the desk before answering her friend. “As soon as I clear the rest of my paperwork,” she said wryly, looking at the large stack of papers still waiting for her signature.

“I still can’t understand why you’re going to Treepoint, Kentucky for your vacation. You could go anywhere.”

“I have been everywhere. Besides, I miss Treepoint, and I need to figure out what I’m going to do with my grandfather’s house.” She would use the time she was staying there to decide whether she wanted to fix up the run-down property or sell it, breaking the last connection to her hometown.

“Why would you want to keep it? Your life is here in California.”

What life? Sutton thought to herself.

“I can do my job anywhere there’s internet.” Sutton shrugged off her roommate’s concern. “What, Treepoint doesn’t appeal to you? You could go with me. You have plenty of hours saved up.” She tried not to smile when Stella’s expression turned to one of horror.

Tags: Jamie Begley Porter Brothers Trilogy Erotic
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