Page 232 of Micah

One nod.

That's all.

The kind of nod earned over years.

Go.

We'll handle it.

I don't nod back.

I don't need to.

We've been speaking this language since long before Jersey Iron Ranch existed.

Beside me, Sloane has drifted halfway to sleep, one hand still wrapped around the inhaler I'd pressed into it.

I reach across the console and lace my fingers through hers.

She squeezes back without opening her eyes.

See, those men walked into The Watering Hole looking for trouble.

Looking to settle a score over a debt Patrick owed them.

They thought they were predators.

Thought fear belonged to them.

They poison lives.

Destroy families.

Take whatever they want because no one has ever made them answer for it.

Somewhere along the way, they forgot what it meant to be human.

But what they don't understand...

What they never saw coming...

Is that there are things in this world a whole lot more dangerous than men like them.

They found one tonight.

A man with absolutely nothing left to lose when it comes to protecting the woman he loves.

I glance over at Sloane.

Safe.

Breathing easier.

Coming home with me.

Yeah, that’s what’s important.

She knows I love her.