"If Zoe wants to go into town, she's going." Landon shook his head ruefully. "I've never been able to control her, and I suggest you don't try to."

Tyler grimaced, knowing he wouldn't be able to take that advice. Landon might not be able to control her, but G.o.d knew Zoe could use a keeper. And Tyler knew just the man for the job. If Landon wouldn't check her, he would. For her own good.

Chapter Five.

"It's too quiet."

"It's a weekday."

"It's still too quiet." Zoe flicked a glance around the Bar Nothing-the seedy honky-tonk where the s.h.i.t had first hit the fan. It looked like the kind of place well acquainted with s.h.i.t.

Shana had called dibs on investigating the town proper, hauling Caleb with her to do some shopping.

Which stuck Zoe with the a.s.s who thought he had the right to dictate her life just because she'd let him get to third base, trolling for clues at the high-cla.s.s joint where Michael Minor had half-shifted defending his mate from a drunk. The Bar Nothing was filthy enough to be a health-code violation and probably a biohazard, smelled of beer and less savory things, and still managed to draw a crowd of hopeless hopefuls every weekend.

Zoe dragged a fingernail through the grime coating the chipped wood bar. "I do not understand the appeal of this place."

Tyler shrugged, leaning one elbow against the bar at her side. She ignored the way his biceps flexed beneath his fresh shirt-she was too p.i.s.sed at him to notice how mouthwatering he was right now. He'd been hulking over her protectively, shadowing her every move since they walked out of Landon's place.

And from the way he avoided looking at her, he was still p.i.s.sy because he hadn't been able to leave her home, chained to the stove.

"Beer's cheap, music's loud, and everyone looking to get laid comes here, male and female."

Jealousy spiked, an unwanted jab in Zoe's gut. "Know this from experience, do we?"

"I've lived twenty miles from here my whole life. So yeah, I know from experience. Doesn't mean I've been here recently."

Zoe refused to ask what qualified as recently. They didn't have that kind of relationship, where they talked about past lovers. She reminded herself that she didn't want that kind of relationship. Tyler Minor was just an itch to scratch.

And from the appetizer she'd gotten in the garage, he was pretty d.a.m.n good at scratching.

But right now, he was the last thing she needed to be thinking about. She'd lived outside the prides long enough to know distractions could get you caught or killed.

Zoe studied their surroundings as the bartender ambled in their direction. His slow pace didn't appear to be due to caution, just his natural rolling gait-which made no sense. Michael going part-furry was bound to leave an impression. Tyler and Michael had drastically different coloring, but their features and build were so similar the bartender should have reacted. Caution, wariness, something.

If he'd been working that night. Though he seemed like the kind of guy who was a fixture in the bar, working every night. Fifty-something and heavyset with a face like a bulldog and a wedding ring embedded on one fleshy finger, he spat on the floor and folded his arms over the barrel of his chest. "Getcha somethin'?"

"Whiskey sour, please." Zoe put a little extra oomph in her smile to make up for the behemoth glaring at the world next to her.

"Bud," the behemoth grunted.

The bartender nodded, keeping the same lazy pace as he reached under the bar. Out of the corner of her eye, Zoe saw Tyler's shoulders tense then relax slightly when the bartender came up with a bottle of Jack. She knew he was remembering Michael's description of the pump shotgun that also lived underneath the scarred wood.

But her new buddy the bartender didn't seem inclined to drive them out at gunpoint. That's a start. He just mixed her drink, popped the top off Tyler's beer and slid them across the bar until the gla.s.s caught on a crack in the wood and stopped itself. Tyler laid a ten next to the trail of condensation. The bartender nodded to Zoe with a "Ma'am", scooped up the money, and ambled back toward the regulars shooting the s.h.i.t at the opposite end of the bar.

"That was anticlimactic," Zoe commented, sipping her sour. "I expected threats and pitchforks at least."

"Maybe they only do lynchings every other day."

Zoe frowned, scanning the room and examining every drunken patron in turn. "They aren't even staring at us. Shouldn't they be staring at us?"

"I had no idea you were so vain."

Zoe glared at him. Under other circ.u.mstances she might have been amused, but right now she was concentrating on holding a grudge.

"A bunch of people live on a secluded compound outside of town and almost never leave their own land. I know this is Texas where the unofficial motto is mind your own d.a.m.n business, but you'd think there would at least be a few whispers and stares at the possibly cultish people when we show up on their turf. So why aren't they staring?"

"I thought you'd be happy you were right." Tyler tilted the bottle for a long draught. "There's no danger here. We were wrong. The ostrich approach was unnecessary. So why aren't you celebrating?"

"I wouldn't jump right to unnecessary. There's something weird here. It's too quiet."

The Bar Nothing bordered on abandoned. The diehard drunks who filled the stools at the other end of the bar all gave them a wide berth, but Zoe's instincts told her that distance had more to do with the fact 33.that the two of them radiated lovers' spat than fear. After a month of rumors flying with no damage control, there should have been more of a reaction. Something was definitely wrong.

"I've never met a woman so reluctant to be right," Tyler b.i.t.c.hed.

"I've never met a man so determined to be wrong all the time. I guess we're even."

Tyler bristled. "You wanna tell me what you're so p.i.s.sed about?"

That was all the invitation Zoe needed. "Do I look like I need a babysitter to you?"

"You look like you need a f.u.c.king keeper, and I don't see anyone else lining up for the job."

"A keeper?" Zoe saw red. "Who do you think I am? All this time I thought we've been friends-or whatever you wanna call it-and you don't know me at all. I'm not a f.u.c.king damsel in distress, Tyler. I take care of myself. Always have."

"I'm sorry I dared try to protect the invincible Zoe King."

"That's your idea of an apology? G.o.d save me from alpha males."

"What do you want me to say? Go on, have fun, get yourself killed?"

"I'd be thrilled if you could say you'll trust me to look after myself and mean it, but that's probably too much to ask. You're the big bad lion, right? And I'm the helpless little kitten who needs to be wrapped in cotton for her own protection."

"No one could mistake you for a helpless kitten."

"No? So that isn't what you're trying to do?"

"Wanting to keep you out of harm's way isn't the same as thinking you can't handle yourself."

"Of course not. So if a bar fight started up and we were swarmed on both sides, you'd let me fend for myself?" She could practically hear crickets in the Bar Nothing today, but Zoe enjoyed the idea of her hypothetical brawl. She could do to blow off some steam. "No," she said, "we both know you wouldn't.

You'd be so busy trying to defend me, you'd probably get your head split open."

"Another reason you shouldn't be here. You're a distraction."

"I'm only a distraction because you don't trust me to hold up my end. If you could just accept that I'm tough enough to take care of myself, we could be a great team, but until you do, you're going to slow me down with this protection nonsense."

"I'm going to slow you down?"

"That's what I said." Zoe polished off the last of her drink and shoved the empty gla.s.s away before swiveling on her stool to face Tyler. "You don't think I can keep up, so you slow us both down playing nursemaid to me. I know you're trying to be all n.o.ble, but the interference is a problem. And I don't need it. You can ask Landon. He never tries to take a bullet for me."

"I'm not your brother," Tyler growled, looming over her.

"No, you aren't." And thank G.o.d for that. "So you don't get to play big brother and boss me around."

"Big brother?" He coughed, a jagged leonine sound of irritation. "That's what you think today was?"

34."I don't know what today was," Zoe snapped. "I thought it was chemistry and need and the build up to a good hard f.u.c.k, but then some a.s.shole tried to tell me how to live my life. Even if I needed looking after, you don't have the right to protect me just because you finger f.u.c.ked me and I sucked you off."

Chairs creaked at the end of the bar as the other patrons took a sudden interest in their conversation.

Zoe's face flamed as she leaned toward Tyler, hissing the next words just above a whisper.

"I. Don't. Belong. To. You."

Something dark and possessive sparked in Tyler's eyes. He loomed closer, his body crowding hers aggressively. "Yes. You. Do."

Zoe wanted to be indignant, but her insides liquefied in a girly rush, heat pooling at her core.

"Not forever. No commitment. But as long as you are with me, you are mine, Zoe King. And I protect what's mine."

No one had ever said anything like that to her before, especially not with the fire of angry possession leaping in his eyes. Wow. Words abandoned her. Tyler bent over her, pressing his mouth against her ear, and delicious shivers chased one another down her spine.

"That's the deal you get when you take me on. So make up your mind. Do you want me or not?"

That wasn't much of a question. Right now a hard thought would tip her over into a climax. "I want you," she whispered.

"Then let's get out of here."

"Reconnaissance..." Her protest was halfhearted at best.

"Maybe Caleb and Shana found something." He guided her off the barstool with a hand on the small of her back. "And we've already found out they aren't going to lynch us on sight. That's something."

Zoe scanned the bar one last time. Now that they weren't arguing loud enough to draw an audience, the heavy drinkers at the back had stopped paying them any attention. Again, she was struck by the oddness of that. No one was even glancing in their direction. No curiosity. It was almost like the town residents thought they already knew everything there was to know about the Three Rocks Ranch.

The thought was disconcerting to say the least.

"Come on." Tyler slipped his arm around her waist, tucking her against his side. Zoe tried not to bristle when she realized he was shielding her with his body. It wasn't going to be easy, taking him on his terms, letting him protect her. But his arm felt good, so she leaned into him.

She could use the comfort. Something was very wrong here.

Chapter Six.

"They're onto us."

Zoe had only stepped across the threshold of Landon and Ava's place for the debriefing when Shana's words stopped her in her tracks. The redhead had been sullenly silent the entire drive back to the ranch, but now her opening words caused a sudden uproar in the small crowd. Kane and Michael Minor were there with Ava and Landon. Shana had been the first into the room, alongside Caleb. Behind Zoe in the doorway, Tyler nudged her on the back to get her moving again, then stepped across the threshold and shut the door behind him.

"Calm down." Landon's voice cut across the hubbub. He waved them all toward the table, but there weren't enough chairs, so Zoe leaned against the wall, Tyler taking a position at her side, though he didn't touch her. "Shana, what did you see?"

Caleb folded his ma.s.sive arms on the table. "She didn't see anything."

"Shut up, Caleb. He didn't ask you." Shana sent an icy glare at her mate, but considering it was her usual expression, Zoe couldn't be sure whether she was angry with him or if this was their warped idea of foreplay.

"Did anyone say anything suspicious to you?" Landon asked, interrupting the mated pair's staring contest.

"No," Shana admitted.

"Were you followed? Was someone watching you?"

"No." The redhead shook her head sharply. "Nothing like that. It wasn't that they were suspicious of us, it was that there wasn't even a single odd glance tossed our way. They didn't even seem curious. After Michael wigs out in the bar and then the entire pride stops leaving the ranch for any reason for a month, any normal person would at least be curious enough to look, but they all looked at me like they already knew my secrets."

Zoe hated to agree with Shana on anything, but in this case she had to. "That's exactly it. They were too comfortable with us. We weren't even interesting." Except when she was shouting about b.l.o.w.j.o.bs.

"That's what we want, isn't it?" Tyler pointed out. "To be below the radar?"

"We aren't below the radar," Shana insisted. "We're on it. They just think they've already identified our dot."

Landon looked to Zoe and arched a brow. "Zo?"

"Yeah. I agree. Someone told them something, cleared things up with some story."

"But no one's been off the ranch," Kane protested.

"Are we sure about that?" Zoe countered. "I would have been to town and back again without anyone the wiser if the jeep hadn't broken down."

Ava shook her head. "We knew you'd gone," she said, her soft voice a contrast to the tense tone around the table.

"And you're positive no one else has?" Zoe asked, not wanting to voice the other possibility-that someone outside the pride had stepped in to cover their tracks. That an outsider knew enough to know how to cover their tracks.

Landon was obviously thinking along the same lines. He met her eyes and then his gaze slid away.

"Caleb, Tyler. Can you find out if there were any other unauthorized trips?"

Without a word, Caleb and Tyler moved toward the door, purpose in every step.

Zoe kept her eyes straight ahead, refusing to watch Tyler leave, but she felt every step he took away from her. The two of them had unfinished business, but the pride came first. If there was one thing she knew about Tyler, it was that family duty trumped everything.