Dina appeared surprised by the request or possibly by Casey's actions. She uncertainly turned toward the bar area and nearly ran into Vaughn, who stared at the pool table with the same look of surprise.

"Is that Casey?" he asked without taking his eyes off the familiar yet somehow unfamiliar woman.

Dina appeared tense and uncertainly shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Casey barely resembled the innocent, young girl either had remembered. Dina stared a moment longer then turned toward the bar area. Grey stood directly in front of her with a strange smile on his face.

"Dina--"

Dina appeared surprised to see him then smiled with delight. "Oh, my G.o.d, Grey!" she cried out excitedly and threw her arms around him.

Grey tensed as she clung to him, appeared reluctant to return the embrace, and quickly released her. Dina pulled away and stared at him. Her look conveyed her confusion and possible concern. He oddly resembled a human taken over by an alien lifeform. He lacked emotion in light of their reunion, much like Casey.

Grey stared past her at Vaughn with a strange, tiny smile. "Deputy Holt--or is it Sheriff?"

Vaughn approached him and appeared curious while studying him. He, too, apparently noticed the strange behavior. "It's sheriff," he replied. "When did you return?"

Grey turned and headed toward the bar forcing Vaughn to follow him. "We're just visiting," he announced casually. "Buy you a drink?"

Vaughn followed a few feet behind while studying him and remained suspicious. Back within the pool area, Casey shot ball after ball into each pocket while watching Wayne and Ryan circle her like hungry wolves. Their eyes remained on her with each shot. She showed no reaction to their behavior, although she watched them from the corner of her eyes.

"Hmm. I've missed that a.s.s," Wayne announced with a throaty chuckle.

"Looks even better than I remember," Ryan said with a l.u.s.tful grin.

"And still completely off limits," Casey casually informed them with little emotion.

All four boys laughed. Ryan rubbed against Casey's b.u.t.tocks as he pa.s.sed her. Casey rammed the stick behind her, narrowly missing Ryan's groin. He jumped and laughed.

"She's twice as feisty too," Ryan teased.

"Probably not getting it enough," Wayne laughed.

Casey lined up her next shot while ignoring them as Wayne paused behind her. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. Wayne grabbed her hips and grinded against her from behind. Casey kicked back and struck him in the shin. He released her with surprise. She spun with the pool stick in both hands and hit him square in the chest, shoving him back.

"Don't touch me again," Casey growled while glaring into his eyes. "That's your only warning."

Wayne appeared surprised by her sudden reaction and even more to her tone. Fred and Blain moved in closer while Ryan laughed at his brother.

"Yeah, Wayne," Ryan announced. "She only likes it from men in masks."

All four men snickered. Casey's cold expression didn't change as she casually took a step closer to Ryan.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Casey growled.

"Nah, just stating a fact."

Blain suddenly grabbed Casey from behind and attempted to hold her as Wayne approached with a grin.

"Someone needs to teach you a little respect," Wayne said with a l.u.s.tful look in his eyes.

Wayne moved closer to her while Blain held her then ran his finger along her neckline and toward her cleavage. Ruger and Diesel were now watching from across the room. Diesel took a step toward them in an attempt to intervene.

Ruger stopped him with a raised hand and casually responded, "That's not our fight."

Casey grabbed Blain's arm and used him as leverage to kick Wayne with both feet. Wayne was thrown across the room. Ruger watched him fall to the floor near him. Casey tossed Blain backwards and onto the pool table while he still clung to her. Casey rolled over Blain and stood on the pool table. Blain sprung to his feet. Casey flipped the pool stick with her foot and into her hands. She twirled the stick and moved into a fighting stance. Blain and Wayne lunged for her. Casey somersaulted over them and landed on the floor behind them. She swung the pool stick and struck Wayne and Blain. Ryan lunged for her. She spun into a backwards roundhouse kick and knocked him backwards. He crashed into a nearby table. The beer pitcher and gla.s.ses fell to the floor with a crash. Vaughn entered the pool area with Dina behind him. Casey spun, kicked, and struck each man with the stick and her feet. Grey casually entered the pool area with his drink, took a seat, and watched the fight with little reaction. As the last man hit the floor, Casey remained in her attack position with the stick and watched them. All four writhed around the floor while clutching various body parts. Vaughn and Dina stared at Casey with shocked expressions. Ruger and Diesel chuckled. Casey casually straightened, tossed her stick to Ruger, and looked at Vaughn with a devious, twisted smile.

"Sheriff--"

Casey casually turned and placed her hands behind her back. Vaughn removed his handcuffs, shook his head, and cuffed her wrists behind her back. Wayne slowly moved to his knees.

"I'm going to kill that b.i.t.c.h!" Wayne shouted as blood seeped from his mouth. "You'd better lock her up!"

Vaughn led Casey past Wayne. Casey kicked behind her, un.o.bserved by Vaughn, and struck Wayne in the face. Vaughn looked back. Wayne lie motionless on the floor. Vaughn appeared puzzled. Casey flashed a smile at Dina as they pa.s.sed.

"Yeah, I'm kind of busy tonight."

Deputy Tucker hurried into the tavern as Vaughn escorted Casey toward the door.

Vaughn indicated the Harford boys to Tucker. "See that those boys go home."

Tucker looked into the pool area, where all four Harford boys writhed in pain, and appeared stunned.

Chapter Twelve.

Casey sat quietly in the backseat with her hands cuffed behind her and appeared peaceful and oddly content. Being trapped in the back of Vaughn's police blazer wasn't nearly as confining as she thought it would be. The cuffs were a bit dramatic though. Vaughn glanced at her through the rearview mirror several times. She caught a glimpse of his dark eyes staring back at her. Oddly enough, he wasn't nearly as intimidating as she'd remembered.

"Is this new?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

Vaughn pulled over to the side of the road, threw the blazer into park, and stared at her through the mirror. His dark eyes were now demanding.

"Why, Casey?" he suddenly demanded to know. "You're back one day and you take on all four of them."

"One-on-one hardly seemed fair," she casually replied.

"You deliberately went out of your way to p.i.s.s them off," he scoffed.

"Yes, I know their father is tight with the mayor and will be up your a.s.s about it," she replied. "I've heard this story before, and I have to say the ending really sucks."

"We'll stay here all night until you answer my question."

The way he looked at her through the mirror with those dark eyes conveyed his seriousness. She could probably play this game with him for a few more hours, but she really didn't feel like wasting the time.

"Why?" she asked innocently. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Because they're like a pack of wild dogs and the law won't do anything because of who they are." Her emotions took over for a moment as her voice lowered considerably. "They get a free pa.s.s to s.e.xually hara.s.s and a.s.sault every woman within groping distance." Casey took a deep breath, pulled her anger back inside, and her calmness again returned. "I gave them fair warning before defending myself."

Casey casually relaxed and stared out the window with little expression. Vaughn continued to watch her through the mirror. She didn't acknowledge him.

"This is my town now, Casey," he informed her firmly. "If you came back for revenge, I'll lock you up. If they did something to you, you need to press charges. It'll look better in case they press charges against you."

She finally looked at him in the front. His comment humored her. "Are you kidding? They don't want it getting around that they were beaten up by a girl." She took a deep breath and sighed. "No, they'll probably break into my house late one night, kill everyone I care about, and brutalize me," Casey announced then considered the comment. "Oh, wait. That already happened."

There was an odd silence between them. Casey now stared back at him through the mirror. Although not nearly as intimidating as she remembered, staring into his eyes even through the mirror wasn't easy.

"There's nothing connecting them to the murders," he informed her. "I've been over it a thousand times, and I'm no closer to a suspect than I was two years ago."

"Perhaps if you made sure he was dead--" Casey muttered and stopped herself from saying anything more. That subject was a hot b.u.t.ton issue and now wasn't the proper time to get into that particular debate.

"Don't start with that," he retorted. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about that night."

Vaughn rested his elbow on the door and held his temple with disgust. It was obvious he didn't know what to do. He quickly straightened and composed himself. He once again looked at her through the mirror.

"If you're going to stay in my town, you're going to play by my rules," he announced firmly. "If you have a problem, you come to me. You will not take justice into your own hands. Do you understand?"

There was a strange silence. Casey stared back at him through the mirror. "Yes, I understand."

Vaughn put the blazer into gear and drove back onto the road. The sheriff's blazer pulled into the tavern parking lot and up to Grey, who casually leaned against the hitching post with a strange smirk on his face. Vaughn got out, eyed Grey's smirk, and opened the back door for Casey. She casually got out and handed Vaughn the handcuffs.

"I believe these belong to you."

Vaughn took the handcuffs and gave her a look of surprise. Casey and Grey mounted their horses and rode away. Vaughn stared after them with a concerned look.

Country General Hospital was located nearly twenty miles from town. It was situated in what some might consider a city, although not much of a city, but it was certainly large in comparison with Darwood Falls. For a Thursday night, the hospital appeared busier than usual but not nearly as busy as late night on weekends. Country General Hospital was where Casey and Grey had been airlifted to on the night of their brutal attack. The emergency room had few patients waiting to be seen, but the hospital was loud with commotion. Fred Harford leaned against a nearby wall and watched his three brothers writhing in agony within the waiting room. The few remaining patients watched them and kept their distance from the unruly, angry men.

"What the h.e.l.l is taking them so long?" Wayne demanded while holding the b.l.o.o.d.y cloth to his still bleeding mouth and showed general discomfort to nearly every part of his body.

Blain was unusually silent as he sat in a chair while holding his jaw and kept his eyes closed. Ryan writhed in agony while clutching his foot and ribs. Ryan glared at Fred, who watched in silence and appeared mostly unscathed. Ryan obviously wasn't pleased that his youngest brother wasn't suffering alongside them.

"Go get a doctor, you idiot!" Ryan shouted at Fred.

"If you actually stopped to think about it," Fred began then grinned slightly, "it's kind of funny."

All three suddenly glared at him. He tensed slightly and tried not to grin.

"I'm going to kick your a.s.s in three seconds," Wayne growled lowly. "Did you even try to stop her?"

"Sure I did," Fred protested. "She punched me in the gut and knocked me on my a.s.s with some sort of karate leg sweeping thing. Face it, Wayne; she's not a girl we want to p.i.s.s off."

"Really?" Wayne scoffed with the hostility in his eyes as he sprayed blood while he talked. "Well, I'm going to bring that b.i.t.c.h to her knees."

"Before or after she takes your head off?" he asked with a c.o.c.ky tilt of his head.

Wayne sneered at Fred. The hospital doors were thrown open to reveal Ernest. He stormed across the emergency waiting room and approached his sons. He stopped short of them and stared with surprise.

"What the h.e.l.l happened?" Ernest demanded. "Were you messing with those biker guys again?"

"No, it was Casey f.u.c.king Remington," Ryan lashed out and immediately doubled over while clutching his ribs.

Ernest stared at his injured sons with his mouth hanging open. "Casey's back?" He suddenly shook his head in disbelief. "Wait, are you telling me Casey did this to you?" He instantly became enraged. "One woman beat the c.r.a.p out of all four of you?" he suddenly demanded.

"She pulled some martial arts bulls.h.i.t on us," Ryan groaned while attempting to find a comfortable position.

Ernest stared at the three writhing in agony then looked at Blain, who barely moved and refused to speak. "You've got anything to say?" he demanded.

"She broke his jaw," Fred said flatly from the wall behind his father.

Ernest spun and looked at Fred. He appeared surprised he wasn't writhing in agony with them. "Sat this one out?" he scoffed. He obviously knew Fred wasn't much of a fighter.

"I took a few hits," he replied while casually straightening. "I was the only one smart enough to admit defeat." Fred appeared reflective. "You know, I get the feeling when she said 'no' she actually meant it."

Ernest glared at Fred. He stared back at his father and tried hard not to smile.

"I'm going to get some coffee," Fred announced casually. "You want anything?"

"Yeah, a son with a backbone," Ernest scoffed. "You stand up for your brothers."

"They were wrong," Fred simply informed him.

"That doesn't matter," he snapped with hostility. "Family comes first! Right or wrong, we take care of our own. You remember that."

Fred frowned and walked away. Ernest rolled his eyes and shook his head with disgust. "He's getting to be like his mother," he scoffed.

"What are we going to do about Casey Remington?" Wayne gasped and then spit blood onto the floor.

"You leave that to me," Ernest informed him. "The law will protect us. Remember who you are."

Chapter Thirteen.

It was early the following morning. The Remington farm was neatly groomed, the fences were mended, and several horses grazed in the pasture. The house appeared almost pristine with fresh landscaping and paint. The sheriff's blazer pulled up to the house. Vaughn got out of the blazer and looked at the jeep and car parked in the driveway as he walked toward the house. The garage door was partially open to reveal a black, vintage sports car, which briefly caught his attention. He walked onto the porch, approached the front door, and promptly knocked on it. A moment pa.s.sed before the door opened to reveal Diesel in only a pair of floppy shorts. His muscles had muscles, and his mere presence was overpowering with testosterone. Vaughn stared at the large man who towered over him by several inches and seemed surprised by the barely dressed stranger who answered the door.

"Yeah?" Diesel snorted with little interest.