Lawless (Cowboys on the Edge Book 5)
Lawless
A Cowboys on the Edge Story
Delilah Devlin
Contents
Lawless
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Epilogue
Cage
Chapter 1
Also by Delilah Devlin
About the Book
When a Texas deputy’s motorcycle club trashes a bar with him leading the brawl, the sheriff decides his punishment will be serving as the bouncer/enforcer for the pretty owner while she runs a booth serving bikers during a weekend-long motorcycle club convention.
Lawless
A Cowboys on the Edge Story
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Delilah Devlin
Chapter 1
Ty Nolan ignored the nudge against his shin. Last thing he wanted to do was open his eyes. From the already harsh glare burning behind his eyelids, he knew opening them would be damn painful.
“Ty, come on. Wake up,” came a harsh whisper. “Sheriff’s here.”
Sheriff? What the hell? And what was Tank doing in his bedroom? Another moment passed before he realized his mattress was damn flat. Where the hell was he?
“Ty,” came another voice, this one louder and with an irritated edge. “Hate to interrupt your beauty sleep, but I’d like a word.”
Fuck, it really was the sheriff. Which answered the question of why his bed was so damn uncomfortable. He peeked in the direction of Sheriff Josh Penske’s voice—bars stood between them. Oh hell, I’m going to hear about it now.
With his head pounding, he accepted Tank’s hand up.
His buddy grinned. “Never knew you were such a lightweight, bro.”
Ty grimaced at Tank’s wisecrack—and his crushing grip. Tank was built like a…well, a tank. Ty had played football for the defensive team in high school, so he wasn’t exactly puny. It took a few seconds to stuff his shirt back into his jeans, wincing as his bruised knuckles brushed denim. Before he turned toward Josh, he raked a hand through his hair. Josh stood beside the open cell door, shaking his head.
Good Lord, was he about to lose his job? Be suspended?
Josh turned and led the way down the corridor to the station’s bullpen door. Ty was glad he was still too hung over to blush as he completed the walk of shame past his fellow deputies, whose mouths were crimped, no doubt to hold back their laughter. Josh led him inside his office then waved him toward the vacant chair in front of his desk.
Ty slumped into the chair. He was going to be fired, he just knew it.
Josh sat back in his chair and turned his chair to the side, his gaze going to the window. “You know, I thought it was a simple assignment.”
“To be fair, I had the night off—”
Josh held up a hand to cut him off. “No matter whether you’re in uniform or not, your duty is to keep the peace, not start the dang fight.”
At this point, Ty knew better than to try to correct Josh’s impression of what had happened the evening before. He’d only piss him off worse than he already had.
“I don’t know what to do with you...”
Ty wished he’d framed that statement as a question, because he would’ve offered suggestions—short of firing him, of course. He liked his job.
And he needed it. He needed to succeed if he ever wanted to put in his application to join the Texas Rangers. He sat straighter in his chair. He’d take his lumps and move on. Figure out what was next in his life. Life after the Army wasn’t turning out to be the cakewalk he’d expected.
“Can you imagine my surprise when the mayor called to inform me that she’d seen you hauled off in handcuffs, along with a dozen other ‘miscreants’—her word?”
The mayor hadn’t been so keen on this weekend’s festivities. He’d had a bird’s-eye view of just how unhappy she was when she’d marched into the station the morning before and asked Josh to lock the fairground gates.
Apparently, she’d changed her mind about allowing bikers to gather there. “Yes, I know I approved the club’s permit, but have you seen how many bikes are parked all up and down Main Street? Caldera will not be another Waco!” she’d said, tapping her foot.
Ty had grimaced at the mention of the infamous shootout between members of two rival motorcycle clubs, that had spilled out into a restaurant parking lot where cops had violently ended that shit. Ty’s Veterans Posse Club wasn’t like that. Not involved with drugs or criminal activities. Opposed to violence, they did however get pissy about disrespect from any other club. Composed entirely of former vets, the club gave its members a safe place to be, with people who had shared similar experiences that most folks couldn’t empathize with or even conceive of.
What had happened last night at Ruby’s Roadhouse had been...his fault. One too many beers and a sneering, snide comment from another club’s snarky member, who shouldn’t have been there in the first place, and he’d waded right into a fight.
“Look, I got the down-low from Ruby at the bar,” Josh said. “She said that guy from the club was being a dick to one of the waitresses, and that when you approached him, he insulted your club...”
Ty opened his mouth, but Josh gave a curt shake of his head, again cutting him off.
“Ruby Tackett’s bar got trashed. I asked her what she wanted to have happen.”
Here goes... Ruby was a hardass. She’d turned off the jukebox to read the riot act to all the bikers who’d filled her bar last night—before shit had gone down. “No fights,” she’d said, her arms crossed over her ample bosom. “No hassling my girls. When I say you’re cut off, you’re cut off. No fights! Got it?”
He and his buddies had all grinned and nodded. “Yes, ma’am,” they’d answered.
And still, all hell had broken loose.
“She expects your club to clean up the mess.”
Ty nodded. “Of course.”
“She’s closing the bar for the duration of the convention. But she already has a booth set up at the fairgrounds where she’ll be serving beer in the campground area—to keep the visitors off the road and out of her place. She wants you behind the bar with her.”
“What?” Ty sat straighter. He’d thought the last thing she’d want to do was spend more time looking at his face.
“For the duration,” Josh said with a firm nod. “In the meantime, your buddies are cleaning up her place. And she’ll have a bill you can all divvy up to pay for the damages.” Josh was silent for a long moment.
Ty’s brain was still swimming in tequila, so he was slow to realize Josh was waiting for something. He pushed up from his chair. “That’s it?”
One brow lifted. “Do you want it to be more?”
Ty cleared his throat. “I still have a job?”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Think you’re the first deputy in Caldera to get shit-faced and start a fight?”
Ty rocked back on his heels. “Won’t happen again, Sheriff.”
“I’m counting on that, Ty. Keep the fucking peace out there. Now, get home and get cleaned up. She needs you there by two.”
Ty left the sheriff’s office and strode back through the bullpen, this time feeling as though a weight had lifted off his shoulders. He still had a job and his badge. Things could have gone down so much worse—if Ruby had pressed charges. He had a lot to make up for to get back into her good graces.
“So, buddy,” Tank called out from a desk. “Couldn’t help hearing… You’re gonna be spending time with Ruby?”
Ty aimed a scowl his way. “I’ll be
keeping the peace.”
“She’s gonna expect you to be helping her out. You’ll be handin’ out beers and mixin’ Cosmos.”
Ty huffed a breath. “I’ll be protecting her.”
“From behind the bar. Think she’s gonna let you just stand there when her staff is back at her place putting everything back to rights?”
“I’ll do whatever the woman wants. She wants me to mix a damn martini, I’ll figure it out.”
Deputy Roman Perez sat on the edge of the desk Tank occupied. “Sounds like Josh really laid the hammer down—you providing protection to Ruby.” He chuckled. “Maybe the job’s too hard for you, buddy.” He waggled his eyebrows. “If you need someone to show you how it’s done…”
Tank snorted. “Ruby’s hot. How hard can it get?” Then his eyes widened. “Oh.”
Perez laughed. “Yeah, I recommend baggy pants, man. The woman’s built like a brick house.”
Ty narrowed his eyes, not liking the deputy’s sly tone. “Maybe you should keep your comments to yourself…buddy.”
“Yeah,” Tank said, smacking Perez in the belly. “Be respectful.”
“I’m just sayin’…” Perez said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Keeping the peace might be hard when all those guys start crowding around to get a peek at her tits.”
Ty stiffened. “The only one who’s gonna peek at her tits…” He didn’t finish the sentence because he just realized what he’d said and his friends were busting a gut laughing at him.
Yeah, he was toast. And he’d have to look hard to find a pair of jeans loose enough to hide his attraction to the pretty bar owner.
* * *
Ruby Tackett stood back from the booth she and the Lennie, the cook from her roadhouse, had just constructed. The rough planks looked rickety, but the booth was cleverly built for quick construction with interlocking panels. They set up at events all around the county, and she’d had the booth commissioned a couple of years ago to ensure setup time was at a minimum. Beneath the rough counter were several kegs, ready to dispense draft beer into paper cups with her bar’s logo. A large, hard-shell refrigerator held bottles of liquor for shots and mixed drinks. She had large tubs of pickled eggs, peanuts in the shell, as well as a big insulated military-style, marmite food container filled to the brim with her homemade chili to serve to hungry campers. Sure, food was being prepared and served all around her, but no one could touch her chili. She had the ribbons to prove how good it was pinned to the banner hanging above the booth.
Hers wasn’t the only booth dispensing booze, but hers would be the most popular. She’d been a friend to bikers, welcoming them to her establishment for years. This weekend’s ad hoc convention might have been hastily put together, but if all went well, and everyone had a good time, it might become an annual festival, like South Dakota’s annual rally at Sturgis, not that the mayor was eager for that to happen. Sherry Thacker was a control freak, and nothing could get more out of control than a bunch of drunk bikers over a long weekend.
Just look at what had happened last night at her bar. One minute she’d been giving the bikers her little speech about how to behave in her place, and the next, one of the town’s deputies was going toe-to-toe with a rival club’s knucklehead who’d gotten too handsy with one of her waitresses.
Not that Ruby was sweating the damages. The vets’ biker club had shown up as soon as she’d opened her doors earlier that day to help with the cleanup. And they’d all pitched in to cover the damages for the broken window and furniture.
As for the man who’d started the free-for-all, Sheriff Penske had assigned the deputy, as punishment, to hang around her booth all weekend to make sure more fights didn’t break out.
What the hell was she going to do with him constantly underfoot? He’d be a six-feet something, tattooed and heavily muscled, dark-haired, dark-eyed distraction.
And why she’d noticed all those qualities was a mystery. She liked her single life. Liked the occasional date with a man who knew her boundaries. Liked to bed one once in a while.
However, when she’d seen the deputy wade in with his fists curled and his eyebrows lowered, a shiver of pure lust had radiated down her spine and straight into her core. Just remembering had her clenching her thighs.
Dammit. Wasn’t she more evolved than to be attracted to a knuckle-dragging meathead? Okay, so maybe she was reaching for a description that would place him in the “Oh, hell no” category of men she met, but she needed to strengthen her backbone before he showed up.
No. She shouldn’t have it, no matter how kind Josh’s offer had been. She didn’t need a man hovering. She could take care of herself—Thank you very much, Sheriff Penske.
But she hadn’t said a word when he’d assigned the deputy his penance.
Ruby glanced at the oversized dial of her watch. It was nearly two. He’d be here any minute. Glancing around, she tried to think of some way to divert him. Too bad there weren’t any visitors who looked ready to let their fists fly. No, everyone was pretty mellow, gathering around unlit campfires near their pitched tents and campers, looking as laidback as any seniors in an RV club, gathering to chat and play some checkers with old friends.
“Miz Tackett?” came a low-pitched voice behind her.
Her heart fluttered, and she cursed silently. Ruby Tackett did not get giddy around any man. She turned slowly, and her heart stuttered at her first sight of him. His jaw was dark with a thickening shadow of whiskers. He wore a black T-shirt with “Ride Free – Respect Our Vets” across the front, his club’s leather jacket, and well-worn brown cowboy boots. A black cowboy hat was tilted low over one eye. His badge and a holster were attached to his leather belt. Oh boy, was she in trouble.
Straightening her spine, she gave Deputy Nolan a stern look. “You made a mess of my place last night.”
“I surely did, ma’am, and I’m sorry about that. I’m grateful you didn’t press charges.”
She drew a deep breath and forced her expression to remain as mean as she could manage. “The sheriff says you’re going to hang around my booth this weekend.”
He gave her a solid nod, his gaze never slipping downward.
Something she appreciated, since most men couldn’t control the urge to check out her boobs. They were out there, after all. Nothing she was ashamed of. God gave her big boobs, and she’d learned to use them to her advantage, not the other way around. So, maybe he wasn’t a boob man...? “There’s no room inside my booth for someone who’s not handing out drinks.”
He reached behind him and pulled out a small red book.
Her mouth twitched as she noted he had a vintage copy of Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide. “Jesus, where did you find that?”
He wrinkled his nose. “At Mary’s Used Books.”
“I’m shocked,” she said, giving him a little smile. “I didn’t think she carried anything her pastor would disapprove of. It’s damn hard to find a decent romance book in her store that doesn’t have some Amish woman on the cover.”
His mouth stretched. “She swore me to secrecy when she pulled it out from under the counter. Said she knew someday the right customer would come looking for it.”
Holy hell, I’m in trouble. His smile dug dimples into both of his cheeks, and the man had all his teeth.
“So where do you want me?” he asked, his eyelids narrowing just a bit.
Did he really just ask that? Was he flirting with her? Ruby drew a deep breath, which strained the buttons of her shirt.
His gaze slid slowly downward.
And there it was. Her superpower hadn’t failed her after all. She took a step past him and beckoned him with a curled finger held beside her shoulder. “Follow me.”
Chapter 2
Ty sucked in a deep breath and wished his pants were two sizes larger. He’d never in a million years thought a bossy woman would make him hard, but the proof was straining against his zipper.
Down, boy. Pace yourself. It’s gonna be a long weekend.
Ty set his cowboy hat on top of the refrigerator and followed her to a small camper trailer parked behind her booth. It was one of those vintage campers, the metal siding redone in a sand color with red trim around the windows and doors and her bar’s logo airbrushed onto the side.
He watched as she unlocked the door and stepped up the metal stairs. In the doorway, she turned and raised her eyebrows. “You coming?”
Did everything she said or did have to make him think about crisp sheets and her red hair twisted around his hand?
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his voice sounding a little hoarse, and he moved toward the steps to follow her inside.
Once in, he glanced around. The inside was stripped of everything except a full-size bed in the back and a tiny bathroom. The front was outfitted with shelving that was filled with supplies and boxes of liquor. Three kegs filled the bottom shelf.
“This is where you come when we need to restock,” she said, pointing at the shelves. “We’ll likely have to truck in more after today.”
“Are you planning on staying here tonight?” he asked, eyeing the bed.
“If I don’t, who’s to keep someone from breaking in and stealing my stock?” she asked frowning.
He drew a deep breath. “I can. I don’t like the thought of you being here alone at night.”
Her chin rose. “Do it all the time.”
“You don’t bring along anyone to help?”
“There’s only one bed.”
Her tone was flat. Not the least suggestive. Still, his mind went there. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’ll stay tonight, and I’ll do all the heavy lifting.”
Her quick smirk brought his attention to her mouth. It was a pretty mouth with full lips and only a slight shimmer of gloss. Ruby didn’t need a lot of cosmetic enhancement. With pale cheeks and dark lashes rimming her green eyes, she was a natural beauty, and if her eyebrows were a gauge—a natural redhead. Not for the first time, he wondered how old she was. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, right about his age, but he couldn’t be sure due to a lack of deep wrinkles.