I’d seen this reaction before. “It’s not unusual to feel down after a successful operation. You’ve been through a lot, seen a lot. Shouldn’t expect to feel like partying.”
Levi gave a wan smile and nodded.
“Where’s Bear?” I asked.
“Outside,” Kyle said. “I think he’s checking out the condition of the ranch.”
“Gonna go introduce myself.” The brawl I’d provoked by insulting the cowboy hardly counted as a real introduction. I walked outside. Couldn’t see Bear from the porch. I was halfway to the big barn when I spied him on top of a small hill.
No mistaking where he was, even though I never visited the place. A wrought-iron fence surrounded at least a dozen upright gravestones. I hiked up the hill, swung open the gate, and entered the Rasmussen family cemetery. Bear stood with his hands on his hips, staring down at a wide patch of overturned dirt.
Wasn’t my place to break the silence, so I waited for him to speak. My gaze wandered over the headstones. The largest and oldest stone bore the names Erick and Borghild Rasmussen. They died a few days apart in 1894. A Viking ship was carved into the granite and below it the words Takk for Alt. My lips moved as I sounded the words out in my mind. Thanks for all? Thanks for everything, maybe?
“The brigade killed my family and our ranch hands.” Bear spoke without looking at me. “I’d wondered what they did with the bodies.” He pointed at the disturbed soil. “Looks like they actually buried them, here, in the family plot.”
“If that’s right, it’s the only decent thing they ever did.”
He swung his head toward me, and his gaze moved up and down my body, pausing on my Janissary cut. He extended a hand. “Thank you. For saving Valhalla. For saving me. Kyle said you all are looking for a place to settle. You’d be more than welcome to stay here.”
“Appreciate that.” I shook his hand.
“I got to admit, I’m surprised that a member of a motorcycle club rode to my rescue. I don’t know much about you folks, other than what I’ve seen on TV. Guess I figured a biker had to be bad news, especially after dealing with that other fellow.”
“Tuck was bad news. A violent, abusive piece of shit. But I get it. I made a bad first impression.”
“You sure did,” Bear acknowledged with a grin. “But Kyle tells me you’re a good man, that you’re the leader of your group.”
“Yeah, I am the leader.”
“I’m not looking to sign on under your command,” he said slowly. “Valhalla is my family’s ranch. I know how to run it, and I don’t need anybody second-guessing my decisions.”
“Don’t know shit about ranching, but I’m willing to learn how to pull my weight,” I said. “What I do know is how to defend a property, how to fight, and how to protect my people from harm. You and me, I see no reason why we should butt heads.”
“I run the ranch. You’re in charge of security,” Bear said.
“Something like that.”
“And if we end up locking horns down the line?” he asked.
I shrugged. “We’ll either work it out or we won’t. It’s a big, empty country. Plenty of places to start over. But we can both try hard to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”
“Fair enough.” He tilted his head, eyeing me. “I was about to take a pickup and drive the access roads, checking the fences. Do you want to come along?”
The man was making a friendly overture, one I’d be a fool to reject.
“Be happy to.”
We spent the next hour driving around the ranch, while Bear assessed how much damage the brigade’s neglect had done to the place. When we pulled up in front of the house, Kyle greeted us on the porch.
“Libby had the baby. A little girl. Mom and daughter are both fine.”
“That’s good.” I’d check in on them later. Right now, I wanted to see Mac.
“She hasn’t stirred,” Hannah whispered when I entered the room.
“It’s no wonder,” I said in a low voice. “We got no sleep last night and after Tuck tried to kill her...” I couldn’t finish the sentence. The image of Tuck’s triumphant smile as he strangled Mac flashed before my eyes. My shoulders tightened and my hands balled into fists. Wished like hell I could kill the bastard again.
“Hey.” Hannah reached out, but hesitated, her fingers inches from my arm, like she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to touch me. I forced my muscles to relax and wiped the rage from my face before looking at the girl. Her brow puckered and she spoke hesitantly. “She’s going to be okay, you know.”
“Yeah. She is. We all are.” I glanced around the room. “Did you and Levi pack up Mac’s stuff? I wanna put up her moon lantern.”
“I know where it is. Be right back.” Hannah dashed from the room.
Light filtered into the room from the gap between the window frame and the blinds. Holding my breath, I bent over Mac. God. The bruises mottling her neck and face would haunt me forever. Hannah tiptoed back into the room and handed me the solar light.
“I’m going to go find Levi,” she whispered.
I set up the moon lantern, then stretched out next to Mac in the bed. Fatigue caught up with me. I dozed, waking up when the mattress shifted.
My eyes snapped open. Mac had rolled on her side. We lay face to face, and she looked at me, her eyelids heavy. She ran her knuckles over my jaw, smiling like she always did when her fingers brushed against the stubble. The woman loved my bristles, loved me to drag my chin over the soft skin of her thighs and breasts.
“Razor burn.” Her raspy voice was like a knife in my gut, reminding me of what she’d endured, of everything we almost lost.
I turned my head and kissed her palm. “You shouldn’t try to talk. Remember, Sahdev said you probably have a bruised larynx.” She frowned and shook her head. I pressed a finger against her lips. “Mean it, Mac. Rest your voice. You’re safe. Our friends are safe. Valhalla is ours. You got all the time in the world to say everything you want to say.”
She nodded and clutched my hand, her eyes glowing in the dim light. Her lips moved, silently shaping the words I love you.
“Love you too, darlin’.” I kissed her, then sat up, swinging my legs onto the floor and heading for the door. “I want Sahdev to check out your injuries again.”
I found Sahdev, Bear, and Kyle in the living room, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“Mac woke up,” I told Sahdev. “You mind taking a look at her?”
He jumped up and hustled down the hallway toward the bedroom. I took his place on the leather recliner and leaned forward to address the men.
“We need to talk about Jerrilyn and Libby,” I said. “I got sympathy for a woman who just gave birth, who just lost her husband. And, of course, I don’t want any harm to come to the baby, but I can’t see how any of them have a place at Valhalla.”
“We could never trust Jerrilyn,” Kyle said. “She’s going to want payback for her son and nephews.”
“She’s toxic. Rotten to the core,” I said.
“I don’t want to be a heartless bastard.” Kyle sighed. “But whether she wants to or not, Libby’s got to go, too. We can’t build a new life with a Nazi lover in our midst.”