“They shot something into his leg.”
“What does he look like?” McBride was fairly certain it was Quintus. The butler’s description via the valet confirmed his supposition.
“I don’t know how to fire this thing.” Jonas was looking at the rifle with more fear than relief.
“You won’t have to.” McBride took the weapon from him and gave it to Ollie.
“No!” Jonas wanted it back.
McBride didn’t have time to dance around the issue. “You are going to stay here.”
“I most certainly—”
“I am going out there to confront them with my slammers and their thralls. I don’t want them knowing there’s another gentryman here.”
“It’s cowardly.”
“No, it’s smart.” Ollie took the rifle in hand, looking far more confident in its use than Jonas had. “He’s trying to show them that we aren’t like them.”
“That’s right.” McBride quickly showed his men how to use the rifles. “Besides, I need you to stay here with Alden.”
Alden shook his head and clung to Gannon’s arm.
“You can’t hear, and my back is going to be to you. It’s just too dangerous.”
Alden looked to argue, but Gannon soothed him. “You stay and help Jonas.”
Neither man looked happy about that, but McBride wasn’t working toward that goal. He wanted to defend his land and make it clear to the interlopers that they weren’t going to take over his farm no matter how many men they brought with them. The slammers’ numbers might be bigger than McBride’s, but McBride’s men had the distinct advantage of knowing the landscape intimately, and they had firearms.
“Where’s Caleb?” Renner asked.
“He’s already out there.” McBride left it at that as he didn’t want to delve into the explanation now. “Are you ready?”
Everyone nodded, but Bailey asked, “What do we do?”
“Just follow my lead. If we’re lucky, I’m the only one who will have to take a shot.” McBride strode down to the bend then onto the long drive. The group of men was a good distance away, but they could probably see McBride and his men coming.
From what he could tell, only a few of them had weapons, but they didn’t look like guns. That was good. The only people on the planet who had guns were lawmen. When everyone had cut and run, the gun safe at the sheriff’s office had locked down and it would stay that way until McBride opened it personally. He had no intention of doing so when he had enough firepower on his farm to outfit his men and at least a dozen more.
The closer he got, the more of the situation McBride could see and therefore puzzle out. It seemed that Quintus had been running from the pack of slammers when he’d encountered Caleb. Quintus must have stopped, or perhaps Caleb stopped him, because he was near to Caleb, but Quintus was down on the ground, clutching his calf. It looked like Caleb had gotten the group to stop and they were talking, but given the tense postures and the way some of the slammers were bouncing from foot to foot, they were done with discussions.
“Who’s that?” The leader of the slammers pointed at McBride but asked the question of Caleb.
Caleb didn’t even look back. “He’s my master.”
The title sent a strange bolt of fear down McBride’s spine. For all he knew, Caleb could be intent on turning on him and joining up with the marauding slammers. However, when he tried to picture that scenario, he just couldn’t see it happening. Caleb wasn’t angry with McBride. He simply wanted his freedom more than he wanted to be his mate. It was a crushing realization, but there it was.
“Join us and he won’t be your master anymore.”
“I don’t like to share.”
McBride didn’t have to see Caleb’s face to know he’d just flashed the whole group of men that wicked little grin of his. He probably waggled his brows for good measure.
“You can keep him as a pet.”
“Who’s to say I’m not already?” Caleb shrugged. “You’ll notice he came out with guns to defend me.”
McBride had been planning on a very different scenario to make the slammers go, but since Caleb seemed to be handling them so well, McBride was willing to let him keep right on talking. Interrupting or trying to take over could get everyone killed.
“We’re not leaving without him.” The leader pointed at Quintus.
Quintus looked up at McBride. His agony was clear by the deep lines in his brow. His normally smoothly shaved face was scruffy with a two-day beard and his clothing was battered. Now that he was closer, McBride realized what they were using as weapons were slingshots. But these weren’t the cheap kind boys sometimes created out of rubber bands and sticks. These were full-blown weapons that could clearly inflict significant damage given the blood that saturated Quintus’s pant leg.
“You are leaving without him.” Caleb spared Quintus a look. “I got him so my gentryman has one of his own to play with.”
McBride let that comment slide, but the look Quintus gave him was one of horror that McBride was apparently being bossed by one of his own men. Eventually, McBride would explain everything to Quintus, but not here and definitely not now. Not when he’d prefer to win the battle without bloodshed. Besides, he wouldn’t be Caleb if he didn’t manage to piss someone off in the process of being a hero.
“We want him to feed from.”
“Too bad.” Caleb snapped his fingers. “If any of them move any direction but away from here, shoot them.”
McBride leveled his rifle, and from the sounds behind him, so did the rest of the men. There was a long moment of tense silence while the leader considered his weapons against what McBride and the others held. While the slingshots were good, rifles were better, and they both knew it.
Amid a bunch of vile words and rude comments, the slammers retreated, but they did so without fully turning their backs. Trust was for idiots in this brave new world. McBride kept his rifle up and ready until the men made small dots on the horizon. To his surprise, Renner stepped forward and knelt down beside Quintus, heedless of the slammers. He offered out his lap for Quintus to rest his head on and then held him until the slammers retreated. When they were well out of range, Caleb turned and crouched down next to Quintus.
“How bad is it?”
“I think they broke a bone.”
Caleb looked up at McBride. “We’ve got to get him back to the big house.”
Before McBride could agree or do anything, Renner offered, “I can carry him.”
“I think you’ll need two.” McBride handed his rifle to Caleb and then dropped down near to Quintus’s legs.
Renner got his hands under Quintus’s armpits while McBride cradled his lower half. He did his best to hold him gently, but he was in a lot of pain and moving him was going to make it worse. Two steps told them he was never going to make it back to the big house like this.
“I’ll go and get the cart.” Ollie was off while the rest of them stayed to protect Quintus and make sure the slammers got all the way off the farm.
McBride and Renner put Quintus back on the ground. While Renner allowed Quintus to rest his head on his lap, McBride maneuvered Caleb back a bit.
“Keep me as a pet?” McBride lifted one brow.
“They said it, not me.”
“You didn’t seem to object.”
“I was playing a part.” Caleb tried to hide his grin, but he failed miserably.
“You played it a little too well. I think I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do with Quintus.”
“I think he was so scared he didn’t care who did what as long as he got away from those slammers.”
“You didn’t want to join them?”
“Like I said, I’m not into sharing.” Caleb met McBride’s eyes but looked away before the moment could intensify.
“I guess you’re not going then.”
“I guess not.” Caleb frowned. “My brothers are going to wonder what the hell I was doing out here with a pack on my back.”
“Tell them you were going out to meet Quintus. It’s almost the truth.”
Caleb nodded.
“Caleb, I—”
“They’ve stopped moving.” The butler was looking down the long drive.
“What are they doing?” McBride asked as everyone swung their attention that way.
“The valet says they appear to be looking at a piece of paper.”
“A map?” Caleb examined the rifle like he wanted to fire it just to see what it would feel like if he did.
“Why would they need a map if they’re from here?” Renner stroked his hand over Quintus’s chest, comforting him as best he could.
“Must mean they’re not from here.” Caleb looked down at his brother and the crimetech. A look of annoyance twisted his features. Clearly, he wasn’t happy at the idea of any of his brothers with any gentrymen no matter what had happened to the world.
When Caleb lifted his attention to the group, scanning every man standing there, McBride knew without asking he was looking for Jonas. When he didn’t see him, he nodded like he’d known all along Jonas would show his true colors.
“I told him to stay and watch over Alden.”
“And of course he dropped his fancy fanny down and settled right in.” Caleb glared down at Renner. “Why don’t you let McBride tend to his future mate?”
Renner wasn’t about to let go of Quintus. He wasn’t sure what attracted him to the man, but he was determined to explore his options now that the odds of getting a thrall were pretty much zero. Besides, he was the only one on the farm who had any kind of medical training. It was from a book, but that still counted as far as things went.
As he gazed down at him again, Renner knew what he’d thought wasn’t quite true. He knew
exactly
what drew him to the stern-looking gentryman, but he felt it was something far beyond the fact that Quintus was sharply handsome. Dirty-blond hair was tousled over his forehead, drawing attention to his unusual gray eyes and his very angular features. There was a driven kind of focus in his gaze that pulled at Renner, making him want to explore the dark desires he’d always kept hidden.
For a split second, Renner’s gaze connected with Quintus’s, and Renner swore there was an answering heat, but then Caleb insisted Quintus was there to become McBride’s mate. His claim shattered the spell, forcing Renner to look up at his pompous brother.
“Don’t be an ass, Caleb. Jonas is McBride’s mate.”
After a painfully long moment, McBride shook his head. “This isn’t how I wanted to do this, but your big-mouthed brother hasn’t left me much choice.” McBride glared at Caleb, who lifted his brows like he’d done nothing wrong. Renner knew well that look on his brother’s face. He had timed his revelation to cause the most pain and embarrassment that he could because that was Caleb’s way.
“You and Jonas…” Renner didn’t quite know how to ask when he honestly didn’t feel that McBride’s private business was any of his.
“I claimed Jonas as my mate to protect him and the man he really loves.” McBride clearly didn’t want to share the information this way, but Caleb left him no choice. “The truth is Ollie and Jonas are bloodbonded.”
Renner gasped right along with most of the men present. It was on the tip of his tongue to protest that Jonas was a landed gentryman, but here Renner was with Quintus’s head in his lap because he no longer held to the old ways. Just the thought of Quintus in McBride’s arms made Renner want to tighten his grip on him, but he didn’t want anyone to know how he felt, especially not McBride if he was indeed going to claim Quintus. If no one knew, Renner could hide his shame and lick his wounds in private. Besides, he’d only just met Quintus. His lust would fade if he didn’t feed it.
A bunch of burbling questions emerged from his brothers’ mouths, but all chatter ceased when Ollie returned with the cart. Jonas was sitting next to Ollie, and now it made perfect sense to Renner. How had he not noticed how often the two men were near each other? When they’d lived in the town house, he’d thought it odd how Jonas doted on Ollie, but he decided Jonas favored him because he was the most welcoming of all the brothers. Renner didn’t mind when Jonas came to feed, but he didn’t look forward to it, either. Ollie liked Jonas far more than all the other brothers combined. But for Caleb. Caleb made no bones about the fact he hated Jonas and never allowed him to feed. The only scar on his neck was from McBride.
“What’s going on?” Ollie climbed down from the cart. For a moment, Renner was positive he was going to extend his hand and help Jonas down, but he stopped himself at the last second and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“They know, Ollie. I’m sorry.” McBride took responsibility for the information being spilled when it was clearly done by Caleb.
Ollie looked around at his brothers, expecting to be barraged with questions or maybe even hatred, but everyone seemed a little too shocked to comment.
“I’m glad for you, Ollie.” Renner smiled up at him. If Ollie and Jonas could find a way to be together, maybe his instant attraction to Quintus wasn’t so inappropriate after all. But that thought drew his attention to McBride, and his heart sank. He was of Quintus’s same class. Not only that, but McBride was big, strong, and thoroughly handsome. Renner doubted there was a gentryman in the land who wouldn’t want McBride as a mate. Even the fact that he was once the sheriff of the entire county gave him a powerful allure. In comparison, Renner was just a slammer with nothing but erotic fantasies.