North of Nowhere

by Allison Brennan

Green and gold, like her eyes. Just like her aunt Ruby. Just like her murderous father.

He hadn’t killed anyone in five years. He’d promised himself, for the sake of Maggie’s kids, that his killing days were over.

But the idea of ending Boyd McIntyre gave him a rush, a warm feeling of satisfaction.

Boyd McIntyre had taken his most trusted men to Montana, because he would never underestimate Tony again. His best friend. His partner. Fucking traitor.

Tony would, of course, be prepared. It was why he had been the most valuable man in Boyd’s business. He was smart and ruthless. You betrayed me. Fucking my wife wasn’t even the worst thing you did.

Five years, two months, two days. That’s how much time Tony had stolen from him.

Even if Boyd could have forgiven Tony for Maggie, he had snitched and sent Boyd to jail.

“Ruby left to protect you. You can trust her, Kris.” “I don’t trust anybody except you!” “Then trust me when I tell you that everything Ruby did was out of love. I told her to stay away. To protect all of us. It’s complicated and there’s a lot that you don’t know.”

Only she knew the truth. Trevor had been murdered because of her. She hated remembering, but couldn’t help it, not today. This time two years ago, you were at Trevor’s funeral. Nine years ago this month, you were at your father’s funeral. November sucks.

Nick understood grief, and Tony had clearly been grieving. “Maggie was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Tony had told him. “I promised her the day she died that I would take care of the kids, get them out of the city. All she wanted was for her children to be happy. To be honest, Mr. Lorenzo, I haven’t always done good. But with Maggie, I did. I’m a better man because of her.”

She saw her dad’s go-bag in the back of the plane. He’d have his own guns. He’d insisted that she carry a gun, trained her to use it. She practiced, but every time she held the gun she remembered that she had killed a person. That she’d taken a life.

“Local. Owns a ranch. People like him.” Pause. “Friends with the new sheriff, Paxton, they went to school together or something. He could be a problem.”

But there was a greater threat than Boyd out there, a threat that only Ruby could stop.