Black Horse (Breaking Black) (7 page)

“Get up!”

Jimmy mumbled something incoherent. He was bleeding from the head.

“Get the fuck up and take this like a man!”

“Randy! Put the fucking gun away!”

Jimmy stood before Randy as Randy aimed point blank at Jimmy’s head.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t just blow your head off right here. Threaten my sister?!”

“It wasn’t a threat, it’s a promise. If she stays with him, she’s going to wind up dead!”

Jimmy’s face seared as Randy’s gun smacked the side of his face.

Before Randy could reply, he heard the whirr of a police siren behind him. Randy, Tim and Jimmy would be spending the night in a holding cell at county. As Officer Knight cuffed Randy, he screamed at Jimmy, “If a single hair on her pretty head is out of place, I’ll mount your fucking head on my wall!”

Chapter Nine

Under the Halo of the Moon…

The absence of Colton woke Averi out of a deep sleep. Before she even opened her eyes, her hands glided over the silk sheets only to be met by an emptiness where his warm body would normally be. Her fingers gripped at the empty space as her heart pounded in alarm. Sitting up in bed, her dark hair fell over her bare breasts as her mind shifted to the memories of the evening. Her body tingled just thinking about what Colton had done to her body. Averi looked for Colton in the dark of the bedroom. It was dark. Early evening had long past, and night time had settled in the dark Texas sky.

Colton stood naked in front of the windowsill with his back towards Averi. He gazed over the countryside with his thoughts far away. Something seemed to be bothering him. The moon light shone down upon his body illuminating his muscular frame. The tattoos on his back glared mysteriously at Averi as she took in the intricate artwork. At first glance, it looked like a pair of angel wings. In reality, it was a pair of black horses, standing nose to nose, head to head in a battle. It was symbolism at its finest. These tattoos always puzzled Averi. Colton hated any reminder of his father, so why get a massive tattoo that does exactly that?

Averi stepped out of bed wearing the silk sheet around her shoulders. The luxurious fabric cascaded over Averi’s curvaceous figure, flowing down to her feet and trailing behind her like a bridal train. Weightlessly, she closed the distance between herself and Colton. Approaching him, she placed her hands gently on his back.

“Did I wake you?” asked Colt in a rasp of a voice

“I noticed that you were gone. I was worried.”

Colton turned to face her, locking his eyes on Averi’s bare beauty. She stood bared to him. Her supple breasts at attention, begging to be touched. The sexy curves to her hip leading to long thick legs that Colton longed to wrap around him; bury himself in. The silk sheet set her tan skin aglow as it rested on her shoulders and fell down her back like rich, liquid, white hot magma.

“You don’t need to be scared with me,” Colton said in a voice as smooth as ivory.

“I’m not scared with you. It’s when you’re gone that my fears take over,” Averi said honestly.

Colton’s gaze penetrated her longing stare. He had a look of deep meaning on his face as he took in his love. Gently, he lifted the sheet from Averi’s shoulders and wrapped it around them both.

Entwining them.

Binding them.

Enveloping them.

Caressing her in his warm embrace. Holding her in his love, Colton kissed her sweetly and cooed, “Where you go, there I am.”

Under the halo of the moon, they exchanged a passionate kiss. As their lips parted the mood was interrupted by a low growling.

Colton looked at Averi with an amused smirk on his face.

“Was that your stomach?”

Averi bit her lip, looking embarrassed.

“We did kind of skip dinner.”

“Good thing I covered our plates. Wait right here…” Colton said with a smirk on his face.

He pulled on a pair of white linen lounge pants and bolted down the stairs. Within minutes, Colton had returned with a tray of food. Finally, they could enjoy the dinner Colton had prepared. Regardless of the spices that Colton used and the level of his cooking prowess, dessert would always be Averi’s favorite meal of the day.

Chapter Ten

Unlikely Allies

The ebony sky twinkled above the dry Texas plain as night settled over the valley. Crickets sung their mating song while a lone wolf called out to the glowing moon. A dry breeze swept through Colton and Averi’s bedroom window causing the white curtains to billow and sway. Colton lie awake in bed with a million thoughts on his mind. There was something eating at him. He couldn’t be happier; Averi had said yes to his proposal. But there was danger on the horizon, and he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to protect Averi from it. A storm was brewing. Black Horse was coming… and he didn’t know what to do about it. He wanted to hide her, to protect her from his reign of madness.

Occasionally, Colton glanced over at Averi as she slept peacefully beside him. Her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths and her eyelids fluttered rapidly. Colton wondered what it was that she was dreaming about. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt like they were on the verge of a precipice, one step from falling in.

The sound of Averi’s phone caused Colt to jump. As “Need You Now” belted out, Colton glared at the alarm clock in annoyance.

“Who the hell would be calling her at 2:25 in the morning?!”

It was an unknown number.

Colt knew that Averi had a private number and that she only gave it out to a few people. It had to be one of three people calling: Randy, Shelly or Tim. In a gruff voice, Colton answered the phone.

“Hello?”

At first, there was no response.

“He-lloooo?!”

Finally, the voice on the other end of the line spoke.

“Colt… It’s Randy.”

Silence.

“I don’t have long… only two minutes. I don’t like you, you don’t like me. But I need your help.”

More Silence.

“What’s up?” asked Colt gruffly.

“Wake up Averi, tell her to go to my house and grab the money out of the secret compartment. I need her to bail me out.”

“Dude, she’s sleeping. She had a really hard day. Frankly, I don’t want to wake her…”

“So lemme get this straight… We’re supposed to be making nice for her, but you’re just gonna let me rot in this jail cell?!”

“Slow your roll,” said Colton clearly not in the mood for Randy’s standard brand of bullshit. “What the hell did you get arrested for?”

“I damn near blew Jimmy Hearns’ brains out. He threatened to kill Averi!”

Colt’s blood ran cold. Fury burned in his eyes as he took in Randy’s words. But before Randy would receive an answer, the dial tone interrupted the conversation.

***

“Is he coming?”

“Mother fucker hung up on me!”

“What the hell did you say to him?!”

“Nothing! Just that we needed bail money and that dickhead threatened to kill Averi.”

“Move,” said Tim as he pushed his brother out of the way. He approached the bars and called for the officer with the keys.

“Yo! Don’t I get a phone call?”

“Go ahead.

Tim rang Averi’s phone again.

One ring.

Two rings.

Five rings.

“I got her voicemail.”

“Shit!” yelled Randy as he slumped down on the hard bench inside the holding cell.

“Can I make another call?”

“No, you only get one!”

“You should’ve called Uncle Shawn…”

“Yeah, totally. He’d leave us in here, too.”

***

Averi opened her eyes as Colton climbed out of bed. He pulled his jeans on and fastened his belt with a clink.

“Everything okay, babe?” she asked, still half asleep.

Colton turned around and gave Averi a kiss on her forehead.

“Everything is fine, beautiful… Go back to sleep.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be right back… Just have to take care of something. Keep the doors locked.”

“Okay, hun… Hurry back.”

It was not unusual for Colton to have to go out in the middle of the night. Averi assumed something triggered the alarm at the garage. As Averi fell back to sleep, Colton bolted out of the garage in Averi’s Dodge with a renewed fury waging war in his heart.

***

“Ford!” Officer Clearing yelled with keys
jingling from his left hand.

“Yeah?!” both Randy and Tim answered.

“You’re clear. Bail’s been posted.”

“By who?!” yelled Randy, clearly shocked.

“Colt McClain… paid in cash.”

Randy went white in the face.

“You’re kidding…”

“Did he post bail for both of us?” asked Tim.

“Uh…” said the officer as he checked his clipboard.

“Yeah, Randall and Timothy Ford…”

From inside the holding cell, Jimmy Hearns began cracking up laughing.

“Randall and Timothy. Couple of pansies!”

But before either of them could reply, Colt was at the bars gripping Jimmy’s shirt. He was less than an inch from his face. His biceps bulged as he slammed Jimmy’s face against the bars.

“What the fuck did I tell you about leaving my girl alone?!”

“I wasn’t even near her!” yelled Jimmy with his face pressing against the bars.

“You threatened to kill her, mother fucker! I’m not fucking stupid!”

Jimmy broke free of Colt’s grip and cracked a malicious smile.

“Trust me, brother… I’m the least of your problems…”

“Excuse me? You’re full of fucking threats tonight!”

Jimmy cracked a broad smirk, showing off his crooked teeth.

“I bet you didn’t know that your daddy got out of jail this morning. Black Horse is in town and he’s looking for her.”

Fuck
, thought Colton as he bolted out of the police station with Randy and Tim on his heels. The shit was about the hit the fan.

“Gotta tell you man, you’re the last person I expected to see…” said Randy as he ran out of the police station looking relieved.

“You owe me $500 bucks. Both of you… Thank your sister, because if it wasn’t for her, I’d have left you in there.”

“Did your father really get out of jail?”

“He wasn’t supposed to get out til Friday. At least that’s what his letter said.”

“Does Averi know?”

“No. Not yet, at least. Enough questions. Get in the car. We have some shit to take care of.”

“I need to know, though…” said Randy with a perplexed look on his face. “What loyalty do you have to that man?” Colton spun around on his feel and got up in Randy’s face.

“None. Do not compare me to him. Do not even remind me that he is my fucking father. My loyalty is to Averi. Period. We need to take him down before people get hurt.”

And just like that, the three of them realized that they were not each other’s enemies, but were instead caught in an impossible situation. They were the unlikeliest of allies, but the most lethal of
partners. They had a mutual enemy. A mutual goal. They had to kill Tom “Black Horse” McClain.

Chapter Eleven

The Devil You Know

Colt’s knuckles went white as he gripped the steering wheel. Tires screeching, the Dodge kicked up dirt as they weaved through the back country roads to Averi and Colton’s house. Colt’s heart was in his throat, and while Tim and Randy were out for blood, for Colton it was a bit more personal. The thought that his father was coming after Averi was enough to make the usually even tempered Colton to turn murderous.

“What do you think his plan is?” asked Tim as he glared out the back window.

Colt had a deep scowl on his face. He knew exactly what his father would do.

“He’s not the type to sit back. He’s looking for paybacks.”

“What the hell did she ever do to him, though?!”

“For one, he will try to hurt her to get to me. For two, it was Averi’s testimony that got him locked up in the first place. He’s out for revenge.”

“He’s got another thing coming.”

“No offense, Colt, I know he’s your father and all… but he’s gotta go down,” said Tim trying to sound respectful.

Colt looked in his rearview mirror and met Tim’s gaze, “And I’m going to be the one to do it.”

***

When Colt pulled the Dodge into the driveway he immediately knew something was wrong. The back door was hanging wide open.

“He’s here…” Colt said with a dangerous hilt to his gaze.  “Tim go around back with me. Randy stay out front and watch that front door. If you see him, bring him down. Fuck the police. We need to do this ourselves.”