Cowboy Famous: Book 4 (Cowboy Justice Association) (5 page)

“Move it!” Dare hollered and Griffin thought his ears might bleed. But it got their attention and the entire room shifted, the only sound the scraping of chairs on the tile.

“You’re a total bastard,” Griffin whispered low. “I think they peed themselves.”

Dare just shrugged, his expression implacable. “This is the least of their problems today. If I don’t have all of them puking up their breakfasts by ten in the morning, I’ve failed.”

Chapter Five

T
he obstacle course didn’t look that bad.

It didn’t look like fun either.

There was crawling under nets, climbing walls, hurdles to jump, a rope to swing over a large muddy area and a few other items to ruin their day. It reminded her of a boot camp fitness class she’d signed up for a few years back. Jazz was glad that staying in shape was part and parcel of being an actress these days. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the cameras. Or the sheriff and his deputies.

Sheriff Sawyer, out of uniform and dressed in blue sweats and matching tank top, was currently wearing an expression that clearly showed he wasn’t impressed with his so-called recruits and she couldn’t really blame him. Sandy was complaining about losing her phone. Danny was busy trying to charm Sandy and all the other pretty female crew members. Wayne was lagging behind the entire group and constantly had to be herded as he would wander away if they weren’t watching. Peggy had taken one look at the course and almost burst into tears and was being comforted by Levi. His eyes had gleamed when he’d gotten a look at the challenging obstacles. It looked like he was ready to go for it.

Jazz was in Levi’s camp. The sooner they did it the sooner it would be over. She needed to practice and do the best she could. On Thursday she would be competing with the other five and only the winner would be safe from elimination.

She had to win.

The cameras were stationed along the course as the competitors warmed up and stretched their muscles. Despite some morning yoga in her hotel room, Jazz was still a little stiff from the traveling yesterday and the last hour hadn’t helped. She’d spent most of it waiting around while the production crew filmed the contestants “arriving.”

They’d all been cleaned up with hair and makeup which wasn’t going to help them in the least now. Jazz’s three coats of mascara were going to run and turn her into a raccoon no matter how waterproof the package said it was. It was hot and there was going to be sweat. End of story.

“Line up and we’ll let you go one by one, giving the person ahead of you some time. We don’t want you to bunch up. For this first run just take your time and get familiar with the course,” the scowling Deputy Turner said. Jazz wondered if the man ever smiled. He appeared to be mad about basically everything all the time. Maybe his tightie whities were way too tight.

Trying to muffle her giggle, Jazz got in line behind everyone but Wayne. As usual he was pulling up the rear.

Danny went first, diving down so he could crawl under the netting on his belly. When he cleared that obstacle, he grabbed the rope and sailed over the mud pit without a problem. The climbing wall was where he found an issue. Already winded, he didn’t have the strength to pull himself up and over. Bent over with his hands on his knees, he sucked in some air and then stepped back to try again.

This time the handsome sheriff leaned over and said something to Danny before he got a running start. Whatever it was, it must have made a difference because he easily cleared the wall and was on to the rest of the course.

“What do you think the sheriff told him?” Wayne asked, his brows knitted together. “Whatever it is, I want to know too.”

Levi went next, and despite having a supposed desk job he made the course look damn easy. Well, crap.

Peggy struggled and required coaching from the sheriff and deputy, as did Sandy, and then it was Jazz’s turn. She took off at a run and dove to the grass, banging her knees and elbows on the ground. Bruising easily, she was sure to have some black and blue marks from this activity.

Grunting as she propelled herself forward on her belly, her ponytail got caught in the netting overhead. Jazz cursed and reached up to free herself but a set of larger, rougher hands were already there. His palm gently pressed on the back of her head so her nose was millimeters from the dirt.

“Keep your head down and use your hands, elbows, and feet to push yourself along. Don’t worry about looking up.”

His commanding tone left her in no doubt he knew what he was talking about. Keeping her head down, she managed to clear the net and sprang to her feet.

“Easy. Pace yourself this first time out, Jazz.”

The sheriff was following her along the course and she wasn’t sure if she was glad or annoyed. Having him watch her so closely was slightly unnerving, but if he could help her compete then it would be worth it.

“Get a running start for the rope swing.”

Jazz paused about ten feet from the mud pit before speeding up. She grabbed the rope and sailed over the muck but landed awkwardly, stumbling and having to right herself.

“Are you okay? You look like you twisted your ankle. Do you need a medic?”

Geez, he was right next to her wearing a concerned frown. After last night’s issues with her luggage, he must think she was a total weakling. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she shook her head.

“I’m okay.”

“Now for the wall, you’re going to want–”

“I’ve got this,” she interrupted.

Determined to show him she wasn’t useless, she lunged at the wall six foot wall built with logs but missed grabbing the rope and landed in a heap on the ground. The dirt and grass stuck to her damp skin and her knee was scraped and bleeding.

That was certainly impressive.

Muttering every curse word she knew under her breath, she pushed to her feet, ignoring the throb in her knee and the protest of her now sore bottom. There was no doubt about it. She was going to be a giant bruise when she was done today.

A strong hand wrapped around her arm and helped her stand.

“Will you take some advice now or are you going to be stubborn?”

*   *   *   *

The little blonde’s chin was lifted in challenge as if she was planning to toss his help back in his face. She’d already done better than he’d expected and certainly better than the other two females. He hadn’t got a good look at her figure last night or this morning but dressed in shorts and a t-shirt her body was toned and a little distracting if he was honest.

Something flickered in her eyes and her shoulders dropped in defeat. “I’ll listen.”

Griffin admired her gumption and go-getter attitude, but she was plumb going to wear herself out on this course if she didn’t listen to a few tricks.

“Use your legs. Power up as high as you can and climb trying not to pull yourself up. Your arms will be tired and the monkey bars are next.”

Jazz chewed on her lip and nodded before taking a few steps back so she could get a running start. Her movements graceful, the second time she got over the wall without much fuss. She was probably going to be sore later from her fall but at least she’d completed the first three obstacles. He’d seen much worse in his time.

The monkey bars were difficult and she struggled as he tried to coach her regarding momentum. Eventually her shoulders gave out and she had to move on to the balance beam stretched over a pool of water. He’d seen men throw the challenge right here so they could land in that cool water on a hot day. This one, however, skipped right over the four by four without so much as a wobble.

Damn good balance.

Grinning now, Jazz sailed through the tires lifting her knees and then crossing the finish line. His misgivings had been premature. She was a fighter and he admired that. She didn’t give up but had wisdom enough to know when to let someone help her. It was a rare combination.

He was going to have to keep an eye on her.

She collapsed onto a bench next to Peggy, giggling and smiling, looking way too attractive. He needed to keep his mind on business and stop looking at pretty young women. Young being the operative word. He’d seen her bio and she was twenty-seven to his thirty-six.

Too young, and way out of bounds. No matter what Tony might say. Griffin wasn’t going to have sex for the cameras and the American viewing public. She was cute and that was the end of it.

Her knee was still bleeding but the last guy, Wayne, was already blundering through the course having issues on the very first obstacle. His bio had said he was a former Marine with no medical issues, so no way should he be having problems. It looked like he’d never exercised in his life.

Griffin nodded to Dare to intervene when Wayne landed on his ass in the mud pit after an attempt to swing over it on the rope. The deputy helped the man up and tried to coach him through it. After several tries, the former military man gave up and walked around it, heading for the wall.

“How about a tip for this one?” Griffin asked. Wayne was scowling worse than Dare but Griffin was used to dealing with people who weren’t very damn happy.

“This is stupid,” Wayne spat. “Why do I need to know how to do something like this? I don’t enjoy wasting my time.”

Griffin’s brows shot up at the contemptuous tone. Had Wayne spoken to his drill instructors that way during basic?

“Agility and speed are important for an officer,” Griffin replied, not going into the gory detail that he could have added. “Now the best way to do this is to use your legs.”

He continued explaining but it was clear Wayne had tuned him and everyone else out. The former Marine was being pouty, for fuck’s sake. Griffin was starting to have some doubts about this man’s bio. And if his was wrong? What did that say about the others? Was the producer deliberately misleading Griffin about these contestants?

He and Tony were going to have a chat. Misinformation could put someone’s life in danger and Griffin wouldn’t allow that to happen. It was his job to keep these six people safe.

*   *   *   *

Jazz needed to get to a phone. When Tony had told her she would be cut off from family and friends, it simply hadn’t sunk into her brain what that meant. Giving up her phone had been painful to say the least. She wasn’t addicted to staring at it all day like so many people, but it was a lifeline to her agent. Jazz had been on several auditions and she needed to know if she had any paying jobs when she returned to L.A.

From her spot on the bench, she could see into the makeshift tent next to the obstacle course. A phone sat on the table next to a few bottles of water and some first aid supplies. She needed to slip into the tent, grab the phone, call her agent, and then replace it before anyone was the wiser.

Call me Ninja Jazz.

Her palms sweating and not from the heat, she sidled casually into the tent. Grabbing some band-aids, a bottle of alcohol, and a few cotton balls, she settled into a metal folding chair and smiled at Deputy Turner. He nodded to her as he chatted with Peggy but his attention was clearly on the other woman who was asking for advice about the monkey bars.

As Jazz dabbed alcohol on her knee, the two of them exited the tent leaving her all alone with the phone. The burn of the alcohol made her hiss but she slapped a band aid over the wound and quickly grabbed the phone, shoving it under her shirt just as the sheriff entered.

His gaze went straight to the now empty space where the phone had sat and then to her. Never a good liar, she probably had “guilty” stamped on her forehead.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“I was just coming to check on your scraped knee. Good, I see you put a bandage on it.”

The sheriff reached for a bottle of water and twisted the top off before handing it to her. She had no choice to reach for it and her hand visibly shook until she wrapped her fingers around the cool plastic.

“Thank you.” The words came out scratchy and tinged with guilt but he simply sat down in the other folding chair and opened a bottle for himself.

“Looks like you’re still shaken up from the course. You should drink some water and rest a little before trying it again.”