Hammer eyed his friend. Storm had the dark coloring that spoke to his half Native American heritage, but his usually tanned skin seemed pale and his obsidian eyes were heavy with buried anger and fatigue. He’d seen that look before. Hammer and Storm had served in the same unit while they had been in the Rangers, and they had been like brothers ever since. “Long weekend?”
“Longer than you’d believe. Late Saturday night I got a call out to the county border. Turns out those fucking Moxie boys took some girls drinking with them at that shit-hole honky tonk, the Dunk Tank, and then crashed into a tree on their way home.”
“Shit,” Hammer said. “Was everyone okay?”
“Nope. One of the girls ended up in the hospital, and one of the boys had to have surgery. The other girl died on impact. We spent hours trying to pry those kids out of that damn car. It was crushed like a fucking can. The driver was the only one who wasn’t really hurt. He was so drunk he couldn’t even see straight, but somehow he got thrown clear.”
“You telling Hammer about what happened Saturday?” Hammer’s step-brother Hunter asked as he joined them. “I’m glad those little Moxie shits are sitting in jail. Why does it always seem the drunk driver always walks away from an accident despite all the lives he ruins?”
“Yeah,” Storm said, shaking his head in disgust. “Those girls were underage, too. To top it, one of their daddies showed up on scene while we were working to get the kids out. He had been out looking for his girl when we made the calls. The idiot pulled out a shotgun and started shooting at the driver.”
“Well, hell…” Hammer winced, but he couldn’t really blame the father. He would have killed those boys if it was his daughter, too.
“What Storm didn’t tell you was that he was in the process of cuffing Ralph Moxie when the father started shooting,” Dante added as he joined them.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Hammer looked at Storm, then grinned, trying to ease the memory of dealing with such a horrible situation. “You don’t seem to have any new holes in you.”
“He missed me, asshole,” Storm growled in response, irritation bubbling to the surface again at the reminder. “It was just one big clusterfuck of a night. That’s why I took today off. I needed to relax, or I knew I’d hurt someone today with the way I’m feeling.”
“I bet. You should go hit the bags now that we’re done here.”
“I just might,” Storm said. “Maybe I’ll drag Dante into the ring with me.”
“We can do that. I’m thought I’d stick around and work with the kid when he gets off of school. Nate’s got some moves. He’s young yet, but I think he might have a future if he wants it.”
“I agree,” Hammer said. He’d been training Nate a few times a week, and the kid had natural talent for picking up martial arts. With dedication and persistence, the kid could make a career at fighting.
Hunter looked around the fenced in yard with his hands on his hips, admiring what they had built together. “This is a good area. Ranger is going to be very happy here.” At Storm’s questioning look, Hunter grinned. “The pit bull puppy Kali picked out is named Ranger. The little guy lights up when she’s around.”
Storm laughed, the fatigue fading as mirth took its place. “Well, I’ll be damned. So now Kali has two Rangers on her hands.”
“Damn straight,” Hammer said with a grunt.
“You gonna marry that girl?” Storm asked.
“As soon as possible.” Hammer told his friends the short version of what happened at the wedding over the weekend, and was pleased to see the righteous fury burning in their eyes on his woman’s behalf.
“The ex is still breathing?” Dante asked incredulously. “Man, Hammer. You’re losing your edge. I would have taken that asshole apart.”
“Trust me, I wanted to, but I wasn’t about to kill a guy at her cousin’s wedding. Besides, I made him fear me enough that he won’t cross me.”
“David’s always been a little prick, even when we were young. Let me know if he bothers her again,” Storm said. “I won’t tolerate that shit here in my town.”
“Got it, Sheriff.” Hammer sighed. “I wonder if I could convince Kali to have a wedding without her parents.”
Hunter laughed, knowing there was no chance in hell of that happening. “Good luck with that shit. Could you imagine what your mom or my dad would do to you if you got married and didn’t invite them? Hell, they’d probably kill me, too, for not talking you out of it.”