Some of the stiffness eased in Josh’s shoulders. He was making friends here, Tory thought. Good friends, it seemed.
“Thanks, Tag.”
The biker tipped up his chin in farewell, then sauntered back to his table of friends.
Tory’s chest felt as if it were being squeezed in a vise. “It had to be him.”
Linc’s gaze sharpened. He glanced from Tory to Josh, whose jaw looked tight. “You think Damon Bridger hired those guys to give you trouble?”
“That’s the only explanation that makes any sense,” Josh said.
“It was him,” Tory said flatly.
“You don’t have any proof,” Linc argued. “No way to connect him to what happened.”
Josh surged up from his chair. “I’m going to Phoenix. I’m putting an end to this once and for all.”
Tory shot to her feet and gripped his arm. “You can’t confront him, Josh! He’ll have you thrown in jail again and this time you won’t get out!”
Linc and Carly both stood up. “Tory’s right,” Linc said. “You can’t just charge in there and beat the guy to a pulp. You have to think this through, come up with a plan.”
“I don’t want to go in there and beat him to a pulp. I want to end him.”
“Josh!”
“Take it easy, all right?” Linc said. “I’ll send Townsend to Phoenix, put him in touch with your PI friend, Hamilton Brown. Maybe they can find out whether or not Bridger is responsible.”
Josh looked like he was going to explode. He took a deep breath, finally managed to bring himself under control. “All right—for now. Maybe Ham and Townsend can find out what’s going on. But this is ending—soon. If Bridger is willing to go as far as hiring outlaw bikers to tear up the ranch, he isn’t going to stop until he gets to Tory. I’m not letting that happen.”
“There’s still a chance what happened had nothing to do with Bridger,” Linc said.
Josh’s features remained tight. “You’re right. We need to be sure.” His arm went around Tory, keeping her close. “I’m kind of out of the mood for this. What do you say we go home?”
Her insides were shaking. It had never occurred to her that Damon might be behind the bikers’ attack. “I’m more than ready.”
“Maybe we can pick up something to eat on the way,” Josh suggested.
Tory just nodded. She let Josh guide her out of the bar, her mind going over what Tag Joyner had said. All the way to the truck, she kept thinking of Damon. Linc might not be sure Damon was responsible, but Tory was. Though she’d prayed it wouldn’t happen, she’d been worried about something like this.
Her chest clamped down. She couldn’t avoid it any longer. She knew what she had to do.
Josh ended up pulling into the Iron Springs Café for something to eat and a piece of homemade apple pie, but Tory’s appetite was gone. By the time they stopped at Mrs. Thompson’s to pick up Ivy, she was mentally packing, getting ready to leave.
“Ivy’s already dressed for bed,” Mrs. Thompson said when they arrived. “We baked cupcakes.” She handed Tory a flat plastic container with dark circles visible through the lid. “Chocolate with chocolate frosting.”
“They look great. Thank you.”
Ivy was half asleep when Josh carried her out to the pickup for the short ride home, then into the double-wide trailer.
“I’ll sit with her till she falls back to sleep,” Tory said to Josh, sitting down in the chair next to the little girl’s bed. But it only took a few minutes before she was breathing deeply, fast asleep.
Easing her tired feet, Tory pulled off her boots and socks and tossed them into her bedroom on her way back down the hall. She was sifting through one plan after another when she walked into the living room and found Josh sitting on the sofa.
“I’m staying here tonight,” he said, casting a dark look her way.
She’d been afraid of that. She had things to do to get ready. She needed to get out of there—the sooner, the better.
“What about your nightmares?” She crossed her fingers, hoping the reminder would be enough to send him home.
