“Go ahead, Taggart. We’re here.”Canyon stood with is hands tucked under his armpits and nodded at the video feeding into Stone’s Smart TV in his living room.
“Stone,” Cord Taggart greeted him. “Congrats to you and Brighton on the bun in the oven.” He grinned. “Sure didn’t waste time.”
Smoothing a hand over his clean-shaven jaw, Stone nodded his thanks. “So … what’s happening?”
Cord’s demeanor shifted to serious. More than ever for the guy. “Look, I’m not going to blow smoke up your skirts—Range is in trouble.”
While their brother was notoriously hotheaded—especially toward Canyon—ironically, he had an amazing knack fornotgetting into trouble. He was a rule follower and self-righteous suck-up. And Canyon meant that in the best way possible. Which is why he shared a look with Stone.
“And by trouble,” Cord continued, “I mean some serious muff. Give a watch.”
“Thoughts?” Canyon asked his brother.
“It’s not like him.” The tautness in Stone’s shoulders warned of his irritation as the screen went blank, then staticky. “He’s always been able to handle what gets thrown at him.”
“And by handle, you mean hold a grudge for ten years.”
Stone met Canyon’s gaze with a stern look. “You did the same.”
“Me?”
“You had the power to make peace. Instead, you’ve thrown his grudge in his face every chance you get.”
“Not—”
Crack! Crack!
Gunshots yanked their attention back to the screen where they saw their brother moving into a room with an M4 tucked into his shoulder. Couldn’t tell who he’d just shot.“I won’t hesitate to drop everyone in here!”Range moved toward the front where two men stood with a woman laid out on the floor.“Let her go, and we can talk.”
“Talk?”The man balked, and though it was hard to tell, it seemed he might have drawn a gun.“There will be no talk. She will be put to death for her adultery and sin!”
“The Quran demands 100 lashes,”came another voice, a man shifting into view from the side.
Range hadn’t moved or spoken. Still had his gun trained the three.
“We must rid this village of her filth, before she can pollute it more.”The main speaker shifted behind another man and the woman now on her feet.
“Coward,” Canyon muttered, “hiding behind a woman.”
“Ten years,”Range said as he moved closer.“It’s been ten years when she left here. Her choice.”
“Wait,” Stone said, indicating to something on the screen. “D’you see that?”
“I’m taking her.”
The imam scowled at a fourth man.“Is this true?”
“They forced their way into my home. I saw them in a very passionate kiss just a few hours ago.”
“There, again,” Stone said.
That’s when Canyon started connecting the dots, too. “It’s edited.”
“Heavily.”
Range snapped his weapon and fired at a man, who shouted at him. But he was still alive.“Don’t touch her.”
“Does a soldier try to kill an imam and his caliph?”a man asked, incredulously.
