Free Cowboy's Pride (Welcome to Covendale Book 1) by Morgan Blaze Page B

wrong.
    Then she heard the laugh again, chased by a moan. And the rhythmic creak of bedsprings.
    Fury and pain twisted through her like breaking glass. She dropped the caution, practically ran down the short hallway, and yanked the bedroom door open.
    Tommy. And Stephanie, with the big assets. He was on top, his naked ass clenching as her nails scored his back. He bent his head to her ample breasts—and her eyes met Sydney’s.
    “Oh… oh! Tommy,” the waitress said breathlessly. “Company.”
    She could see the shockwave run through him as he froze mid-rut. His head came up with an audible popping sound that sickened her. He turned to look—cheeks flushed, hair damp, sweat beading at his temples. He licked his lips.
    In a flash Sydney knew that whatever came from his mouth, she’d probably try to kill him for it.
    “Don’t say a word.” Her voice came out hoarse and choked, completely foreign to her own ears. “I mean it. You open your mouth, I’m going to shove something sharp in it.” She fumbled with her engagement ring and twisted it off her finger, suddenly loathing the damned thing with a bright hatred she’d never felt before. She dropped it on the carpeted floor like a disease. “You’ll probably need to have that resized,” she spat.
    Somehow she managed to walk out of the apartment and down the stairs. Then she emptied her guts in the bushes along the sidewalk, and wobbled back toward the bar.
    * * * *
    “I can give you five thousand.”
    Eddie Verona lit a fresh cigarette from the butt of the one he’d been smoking, and pitched the old one onto the weed-choked tracks. A tall man with stooped shoulders, slender build, and weathered face, he looked like a Halloween scarecrow someone forgot to put away for the winter. Creepy, but not threatening.
    The threat was behind him in the shadows. Like all the Dawson boys, Jonah was made out of muscle and mean—and liked to let his fists do the talking. Luka’s three older brothers had been the terrors of Covendale since they were kids.
    But Cam wasn’t about to let either of them intimidate him. “Well, I need ten,” he said. “If you only give me five, I can’t hold onto the ranch. So basically, I’d be borrowing some expensive toilet paper to wipe my ass with until I lose everything, and then you kill me.”
    Eddie laughed. “I’ve heard of people doing worse with my money,” he said. “But that’s the way I do business. See, I haven’t worked with you before, so I don’t know you.” He dragged on the cigarette and blew smoke out slowly. “If you don’t pay me back, the worst I can do is kill you for five thousand. I can’t kill you twice for ten. Understand?”
    “I’ll pay you back.”
    “You say that, sure. They all say that.” Eddie took another thoughtful drag. “I could go as high as six,” he said.
    Cam glowered at him. “I need ten.”
    “I can’t help you, then.” He gestured at Jonah, and they turned and started away.
    “Wait. There has to be something you want.”
    Eddie stopped and pivoted slowly. “What I want is money,” he said. “If that’s what you had to offer, you wouldn’t be here in the first place. Isn’t that right?”
    Cam heaved a breath. “Look…I’m desperate,” he said. “I worked out a deal with the bank, but Lowell talked them into backing out. If I don’t give them the whole amount, he gets the ranch.”
    “Lowell?” Eddie’s brow went up. “Are we talking Boyd Lowell, by any chance?”
    “Yeah. Son of a bitch wants to turn my place into a golf course,” he said. “Apparently he’s got a buyer all lined up. And I wouldn’t sell, so now he’s trying to squeeze me out.”
    Eddie grinned. The bony smile was a lot more threatening than his serious expression. “I help you, Boyd Lowell gets screwed?”
    “Out of millions.”
    “Perfect.” He half-turned to address his enforcer. “Jonah, get the case out of the car and put it in Mr. Thatcher’s truck.”
    “Wait a minute.