Tanner's War (9 page)

The doors were closed but Tanner
peered in through a stained-glass window and made out a small congregation—maybe
eight or nine people, tops. That couldn’t be the whole village, surely?

Well, fuck it, it didn’t matter.
As long as Abram was one of them.
“Go in hard,” he told
Wolf, who nodded grimly. Tanner put his big boot to the door and kicked it
open.

Chapter Twelve

A woman screamed as they burst in,
and Tanner saw her dodge behind a guy who looked like he’d have preferred to
hide behind her. The couple stood at the front of the church, surrounded by
four younger girls. They had to be Beth’s family. He saw the resemblance in the
girls. A rake-thin man stood at the altar, face like thunder. Nathaniel stood
at his side.

“What is the meaning of this?” the
man at the altar demanded.
Abram,
had to be.

Tanner strode towards him, shutting
out the whimpers of Beth’s family.
“You Abram?
You in charge here?”

Nathaniel stepped into his path.
“You have no right to be here. No reason to be here,” Nathaniel said. All the
bluster and smarm he’d been packing yesterday at the diner was gone, Tanner
thought. There was something … shrunken about him, something defeated. No power
in his voice, just desperation. It would have made Tanner pity him, except this
asshole had smacked Beth.

Tanner shoved him, sending him
stumbling. “You stay the fuck out of my way, unless you want me to finish what
I started yesterday.”

“Nathaniel,” Abram said. There was
no hint of emotion in his tone, but Nathaniel stepped out of Tanner’s way,
leaving the path between Tanner and Abram clear.

“You are the one who kidnapped
Bethany?” Abram asked him, gripping the altar so hard his knuckles turned
white. Angry or afraid, Tanner wondered.

“Kidnapped?” Tanner spat and turned
to Beth’s family. “Listen, Beth hasn’t gone anywhere or done anything she
didn’t want to. Got that? She’s fine, she’s safe, and she’s not fucking coming
back to this bastard.”

The oldest girl gave him a hopeful
look, but the others wouldn’t even meet his eyes. Tanner focused on Abram
again, clenching his fists as he strode to the altar.

“I just
wanna
make one thing clear to you,” Tanner said, fixing his glare on Abram and
letting all the anger he felt blaze in his eyes. It felt good, having a target.
“From now on, Beth’s free. And if you or any of your scumbag kids come looking
for her, I’ll kill ‘
em
.” He meant it, he realized,
and he hoped Abram realized it too. Snapping the prick’s neck would be goddamn
satisfying.

Abram regarded him icily. “I have
nothing to fear from the likes of you. God protects the righteous.”

“What’s righteous about beating
women? What’s your god say about that?” Wolf called from behind Tanner.

Abram ignored him, keeping his
steely gaze on Tanner. “Bethany is to be my wife. It is agreed with her
parents—you have no right to keep her from her home and family.”

They could talk all day, Tanner
thought. Talk and posture and get fucking nowhere, because men like this never
thought they were wrong. Tanner wasn’t in the mood to talk. He snapped forward,
grabbing Abram by the collar and hauling him so he was sprawled across the
altar, spluttering and flailing like a landed fish. The fear in his eyes now
made Tanner smile.

“Listen to me, you piece of shit—”

“Tanner!” Wolf’s shout made him
twist around just in time to see Beth stumble into the church, shoved by a man
who had to be another of Abram’s sons. The man took in the situation with a
quick glance and grabbed Beth, pulling her back against his chest. She
struggled against him and the sight made rage roar inside Tanner. He shoved
Abram backwards, sending him crashing off the altar and onto the floor. Beth’s
mother screamed again, although none of her panic seemed to be on Beth’s
behalf. She stared at Abram, hands clasped to her mouth. Tanner dismissed her
there and then.
Parents who didn’t fight for their kids—worse
than useless.

He spun on the guy holding Beth,
storming past Wolf. “Let her go.”

Beth's face was a mask of horror as
she stared past Tanner to her family. "What are you doing to them?"
she screamed at Abram, fighting harder against the guy holding her. "Let
them go!"

Abram pulled himself to his feet,
clinging to the altar. "They are here waiting for you, Bethany. Just for
you to return. They've been worried about you—we all have. Tell her,
Samuel."

Samuel opened his mouth but before
he could speak, Beth stomped hard on her captor's foot. He muffled a curse and
she pulled free, throwing herself into Tanner's arms.

Tanner crushed her to his chest,
shocked at how hard his heart was hammering. "I've got you. I've got
you," he murmured into her hair.

She wasn't listening. She yelled
over his shoulder at Abram. "You let them go! If you hurt them—"

"Bethany." Her oldest
sister broke rank, running from the pews where her family huddled and joining
Beth and Tanner. She clung to Beth's arm, imploring her with big, tear-filled
blue eyes. "Bethany, he said you were kidnapped, he said you could be
dead
...
"

Beth released Tanner to hug her
sister tightly. "I left, Hannah," she said, defiance in her voice as
she held Abram's gaze. "I left because I'd rather be dead than married to
him."

"Bethany!" her mother
gasped.

"You don't know what you're
saying," Abram said. "You can still repent, Bethany, and be welcome back
to your home.
Your family."
He flicked his
fingers at her parents, expression smug. He was so fucking sure he'd get his
way. Tanner wanted to claw that smile off his face.

Beth was ahead of him again and he
felt a surge of pride as she snapped at Abram. "This isn't my home. I'm
not coming back. If you threaten my family, I'll go to the police. I'll tell
them about all the people you've buried after testing their faith. I'll tell
them how you beat your wife, and how you assaulted me. I'll make sure you burn,
Abram."

"Bethany!" Her mother all
but wailed her name this time.

Abram slammed his fist down on the
altar. "Peter!"

Tanner glanced back at the man
who'd brought Beth in. Peter pulled a gun from inside his jacket, aiming it
squarely at Tanner. He stepped in front of Beth quickly, fury rising in him
again.

"Try me, asshole," Tanner
challenged. Peter looked confident with the gun, but Tanner was willing to make
a dive at him. He could probably slam him to the floor before he got a shot
off. And Wolf was closer to the guy still, looking poised for action. Peter's
focus was all on Tanner.
Amateur.

"Tanner,
no."
Beth grabbed his
arm, fear in her voice now.

"You think I'm scared of
him?" Tanner sneered at Peter. "I bet he's never fired a fucking gun
in his life."

“Nathaniel,” Abram said, sounding
almost cheerful now. “Perhaps you would take Samuel and his family back to
their home. Now that Bethany is here, I’m sure we can resolve everything
peacefully.”

He put a nasty emphasis on the last
word. Tanner guessed having a bunch of gun-toting fanatics at your beck and
call would warp a man. He kept himself between Beth and Peter as Beth’s family
shuffled out meekly, not even trying to make eye contact with Beth. Only Hannah
protested, clinging to Beth.

“I’m not leaving you!”

“Hannah, please.” Beth sounded
close to tears as she pried her sister’s fingers from her arm. “Everything’s
going to be fine.”

Tanner made careful note of all the
pain in both women’s voices as Hannah followed her parents, weeping. He’d make
sure Abram knew exactly how much they were hurting.

The church door slammed shut.
Tanner took stock of the situation. Peter, gun aimed firmly at Tanner. You
couldn’t hold that pose long though, arm out-stretched, gun clasped tight. His
arm would start to shake, his grip loosen.
Wolf, just to the
left of Peter, watching him with a predator’s intensity.
Probably
thinking the same damn thing Tanner was, and waiting for Peter’s body to tire.
Abram at the altar, a shit-eating grin on his face as he watched
the face-off.
And Beth at Tanner’s back. He could feel her shaking and
he wanted to pull her round into his arms but that would put her straight in
Peter’s sights.

“If you leave now,” Abram said to
Tanner and Wolf, “I will let you go in peace.”

“Fuck you,” Wolf said before Tanner
could.

“I’m not leaving without Beth,”
Tanner added.

“And I’m not staying,” Beth said,
her voice steady despite her quaking. “So do whatever you will, Abram. Or order
Peter to do it.”

Her jibe clearly struck home.
Abram’s face reddened and he thrust his finger at her. “’Obey your leaders and
submit to their authority!’ If you think I will tolerate this, Bethany, when
you are my wife—”

“You’re fucking deluded, man,” Tanner snapped. “How about we walk away
now and don’t break your neck?”

“Don’t threaten him,” Peter said.
Tanner glanced at him and saw the trembling had set in. The man wouldn’t be
able to keep the gun aimed much longer—the question was, would he just lower
his arm or would he fire?

“Peter, please—” Beth started, but
Peter’s arm dipped before she could finish and Wolf pounced.

The two went down hard and a bang
went off almost immediately. Fear jolted through Tanner and he forgot Beth,
racing to help his brother. The gunshot had his head ringing, but his vision
was clear as he reached the men. Peter lay on his back, panting for breath.
Wolf was slumped over him. Blood splattered across Peter’s face, but Tanner
knew instinctively it wasn’t his. It was Wolf’s.

Chapter Thirteen

The world was twisting into a
nightmare around Beth. She watched, horrified and helpless as Tanner dragged
Wolf off Peter. Wolf hauled himself to his feet, hanging onto Tanner for
support and clutching at his shoulder where blood spurted through his fingers,
thick and unending. Peter scrambled back, still holding the gun in shaking
hands, pointing it at Tanner. “You didn’t think I could but I did!” he yelled,
eyes wild.

“Put it down, man,” Tanner said.
His voice was cold, but Beth could sense the scorching rage in him. She could
see it in his arms, tense as he held Wolf up. She could see it in his eyes, on
fire as he stared down at Peter. “You don’t
wanna
kill anyone here.”

“See what you’ve done, Bethany?”
Abram shouted. She spun to face him. He still stood at the altar, pointing
accusingly at her. Chillingly, she saw he’d pulled his snake basket onto the
altar. “Your lies, your deceit, you disloyalty … You caused all this!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Tanner
ordered her.

But it was impossible not to. She
hated Abram. She hated the Church. But he—and it—had been her whole world for
her entire life. All those beliefs, those ingrained rules and laws … It was one
thing to shout her defiance at Abram when she was in Tanner’s arms. But
standing alone, facing Abram and his snakes, with Wolf bleeding all over Tanner
and Peter still pointing that gun … Beth felt her defiance trickle away.

“I never wanted anyone to get
hurt,” she whispered, almost to herself.

“There’s still a chance to stop it
all,” Abram said, his voice coaxing, hypnotic.

“Don’t listen to him, Beth. He’s
full of bullshit.” Tanner sounded explosive. If it wasn’t for Peter and that
gun, she had no doubt Tanner would be charging at Abram right now. But she’d
never forgive herself if he got shot fighting for her.
Never.

She also couldn’t cave into Abram,
not with Tanner’s strength and belief in her. She felt that as clearly as she
felt his anger.
And not with Wolf putting his body on the
line for her.
No, no, no.

If God really protected the
righteous, the innocent, He wouldn’t protect Abram.

She walked to the altar. She heard
footsteps behind her and glanced back to see Tanner moving her way, dragging
Wolf with him. “Don’t,” she said, hoping she could send a message with her eyes
alone. “I know what I’m doing, Tanner, I promise.”

He faltered and then stopped.

Abram’s smile was poisonous as she
reached the altar. She dropped her gaze, partly out of habit and partly to hide
her disgust for him. She tried to beat down her doubt and fear, remembering the
things she had to fight for. The thrill of riding a bike full speed down an
empty road.
The warmth and friendship of Mia, Roxy, and
Tamsin.
And Tanner.
His lips,
his hands, his
heart
.
She
wanted more, wanted everything she could take from him, and that meant facing
Abram and winning.

She took a deep breath. “I’m
ready.”

“'They shall take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.’” Abram’s eyes gleamed
as he opened the basket. Hisses and rattles filled the air. “Will you see if
God forgives you, Bethany?”

I’ve done nothing to forgive, she
thought, but held her tongue. Good girls were quiet. Good girls obeyed. She
simply nodded, feeling Abram’s greedy eyes on her as she slowly reached for the
basket. He held it steady while the snakes hissed inside.
Poor
things.
She’d always felt sorry for them. No creature should live in a
cage.

Her hands hovered over the basket.
Abram’s fingers twitched on the rim. Adrenaline kicked through her and she sent
a silent apology to the snakes and grabbed Abram’s wrists, plunging both their
hands into the basket.

She heard Tanner scream her name.

She heard Abram scream in fear.

And she felt a pinprick of pain.

Abram fought, trying to pull free
of her grip but she clung on, forcing his hands to stay in the basket. The
snakes coiled around their arms, cool and strong, and Beth’s heart stuttered.
She didn’t dare look down to see how badly she’d been bitten.

“It bit me, it bit me!” He thrashed
wildly, finally forcing her to let him go. He fell back, cradling one arm to
his chest, terror stamped on his face.

It was the most satisfying thing
she’d ever seen.

Strong hands caught her shoulders,
pulling her away from the basket. She fell into Tanner’s squeezing embrace.
“Don’t do that.
Don’t
ever fucking do that again. Are
you hurt? Did you get bitten?
Holy shit, Beth.”
He
spun her round, grabbing her hands and examining her for bites. She stared down
at her pale flesh and saw twin blobs of blood above her wrist. It didn’t hurt,
and only the blood itself told her she’d been bitten.

That didn’t mean much—symptoms of
coral snake venom could take hours to appear. She’d have to wait for slurred
speech, double vision … and paralysis. She swallowed hard and glanced back at
Abram. He sat on the floor, prodding his arm with a desperate expression.

“Antivenin!” he yelled at Peter.
“The antivenin!”

Peter stood, holding the gun
uneasily. “There’s none left, father,” he said. “Not after … there’s none.” He
sounded numb, dazed.

Tanner’s face set into grim
determination. “We’re getting you to a hospital.” He picked Beth up, holding
her to his chest, and she clung to him gratefully, feeling shaky and faint.
“Wolf, can you ride?”

Wolf, pale but still standing,
nodded. “Not much choice, is there?”

“No!” Abram stood, leaning heavily
on the altar. “No, I won’t let you humiliate me like this! Peter!”

Beth held her breath as Peter swung
the gun up again, galvanized by his father’s command. Everything seemed to
freeze and she had a split second to think how annoying it would be to die now
and never know if Abram had been poisoned.

The church door flew open. There
was a blur of motion, the crack of gunfire, and the sick thud of a body hitting
stone. Beth blinked, certain this was the start of the venom kicking in,
clouding her vision. But no … when she blinked again, she saw Nash standing
over Peter, the gun in his hand and aimed squarely at Abram. Judge stood just
behind Nash, taking the scene in with a serene expression. Nash … Nash looked
dangerous.

Beth couldn’t tell if Peter was
dead or alive. He wasn’t moving and she saw blood pooling beneath him, but Wolf
was proof you could be shot and still walk away, wasn’t he?

“Nash,” Tanner said, sounding torn
between relief and anger. “What—”

“Norse told us.” Judge answered for
Nash, who was striding down the aisle to Abram, ignoring everyone around him.
Judge went to Wolf, prying his hand away from his shoulder to check his bullet
wound. “You boys are making a hell of a mess here.”

Nash didn’t stop until he had the
barrel of the gun firmly pressed to Abram’s forehead. Beth couldn’t see Abram
past Nash’s tall body, but she could imagine his expression, because she knew
what her own would be in his place.

“You can’t,” Abram started, voice
barely a whimper. “I need medical attention …”

“Tanner,” Nash said. “Come here.”

Tanner hesitated,
then
put Beth down, seating her on the nearest pew. He
joined Nash.

“Tell this piece of shit whatever
you have to tell him, and make sure he remembers it,” Nash said. “Then we’re
clearing this shit-storm up, understand?”

Beth saw Tanner flex his muscles,
clench and unclench his fists. He pulled his arm back and snapped it forward,
sending his fist crashing into Abram’s jaw. Abram crumpled, but Tanner didn’t
stop. He knelt over him, pounding once, twice, three times more, while Abram
cried for mercy. Then Tanner hauled him up by the collar, bringing Abram’s
battered, bloodied face close to his.

“If you know what’s good for you,
you’ll get the fuck out of town and never come back,” Tanner told him. “But you
get this: if you stay here, you are never to contact Beth again. Don’t send
anyone after her. Don’t threaten her family.
Because I will
find out and I will come back here and kill you.”

He punctuated his warning with one
last blow. Abram’s head lolled back like a broken doll’s and Tanner let him
slump to the floor. Standing, he faced Nash, who shoved the gun in the
waistband of his jeans. “What now?” Tanner asked him. “
You
kicking
me out?” There was a challenge in his tone that made Beth
afraid.

“Get your girl and your brother to
hospital. The truck’s out front.” Nash’s eyes met Beth’s for a second. “I hope
you’re worth it, kid,” he told her.

She stared at Abram, certain she
wasn’t.

“She is,” Tanner said. He picked
her up again. She rested her head against him, his words filling her with
warmth and relief. She closed her eyes as he carried her out of the church,
unable to face the chaos they were leaving behind. All she wanted now was to
move forward.
With him.

****

After everyone had cleared out,
Judge nudged Peter’s body with the toe of his steel-capped boots. “Well he’s
going nowhere,” he said. “How’s the other guy doing?”

Nash crouched over the conscious
Abram and checked his pulse. “He’ll live, if he got bit by the right snake.”

“
Wanna
take him to the hospital?” Judge asked without much interest, since he already
knew the answer.

Nash snorted. “No. Let him rot.” He
stood, rolling his neck. “Guess we should bury the body at least.”

Judge sighed, staring morosely down
at Peter. He ought to feel guilty, he thought, or at least some sadness. The
boy didn’t look much older than Tanner or Wolf.
Too young to
die so stupidly.
But he didn’t feel much at all. The kid shot Wolf,
would probably have shot someone else if Nash had been a little slower and a
little less ruthless. And Judge wasn’t going to waste tears over someone who’d
hurt one of his brothers. Life was a motherfucker. Sometimes you had to be one
too.

Yeah. He’d said that to Roxy
countless times over the years. She never bought it.

He shrugged and lifted the kid.
Nash came to help. Judge didn’t ask how he was feeling. He didn’t want to know.
If Roxy asked him later, he could lie and say Nash was fine.