Rancher Dragon, Terry Bolryder [acx book reading TXT] 📗

just looked like the spiteful, angry, defeated person he always should have been if not for Beck’s kind heart and the fact that he’d trusted someone else rather than himself.

Now that Beck had her, Sierra was never going to let Beck doubt himself again.

TJ tried to stand, but his shaky arm slipped, causing him to fall on his back. His cold dark-blue eyes were full of rage still, moving from Beck to her before settling again on Beck.

“Do it. Just finish me off,” TJ said.

“You’re going to the proper authorities. They’ll deal with you,” Beck said calmly.

“Ha!” TJ spat. “That’s just because you can’t. I know you can’t kill me.” He swiped at a bloody spot at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Because you’re weak. You’ve always been a weakling, and you’ll always be a weakling.”

“He’s strong because he shows mercy. Because he protects rather than stabs people in the back.” Sierra spoke up.

TJ grimaced sourly. “All that strength, and you didn’t want to rule. Or dominate. Or use your strength for anything more than helping stupid humans and tending your stupid, stupid ranch in the middle of nowhere. You people disgust me.”

“You’re the one that’s disgusting,” Sierra said, but Beck’s arm around her calmed her a bit.

Beck just gave TJ a sad, serious look. “So this is all you are in the end?”

He just laughed, a dour, cynical sound. “Ha-ha-ha. Whatever happens to you, you have it coming because you’re so weak and pathetic. I’ll just come back as many times as it takes until I see you and your mate buried like I buried your friends under the mountain. I just need more time. More basilisks. Fancy fighting a dozen next time?”

Beck frowned, and Sierra could see that whatever friendship he still had held out for TJ, whatever goodwill there had been between them, it was dead right then and there.

TJ just kept ranting, pushing himself weakly to his feet. “You and your friends will never be safe. You’ll never be happy. I’ll make sure of it.”

Beck called over to Sierra. “Sweetheart, look away. Just face toward the house and don’t look back here.”

“You’re not a killer, Beck,” TJ said. “Even if I made you think you were.”

Sierra could only hear him now as she turned away, but her heart was beating hard and painfully.

Beck, the man she loved, the gentlest man she knew, was being placed in a horrible position.

But if TJ lived, he’d bring the rain and more of those horrible creatures…

“Even like this, I can kill everyone you love. I’ll never stop coming back. Never stop hating you. I can still make it rain—”

Suddenly, there was a whizz of something sudden flying toward Beck and Sierra, followed immediately by a loud pop that sounded like a firework or a gunshot.

Sierra froze in place, then slowly turned as shock flooded through her.

Had someone just been shot?

24

For a moment, Beck thought he’d been shot as the bullet had whizzed into the clearing.

He thought he’d fought that entire battle, survived the basilisk and TJ together, just to die from some stray bullet.

But then he looked down at himself and saw that he was fine.

Then he looked over at TJ, who was now facedown in a crumpled heap. Blood was pooling from his head, and Beck noticed a shot to the temple.

He knew only one person who could make a shot like that from a range where no one could see him.

The crazy bastard probably hadn’t even used a sight.

“Clancy, get out here if that’s you!”

Clancy strolled out from the tree line on the boundary that separated her from Dragonclaw Ranch, easily a few hundred feet away. Just a distant figure with a white Stetson, a lever-action rifle slung over his shoulder.

Beck sighed in relief, glad to confirm it was his friend and not some other ridiculously accurate gunman out wandering the area.

Clancy set his rifle in the grass and jogged to Beck, clearing the distance in record time.

He reached Beck at the same time Sierra did. Beck quickly wrapped her in his arms and kept turned her away from the carnage.

“Don’t look,” he said.

Beck heard Clancy walk to TJ, and the grass rustled as Clancy knelt down, probably to check that everything was final.

In truth, Beck knew he should grieve his old friend, but his heart was cold. It had lost all love he might have had for TJ when he attacked his mate and threatened his friends.

And when he found out that TJ had killed innocents. All as part of his obsessive plan to make Beck miserable.

As Beck held Sierra, he knew TJ had almost succeeded. And that thought haunted him to the bone.

But then he stroked her hair back and kissed her, and warmth filled him, making him realize he hadn’t failed this time.

He had protected the people he cared about.

All because she believed in him.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said. “You knew just what to say to me.”

She rubbed his back, burying her face in his chest and holding on tight. “I had to help however I could. I think I’d die if you died.”

He tilted her chin gently so he could stroke away the tears that had welled up on her cheeks. “It’s okay, honey. It’s all going to be okay now.”

“Your friend,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“I would have killed him if I had to,” Beck said, brushing her hair back and just treasuring her face in the bright moonlight now that the rain had passed.

Now that everything could heal.

Beck looked over to see Clancy had covered TJ’s body with his jacket and was looking down at him, shaking his head.

“I never liked the guy, but never thought I’d have to kill him,” Clancy said solemnly. He gave Beck a half-smile. “Still, I never hesitate to put down what needs puttin’ down.”

Beck nodded gratefully to Clancy. “He needed it. What were you doing out here?”

Clancy cocked his head. “Harrison said to keep an eye on you since