The Man Who Hated Ned O'Leary by K.A. Merikan

Author:K.A. Merikan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Acerbi & Villani Ltd.

16

Cole had only ever known one man who had six fingers and toes. That man had left a mark on his entire life. He’d been the one to bring Cole to this very homestead for the first time, and in a twisted way—also the one to connect him with Ned.

Cole couldn’t see the boy well, not in such low light, but he felt him struggle against the hold and could practically smell fear. With no one to protect him, the child was wolf bait.

Yet he didn’t scream, only whined and gurgled like a wounded rabbit.

“What’s going on?” Ned asked, climbing from the tunnel, but Cole struggled to explain their situation, because he didn’t understand it himself.

The door of the barn swung open, slamming into Cole’s head and side so hard he fell forward, reaching out to break the inevitable fall. His hands were like snares opening to let go of their catch, and the boy ripped out of his arms, dashing out of sight.

The air rang with Ned’s chaotic whistles, prompting Cole to roll over in the red glow of the flames outside. But as he faced Zeb’s tall form, the barrel of a mean-looking shotgun pointed straight at him.

It was over.

Cole’s hand dashed to the pistol on his hip, taking his chance even though Zeb’s trigger finger was in position, but before he managed to yank the gun out of its holster, Dog clashed with Zeb, roaring like a hellhound.

Cole yelped when Zeb’s bullet hit the floor next to his foot, but as he rose with the revolver in hand, Zeb and Dog collapsed, and the blaze roaring outside transformed them into a tangle of twisting limbs and shadows. Cole was ready to fight off multiple enemies, but there was no one else here but Zeb and the—

Movement caught his eye in the corner of Carol’s open stall, and he bolted for it, rushing through the swinging door as if the devil himself were after him. Only that in this scenario, he was the evil one, and the child curling into a ball behind a pile of hay—the innocent victim.

Cole’s mouth dried, but when another shot hit the ceiling, he cocked his gun and grabbed the boy’s pale locks, forcing him up, away from Carol, who reared in panic, dangerously close to the child.

Dog’s squeal tore through the air, and Cole looked back in time to see Ned storm across the barn, his face twisted in anguish. “No!”

Cole’s insides turned into dense, bitter goo that hurried up his gullet, about to overflow.

Ned would die.

Ned would die!

“I have him, Zeb! I have his son!” Cole roared, dragging his captive toward the barn door, which created a frame around the picture of the burning house.

The shot he’d been fearing didn’t happen, and he gave a shaky exhale, leaving the stall with the asset Zeb had unknowingly pushed into their hands.

“You killed the father. Why not kill the son as well, eh?” Zeb spat through the gap in his clenched teeth but

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