Breaking Boundaries (5th in Breaking Series)

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Nick was just finishing up the last hoof on the brown mare he'd been tending to when he heard the horse approaching the ranch at a thundering pace.

Instantly he looked toward the barn and saw Aiden standing against it, looking to be asleep where he stood. Nick stood straight and his head whipped around to the approaching horse and he felt every muscle in his body tense when he realized it was Brody and the man appeared murderous as he thundered straight toward Aiden.

Brody was off his horse in a flash and suddenly Aiden was against the barn with Brody pinning him there. Nick couldn't hear what Brody said but he did see the sun glint off the barrel of Brody's revolver as Brody stuck the cold metal to Aiden's head.

Nick lost all train of thought then. He was filled with an angry desperation that was all-consuming. He lost all fear of death, all sense of caution, as he launched himself over the corral fence and took off at a dead sprint toward the man threatening his lover. Nick pulled his gun as he ran and before he even realized what he was going to do he had the metal barrel against Brody's cheek.

"You'll take a step back away from Aiden now and put your goddamn gun away," Nick ground out between clenched teeth as he practically shook with a protective, desperate rage that shocked him. He'd watched one man he loved die—he wouldn't watch another.

"What's going on?!" Nick was faintly aware of Liz's voice and knew that others were coming their way. His distraction seemed to be what Brody had been waiting on.

Quickly, with speed that did not seem human, Brody shifted his weight, swung his elbow, caught Nick in the jaw and sent him stumbling back. Before Nick could see through the pain or right himself, Brody snatched his gun away and then stood there looking as if he'd never moved with a gun now trained on both Nick and Aiden.

"I'm only gonna ask this one more time before I start pulling triggers," Brody warned his gaze going back to Aiden, though Nick wasn't foolish enough to move—he knew damn well that Brody was still paying plenty of attention to what he was doing.

"I..uh.. well.. I can.. um...." Aiden clearly was too afraid of Brody to even form a coherent sentence let alone explain anything. Aiden's brown eyes were fixed on Brody's face and he was shaking from his head to his toes. Every bit of color had drained from his face and his lips were nearly white. Nick felt his fists clench with the urge to knock Brody's head off which was surprising considering how much Nick respected and liked Brody—the fact remained that he liked Aiden more.

"Quit stuttering and start speaking," Brody ground out.

"Brody, you need to calm down," Elizabeth stepped forward and laid her hand on Brody's shoulder. Nick knew why Brody was the way he was. He had heard the stories of what had happened to Brody's family and the man that had turned him into—the life that had led him toward. Just the same as Nick's past had shaped him into a man that would kill anyone that dared threaten his man.

"Cowgirl, don't," Brody warned, though some of his tension seemed to have eased simply by her touch.

"Brody, look at him? He's not any danger to us," Elizabeth insisted. Brody's jaw popped with tension but then he growled and lowered both guns before shoving Nick's into his chest.

Nick grabbed the gun but didn't holster it until Brody had holstered his own. Nick truly looked around then and saw that they had nearly everyone's attention. Brody, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ryder, Susie, Ellie, Kent, Wendell and Frank were standing crowded around Aiden and Cookie was watching from his chair with his hound at his feet.