Give My Love to Rose(1st in Outlaw Series)

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"Jeremiah and I followed you," Duke replied.

Marston found his eyes going to Jeremiah who was heading for the barn where Marston knew Langley was currently cleaning stalls. "Stop right there, Jeremiah," Marston warned, drawing his revolver and cocking it as he aimed it directly between Jeremiah's shoulder blades.

Jeremiah stopped in his tracks, raised his hands high and turned to face Marston. "I was just gonna see if my damn horse was in there."

"There ain't nothing in that barn that concerns you," Marston growled. He hoped Langley would be wise enough to stay in that damn barn. He didn't want Rose or Langley exposed to these types of people. The fact that he was the same kind of person was not lost on him but he knew that he would never do a single thing to hurt the woman or the boy—Marston couldn't say the same for his brother and Duke.

"Okay then..." Jeremiah replied, throwing a concerned glance at Duke.

"Jeremiah, get over here and stand next to Duke," Marston ordered, motioning with his revolver. Jeremiah was quick to obey.

Duke frowned. "You look like a regular old housewife, Marston. What are you doing washing clothes and shacking up with some woman and her brat?"

Marston holstered his gun and his fists tightened until his knuckles popped. "You've been watching me?" he ground out, cursing himself for not being more vigilant.

"Yep," Jeremiah chuckled. "And I haven't seen your face that smooth since you were suckling on mama's tit."

"That's real cute," Marston grumbled. "Who the hell did you bring with you?"

Jeremiah grinned. "Damn Marston, what kind of monsters do you think we are? It's just me and Duke here. We wouldn't have tracked you down with the whole gang."

"Why don't you answer my question, Marston," Duke insisted. "What the hell are you doing here? You ain't trying to settle down are you? I taught you better than that."

Marston shook his head. "Don't you worry about what I'm doing."

"She must be a pretty one to have you out here playing cleaning lady. We haven't seen her out though. Does she have the same red hair as that boy?"

Marston reached out and grabbed his skinny brother by the throat. "Don't go worrying yourself about that woman or that boy, understand? They belong to me and if you so much as breathe in their direction I'll make sure you don't breathe no more. This isn't one of your little games and you can't just go in there and take what you want."

Jeremiah's eyes widened while Duke shook his head. "We weren't the only ones that played that game, Marston. You might not have enjoyed it as much as we did but you always came right along."

Marston removed his hand from his brother's throat and took a step back as he shoved his and through his hair. "I'm playing different games now," he snarled.

Jeremiah rubbed at his bruising throat. "I can see that."

Duke glared at Marston. "You think you're better than us now?" he demanded and Marston heard Langley's footsteps come out of the barn. "As far as I'm concerned it still seems like you're playing the game. Just how long did it take before you had that little boy's mama flat on her back and screaming your name?"

Langley gasped but Marston had a more violent reaction. His fist rammed hard into the side of Duke's face and Duke instantly hit the ground. Jeremiah took a step back and raised his hands, clearly in no hurry to be sprawled on the dirt the way Duke was.