The Devil's 5'5

Chapter 23 - Meeting His Demons

March 7th, 11:37 AM - Seven Oaks Ranch - Creede, Colorado Azura's POV

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Finishing the last inspection around the barn, Azura had concluded her assessment of his place fully aware of all the exits and entry points. Having been tossed into this change of scenery out of the blue, she had to wake up extra early to scope the property out so that in the case of an emergency she knew would have some knowledge on how to maneuver around the new terrain.

As she slowly strolled through the barn, a group of individual's emerged from the side of the house. Instantly her hand flew to the knife sheathed on her back, but relaxed soon after when he heard bouts of laughter. The group consisted of 5 men, all decked on in typical checkered shirts and cowboy hats. 

Damn ain't Mr. Preston popular. 

This was his second set of visitors. A tall well built man, with light brown hair led the group, being the first to reach her. 

"Well, well, well. Seems like we found our mystery stranger and it happens to be a very pretty lady." 

The sly grin on his face made her smirk in return, aware of the way he gave her a once over. 

Guess he likes what he sees. 

"I'm Henry, a friend of Preston's from highschool." 

She firmly clasped onto his outstretched hand, not backing down in the slightest when his eyes grew a fraction bigger from the force of her grip. "Azura, a friend of Preston's from University." 

The pack finally made it to their leader with an alert and anxious Preston surrounded in the middle. He wasn't smiling like he should have been if these guys were really so called friends. The entire atmosphere had become thick with tension and an unhealthy amount of testosterone. She tried to catch his gaze but he refused to meet hers. 

Her attention was drawn back to Henry when he exclaimed loudly to the group. 

"Friend? No way! Preston doesn't do girl friends, ain't that right Pressy?" 

The snarky remark encouraged the dirty blond beside him to roughly swing an arm around Preston's shoulders.  "Tells us what did you do this time to score a girl like her? She's clearly out of your league." 

Another boy with deep blue eyes, chimed in. "Maybe it something a little more forceful." 

One cue, the dirty blond made a quick jab towards Preston's crotch making the boy flinch. 

They weren't even trying to be subtle with their jabs, easily giving away their true colors. Just like that, Azura was ready to give Henry a round house kick to the neck, overcome with sudden irritation. 

They're not threats but they are fucking annoying. Mano wouldn't care if I rough 'em up a little right...

But she would have to use her words. "Seems like someone sounds a little jealous."

Relaxing on her heels she sized up each boy. They were fit, with defined muscles visible through their shirts, most likely from all the yardwork that came from farm life. 

 "Jealous of what?" It was Henry who addressed her, observing her curiously. 

"You seem to desperately want some advice to get female friends. I'll give you a hint, all of your antics you just mentioned won't work. You can start with getting your head out of your ass."